John Charles "Corn" Griffin (July 24, 1911 – January 9, 1973) was an American

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

whose career lasted from 1930 to 1936 and included the memorable June 14, 1934 TKO loss to

James J. Braddock James Walter Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974) was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937. Fighting under the name James J. Braddock (ostensibly to follow the pattern set by two prior world boxing ...

, recreated for the 2005 film ''

Cinderella Man ''Cinderella Man'' is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penn ...

''. A native of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Griffin was born in

Blountstown Blountstown is a city in Calhoun County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census, which represented an increase from 2,444 in 2000. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. Name Blountstown is named for John Bloun ...

, a small community which is the

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Calhoun County Calhoun County is the name of several counties in the United States of America named after U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun: * Calhoun County, Alabama * Calhoun County, Arkansas * Calhoun County, Florida * Calhoun County, Georgia * Calhoun Cou ...

. After winning his first fight, a 1930 bout with Charles "Ranger" Pond, he turned professional in 1931 with much promise, but was KO'd by

Bob Godwin Bob Godwin (May 5, 1911 in Moultrie, GA – August 1, 1980) was an American boxer who became the 1933 World Light Heavyweight Champion. He was managed by his father, Arthur. Pro career Mike McTigue fell to Godwin in Miami on April 7, 1930, ...

in 1933. The heavily publicized fight with Braddock in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

the following year was the highlight of his career and, as dramatized in ''Cinderella Man'', had

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

(as Braddock) punching it out with

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

boxer

Art Binkowski Artur "Art" Binkowski (; born February 19, 1975) is a Polish-born Canadian heavyweight boxer who competed for his adoptive country Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Background Binkowski came to Canada from Poland at th ...

, portraying Griffin. During his professional career he also served as a sparring partner for former world heavyweight boxing champion

Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo *Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 *Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cri ...

and, following his final bout, a 1936

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

loss to Barney Brock, left the ring, working in a number of jobs and serving in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, Griffin became a police officer in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. According to the August 25, 1950 issue of the ''

Panama City News-Herald ''The News Herald'' is a daily newspaper serving the city of Panama City, Florida in the United States. It is located at 501 W. 11th St. in Panama City. History Forerunners to the current newspaper were ''The St Andrews Bay News'', founded in 19 ...

'', he didn't carry the traditional policeman's club "since his old one-two sledgehammer-like fists are as good as ever, but may be not as fast".

External links

*
1933 publicity photograph of "CORN GRIFFIN Leading Irish Heavyweight" in a fighting stanceNews article on Corn Griffin
People from Blountstown, Florida 1911 births 1973 deaths American male boxers Heavyweight boxers United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-boxing-bio-stub