Ken Overlin
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Ken Overlin (August 15, 1910 – July 24, 1969), was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
-born
middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
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 ...
who fought professionally from 1931 to 1944, compiling a record of 131 wins (23 by knockout), 18 losses, and 9 draws. He took the World middleweight championship as recognized by the New York State Athletic Commission in a win against
Ceferino Garcia Ceferino Montano Garcia (August 26, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was a champion boxer born in Naval, Biliran, Philippines. He holds the most victories ever achieved by a Filipino boxer and is also the only boxer from the Philippines to become world ...
in New York on May 23, 1940, and held it until May 9, 1941.Ken Overlin's Professional Boxing Record
BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2016-06-10.
Overlin was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
as part of the 2015 class.


Early life and career

Overlin was born to Irish parents on August 15, 1910 in Decatur, Illinois. He excelled in basketball and football at Decatur's Central Junior High. While at Decatur Senior High, he worked as a bellhop, then joined the Navy in 1927, and soon began boxing, having many of his early bouts in cities where his ship the '' U.S.S. Tennessee'' was stationed. He would do most of his boxing from 1927-31 on the West coast, but his Navy and boxing career would later be based out of Norfolk, and nearby Portsmouth, Virginia. He dropped out of the Navy in 1932, and began his boxing career under the management of Chris Dundee as a fringe middleweight contender, continuing to box around Virginia and the East Coast."Ken Overlin, ex-Decatur Boxer Dies", ''The Decatur Daily Review'', Decatur, Illinois, pg. 7, 26 July 1969 In an impressive but close win, he defeated middleweight contender and future champion
Fred Apostoli Alfredo "Fred" Apostoli (February 2, 1913 – November 29, 1973) was a rugged, accomplished body punching middleweight, who was recognized as the world champion when he defeated Marcel Thil on September 23, 1937. Statistical boxing website Bo ...
in New York City's Hippodrome in a ten round mixed decision on January 27, 1937. Apostoli began the fight as a 2-1 favorite, but was unable to stop the long thrusting lefts that Overlin sent to his face throughout the bout. The AP score sheet gave Apostoli a slight edge, but two of the judges present at the bout gave Overlin eight of the ten rounds, giving a slight edge to Overlin in three rounds that the referee scored even. In the first five rounds, Overlin took a slight lead showing greater speed and mobility, and displaying greater defensive skills than his older opponent. But he was faulted by many in the crowd for his occasional holds, which he would resort to again when threatened by a highly skilled adversary. A middleweight contender by the mid-to-late 1930s, he received his first title shot on September 11, 1937 when he was knocked out in the 4th round of a match against reigning World middleweight champion
Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...
in Seattle. Overlin would learn from the experience, and Steele would become the only boxer to ever defeat him by knockout. Overlin lost to former World Middleweight champion
Teddy Yarosz Thaddeus Jarosz (June 24, 1910 – March 29, 1974) was an American boxer. He held the world middleweight boxing championship from 1934–1935. Early life Yarosz was born the second of eight children on the North side of Pittsburgh, but ...
on March 27, 1939 in a ten round points decision in Houston, breaking an eleven match winning streak that included a single loss to
Eric Seelig Eric Seelig (July 15, 1909, in Bromberg, now Bydgoszcz – January 19, 1984) was middleweight boxing champion in Germany in 1931 and their light-heavyweight champion in 1933. Because he was Jewish, he was stripped of his titles, and, in July 1933, ...
.


NYSAC World middleweight champ, 1940

Overlin won recognition as a World middleweight champion by the New York State Athletic Commission on May 23, 1940, when he won a unanimous decision over
Ceferino Garcia Ceferino Montano Garcia (August 26, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was a champion boxer born in Naval, Biliran, Philippines. He holds the most victories ever achieved by a Filipino boxer and is also the only boxer from the Philippines to become world ...
before a light crowd of 7,587 at
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 ...
. Overlin's fast, sweeping left hook to the body tied up Garcia's dangerous right. The young challenger to the title took significant punishment in the fifth and sixth rounds, and in the seventh, Ceferino landed a near knockout punch to his right ear. The former Navy boxer persevered, recovering with a left to the body and right to the head of Ceferino. With Overlin dictating the fighting style and avoiding his opponent's deadly right, the judges credited Garcia with no more than six rounds and gave Overlin as many as ten in their scoring.


Loss of Middle title to Billy Soose

Overlin successfully defended his title twice against Steve Belloise, before losing it to
Billy Soose Billy Soose (August 2, 1915 – September 5, 1998) was an American boxer who won the world middleweight championship in 1941. Biography Soose was undefeated in his collegiate boxing career at Penn State and was a three-time Golden Gloves winne ...
on May 9, 1941 in a fifteen round Unanimous Decision before 11,676 fans at New York's Madison Square Garden. The ''New York Times'' wrote that Overlin appeared to have the upperhand in eleven of the fifteen rounds, but that Overlin probably lost points from holding at critical times in the fight to avoid blows. A supporter of the close decision for Soose, the ''Dunkirk Evening Observer'' wrote that in the ninth Soose had Overlin nearly floored with a blow to the heart, but that Overlin wisely clinched to avoid a follow up. The ''Observer'' also noted that in the tenth Soose shook Overlin again with a right, but by quickly countering, the reigning champion kept his opponent from a quick follow up that might have ended the match. The crowd booed the decision once they realized Overlin had lost the title to a twenty-five year old relatively unknown, and unrated opponent. In the close decision, one judge and one referee scored 8 rounds for Soose with seven for Overlin, though the remaining judge gave nine rounds, a slightly larger edge, to Soose. The bout was described as somewhat dull, with frequent missed blows, no knockdowns, and both boxers leaving the ring appearing relatively unscathed and unbleeding. Overlin continued fighting without a loss until 1945, scoring notable wins over
Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. Known for his slick defense and precision, he is often considered the greatest light heavywei ...
and Al Hostak, before his retirement.International Boxing Hall of Fame - Ken Overlin
IBHOF.com Retrieved on 2016-06-10
Before a crowd of 8,000, Overlin defeated former NBA Middleweight champion Al Hostak on November 21, 1941 in a ten round unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden. Hostak threw as many as forty rights at Overlin, but nearly all whizzed past his left cheek, as Overlin dominated the last two minutes of nearly every round, taking nearly all but one round of the fight in a unanimous decision. His win over Charles came in a ten round unanimous decision on June 9, 1941, in Cincinnati, only one month after his loss of the World middleweight title. Charles best round was the sixth, where he tagged Overlin several times with a two handed attack. Though there were no knockdowns in the bout, Charles was on his knees briefly in the second round. Charles, who had not been defeated in his last 23 bouts, fought a very close match for the first six rounds, but Overlin dominated in the final four landing solid blows, particularly in rounds eight through ten as Charles became careless hoping to makeup for lost ground. Overlin drew with Fred Apostoli on June 26, 1942 in a close ten round draw before 7,000 fans at Norfolk's Naval base. Overlin piled up points with his signature left jab, though Apostoli, with effective punching, had Overlin in a bad condition in the seventh. Apostoli showed more aggression in the bout, tried hard for a knockout in the closing rounds, and left the ring seemingly unmarked."Overlin, Apostoli, Fight Draw", ''Daily Press'', Newport News, Virginia, pg. 5, 27 June 1942


Life outside boxing

Interrupting his boxing career, Overlin rejoined the Navy in 1942 to serve during WWII, then in 1944, after completing his wartime service, he fought four additional fights. He fought his last recorded bout on September 26, 1944, against RJ Lewis in Denver, Colorado, winning in a ten round decision. He then returned to his hometown of Decatur, Illinois, where he ran a Tavern on East Main Street. After having to sell his Main Street Tavern in 1947 by order of the Mayor due to frequent disturbances, he operated another Tavern in Springfield. He left the Springfield bar in 1955, shortly before losing his license for serving liquor to minors. He then left Illinois, to run a bar in Vallejo, California, outside San Francisco, near the Mare Island Naval Shipyard."Ken Overlin, ex-Boxing Champion, Dies", ''The Decatur Herald'', Decatur, Illinois, pg. 10, 26 July 1969 After 1957, he lived in Reno, Nevada, where he worked as a bartender. He had been in ill health for the last seven years of his life as a result of an assault by a hoodlum who had pistol whipped him in May, 1962 after he had struck the man in an argument. He was required to undergo emergency surgery for skull fractures and severe scalp lacerations."Ken Overlin, 59, Former Boxer, Dies in Nevada", ''The Record'', Hackensack, New Jersey, pg. 34, 25 July 1969 Seven years after the assault, on July 24, 1969, Overlin was found dead in his Reno apartment, where he had passed a few days earlier.


Professional boxing record


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Overlin, Ken 1910 births 1969 deaths Middleweight boxers World middleweight boxing champions Irish boxers American male boxers Boxers from Illinois Sportspeople from Illinois