Harold Johnson

BORN   August 9 1928; Manayunk,  Pennsylvania
HEIGHT 5-10 1/2
WEIGHT 161-182 lbs
MANAGERS Tommy Loughrey, Pete Moran, Pat Olivieri, Clarence Davison, Clint Davison, George Gainford
TRAINER Skinny Davidson
RECORD 76-11-0 (32 KO, 1 NC)

Johnson was not sensational and, for that reason, his talent is often overlooked - but, he was very, very good; He was not a big puncher but he was an excellent technician and a solid hitter; He was either champion or a ranked contender every year of his career except for one; During his career, he won the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World

He is most famous for his five bout series with Archie Moore; Johnson defeated such men as Moore, Ezzard Charles, Eddie Machen, Arturo Godoy, Clarence Henry, Jimmy Bivins, Bob Satterfield, Nino Valdes, Doug Jones, Wayne Bethea, Eddie Cotton, Bert Whitehurst, Jimmy Slade, Henry Hank and Jesse Bowdry

Herb Goldman ranked Johnson as the #13 All-Time Light Heavyweight; Harold was inducted into the World boxing Hall of Fame in 1992 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993

1946
       Joe Riley                    Wilmington, De                  KO  2
       Charley Lester               Wilmington, De                  KO  2
       Jack Simon                   Allentown, Pa                   KO  4
Oct 25 Randy Ingram                 Philadelphia, Pa                KO  4
       -Some sources report "KO 2"

1947
Jan 10 Frank Lowry                  Philadelphia, Pa                KO  2
Jan 24 Chappie Manning              Reading, Pa                      W  6
Feb 10 Jimmy Holden                 Allentown, Pa                   KO  4
Feb 17 Joe Van Loan                 Philadelphia, Pa                TK  2
Mar 10 Tony Gillo                   Philadelphia, Pa                 W  6
Apr 28 Leon Szymurski               Philadelphia, Pa                TK  3
May 26 Fred Lester                  Philadelphia, Pa                TK  8
Jul  8 Tommy Ruth                   Philadelphia, Pa                KO  6
Aug  4 Al Pinel                     Philadelphia, Pa                 W  6
Oct  6 Eddie Beazley                Philadelphia, Pa                TK  1
Nov  6 Jimmy Moore                  Atlantic City, NJ               KO  5
Nov 24 Herbie Katz                  Philadelphia, Pa                KO  1
Dec 11 Kid Wolfe                    Atlantic City, NJ                W  8

1948
Mar  1 Kenny Harris                 Philadelphia, Pa                 W  8
Mar 29 Kenny Harris                 Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
May 13 Vernon Williams              Atlantic City, NJ                W  8
Sep 28 Agustino Guedes              Philadelphia, Pa                TK  3
Nov  9 Jimmy Holden                 Allentown, Pa                    W  8
Dec 14 Willie Brown                 Philadelphia, Pa                KO  7

1949
Feb 23 Arturo Godoy                 Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
Apr 26 Archie Moore                 Philadelphia, Pa                 L 10
Jun 16 Henry Hall                   Milwaukee, Wi                    W 10
Jul 25 Henry Hall                   Milwaukee, Wi                    W 10
Oct 26 Jimmy Bivins                 Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
Dec  7 Bert Lytell                  Dayton, Oh                       W 10

1950
Feb  8 Jersey Joe Walcott           Philadelphia, Pa                LK  3
Dec 18 Harry Daniels                Philadelphia, Pa                KO  2

1951
Jan 22 Solomon "Dusty" Wilkerson    Philadelphia, Pa                KO  4
Feb  9 Chuck Hunter                 New York, NY                     W  8
Jun 18 Elkins Brothers              Philadelphia, Pa                KO 10
Jul 23 Chubby Wright                Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
Sep 24 Archie Moore                 Philadelphia, Pa                 L 10
Dec 10 Archie Moore                 Milwaukee, Wi                    W 10

1952
Jan 29 Archie Moore                 Toledo, Oh                       L 10
Mar 17 Clarence Henry               Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
Aug  6 Bob Satterfield              Chicago, Il                      L 10
Sep 16 Leonard Morrow               Toledo, Oh                      TK  3
Oct  6 Bob Satterfield              Philadelphia, Pa                KO  2
Nov 24 Nino Valdes                  Brooklyn, NY                     W 10

1953
Jan 16 Jimmy Slade                  New York, NY                     W 10
Mar 21 Billy Gilliam                Toledo, Oh                       W 10
May 11 Toxie Hall                   Miami, Fl                        W 10
Sep  8 Ezzard Charles               Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
Nov  7 Henry Hall                   Milwaukee, Wi                    W 10
Nov 19 Chubby Wright                Hershey, Pa                      W 10

1954
Jan 29 Jimmy Slade                  New York, NY                     W 10
Feb 15 Charlie "Doc" Williams       Miami, Fl                       TK  8
Mar 17 Paul Andrews                 Chicago, Il                      W 10
Aug 11 Archie Moore                 New York, NY                    LT 14
          -Light Heavyweight Championship of the World
Oct  8 "Oakland" Billy Smith        Philadelphia, Pa                LK  2
Dec  7 Julio Mederos                Miami Beach, Fl                  W 10
Dec 22 Marty Marshall               Detroit, Mi                      W 10

1955
Feb 11 Paul Andrews                 New York, NY                    KO  6
May  6 Julio Mederos                Philadelphia, Pa                NC  2
          -The verdict first rendered was "LT 2" but
           was changed later to "NC 2"

1956
Dec  8 Bert Whitehurst              Portland, Me                     W 10

1957
Mar 12 Bob Satterfield              Miami Beach, Fl                  W 10
May 31 Clarence Hinnant             New York, NY                    KO  1
Sep 10 Wayne Bethea                 Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10
          -Some sources report 9/20/57
Dec 17 Sid Peaks                    Toledo, Oh                      KO  5

1958
Jan 17 Bert Whitehurst              Syracuse, NY                     W 10
Apr 15 Ollie Wilson                 Hartford, Ct                    TK  2
Dec  3 Howard King                  Chicago, Il                      W 10
Dec 15 Rudy Watkins                 Philadelphia, Pa                KO  6

1959
Aug  4 Johnny York                  Pittsfield, Ma                  TK  6
Nov 11 Sonny Ray                    Chicago, Il                     TK 10

1960
May  4 Clarence Floyd               Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10

1961
Feb  7 Jesse Bowdry                 Miami Beach, Fl                 TK  9
          -NBA Light Heavyweight Championship of the World
Apr 24 Von Clay                     Philadelphia, Pa                TK  2
          -NBA Light Heavyweight Championship of the World
Jul  1 Eddie Machen                 Atlantic City, NJ                W 10
Aug 29 Eddie Cotton                 Seattle, Wa                      W 15
          -NBA Light Heavyweight Championship of the World

1962
May 12 Doug Jones                   Philadelphia, Pa                 W 15
          -Light Heavyweight Championship of the World
Jun 23 Gustav Scholz                Berlin, Germany                  W 15
          -Light Heavyweight Championship of the World

1963
Mar 19 Tommy Merrill                Scranton, Pa                    TK  9
Jun  1 Willie Pastrano              Las Vegas, Nv                    L 15
          -WBC Light Heavyweight Championship of the World;
           WBA Light Heavyweight Championship of the World
Dec  6 Henry Hank                   Philadelphia, Pa                 W 10

1964
Apr 20 Hank Casey                   Santa Monica, Ca                KO  8

1966
Jan  7 Johnny Persol                New York, NY                     L 10
Dec  6 Pekka Kokkonen               Vienna, Austria                  W 10

1967
May  1 Herschel Jacobs              New Orleans, La                  W 10
Aug  7 Eddie Jones                  Las Vegas, Nv                    W 10 

1968
Feb  3 Lothar Stengel               Frankfurt, Germany               W 10
Jun 11 Johnny Alford                Miami Beach, Fl                  W 10

1971
Mar 30 Herschel Jacobs              Long Island City, NY            LT  3


Record courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization
 
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