Tom Heeney


Thomas Heeney was a professional heavyweight boxer from New Zealand, best known for unsuccessfully challenging champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world in New York City on 26 July 1928.

Biography

Heeney was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, and worked as a plumber until he left New Zealand. He was a strong swimmer and was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Humane Society of New Zealand in 1918 for helping rescue two women from the sea off Waikanae Beach, Gisborne. He also retrieved a third woman who did not survive.
He learnt to box from his father and his older brother Jack Heeney, who was the New Zealand amateur welterweight champion in 1914 and middleweight champion from 1919 to 1924. He became a professional boxer when he fought Bill Bartlett in Gisborne in 1920. In October 1920, Heeney became the New Zealand heavyweight champion when he beat Brian McCleary of Dunedin on a technical knockout. Heeney was also a rugby union player and played for the Hawke's Bay — Poverty Bay team against the Springboks in 1921. He boxed in Australia and won the Australian heavyweight champion title in 1922, and fought in England and South Africa in 1924.
Heeney went to the United States in 1926. He beat Jim Maloney, Johnny Risko and Jim Delaney and eventually ranked fourth among the world's heavyweight boxers. After fighting Jack Sharkey, later a heavyweight world champion, in 1928 for the right to fight Tunney, on 26 July 1928, Heeney fought Gene Tunney at Yankee Stadium, New York City, for the world heavyweight championship title. Heeney entered the boxing ring wearing a Māori cloak that was given to him by Heni Materoa, the widow of Sir James Carroll. The referee, Ed Forbes, stopped the scheduled 15 round fight in the 11th round, and Tunney won. It was said of Heeney:
A week after his defeat, Tom married Marion Dunn, an American. Heeney became an American citizen and boxed until 1934, accomplishing a fighting record of 70 professional bouts, 38 wins, 22 losses, 8 draws, and 2 no-contest.
After retiring from boxing, he owned a bar in Miami, Florida. He served with the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps in World War II, and afterward coached boxing and refereed armed forces bouts in the South Pacific. He often fished with his friend, the famous writer Ernest Hemingway. Heeney's wife, Marion, died in 1980. They had no children.
Heeney was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
69Loss37–22–8 Stanley PoredaTKO10 27 Mar 1933 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
68Loss Charley Retzlaff107 Mar 1933 Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
67Loss37–21–8 Patsy PerroniPTS106 Dec 1932 Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
66Draw37–20–8 John SchwakePTS1025 Oct 1932 Coliseum, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
65Win37–20–7 Hans BirkiePTS1016 Mar 1932 Auditorium, Oakland, California, U.S.
64Loss36–20–7 Max BaerPTS1022 Feb 1932 Seals Stadium, San Francisco, California, U.S.
63Draw36–19–7 Giacomo BergomasPTS1026 Oct 1931 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
62Draw36–19–6 Santa CamarãoPTS105 Oct 1931 Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
61Win36–19–5 Santa CamarãoPTS1210 Sep 1931 Mark's Stadium, Tiverton, Rhode Island, U.S.
60Loss35–19–5 Jimmy SlatteryPTS620 Apr 1931 Buffalo Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
59Loss35–18–5 Johnny RiskoPTS106 Apr 1931 Arena Gardens, Toronto, Canada
58Loss35–17–5 Charley RetzlaffTKO7 6 Mar 1931 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
57Loss35–16–5 Max BaerKO3 16 Jan 1931 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
56Loss35–15–5 Emmett RoccoPTS1013 Oct 1930 Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
55Loss35–14–5 Frank CawleyUD1029 Sep 1930 Kingston Armory, Kingston, Pennsylvania, U.S.
54Win35–13–5 George PankaPTS108 Sep 1930 Myers Bowl, North Braddock, Pennsylvania, U.S.
53Loss34–13–5 Tuffy GriffithsTKO10 30 Jul 1930 Queensboro Stadium, Queens, New York, U.S.
52Win34–12–5 George HoffmanPTS1026 Sep 1929 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, U.S.
51Loss33–12–5 Victorio CampoloTKO9 15 Aug 1929 Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
50Win33–11–5 Elzear RiouxDQ8 29 May 1929 Forum, Montreal, Canada
49Loss32–11–5 Otto von Porat1012 Mar 1929 Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
48Loss32–10–5 Jim MaloneyPTS101 Mar 1929 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
47Loss32–9–5 Gene TunneyTKO11 26 Jul 1928 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, U.S.For NBA, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles
46Win32–8–5 Jack DelaneyPTS151 Mar 1928 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
45Draw31–8–5 Jack Sharkey1213 Jan 1928 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
44Win31–8–4 Johnny RiskoPTS1026 Oct 1927 Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
43Win30–8–4 Jim MaloneyKO1 30 Sep 1927 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
42Draw29–8–4 Paulino UzcudunPTS158 Sep 1927 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
41Win29–8–3 Bud GormanDQ3 4 Aug 1927 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
40Win28–8–3 Jack DeMavePTS1024 Jun 1927 Coney Island Stadium, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
39Loss27–8–3 Paulino UzcudunPTS101 Apr 1927 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
38Win27–7–3 Charley AndersonTKO8 25 Feb 1927 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
37Win26–7–3 Jack StanleyPTS1525 Oct 1926 National Sporting Club, London, England
36Win25–7–3 Bartley MaddenPTS209 Aug 1926 Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
35Loss24–7–3 Phil ScottPTS2010 Jul 1926 The Dell, Southampton, EnglandFor Commonwealth heavyweight title
34Win24–6–3 Tom BerryPTS155 Jul 1926 The Ring, London, England
33Win23–6–3 Charley SmithDQ5 18 Mar 1926 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
32Loss22–6–3 George MillerDQ5 14 Nov 1925 Town Hall, Durban, South Africa
31Win22–5–3 George MillerDQ8 10 Oct 1925 Town Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa
30Win21–5–3 Vic MoraceKO4 1 Jul 1925 City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
29Win20–5–3 Johnny SquiresRTD18 15 Jun 1925 City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
28Win19–5–3 Johnny SquiresPTS209 Apr 1925 Town Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa
27Loss18–5–3 George CookPTS2012 Feb 1925 Premierland, London, England
26Win18–4–3 Jim YoungKO4 19 Jan 1925 National Sporting Club, London, England
25NC17–4–3 Frans HendrickxNC6 3 Nov 1924 The Ring, London, England
24Loss17–4–3 Phil ScottPTS2022 Sep 1924 The Ring, London, EnglandFor vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title
23Win17–3–3 Ern YoungTKO4 19 Feb 1924 Town Hall, Tokomaru Bay, New ZealandRetained NZBA heavyweight title
22Win16–3–3 Jim O'SullivanKO9 26 Dec 1923 Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandRetained NZBA heavyweight title
21Win15–3–3 Jim O'Sullivan5 10 Nov 1923 Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandWon NZBA heavyweight title
20Win14–3–3 Jim Savage1 26 Oct 1923 Princess Theatre, Napier, New Zealand
19Loss13–3–3 Jim O'SullivanPTS1526 Sep 1923 Town Hall, Auckland, New ZealandLost NZBA heavyweight title
18Win13–2–3 Brian McClearyTKO14 14 Aug 1923 King Edward Barracks, Christchurch, New ZealandWon NZBA heavyweight title
17Win12–2–3 Jim FlettTKO9 2 Aug 1923 Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
16Win11–2–3 Cyril WhitakerTKO15 4 Jun 1923 Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand
15Win10–2–3 Jack ComplinTKO9 1 Jan 1923 Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia
14Draw9–2–3 Ern WaddyPTS2018 Dec 1922 Unley Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
13Draw9–2–2 Charlie TaylorPTS2012 Aug 1922 Star Theatre, Mackay, Australia
12Win9–2–1 Tom BathoTKO14 22 Jul 1922 Theatre Royal, Townsville, Australia
11Loss8–2–1 Colin BellPTS2030 Jun 1922 Olympic Theatre, Mackay, AustraliaFor Australian heavyweight title
10Win8–1–1 Jack LeahyPTS203 Jun 1922 Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia
9Win7–1–1 Jim FlettPTS151 May 1922 Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia
8Loss6–1–1 Colin BellPTS2017 Mar 1922 Olympic Theatre, Mackay, AustraliaFor ANBF Australasian and Australian heavyweight titles
7Win6–0–1 Max Gornik15 11 Feb 1922 Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
6Draw5–0–1 Colin BellPTS1527 Oct 1921 Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
5Win5–0 Jack ColePTS1523 Jul 1921 Kaikohu Hall, Te Karaka, New Zealand
4Win4–0 Albert PooleyPTS1511 Feb 1921 Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandRetained NZBA heavyweight title
3Win3–0 Albert PooleyPTS1527 Oct 1920 Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandWon NZBA heavyweight title
2Win2–0 George Modrich158 Jun 1920 Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
1Win1–0 Bill Bartlett9 12 Feb 1920 Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand