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

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
70LossStanley PoredaTKO10, 1:24Mar 27, 1933St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, US
69Loss37–21–8 Charley RetzlaffNWS10Mar 7, 1933Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, US
68Loss37–21–8 Patsy PerroniPTS10Dec 6, 1932Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, US
67Draw37–20–8 John SchwakePTS10Oct 25, 1932Coliseum, Saint Louis, Missouri, US
66Win37–20–7 Hans BirkiePTS10Mar 16, 1932Auditorium, Oakland, California, US
65Loss36–20–7 Max BaerPTS10Feb 22, 1932Seals Stadium, San Francisco, California, US
64Draw36–19–7 Giacomo BergomasPTS10Oct 26, 1931St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, US
63Draw36–19–6 Jose SantaPTS10Oct 5, 1931Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, US
62Win36–19–5 Jose SantaPTS12Sep 10, 1931Mark's Stadium, Tiverton, Rhode Island, US
61Loss35–19–5 Jimmy SlatteryPTS6Apr 20, 1931Buffalo Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, US
60Loss35–18–5 Johnny RiskoPTS10Apr 6, 1931Arena Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
59Loss35–17–5 Charley RetzlaffTKO7 Mar 6, 1931Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, US
58Loss35–16–5 Max BaerKO3 Jan 16, 1931Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
57Loss35–15–5 Emmett RoccoPTS10Oct 13, 1930Motor Square Garden, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
56Loss35–14–5 Frank CawleyUD10Sep 29, 1930Kingston Armory, Kingston, Pennsylvania, US
55Win35–13–5 George PankaSD10Sep 8, 1930Meyers Bowl, North Braddock, New Jersey, US
54Loss34–13–5 Tuffy GriffithsTKO10 Jul 30, 1930Queensboro Stadium, New York City, New York, US
53Win34–12–5 George HoffmanPTS10Sep 26, 1929Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York, US
52Loss33–12–5 Victorio CampoloTKO9, 2:46Aug 15, 1929Ebbets Field, New York City, New York, US
51Win33–11–5 Elzear RiouxDQ8 May 29, 1929Forum, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRioux DQ'd after Heeney claimed he was hit low 10 times
50Loss32–11–5 Otto von PoratUD10Mar 12, 1929Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, US
49Loss32–10–5 Jim MaloneyPTS10Mar 1, 1929Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, US
48Loss32–9–5 Gene TunneyTKO11, 2:52Jul 26, 1928Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York, USFor NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring heavyweight titles
47Win32–8–5 Jack DelaneyUD15Mar 1, 1928Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
46Draw31–8–5 Jack SharkeySD12Jan 13, 1928Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
45Win31–8–4 Johnny RiskoPTS10Oct 26, 1927Olympia Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, US
44Win30–8–4 Jim MaloneyKO1, 1:17Sep 30, 1927Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
43Draw29–8–4 Paulino UzcudunPTS15Sep 8, 1927Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
42Win29–8–3 Bud GormanDQ3, 1:17Aug 4, 1927Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
41Win28–8–3 Jack DeMavePTS10Jun 24, 1927Coney Island Stadium, New York City, New York, US
40Loss27–8–3 Paulino UzcudunPTS10Apr 1, 1927Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
39Win27–7–3 Charley AndersonTKO8 Feb 25, 1927Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US
38Win26–7–3 Jack StanleyPTS15Oct 25, 1926National Sporting Club, London, England, UK
37Win25–7–3 Bartley MaddenPTS20Aug 9, 1926Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
36Loss24–7–3 Phil ScottPTS10Jul 10, 1926The Dell, Southampton, Hampshire, England, UKFor Commonwealth heavyweight title
35Win24–6–3 Tom BerryPTS15Jul 5, 1926The Ring, London, England, UK
34Win23–6–3 Charley SmithDQ5 Mar 18, 1926Royal Albert Hall, London, England, UK
33Loss22–6–3 George 'Blackie' MillerDQ5 Nov 14, 1925Town Hall, Durban, South AfricaHeeney's seconds entered the ring during the round
32Win22–5–3 George 'Blackie' MillerDQ8 Oct 10, 1925Town Hall, Johannesburg, South AfricaLow blow
31Win21–5–3 Vic MoraceKO4 Jul, 1925City Hall, Cape Town, South AfricaExact date unknown
30Win20–5–3 Johnny SquiresRTD18 Jun 15, 1925City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
29Win19–5–3 Johnny SquiresPTS20Apr 9, 1925Town Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa
28Loss18–5–3 George CookPTS20Feb 12, 1925Premierland, London, England, UK
27Win18–4–3 Trooper Jim YoungKO4 Jan 19, 1925National Sporting Club, London, England, UK
2617–4–3 Frans HendrickxNC6 Nov 3, 1924The Ring, London, England, UKReferee stopped the fight for lack of effort by both fighters
25Loss17–4–3 Phil ScottPTS20Sep 22, 1924The Ring, London, England, UKFor vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title
24Win17–3–3 Ern YoungTKO4 Feb 20, 1924Town Hall, Tokomaru Bay, New ZealandRetained New Zealand heavyweight title
23Win16–3–3 Jim O'SullivanKO9 Dec 26, 1923Opera House, Palmerston North, New ZealandRetained New Zealand heavyweight title
22Win15–3–3 Jim O'SullivanDQ5 Nov 10, 1923Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandWon New Zealand heavyweight title
21Win14–3–3 Jim SavageKO1 Oct 26, 1923Princess Theatre, Napier, New Zealand
20Loss13–3–3 Jim O'SullivanPTS15Sep 26, 1923Town Hall, Auckland, New ZealandLost New Zealand heavyweight title
19Win13–2–3 Brian McClearyTKO14 Aug 14, 1923King Edward's Barracks, Christchurch, New ZealandWon New Zealand heavyweight title
18Win12–2–3 Jim FlettTKO9 Aug 2, 1923Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
17Win11–2–3 Cyril WhittakerTKO15 Jun 4, 1923Town Hall, Auckland, New ZealandWhittaker died of injuries sustained in this fight.
16Win10–2–3 Jack ComplinTKO9 Jan 1, 1923Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia
15Draw9–2–3 Ern WaddyPTS20Dec 18, 1922Unley Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
14Draw9–2–2 Charlie TaylorPTS20Aug 12, 1922Star Theatre, Mackay, Australia
13Win9–2–1 Tom BathoTKO14 Jul 22, 1922Theatre Royal, Townsville, Australia
12Loss8–2–1 Colin BellPTS20Jun 30, 1922Olympic Theatre, Mackay, AustraliaFor Australian heavyweight title
11Win8–1–1 Jack LeahyPTS20Jun 3, 1922Olympic Theatre, Mackay, Australia
10Win7–1–1 Jim FlettPTS15May 1, 1922Jim Flett, Australia
9Loss6–1–1 Colin BellPTS20Mar 17, 1922Olympic Theatre, Mackay, AustraliaFor ANBF and Australian heavyweight titles
8Win6–0–1 Max GornikRTD15 Feb 11, 1922Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
7Draw5–0–1 Colin BellPTS15Oct 27, 1921Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
6Win5–0 Jack ColePTS15Jul 23, 1921Kaikohu Hall, Te Karaka, New Zealand
5Win4–0 Albert PooleyPTS15Feb 11, 1921Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandRetained New Zealand heavyweight title
4Win3–0 Albert PooleyPTS15Oct 27, 1920Opera House, Gisborne, New ZealandWon New Zealand heavyweight title
32–0 Frank GribbenND3Aug 27, 1920Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
2Win2–0George ModrichPTS15Jun 8, 1920Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand
1Win1–0Bill BartlettTKO9 Feb 12, 1920Opera House, Gisborne, New Zealand