Young Stribling
| Young Stribling | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | William Lawrence Stribling Jr. |
| Nickname(s) | King of the Canebrakes |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality | United States |
| Born |
December 26, 1904 Bainbridge, Georgia |
| Died | October 3, 1933 (aged 28) Macon, Georgia |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 289 |
| Wins | 256 |
| Wins by KO | 125 |
| Losses | 16 |
| Draws | 14 |
| No contests | 0 |
William Lawrence Stribling Jr. (1904–1933), known as Young Stribling, was an American professional boxer in the Heavyweight division. He was the elder brother of fellow boxer Herbert "Baby" Stribling.
In 1911, Stribling's family had come to Spokane on the Sullivan and Considine Vaudeville Circuit with an acrobatic act called the "Four Novelty Grahams."
As a boy he had learned to value other human beings from Pa and Ma Stribling, a devout couple from rural southwest Georgia. Ma was his trainer, donning gloves and sparring with him in the ring. Pa was his manager and promoter. Born in Bainbridge, Georgia, on December 26, 1904, Young Stribling spent most of his childhood in show business with his parents and a younger brother. The Stribling family traveled widely as vaudeville performers with a wholesome family act that included gymnastics and balancing acts and ended with a brief boxing match between four-year-old "Strib" and his two-year-old brother, "Baby" Stribling. The act lasted several years and was so popular that it took the family through 38 foreign countries before they settled in Macon, Georgia, prior to World War I. Backstage between acts, the Striblings read the Bible together and prayed before each performance, just as "Strib" later prayed before each fight when he became a professional boxer. Regardless of where the family performed, they always went to church on Sunday and refused any physical training on the Lord's Day. "Strib" attended Macon's Lanier High School where he excelled as a forward on the basketball team that won the state championship in 1922.
Stribling was one of the best high school basketball players in the United States. He was known as a "dead shot". His team went to the national interscholastic tournament at Chicago, but he was ruled ineligible to play because of his professional boxing. Stribling was also an avid and accomplished aviator who loved to fly.
Stribling turned professional in 1921. While still in high school, Stribling fought 75 professional bouts. After gaining favorable media attention for his first major fight, a bout which he tied with champion Mike McTigue from Ireland, "Strib" was besieged by offers to box all over the United States, Europe, South America, and Africa. People wanted to see the young prodigy of the boxing ring in person during those days before television. "Strib's" most successful year was 1925 when the family purchased a bus and toured coast-to-coast to give fans in smaller towns an opportunity to see a popular boxer in exhibition bouts. Pa sometimes pitted him against the local champion, offering $10.00, a substantive amount at the time, to anyone who could beat his son. "Strib" fought 33 matches that year. Moreover, the tour did much to popularize the sport, and it helped establish the athlete's reputation for clean sportsmanship and wholesome living. He never drank or smoked, and he was always careful about what went into his body. Another cross-country tour in 1927, this time without the bus, resulted in his winning 57 straight fights with only one draw and one loss. He fought 38 bouts in 1928, winning all but two by a knockout. He ended the tour by knocking out three different opponents within four days in three different cities, no opponent lasting more than two rounds. Macon loved the Stribling family and honored "Strib" with a parade after every major fight. In turn, "Strib" established himself as a valuable citizen. As a professional boxer "Strib" usually trained on the family farm in Ochlocknee, near Thomasville, Georgia. There on November 17, 1927, he was raised a Master Mason at Ochlocknee Lodge No. 117 (now defunct). And back in Macon on December 7, 1928, he became a 32° Scottish Rite Mason. He was created a Shriner of Macon's Al Sihah Temple on May 23, 1929. During the peak of his career, "Strib" flew his own airplane to fights around the country and served as a lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve, taught Sunday School for athletes at Macon's Mulberry Street Methodist Church, and worshipped at Vineville Baptist Church where he was a member. Incredibly handsome and personally appealing, the six-foot-tall, blue-eyed, brown-haired youth received offers to model clothes for major companies and to appear on the Broadway stage. He received numerous gifts from admirers, including a motorcycle on which he often had a rider, his mother. Big-name fighters had their photos made with him, including heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, who later became one of his best friends. By 1926, "Strib's" success as a boxer had earned him over a million dollars. And there was more to come. "Strib" celebrated his 21st birthday by marrying Clara Kinney, a student at Brenau College. Clara's father was a prominent Macon businessman, and her mother was the first woman to serve on the city council. Clara's grandfather was a former president of Wesleyan College in Macon, the oldest female college in America. "Strib" and Clara had three children. Although he lost his championship bid in the fight against future world champion Jack Sharkey at Miami Beach in 1929, "Strib" at 23 had fought more professional rounds than any other fighter in history, had knocked out more opponents, and had compiled other records as well.
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