Buddy Turman

Reagan Garth "Buddy" Turman (April 12, 1933 – April 1, 2007) was an American professional heavyweight boxer. He was born in the rural community of Noonday, Texas.

Buddy Turman in his early twenties

Boxing career

In his two years as an amateur in Texas, Turman accrued 20 wins five losses, and one draw, and he set a record for the quickest knockout in National AAU history.

Turman fought his first professional match in September 1954, (at age 21) against Bobby Babcock, which he won. Five months later, Turman became the first white man to legally fight an African-American in Texas thanks to the efforts of African-American IH "Sporty" Harvey, who had successfully challenged boxing segregation in court.[1][2] Turman won the match against Harvey on February 24, 1955

In November 1955, with 11 wins and one loss, Turman fought Roy "Cut-n-Shoot" Harris for the Texas Heavyweight Championship in Tyler, Texas. Turman lost the fight in a controversial decision, which allowed Harris to move on to fight Floyd Patterson for the World Heavyweight Title. This decision severely hampered Turman's chances of winning the World Title.

Two years later, with 25 wins and only 3 losses, Turman faced Oscar Pharo for a second time. In the third fight of his professional career, Turman had been beaten by a more experienced Pharo on points. In the rematch, Turman won on a KO within 59 seconds of the first round.

In May 1959, at Madison Square Garden, Turman soundly defeated Bob Cleroux, who a year later would win the Canadian Heavyweight Title. The next year, Turman faced World Light-Heavyweight Champion and World Heavyweight Contender, Archie Moore, in Dallas, Texas. Moore won by decision. However, Cassius Clay, who was in attendance, afterwards expressed to Turman his dismay at the judges' decision. Moore publicly acknowledged that Turman should be considered one of the top five heavyweights in the world. Turman subsequently spent time at Moore's training camp in San Diego, where Clay was also training.

Turman began fighting abroad in 1961, in Manila, Philippines where a rematch was scheduled with Moore. However, Moore postponed the fight by three weeks after Turman had already arrived. This left Turman badly out of practice by the time of the fight, as there were no local heavyweights to spar with. Moore won by unanimous decision. Turman subsequently fought in Italy, South Africa, Germany, and England. He won his last match, which he fought against Rudolf Nehring on December 15, 1967, in Munich, Germany.

Turman fought a total of 62 professional matches and won 45 of them including 32 KOs. He had friendships with several of the best known boxers of his time, including Henry Cooper, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, and Rocky Marciano.

Outside the ring

By the late fifties, Turman enjoyed celebrity status in Texas, especially in Dallas and Tyler. However, to supplement his inadequate boxing income he had to take other jobs. After a fight in Dallas, he met Jack Ruby. They became friends and Turman began working off and on for him as a manager and bouncer at some of his Dallas night clubs. Turman was interviewed by the FBI soon after Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald in November 1963.[3] Turman shared his opinions of Ruby and what he knew of Ruby's acquaintances in the Dallas Police Department.

Turman had married and had a son in Dallas in the late fifties, and Turman began to seek work in films and television to support the family. First, he made a cameo appearance on an episode of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958) with Lucille Ball and Aldo Ray, and a few years later he appeared as a regular guest on Hollywood Squares. He was also considered for various roles that never materialized (including the lead role in a proposed biopic about his friend Jack Dempsey). Turman's marriage was brief, but he and his ex-wife remained lifelong friends. They continued to share responsibility for raising their son.

While living on the west coast, Turman befriended German boxer and wrestler Wilhelm von Homburg (who eventually had roles in several Hollywood films). Soon thereafter Turman began primarily fighting abroad. He spent much of the last two years of his career fighting on the same ticket as von Homberg throughout Germany. Von Homberg and Turman visited each other periodically and corresponded often in the following years. After von Homberg was diagnosed with cancer, he visited Turman for two weeks in Longview, Texas before going to Mexico where he died.

After Turman's boxing years, he held various jobs including oil lease agent in East Texas and bartender and security guard at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas.

He died April 1, 2007, in Longview, Texas, of complications from Hepatitis C.

Professional boxing record
45 Wins (32 knockouts, 13 decisions), 15 Losses (4 knockouts, 9 decisions, 2 DQ), 2 Draws
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Win 28-17-10 Rudolf Nehring KO 2 15/12/1967 Circus Krone, Munich, Bavaria
Win 4-21-2 Manfred Ackers TKO 4 09/12/1966 Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Win 15-15-3 David E. Bailey TKO 9 15/04/1966 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Loss 10-1-1 Dante Cane PTS 8 10/03/1966 Milan, Lombardy
Win 13-7-4 Lars Olaf Norling TKO 4 28/05/1965 Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin
Loss 21-5 Jack Bodell TKO 4 20/04/1965 Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands
Loss 9-8-3 Ivan Prebeg DQ 5 02/04/1965 Stadthalle, Vienna
Win 7-7-1 Carl Welschou TKO 4 06/03/1965 Neue Sporthalle, Hannover, Lower Saxony
Win 4-9 Ray Cillien KO 2 13/02/1965 Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Loss 24-3-3 Piero Tomasoni PTS 10 05/02/1965 Milan, Lombardy
Win 1-8 Manfred Ackers TKO 4 16/01/1965 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 25-19-8 Ulli Ritter TKO 5 14/11/1964 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Loss 27-6 Billy Lotter PTS 10 03/10/1964 Caledonian Grounds, Pretoria, Gauteng
Win 10-15-4 Dave Furch PTS 10 10/05/1964 Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 4-4-1 Sam Pride UD 10 05/02/1964 Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah
Draw 4-7 George Johnson PTS 10 05/11/1962 Tyler, Texas
Loss 16-0 Franco De Piccoli DQ 2 19/07/1962 Rome, Lazio
Loss 13-6-1 Pete Rademacher TKO 9 30/11/1961 Fair Park Coliseum, Dallas, Texas
Loss 179-22-9 Archie Moore UD 10 25/03/1961 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila 39-50, 42-50, 50-53.
Loss 178-22-9 Archie Moore UD 10 28/11/1960 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas 94-99, 94-96, 96-100.
Loss 23-1-1 Bob Cleroux KO 2 26/10/1960 Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec Turman knocked out at 0:53 of the second round.
Win 12-9-2 Sonny "Policeman" Moore MD 10 25/04/1960 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas Archie Moore refereed the bout. 98-94, 98-95, 97-97.
Win 12-8-2 Sonny "Policeman" Moore MD 10 21/03/1960 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 26-15-3 Tommy "Hurricane" Sims KO 3 01/03/1960 Amarillo, Texas Sims knocked out at 2:06 of the third round.
Draw 30-6 Donnie Fleeman PTS 10 02/11/1959 Dallas, Texas
Win 25-9-3 Tommy "Hurricane" Sims PTS 10 29/09/1959 Tyler, Texas
Win 12-0-1 Bob Cleroux PTS 8 29/05/1959 Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win 22-9-4 Bob Albright KO 10 05/05/1959 Mike Carter Field, Tyler, Texas Albright knocked out at 2:40 of the tenth round.
Loss 21-9-4 Bob Albright KO 2 21/03/1959 Hollywood Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California Turman knocked out at 2:59 of the second round.
Win 4-2 Billy Walters KO 2 27/01/1959 Tyler, Texas
Loss 22-1 Donnie Fleeman UD 10 30/06/1958 Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas 95-98, 97-98, 95-98.
Win 11-10-3 Jackie Jacobs KO 1 07/04/1958 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas Jacobs knocked out at 2:30 of the first round.
Win 4-2 Dean Bogany KO 3 11/03/1958 Tyler, Texas
Win 51-20-6 "Chief" Alvin Williams PTS 10 28/01/1958 Tyler, Texas
Win 27-5 Oscar Pharo KO 1 17/12/1957 Tyler, Texas
Win 2-2 "Big" Ben Marshall KO 2 30/09/1957 Tyler, Texas
Win 6-4-2 Tommy Fields TKO 8 27/06/1957 Dallas, Texas
Loss 24-11-1 Art Swiden PTS 10 18/04/1957 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 10-8-1 Jesse "Cannonball" Brown KO 3 04/03/1957 Tyler, Texas
Win -- Otis Carr KO 1 31/01/1957 Dallas, Texas
Win 1-1 Haywood Crosser KO 2 21/01/1957 Tyler, Texas
Win 12-26-4 Ponce DeLeon Taylor KO 4 10/12/1956 Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, Texas
Win 18-4 Emil Brtko TKO 3 01/11/1956 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 5-5-1 Felix Antonio KO 4 18/09/1956 Lubbock, Texas
Win 5-4-1 Felix Antonio KO 5 16/08/1956 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas Antonio knocked out at 2:25 of the fifth round.
Win -- Soldier Paul Daniel KO 2 23/07/1956 Tyler, Texas
Win 4-2 Freddie Thompson KO 2 21/06/1956 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 1-1 Dick Mays KO 2 03/05/1956 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 13-18-2 Rancherio Alonzo TKO 5 39/03/1956 Heart O' Texas Coliseum, Waco, Texas 38-37, 39-36, 39-36.
Loss 9-0 Roy Harris SD 12 28/11/1955 Tyler, Texas Texas Heavyweight Title.
Win 5-2-1 Alvin Green KO 10 07/11/1955 Tyler, Texas
Win 5-1-1 Alvin Green PTS 10 17/10/1955 Tyler, Texas
Win 10-6-3 Red Worley UD 10 18/08/1955 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas Jack Dempsey refereed the bout.
Win 12-22-4 Ponce DeLeon Taylor PTS 10 20/06/1955 Tyler, Texas
Win 10-18 JD Harvey PTS 10 03/06/1955 Tyler, Texas
Win -- Leroy Failes KO 4 05/05/1955 Beaumont, Texas
Win 1-5 Jim Saddler KO 2 18/03/1955 Tyler, Texas
Win 8-15 JD Harvey UD 10 24/02/1955 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Win 1-2 Buddy Babcock KO 2 10/02/1955 Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Loss 20-3 Oscar Pharo UD 10 13/01/1955 Birmingham, Alabama Jack Dempsey refereed the bout.
Win 1-1 Max Baird KO 2 17/12/1954 Birmingham, Alabama
Win 1-1 Buddy Babcock UD 4 28/09/1954 City Auditorium, Galveston, Texas
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References
  1. Sammons, Jeffrey T. Beyond the Ring – The Role of Boxing in American Society. University of Illinois Press. 1988. Page 186.
  2. "I.H. Sporty Harvey Biography". InfoPlease. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  3. Warren Commission Exhibit 1467
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