Fifty-seven years ago today, the boxing world lost one of its greatest champions in a tragic plane crash near Newton, Iowa.
On August 31, 1969, former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano was aboard a small Cessna 172 traveling across Iowa when the aircraft went down about two miles from a small airfield near Newton. Marciano, the pilot Glenn Belz, and another passenger, Louis Thomas Fratto, were killed in the crash.
Marciano was only 45 years old.
Born Rocco Francis Marchegiano to Italian immigrant parents in Brockton, Massachusetts, Marciano went on to build one of the most remarkable records in boxing history. From 1947 to 1955, he fought professionally without ever losing, finishing his career with a perfect 49-0 record, including 43 victories by knockout.
He captured the heavyweight championship in 1952 and successfully defended the title before retiring from boxing in 1956.
Marciano’s path to the top was anything but easy. He left high school in the tenth grade and worked a variety of jobs before being drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. While serving, he developed his boxing skills and eventually won the 1946 Amateur Armed Forces Boxing Tournament.
After returning home, Marciano continued pursuing boxing. He briefly tried baseball and spent time in the Chicago Cubs farm system, but boxing ultimately became his calling.
By the time he retired, Marciano had cemented his place in boxing history as the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated.
His retirement didn’t keep him out of the public eye. Marciano became involved in television and other business ventures, continuing to make appearances and remain connected to the sport that made him famous.
That changed on a stormy August night in 1969.
Marciano was flying west from Chicago when the weather deteriorated. Belz, who had relatively little flying experience with approximately 231 hours of total flight time, attempted to land at a small airport outside Newton.
The aircraft never made it to the runway.
The Cessna crashed into a tree roughly two miles short of the intended landing area. All three people aboard were killed instantly.
Today, Marciano is remembered not only for his perfect record, but for the unlikely journey that took him from working-class jobs in Massachusetts to the top of the boxing world.
His life ended suddenly over Iowa, but his name remains permanently etched in boxing history.
