Sam McGill - Revision history

Wouter at 17:23, 13 July 2015

2015-07-13T17:23:20Z

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	~~Exact date of birth uncertain. <br>~~

	Former sparring partner of [[Muhammad Ali]] and [[Sonny Liston]]. On Novermber 1, 1978, lost an 8 round decision to up-and-coming heavyweight contender, [[Gerry Cooney]].		Former sparring partner of [[Muhammad Ali]] and [[Sonny Liston]]. On Novermber 1, 1978, lost an 8 round decision to up-and-coming heavyweight contender, [[Gerry Cooney]].

Rowdytimothy: fix internal link

2007-10-16T00:37:44Z

fix internal link

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	Exact date of birth uncertain. <br>		Exact date of birth uncertain. <br>

	Former sparring partner of [[~~Boxer:Muhammad Ali:000180\|~~Muhammad Ali]] and [[~~Boxer:Sonny Liston:009031\|~~Sonny Liston]]. On Novermber 1, 1978, lost an ~~[[Fight:40270\|~~8 round decision]] to up-and-coming heavyweight contender, [[~~Boxer:Gerry Cooney:002463\|~~Gerry Cooney]].		Former sparring partner of [[Muhammad Ali]] and [[Sonny Liston]]. On Novermber 1, 1978, lost an 8 round decision to up-and-coming heavyweight contender, [[Gerry Cooney]].

	==Obituary==		==Obituary==

Brett at 20:32, 26 November 2005

2005-11-26T20:32:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:32, 26 November 2005
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			Exact date of birth uncertain. <br>

			Former sparring partner of [[Boxer:Muhammad Ali:000180\|Muhammad Ali]] and [[Boxer:Sonny Liston:009031\|Sonny Liston]]. On Novermber 1, 1978, lost an [[Fight:40270\|8 round decision]] to up-and-coming heavyweight contender, [[Boxer:Gerry Cooney:002463\|Gerry Cooney]].

	==Obituary==		==Obituary==
	By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette		By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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	In addition to his son, Mr. McGill is survived by his wife of 36 years, Darlane; sons Samuel T. Jr. of Wilkinsburg and Michael of Turtle Creek; a daughter, Carmen, of Laurel, Md.; a brother, Cliff, of Wilkinsburg; and seven grandchildren.		In addition to his son, Mr. McGill is survived by his wife of 36 years, Darlane; sons Samuel T. Jr. of Wilkinsburg and Michael of Turtle Creek; a daughter, Carmen, of Laurel, Md.; a brother, Cliff, of Wilkinsburg; and seven grandchildren.

			[[Category:2005 Deaths\|McGill, Sam]]

John at 00:00, 4 August 2005

2005-08-04T00:00:20Z

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			==Obituary==
	By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette		By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

John at 23:51, 3 August 2005

2005-08-03T23:51:36Z

New page

<boxer>018872</boxer>

By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Samuel T. McGill, a professional heavyweight boxer from Wilkinsburg who once sparred with Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, died Monday of colon cancer. He was 58.

Mr. McGill won the Pittsburgh Golden Gloves championship in 1968 and turned professional in 1969. In 10 years as a professional boxer, he was 16-7-1.

In 1971, Mr. McGill beat Terry Daniels, a top 10 contender in the heavyweight division. A year after the fight, however, it was Daniels and not Mr. McGill who got the chance to fight champion Joe Frazier for the World Boxing Council title.

"At the time he was fighting, Pittsburgh didn't have a lot of pull in boxing," said Ted Chernoff, a former boxer and friend of Mr. McGill's. "His management didn't have a lot of pull. If he had better management, he would have been a top 10 fighter. He didn't have the management to move him up to better fights after that victory."

The Daniels victory is considered Mr. McGill's biggest achievement in boxing, but he had a few other memorable fights.

After taking five years off from the sport, Mr. McGill made a comeback in 1978. He won two of his first three fights before a showdown with up-and-coming contender Gerry Cooney.

Mr. McGill lost in a decision, one of few opponents that Cooney was unable to knock out.

"Sam told me that Gerry had a tremendous left hook," Chernoff said. "He said, 'I'll tell you, Ted, there's nothing in training that gets you prepared for his hook.' It was hard."

Shortly after the Cooney fight, Mr. McGill traveled to Rimini, Italy to face contender Alfio Righetti in his hometown. The bout was broadcast on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

According to Chernoff, Mr. McGill dominated the fight but was a victim of inept judging and hometown favoritism.

"Sam won every round of the fight," Chernoff said. "In the 10th round, he had the guy knocked out on his feet, and the bell rang after only two minutes. They cheated. They didn't want [Righetti] getting knocked out in his hometown. Then they gave him the decision. It was very controversial back then."

Like Daniels and Cooney before him, it was Righetti and not Mr. McGill who went on to fight in a championship bout.

Mr. McGill's son, Damien, of Wilkinsburg, said when his father talked about his career he first spoke of his sparring matches with Ali and Liston. Damien McGill said his father knocked Ali to the canvas during a sparring session at the Civic Arena.

After retiring from boxing, Mr. McGill sold insurance for Penn Mutual.

In addition to his son, Mr. McGill is survived by his wife of 36 years, Darlane; sons Samuel T. Jr. of Wilkinsburg and Michael of Turtle Creek; a daughter, Carmen, of Laurel, Md.; a brother, Cliff, of Wilkinsburg; and seven grandchildren.