From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anthony Veranis
Anthony Veranis
Anthony Veranis also known as "Mickey White" and
Veranis, Boxing career
"Tony" (June 15, 1938, Dorchester, Massachusetts – April
As a teenager he was sent to the Lyman Correction School
25, 1966 Quincy, Massachusetts) was an associate of the
(now the Lyman School for Boys), the United States’ first
Winter Hill Gang and a professional welterweight boxer.
reform school located in Westborough, Massachusetts.
While serving time there, infamous boxer and fight man-
Biography ager Clement Stein Jr. saw him in bouts while incarcer-
ated, but got him enlisted in an amateur boxing league
Early life when he was released. He boxed with an orthodox stance.
In 1957, at the age of eighteen he became a professional
Veranis was born to first generation Italian immigrants
welterweight boxer. During his professional boxing ca-
Anthony Sr. and Theresa from Nuoro in Sardinia, Italy.
reer he was sponsored by the boxing equipment and
Upon their arrival to the U.S. they settled in a lower-class
sportswear company Ben Lee. Friends later said that he
neighborhood in Dorchester. His father Anthony Sr. died
was quiet, polite and anxious to do well.
when he was still a child leaving his mother to raise and
On December 8, 1956 he first fought against Al Pepin
support him on her own. By the age of twenty seven, he
in Portland, Maine which was his professional boxing de-
had a fleeting resemblance to actor Eric Close. His moth-
but. On January 28, 1957 he impressed the audience by
er Theresa had cried often for her troubled son Anthony
defeating the boxer 150-pound Gunboat Steeves in Bos-
during his hardships and was very close to her only son.
ton, Massachusetts. On February 21, 1957, he knocked out
He had been in trouble with the law before, but had suc-
Guy LaConte in Revere, Massachusetts. On February 27,
cessfully made comebacks each time which pleased her.
1957, he knocked out Don Vincent in the second round.
When he was young his parents would take him to
Veranis fought against Boston native boxer Mickey
the Mechanics Hall, Worcester to watch the fights, but
Dwyer in a six round bout in Boston, Massachusetts and
when Anthony started his boxing career she could not
outscored him. On April 22, 1957, he knocked down Mark
bare to see her son fight, but enjoyed hearing the crowds
Murray in Holyoke, Massachusetts three times and de-
cheering for him. Anthony would told a Boston Herald re-
feated him. On May 16, 1957, Veranis completed in his
porter several months before his gangland murder, "Box-
first main event against Joe Klein and won. On June 11,
ing got me out of trouble - it does that for a lot of kids."
1957, he knocked down competitor Norm Gautreau in
Anthony had "Tony" tattooed on the fingers of one of
Boston in 1:55. On July 25, 1957, he fought Eddie Prince
his hands and "Luck" on the other. He stood at 5’9" and
and was hard pressed to win an eight round split over
weighed during his boxing career between 148 and 195
Prince. On August 27, 1958, he fought against Gene Lopes,
pounds and had a badly broken nose as seen in boxing
as a last minute substitute replacement in Fall River,
photographs c. 1957 from years of boxing, fighting in
Massachusetts and won. He later fought Gene Lopes
prison and on the street. He was raised a Catholic. He
again on September 12, 1957 and knocked him out again
trained with Joe DeNucci, George W. Holden, Joseph Bar-
in the seventh round. On November 19, 1957, he fought
boza, Rocco DiSiglio, Rico Sacramone and Edward G. Con-
against Roy Tiger Steele in Boston and won. During this
nors’ younger brother James.
match, Veranis was said by boxing officials to have
He attended public high school in Boston and was
"avenged the only blemish on his record with an easy de-
considered by officials in the Massachusetts correctional
cision."
system to be a "persistent delinquent" when he was pre-
When boxing against Bobby Murphy on December 3,
pubescent to the time of a teenager. As Anthony was
1957, he dropped Murphy in the seventh round. Murphy
incarcerated in 1950 at Lyman Correctional School, he
rose up off the ring floor but was badly battered when
was anonymously involved in the Unwraveling Juvenile
referee Eddie Curley called a stop to the match. On De-
Delinquency (UJD) study conducted by Harvard Univer-
cember 17, 1957, he fought against Barry Allison, who
sity professors Sheldon Glueck and Eleanor (Touroff)
at the time was the New England Middleweight champi-
Glueck, discovering the causes of juvenile delinquency
on. His middleweight title was not at stake though, and
and adult crime and assessing the overall effectiveness of
Anthony was disqualified. On February 13, 1958, Veranis
correctional treatment in controlling criminal careers.
knocked out Silby Ford for a mandatory eight count in
the fifth round. He broke Ford’s jaw and dislodged sev-
eral teeth that sent him down. Ford was taken to Mass-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anthony Veranis
achusetts General Hospital following Anthony’s victory. run with a bad crowd. He frequently stopped in to see me
On March 1, 1958, he fought for the New England Mid- and Father Peter Hart after he got out, and everything
dleweight Champion title against Barry Allison whose ti- seemed to be all right. He took me to the fights, and he
tle was up for grabs and lost. On March 17, 1958 he fought was with respectable fellows." After his father suffered
his last professional match against Joe Devlin. a heart attack and could not work, he worked on a con-
struction crew. He became indebted to loan sharks. He
Suffering from blackouts was arrested for an unidentified crime on December 23,
1963 and later sent to prison.
After boxing Gunboat Steves (he had previously boxed
against him on February 28, 1957) in Holyoke, Massachu- Death and afterward
setts on March 17, 1958, he started to suffer from severe On April 25, 1966, a month after his release from prison
headaches. On that day, he was knocked out by Joe Devlin John Martorano beat Anthony savagely and shot him in
in every round. After the fight he passed out and was tak- the head. Martorano had his corpse dumped in the Blue
en to Boston City Hospital where he remained in a co- Hills Reservation off Route 128 in Dedham, Massachu-
ma until June 1958. This was his last professional boxing setts.
match.
In September 1964 after returning to the ring and
fighting Pineapple Stevenson, he blacked out while fight- References
ing, and woke up in the hospital again. During that match • "Veranis Found Self- Too Late", The Massachusetts
he had put Pineapple Stevenson in a coma. Anthony him- Globe, by Bud Collins April 27, 1965
self started to suffer from extremely bad migraines, nau- • Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points
sea, blurry vision with the inability to focus, and tem- through Life by Robert J. Sampson and John L. Laub
porary mood swings that changed his behavior. It is un- • http://www.thebrothersbulger.com/
known if he sought professional rehabilitation at a hos- Anthony%20(Tony)%20Veranis.htm
pital to help these symptoms that plagued him. He told
Persondata
to a friend, "I thought my life was over when I couldn’t fight
anymore. I was filled with self pity, I started drinking again Name Veranis, Anthony
and I got into trouble." It is also thought that not being Alternative names
able to box anymore caused him sever depression which Short description
brought him to start drinking heavily and becoming in-
Date of birth June 15, 1938
capacitated with alcohol on a regular basis.
Out of 25 matches he successfully won 15, although Place of birth
never was able to obtain the welterweight championship Date of death April 25, 1966
belt as it was not available to him the first time and lost it Place of death
in 1958, lost two matches and was disqualified from one.
Criminal career
He was arrested for an unidentified crime on December
23, 1963 and sent to Massachusetts Correctional Institu-
tion - Norfolk. While incarcerated at the prison was an
altar boy at prison masses. Father John Fitzgerald of St.
Joseph’s Church in Massachusetts Correctional Institu-
tion - Norfolk later said, "He wanted to get straightened
out, and I think he did. He was a wonderful boy who’d
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_Veranis&oldid=460517820"
Categories:
• 1938 births
• 1966 deaths
• American boxers of Italian descent
• Murdered American mobsters of Italian descent
• American mobsters of Italian descent
• People from Boston, Massachusetts
• People murdered by the Winter Hill Gang
• Welterweight boxers
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anthony Veranis
This page was last modified on 13 November 2011 at 23:19. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
3