Rocky Graziano

Although he made a promising start in the amateur ranks, a parole violation sent Graziano back to reform school and then a stint in the New York City jail on Riker's Island in 1940. After being drafted into the U.S. Army, Graziano courted trouble again when he got into a fight with an officer and fled the camp. His decision to go AWOL (Absent Without Leave) caused him to serve nine months in the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. After his release on a dishonorable discharge, Graziano returned to New York and began fighting as a professional. He married Norma Unger on August 10, 1943; the couple subsequently had two daughters, Audrey and Roxie.