Arnold Raymond Cream was born January 31, 1914 and grew up in Merchantville, NJ.  While building his boxing career, he worked in a variety of places, including the shipyard in Camden, NJ.  As a boxer he used the name Joe Walcott to honor a welterweight champion from his father's home, Barbados.  In 1951, at at the age of 37, became the oldest man ever to win the heavyweight championship, a record he held until 1994.  He retired as a boxer in 1953 and went on to become a referee, chairman of the New Jersey State Boxing Commission, and Camden County sheriff. Jersey Joe was the 1951 winner of the Edward J. Neil Trophy for Fighter of the Year.  In 1969 he was inducted into the Ring Hall of Fame and in 1990 was one of the original inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Arnold Cream died in Camden on February 25, 1994.  He is buried in Sunset Memorial Park in Pennsauken, NJ.

Jersey Joe Walcott (International Boxing Hall of Fame)
http://www.ibhof.com/walcott.htm

Edward J. Neil Trophy for Fighter of the Year (CBS SportsLine)
http://pub1.sportsline.com/u/century/week8fighter.htm

The photo of Jersey Joe Walcott came, with permission, from the "download" section of the Boxing Bulletin Board (URL no longer available).

Tombstone photograph copyright © 1999-2003 by BJ Swartz

BJ Swartz
twin-prime@hotmail.com
Updated November 27, 2004