Editing Chuck Wepner (section)

== Early life ==
Charles Wepner was born on February 26, 1939, in New York City.<ref>[http://boxrec.com/boxer/97 "Chuck Wepner"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508025649/http://boxrec.com/boxer/97|date=May 8, 2016}}, BoxRec.com; retrieved September 27, 2016.</ref> He is of [[Germans|German]], [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]], and [[Polish people|Polish]] descent.<ref>Gambardello, Joseph A. (November 20, 2003). [http://articles.philly.com/2003-11-20/news/25463435_1_chuck-wepner-bayonne-bleeder-apollo-creed "'Rocky' meets reality The fighter who inspired the movies has gone to court to win a share of the profits. He said he has gotten nothing"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624040920/http://articles.philly.com/2003-11-20/news/25463435_1_chuck-wepner-bayonne-bleeder-apollo-creed |date=June 24, 2016}}, philly.com; accessed November 21, 2017.</ref>

Wepner learned to fight on the streets of [[Bayonne, New Jersey]],<ref name=lmtwho>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ta5fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2jIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5713%2C6560148 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho)|agency=Associated Press |title=Chuck who? |date=January 26, 1975 |page=4B}}</ref> saying, "This was a tough town with a lot of people from the docks and the naval base and you had to fight to survive". Wepner was about a year old when he moved in with his grandmother on 28th Street near Hudson Boulevard (now [[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|Kennedy Boulevard]]). He was raised by his mother and grandparents, living in a room that was a converted coal shed until he was 13. He was an avid player of sports in his youth, playing basketball for the Police Athletic League. At [[Bayonne High School]], his height helped him get a spot on the basketball team.<ref>Sullivan, Joseph F. [https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/22/archives/bayonne-cheers-a-hometown-product-good-luck-chuck.html?_r=0 "Bayonne Cheers a Hometown Product; 'Good Luck, Chuck'"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 22, 1975. Accessed April 18, 2020. "Mr. Wepner said that he was a gangling six‐footer when he was 13 years old and that the added height helped him win a berth on the Bayonne High School basketball team."</ref>

At the age of 15, Wepner decided he would join the [[U.S. Marines]], inspired by the movie [[Battle Cry (film)|''Battle Cry'']].<ref name="BBC Sport">{{Cite news |title=Honouring the real-life 'Rocky' who floored Ali |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/64392108 |access-date=2023-01-26}}</ref> In the Marines, he became a member of the boxing team, developing a reputation for being able to withstand other boxers' punches, and becoming a military champion at one of the airbases. A 1975 ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' article said that Wepner had saved the lives of three Marine pilots, pulling them from blazing airplanes.<ref name="HudsonReporter">Sullivan, Al (January 27, 2007). [http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2410930/article--The-Bayonne-Bleeder--Chuck-Wepner--the-real-life-Rocky "'The Bayonne Bleeder' Chuck Wepner, the real life Rocky"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002044631/http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2410930/article--The-Bayonne-Bleeder--Chuck-Wepner--the-real-life-Rocky|date=October 2, 2016|work=''[[The Hudson Reporter]]''|accessdate=November 21, 2017}}</ref>