William Lawrence Stribling Jr. (December 26, 1904 – October 3, 1933), known as Young Stribling, was an American professional boxer who fought from Featherweight to Heavyweight from 1921 until 1933. He was the elder brother of fellow boxer Herbert "Baby" Stribling. Stribling was also an amateur aviator. Background Born in Bainbridge, Georgia, on December 26, 1904, Young Stribling spent most of his childhood in show business with his parents Lily Braswell and William Lawrence Stribling and his younger brother Herbert Stribling. His parents were devout Christians from rural southwestern Georgia. In 1911, Stribling's family had come to Spokane on the Sullivan and Considine Vaudeville Circuit with an acrobatic act called the "Four Novelty Grahams." Ma was his trainer, donning gloves and sparring with him in the ring. Pa was his manager and promoter. The Stribling family traveled widely as vaudeville performers with a wholesome family act that included gymnastics and balancing acts and ended with a brief boxing match between four-year-old "Strib" and his two-year-old brother, "Baby" Stribling. The act lasted several years and was so popular that it took the family through 38 foreign countries before they settled in Macon, Georgia, prior to World War I. Backstage between acts, the Striblings read the Bible together and prayed before each performance, just as "Strib" later prayed before each fight when he became a professional boxer. Regardless of where the family performed, they always went to church on Sunday and refused any physical training on the Lord's Day. "Strib" attended Macon's Lanier High School where he excelled as a forward on the basketball team that won the state championship in 1922. Stribling was one of the best high school basketball players in the United States. He was known as a "dead shot". His team went to the national interscholastic tournament at Chicago, but he was ruled ineligible to play because of his professional boxing. At age sixteen he had his first professional fight, in Atlanta. Stribling was also an avid and accomplished aviator who loved to fly. Stribling was raised as a vegetarian. Professional career Stribling turned professional in 1921. While still in high school, Stribling fought 75 professional bouts. After gaining favorable media attention for his first major fight, a bout which he tied with champion Mike McTigue from Ireland, "Strib" was besieged by offers to box all over the United States, Europe, South America, and Africa. People wanted to