August 31, 1969—a date etched in boxing history as the day the sport lost one of its brightest gems. Just a day shy of his 46th birthday, Rocky Marciano perished in a tragic plane crash. He was a passenger aboard a small Cessna 172 traveling from Chicago to Des Moines, Iowa. Shortly after a refueling stop, the aircraft—piloted by an inexperienced flyer—ran into severe weather and went down near Newton, Iowa. 

Marciano, along with the pilot and another passenger, was killed instantly. His passing closed the chapter on a legendary career: an unblemished record of 49 wins and no defeats, a feat that cemented him as ‘The Brockton Blockbuster.’