On August 31st, 1969, the night before his 46th birthday, Rocky Marciano climbed into a small single-engine plane in Chicago. He had a paid airline ticket home in his pocket, and his family was waiting in Fort Lauderdale with a birthday cake, a houseful of guests, and a surprise he never got to see.

He never made it home.

This is the story of the final 48 hours of the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. You'll hear about the last-minute favor that pulled him to Iowa, a pilot who wasn't trained to fly through clouds, the final radio call over Newton, and the lone oak tree in a farmer's field. Then comes the aftermath: a family left searching for a hidden fortune that was never found, and The Super Fight with Muhammad Ali, which hit theaters after Rocky was already gone.

Forty-nine fights. Forty-nine wins. Forty-three knockouts. And one decision that cost him everything.

Sources include William Nack's 1993 Sports Illustrated profile, the NTSB accident findings, contemporary newspaper reports, and the Iowa History Journal. Where accounts of his final day differ, the video says so.

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