A fan favorite for his punching power, he was known as the "quintessential Philadelphia boxer,"[1] and one of the greatest fighters of his era who due to various reasons did not become a world champion.

Notable world champions and contenders Briscoe fought included Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon, Rodrigo Valdez, Luis Rodríguez, Vicente Rondon, Tony Mundine, Vito Antuofermo, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Emile Griffith, and Cyclone Hart.

Usually bold Briscoe said that the reason his hair is cut very short is that "When you're one of fourteen children they can't waste too much money on haircuts," and when he used to go to the barbershop, his father would say "Take it all off.

"[7] Motivated by his family's poverty, at the age of 16, he moved from Augusta, where he was a star athlete in football and track and field, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to live with an aunt and uncle and attended Simon Gratz High School.

Though he did not make it to win the United States National Boxing Championships in Pocatello, April 7, 1961, and in Cincinnati, March 31, 1962, losing to H.C. Massey and to Wade Smith respectively.

Despite going pro, Briscoe knew that the life of a boxer could be financially unstable and risky—and wanted to retain his union pension plan—so he continued his work on the trash route his entire career.

In March 1981, neurosurgeon Dr. Fred Sonstein sought to use CAT scans in an attempt to track the degeneration of boxers' cognitive functions after seeing the decline of Briscoe's speech abilities.

Briscoe fought with the Star of David on his boxing trunks in tribute to his managers, first Jimmy Iselin, whose father Phil owned the New York Jets, and Arnold M. Weiss.