He retired in 1955 after a brutal loss to Del Flanagan, a fight stopped by the ring doctor because Bratton was cut over both eyes and appeared "dazed and didn't know where he was."
Bratton attracted plenty of other people eager to relieve this Arkansas country boy of his new-found wealth, which - combined with poor financial management, by his father and others - meant that he ended up losing it all.
He attended DuSable High School, but dropped out, spending his time on the street, an existence that led him to the fight clubs that would be his path to success.
[2] The rigors of the boxing ring had taken a heavy toll, and in 1955, a few months after his final fight, Bratton was admitted to Manteno State Mental Hospital, where he would stay for eight years.
She co-wrote a number of soul records, including "That's What He Told Me" and the flip side "Holding Hands," (co-written with Bob Hamilton, and released on Ric-Tic in 1965, sung by Rose Battiste).
[9][10][11] In the 1980s, Bratton was sleeping in the lobby of Chicago's (formerly magnificent but now seedy) Del Prado Hotel, earning his place by running errands and being personable, but not quite living in the present, always a sidestep away from his old memories.