Pete Rademacher

Pete Rademacher
Rademacher in 1961
Born	Thomas Peter Rademacher (1928-11-20)November 20, 1928 Tieton, Washington, U.S.
Died	June 4, 2020(2020-06-04) (aged 91) Sandusky, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	American
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Reach	196 cm (77 in)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	23
Wins	15
Wins by KO	8
Losses	7
Draws	1
Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne +81 kg

Thomas Peter Rademacher (November 20, 1928 – June 4, 2020) was an American heavyweight boxer. As an amateur, he was a gold medalist at the 1956 Olympics. Rademacher became the only person to challenge for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional bout when he faced Floyd Patterson in Seattle on August 22, 1957. He compiled a 15-7-1 record over 23 professional bouts.

A former college football player at Washington State, Rademacher took up boxing as a form of rehabilitation during his recovery from rheumatic fever, which he contracted in military school.

Amateur career

In his amateur career, Rademacher won 72 bouts and lost 7. He won a series of tournaments, including the 1949 and 1951–1953 Seattle Golden Gloves (he lost in 1950 to Zora Folley, who was his frequent opponent throughout his boxing career), and the US Amateur Championship as a heavyweight in 1953—avenging his earlier loss to Folley.

He captured the Chicago Golden Gloves, the All-Army championship, and the Service championship in 1956, before qualifying for the Olympic team. At the Olympics, he captured a gold medal in the heavyweight division and served as the U.S. flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

1956 Olympic results

• Round of 16: bye
• Quarterfinal: Defeated Josef Němec (Czechoslovakia) KO 2
• Semifinal: Defeated Daan Bekker (South Africa) KO 3
• Final: Defeated Lev Mukhin (Soviet Union) KO 1 (won gold medal)

Rademacher also attended college, playing offensive line on the football team for Washington State.

Professional career

Rademacher and Folley in 1958

After winning the gold medal, Rademacher started saying that he would be able to become world heavyweight champion in his first professional fight. He made his belief public and was able to lure world Heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson into defending his crown against him in his professional debut. It is the only time to date that a fighter making his professional debut has challenged for the world heavyweight title.

The bout, at Sick's Stadium in Seattle, was refereed by former light-heavyweight champion Tommy Loughran, who himself had contended for the heavy crown once, vs. Primo Carnera, in 1934. Rademacher dropped Patterson in round two, but Patterson recovered and knocked Rademacher down seven times, defeating him by a knockout in round six. Legendary boxing promoter Jack Hurley promoted the match.

Rademacher fought Zora Folley, Brian London, George Chuvalo, Buddy Turman, and the former world light heavyweight champion, Archie Moore. He lost to Moore, Folley and London but beat Chuvalo, LaMar Clark, and Turman, among others. His last bout was with former world middleweight champion Carl "Bobo" Olson, whom he beat by decision.

Personal life

Rademacher had Finnish ancestry; his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Finland. He was married to Margaret and had a daughter Susan (born c. 1954–1955). In addition to boxing, he was a salesman and inventor. He was president of the company Kiefer-McNeil which was founded by fellow Olympian, Adolph Kiefer. Rademacher died in Sandusky, Ohio on June 4, 2020, at the age of 91. His brain was donated for medical research.

Professional boxing record

23 fights	15 wins	7 losses
By knockout	8	6
By decision	7	1
Draws	1

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
23	Win	15–7–1	Bobo Olson	UD	10	Apr 3, 1962	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
22	Loss	14–7–1	Karl Mildenberger	PTS	10	Jan 20, 1962	Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
21	Win	14–6–1	Buddy Turman	TKO	9 (10)	Nov 30, 1961	Fair Park Coliseum, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
20	Loss	13–6–1	Archie Moore	TKO	6 (10), 2:10	Oct 23, 1961	Baltimore Coliseum, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
19	Loss	13–5–1	George Logan	KO	2 (10), 2:40	Aug 17, 1961	Boise, Idaho, U.S.
18	Loss	13–4–1	Doug Jones	KO	5 (10), 0:54	Apr 29, 1961	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
17	Win	13–3–1	Dan Vanderford	KO	1 (10), 2:17	Apr 14, 1961	Armory, Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S.
16	Win	12–3–1	Harvey Taylor	KO	1 (10), 2:47	Feb 22, 1961	Yakima, Washington, U.S.
15	Win	11–3–1	Donnie Fleeman	UD	10	Jan 23, 1961	Seattle Civic Ice Arena, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
14	Win	10–3–1	Willi Besmanoff	UD	10	Dec 13, 1960	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
13	Win	9–3–1	Kirk Barrow	SD	10	Dec 8, 1960	Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington, U.S.
12	Win	8–3–1	George Chuvalo	UD	10	Jul 19, 1960	Maple Leaf Stadium, Toronto, Canada
11	Win	7–3–1	LaMar Clark	TKO	10 (10), 2:27	Jun 29, 1960	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
10	Loss	6–3–1	Brian London	KO	7 (10), 0:15	Apr 26, 1960	Empire Pool, London, England
9	Draw	6–2–1	Ulli Ritter	PTS	10	Apr 8, 1960	Sportpalast, Berlin, Germany
8	Win	6–2	Ulli Nitzschke	KO	7 (10)	Feb 6, 1960	Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
7	Win	5–2	Johnny York	PTS	8	Dec 9, 1959	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
6	Win	4–2	Buddy Keener	KO	1 (10), 2:52	Nov 12, 1959	City Auditorium, Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
5	Win	3–2	Calvin Butler	UD	10	Sep 29, 1959	Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
4	Win	2–2	Ralph Schneider	TKO	3 (10)	Sep 17, 1959	Greenville Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
3	Win	1–2	Tommy Thompson	RTD	5 (10)	Aug 23, 1959	Municipal Auditorium, Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
2	Loss	0–2	Zora Folley	KO	4 (10), 1:15	Jul 25, 1958	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
1	Loss	0–1	Floyd Patterson	KO	6 (15), 2:57	Aug 22, 1957	Sick's Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S.	For NYSAC and The Ring heavyweight titles

See also

• Rafael Lovera
• Joves De La Puz
• Joko Arter

External links

• Pete Rademacher at BoxRec (registration required)
• Pete Rademacher at Olympics.com
• Pete Rademacher at Olympedia
• Alternate record site