Vintage Montana Boxing

[Norm]

I posted this on West Coast topic, but since I have several I want to post, and I'm not literally on the coast, thought I'd start this topic.

This pic is from the official program of Bob Foster's title defense against Roger Rouse of Anaconda, MT. The bout took place at Missoula on April 4, 1970 with Foster winning by 4th round TKO.

[Norm]

Cruiserweight Marvin Camel of Ronan, MT lost WBC Cruiserweight title by MD to Carlos "Sugar" DeLeon on November 25, 1980 in the New Orleans Super Dome.

[donnellon]

Ike Hayes was a real pioneer of Montana boxing, as a boxer for thirty years or so and also as a promoter and trainer.

[yancey]

Roger Rouse!

I remember him.

Wonder whatever happened to Roger. Hope he is well.

[raylawpc]

Roger Rouse!

I remember him.

Wonder whatever happened to Roger. Hope he is well.

He's not doing too well. He died in 1999.

[yancey]

Roger Rouse!

I remember him.

Wonder whatever happened to Roger. Hope he is well.

He's not doing too well. He died in 1999.

Sorry to hear that.

Did Roger have a brother that also fought or am I thinking of someone else?

[kikibalt]

Roger Rouse!

I remember him.

Wonder whatever happened to Roger. Hope he is well.

He's not doing too well. He died in 1999.

No, I don't think he would be doing too well if he died in 1999...

[Norm]

Thanks about Ike Hayes, I looked him up, interesting. I'll be putting up a pic of another real pioneer, Con Orem in the next few days.

Marvin Camel had a brother, Kenny, who boxed for promoter Elmer Boyce as well.

In later years, Bob Foster always mentioned Roger as being maybe the hardest hitter he ever met at light-heavyweight, but Foster hit harder.

[Norm]

In 1986, WBC Lightweight champion Livingstone Bramble set up a training camp at Mountain Mall in Whitefish, MT in preparation for his next title defense which was scheduled to be Terrance Alli. An injury during training forced Bramble to cancel that bout. He would loose the title in his next bout, a unification with Edwin Rosario on September 26, 1986.

[Norm]

On August 21, 1993, Todd Foster ko'ed Mike Grable in round one at Raceway Park in Kalispell, MT. Todd's broken right hand is in a bucket of ice during this tv interview. Hmmm.. why does this photo seem familiar?

[granberry]

Sorry to hear that about Roger Rouse.

He had a big rawboned lightheavyweight's bone structure.

I was very surprised that Dick Tiger was able to beat him.

He let Tiger open up too much without doing much of anything back.

By the law of averages, sooner or later someone is going to land if you let them open up like that without doing anything to put the brakes on their all out offense.

[Norm]

Sorry to hear that about Roger Rouse.

He had a big rawboned lightheavyweight's bone structure.

I was very surprised that Dick Tiger was able to beat him.

He let Tiger open up too much without doing much of anything back.

By the law of averages, sooner or later someone is going to land if you let them open up like that without doing anything to put the brakes on their all out offense.

Yes, but Rouse was fairly unknown when he fought Tiger and gave a surprisingly good account of himself in Vegas. Nice that ESPN Classic shows that bout once in a while. It was a big deal to Montanans, even Governor Babcock made the trip for the fight. Rouse did Montana proud.

[donnellon]

I think Jack Munroe was yours as well and Jack Sullivan(Montana of course!)

[Norm]

I think Jack Munroe was yours as well and Jack Sullivan(Montana of course!)

Yes, they had some bouts here, sort of sketchy history I can find on them. Also, the Michigan Assassin, Stanley Ketchel had accumulated a 33-2-3 record before he fought outside of Montana.

An especially tragic story is that of Johnny Marquez, a 1937 national amateur champ from San Francisco, who spent a lot of his pro career fighting out of Billings. He suffered a brutal KO to RJ Lewis before returning to San Francisco and dying in his final bout a year later in 1942.

[Norm]

On June 22, 1967, Missoula promoter Elmer Boyce presented the Parade of Champions card at the Adams Field House. A triple main event featured Don Fullmer vs Louis Garduno, George Chuvalo vs Archie Ray and Roger Rouse vs Bobby Rascon.

I was 13 yr old at the time and at the end of the card, I jumped in the ring to get Rouse's autograph. Rouse was swarmed by fans, so I got guest referee Gene Fullmer's autograph first. Then to Rouse's corner. I handed my program to Rouse and he looked at it with a bit of disbelief, shook his head with a bit of disgust and turned the program sideways to sign. Until I got out of the ring I had no idea why his reaction was such. What happened was that Fullmer signed his name right across Rouse's photo. I don't remember much from 42 years ago, but I'll never forget Roger Rouse's reaction.

[Norm]

On December 13, 1983, Marvin Camel won the vacant IBF Cruiserweight belt by 5th round TKO over Roddy MacDonald in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

[Chuck1052]

Take a look at the BoxRec records of the following Montana boxers of the past: Joe Simonich of Butte, Al Webster of Billings, Dixie Lahood of Butte, Mel "Kid" Dennis of Bozeman, Ritchie Fontaine of Butte, Jimmy McCusker of Bozeman, Montana Jack Sullivan of Butte, Pete Bross of Great Falls, Al Rossberg of Great Falls, Frankie Wine of Roundup and Barberton, Ohio, Ford Smith of Kalispell, Montana Dan Sullivan of Butte and Leo Bens (Benz) of Butte. Montana-born fighters who lived elsewhere during the entire time that they were professional boxers include Jim Barry (a native of Culbertson) and Jack Reeves (a native of Chestnut, an old coal mining town). Although Frank Rowsey, a light-heavyweight of the 1930s, reportedly was born in the Powder River area of Montana, it is more likely that he was born in South Dakota.

- Chuck Johnston

[Dancin' Dan]

Know you showed a pic of him however Todd Foster was a very classy exciting fighter. An Olympian who had a memorable fight at the games. Turned pro and knocked out Kelcie Banks in a war. Injuries and bad match making did him in. He could have been a champion matched right, but I guess that could be said of many fighters. Fun guy to watch.

[Chuck1052]

As a native of Great Falls, Montana, it pains me to say that I don't think that Todd Foster of Great Falls had a solid chance of winning a world title. Foster had a nice offensive boxing style, was aggressive, threw alot of punches per round and punched alot to the body when he was active as a professional boxer, but he was far too easy to hit. As a result, I think it is very doubtful that he had enough talent to be a top fighter in the pro ranks, let alone a world champion.

Despite having a far worse record in terms of wins and losses than Todd Foster, Roger Rouse was a far better professional fighter in my book. For one thing, Rouse faced many more good fighters and had his share of wins against them during his prime. Many of Rouse's losses happened when he was a shell of his former self.

- Chuck Johnston

[Norm]

One thing that is for sure, is that Foster's bout with Jimmy Paul was a terrible match for him to take. Its easy in retrospect to second guess that one, but it was a crossroads when he really didn't need one.

I think its safe to say that Rouse was a legit top 10 guy in a very high level of the era. Multiple bouts with Eddie Cotton, Henry Hank and Bob Foster attest to that. His life of boxing had the bad result of a pugilistic dementia, similar to that of Jerry Quarry. He was tough as nails, maybe too tough.

[Norm]

A referendum in 1914, led to creation of the Montana State Athletic Commission. The commission was to be funded by a 10 percent tax on the gate which later became a 5 percent tax. This is an example of a 1927 state boxing inspector's report that shows contestants, gate and tax. I have about 100 of these dating from 1927 to about 1942.

[Chuck1052]

Norm, I hope that you post more inspectors' reports. While looking through some California newspapers on micro-film during the 1980s and 1990s, I found that Jimmy Lundy of Butte had alot of bouts in the Los Angeles area during the 1920s. Bud Hamilton of Denver also had some bouts in California. Howard Ball was from Pocatello, which also was the hometown of Spug Myers, perhaps the best-known fighter from Idaho who was active during the 1920s.

It is too bad that Roger Rouse sustained severe brain damage. Did he continue to live in Opportunity, Montana after he retired? I have two nieces and a nephew who once lived in nearby Anaconda.

A friend of mine said that he fought a brother of Rouse in at least one amateur bout. At the time, my friend was in the Air Force and stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls.

- Chuck Johnston

- Chuck Johnston

[Ric]

[quote="Norm"]A referendum in 1914, led to creation of the Montana State Athletic Commission. The commission was to be funded by a 10 percent tax on the gate which later became a 5 percent tax. This is an example of a 1927 state boxing inspector's report that shows contestants, gate and tax. I have about 100 of these dating from 1927 to about 1942.


Norm, would not the other two bouts on this program also be draws, as the report says ALL contests ended with draw decisions?

[Norm]

Norm, would not the other two bouts on this program also be draws, as the report says ALL contests ended with draw decisions?

Yes, that was my oversight when I later added the last two bouts for that card. I've corrected the results now. Thanks for catching that.

[Norm]

Norm, I hope that you post more inspectors' reports. While looking through some California newspapers on micro-film during the 1980s and 1990s, I found that Jimmy Lundy of Butte had alot of bouts in the Los Angeles area during the 1920s. Bud Hamilton of Denver also had some bouts in California. Howard Ball was from Pocatello, which also was the hometown of Spug Myers, perhaps the best-known fighter from Idaho who was active during the 1920s.

It is too bad that Roger Rouse sustained severe brain damage. Did he continue to live in Opportunity, Montana after he retired? I have two nieces and a nephew who once lived in nearby Anaconda.

A friend of mine said that he fought a brother of Rouse in at least one amateur bout. At the time, my friend was in the Air Force and stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls.

- Chuck Johnston

- Chuck Johnston

Thanks Chuck, yes I will add more scans now and then. They are interesting snapshots in time. This is what I find about Rouse's death:

AP Online
03-09-1999
Former Boxer Rouse Dies at 64

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- Former light heavyweight boxer Roger Rouse is dead of Alzheimer's at the age of 64.

A mortuary notice listing cause of death said Rouse, an Anaconda, Mont., native, died Sunday at his Helena residence.

A football standout at Anaconda and the University of Montana, Rouse took up boxing while recovering from a knee injury. He won a Golden Gloves title in 1954 at Chicago and accepted a boxing scholarship at Idaho State.

He was twice NCAA champion and became a member of the 1956 Olympic boxing team, losing a quarterfinal decision in Australia to Gilbert Chapron of France. Rouse turned professional in 1958