Extremely Rare Film of Pete Sanstol

[Ric]

Thanks to the great detective work by user "Panzerfaust," a Norwegian, he located in the Norwegian National Public Archives brief film of the great Pete Sanstol sparring in late 1935. (For full disclosure, he's my grandfather by marriage to my widowed grandmother.)

I have searched high and low for years, and this is the only known film of him. So, it is extremely rare. (Panzerfaust says he is awaiting another film clip that apparently shows Pete's 'Sanstol Institute' in Norway. It is unknown at this time whether Pete himself is shown, and, if so, whether he is again training or sparring.)

Anyway, this film shows both Pete and Panama Al Brown sparring in preparation for their Sept. 13, 1935 rematch (after which both retired from boxing, until brown came back two years later.) It shows Pete sparring with Olav Nilsen (it is thought), and includes a quick look at Raoul Godbout, Pete's long-time Canadian manager. (Godbout is lacing the gloves of Wiksen at the very start of the film, then, at the end of the session, Pete approaches Godbout [in the suit].)

Earlier, I had uploaded to YouTube two rare film clips of Brown in action:
1) April 7, 1934 vs. Maurice Dubois (also contains rare footage of Manager Lew Burston and Trainer Bobby Diamond)
2) July 3, 1933 vs. Johnny King

I hope you enjoy these rare clips. Thanks again, Panzerfaust!

[wsbuf]

Great find

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Thanks, I've never seen any footage of Brown or Sanstol.

[Ric]

In the August 7, 1935 Montreal Daily Herald, long-time Sports Editor Elmer W. Ferguson described Pete's evolved fighting style, which this rare film provides but a brief glimpse of:

Sanstol first flashed on the Montreal fistic horizon half a dozen years ago. This writer recollects him knocking out Alex Burlie in April of 1928, over seven years ago at the Forum. In those days Sanstol was a bewildering bundle of speed and energy. His slim, tireless legs carried him around the ring at bounding, blinding speed. He threw his endless energy to the winds with complete abandon. He was a profligate spendthrift of energy and strength, of nerve force. He had all the carelessness of youth about vitality as expended in the ring. He had a seemingly endless supply. For ten or twelve rounds he could dance, bounce, leap and dash about the ring on those steel legs, and meanwhile his speeding fists could keep on throwing stinging punches at bewildering speed, punches from all angles. For not only did Sanstol bound about the ring. He ducked like lightning, weaved, bobbed, always going at top speed, a master-boxer in his own fashion, a fashion founded on speed and stamina. The fighting heart that blazes from his ice-cold eyes still sends him on. But fistic age has tempered the pace, has developed a new ring cunning, and a tendency to accomplish by polished skill what he once achieved by youthful energy that disdained to save itself, that was gladly thrown to the winds.

Sanstol doesn't bound so much as he did. He moves now in a more shuffling fashion, as did great fighters before him, and as did such peerless runners as Schrubb and Nurmi, the greatest of all conservation stylists. Today Sanstol is inclined to save his legs, to some degree, and to employ instead the ring-craft he has acquired in nearly ten years of campaigning up and down the fistic lanes of two continents. Today he is more the Dempsey in his style, less the old Sanstol. His hands still carry their speed, his arms and shoulders the energy to hurl an endless barrage of punches. But he will be found doing much more of the weaving and bending to evade blows or get himself into hitting position. He will not be leaping five or six feet when an evasive swing of a few inches will suffice. He will be doing more of the bobbing and ducking and swinging from the hips, with which he used to delight crowds and bewilder his opponents.

[Panzerfaust]

The fight itself i am pretty sure is out there aswell, but the quality wont be as good as in this clip. Reports say that the day of the fight it rained heavily.
However the problem I have is that they have about 1200 uncategorized clips from between 1929 and 1940 . The fight and other clips is probably within those 1200 clips that still only exist in nitrat film. Hopefully they will get through these clips and digitalize them soon. And im sure ill fnd a gem or two :P

[Ric]

I have now created a SkyDrive cloud server account, and uploaded tons of documents, PDFs, and images concerning Pete--accessible by anyone. You can download any file you want from this account. I'll be adding descriptions to various files, in time, as well as re-scanning some items to make them better. Enjoy!

[Ric]

Still remembering you, Pete, on the 30th anniversary of your passing: March 13, 1982.