Bob Foster

[goose 5]

Did Foster actually lose his first 7 bouts in the Air Force ? Also, did he beat Ali(Clay) or was that just a sparring session ?

[Bob]

Here is what I have on Foster...he did not lose his first 7 bouts, nor did he fight Cassius Clay as an amateur (he sparred with him at the Pan-Am Trials and elsewhere, but they did not have an 'official' bout)


1957

Feb 12 Lackey Lawrence KO 1 Washington, D.C. Washington GG Novice 178 semis
Feb 21 George Logan KO 1 Washington, D.C. Washington GG Novice 178 finals
Mar 7 Eddie Hawkins L 3 Hempstead, NY Air Force championships semis
Nov 20 Mike Bonetti TKO 2 Bolling AFB, MD Bolling/Andrews AFB vs. Quantico
Dec 11 Andrew Slaughter KO by 3 Newport News, VA Bolling/Andrews AFB vs. Ft. Eustis

1958

Jan 28 Troy Durant TKO 1 Washington, D.C. Washington GG Open 178 prelims
Feb 11 Steve Sabo TKO 1 Washington, D.C. Washington GG Open 178 quarters
Feb 27 Jimmy Bush TKO 1 Washington, D.C. Washington GG Open 178 finals
Mar 25 Charles King TKO 1 Bolling AFB, MD Air Force championships quarters
Mar 27 Charles Edmonds TKO 1 Bolling AFB, MD Air Force championships semis
Mar 28 John Reese W 3 Bolling AFB, MD Air Force championships finals
Apr 15 Amos Johnson L 3 Bolling AFB, MD All Service championships semis
Oct 27 London, ENG Britannia Shield champs. semis
Oct 29 K. Wilson TKO 2 London, ENG Britannia Shield champs. HEA finals

1959

Jan 7 James Barnes KO 1 Bolling AFB, MD Bolling AFB vs. Camp Lejeune
Jan 22 Maceo Burns W 3 Newport News, VA Bolling AFB vs. Ft. Eustis
Mar 17 KO Otis AFB, MA Air Force championships
Mar 18 Charles Edmonds W w/o Otis AFB, MA Air Force championships quarters
Apr 1 W 3 Ft. Benning, GA All Service championships semis
Apr 3 James Rosette W 3 Ft. Benning, GA All Service championships finals - 178
Apr 28 James McQueen TKO 3 Madison, WI Pan-Am Trials quarters
Apr 29 James Flood W w/o Madison, WI Pan-Am Trials semis
Apr 30 Bob Christopherson TKO 2 Madison, WI Pan-Am Trials finals
Sep 1 Alberto Saenz TKO 2 Chicago, IL Pan-Am Games quarters
Sep 2 Carl Crawford TKO 3 Chicago, IL Pan-Am Games semis
Sep 4 Abrao DeSouza L 3 Chicago, IL Pan-Am Games finals
Nov 23 Bob Chaplin TKO 2 Ft. Belvoir, MD Bolling AFB vs. Ft. Belvoir

1960

Feb 11 James Rosette KO 2 New Bedford, MA Bolling AFB vs. Deslant Naval Base
Apr 12 John Rolle KO 1 Langley AFB, VA Air Force championships semis
Apr 14 James Jackson W 3 Langley AFB, VA Air Force championships finals - 178
Apr 28 Deloach Graham W 3 Camp Lejeune, NC All Service championships semis
Apr 29 Ray Phillips TKO 2 Camp Lejeune, NC All Service championships finals - 165
May 18 Robert Conard TKO 2 San Francisco, CA Olympic Trials prelims - 165 lbs.
(ruled out due to cut eye)
Dec 6 Melvin Lonas W 3 Jacksonville, FL Florida AAU semis
Dec 7 Chico Brown W 3 Jacksonville, FL Florida AAU finals - 178

Notes:
1. began boxing in high school in Albuquerque, NM
2. as sophomore won local and state GG titles at featherweight, then joined Air Force
3. possible fight on 11/7/55 in Austin, TX vs. Don Fowler (D 3)?
4. prior to turning pro stated his final amateur record was 94-7

1952

Nov 19 Ed Amador W 3 Albuquerque, NM (BF of Santa Fe…120 lbs.)
Nov 21 Cordy Garcia Grants, NM

1953

Feb 25 Ray Garcia Albuquerque, NM
Apr 20 Bennie Coca TKO by 1 Las Vegas, NM (112 lbs., so probably not BF)
Aug 20 George Rhodes W 3 Albuquerque, NM (126 lbs.)
Sep 17 Eloy Taylor TKO 1 Albuquerque, NM (126 lbs.)

[goose 5]

Thanks, Bob-great research ! I'm sure you've read Foster's claims that he lost his first seven bouts in the military-do you think that was just a story invented to gain attention ? I've been on a Foster kick lately, reading lots of old newspaper articles and he made reference to the seven loses more than once over the years.

[Bob]

My pleasure. I've seen those claims as well, and perhaps they are true, but he also said on more than one occasion before the Pan-Am Trials that he had only lost 3 times since he joined the service. As we are all well aware it is very tough to track down amateur fights, so unfortunately we will probably never know what actually occurred (unless we can get access to certain base newspapers).

[goose 5]

Reading about Foster has brought to light some odd facts. For instance, he said he was born in December but he obtained a copy of his birth certificate as far back as 1963 and that showed he was born in April. Also, when asked if he ever played basketball he said "no" and said it was a sport for "sissies". Yet, years after he retired he talked about having played in scrimmage games in high school.

He never graduated from high school, but often talked about having turned down an athletic scholarship(football) to college.

Finally, in the weeks prior to his bout against Frazier, there were lots of articles about the weight gaining program that Foster was on-he claimed to be 192 pounds a few days before the bout. Yet, in later years, he would often say that he really weighed 178 for that bout. To add to the mystery, prior to his bout against Ali, Billy Edwards said that the mistake Foster made against Frazier was in carrying to much weight in the fight; he said Foster should have fought at 178 or 179 and not 188.

[margaret thatcher]

sounds like he's a bullshitter or has bad memory

[goose 5]

My bullshit detector went off more than once during my Foster research.

[Caractacus]

My Dad was in the US AIR FORCE for 26 years (1952-1974)
and I remember he used to read a newspaper called THE STARS AND STRIPES
which I think came out once a month but was really thick newspaper.
maybe that had results Boxing events that the Air Force participated in in the sports section.
BTW I think he saw Archie Moore over in Vietnam around 1965/1966
when he was touring Military installtions.

[goose 5]

It's not the right place to ask but I'll do so anyway: did you Dad have any opinion on the UFO phenomenon ?

[864360]

I met Bob Foster and his wife at two separate amateur events. He seemed pretty straight forward to me. The first introduction was brief, but the second time was lengthy as he came to watch me fight at a Roughman Contest in Farmington NM. I have a video of all three of my fights in which Bob Foster can be heard rooting for me. He offered to train me, but I moved to Arizona and continued boxing in Toughman and Golden Gloves, U.S.A. Boxing. I regret not accepting his offer, but I had a family and so boxing was just a hobby for me.