BoxRec

Name: Freddie Steele
Career Record: click
Alias: Tacoma Assassin
Birth Name: Frederick Earl Burgett
Nationality: US American
Hometown: Tacoma, Washington, USA
Born: 1912-12-18
Died: 1984-08-22
Age at Death: 71
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5′ 10″
Reach: 183
Division: Middleweight
Trainers: Jack Connor, Johnny Babnick, and Ray Arcel (while on the East Coast)
Managers: George McAllister, Dave Miller, Eddie Miller

Lincoln Sunday Journal and Star
6 June 1937

Freddie Steele, American middleweight champion and claimant of the world title, is no slouch as a fighter. In fact, Steele, is very likely to be classed with gentlemen like Tommy Ryan, Harry Greb, Mickey Walker and the dashing Stanley Ketchel. He has a lot of their stuff, and some of his own.

I don't compare him with Bob Fitzsimmons because it's just a waste of time and space to try to compare the incomparable. There was only one Fitzsimmons and there hasn't been another or anyone remotely like him since Bob, middleweight Champion weighing 156 pounds, knocked out Jim Corbett to win the heavyweight championship. During the rest of Fitzsimmons career he never fought another middleweight, and there was no middleweight who wanted to get into a ring with him, or that the public wanted to see in a ring with him.

Kid McCoy, the adventurous middleweight who cheerfully traded punches with most of the heavies, and beat or knocked out a lot of them, said when I asked him why he didn't fight Fitz "I wouldn't fight him if he was 80 years old and had whiskers down to his waist. He's the one man I ever met whose mind I can't measure. He'd make me feel like a fool. I'd rather fight Jeffries."

Freddie Steele, however, compares well with Ketchel, and that means that he can fight. He has a perfect build for fighting, six feet of height, good reach, and is quick, smart, aggressive, and packs a wicked punch. He can box the clever fellows and. Only needs to find his opening to put over a kayo. As for the sluggers, he outwallops them the the way Ketchal used to.

Steele usually has his man sized up exactly before he goes into the ring. In his latest fight, with Frank Battaglia at Seattle May 11, Freddy showed his stuff. Hearing that Battaglia had promised to knock him out he said "I'll knock him out within five rounds." He dropped Batt in the first round, in the second, and in the third he finished him with a terrific left that dropped him flat on his face.

Broke Dundee's Jaw.

Starting in '32, Steele has gone thru a long list of fights and has lost only one—a four round decision in his first year. He has knocked out a lot of good men. Most of his encounters have been in his own town, where he has a big following, but he was just a much a sensation when he shifted to New York, where the fight fans look on every stranger as a dud until he proves he isn't. Freddie doesn't care how tough or how clever they are. He can meet them at any style and take care of himself. Like all hard hitters, he had a hard time cornering a title holder.

Vince Dundee, clever American middle weight champion, wouldn't listen to any offer to fight Steele while holding the title. Vince met him after losing a decision to Teddy Yarosz, and perhaps Steel was a little sore because he didn't get his chance at Dundee in time to grab the title. Or perhaps Freddie was very anxious to show the world how he could fight. In any case, Steele broke Dundee's jaw and knocked him out in the third round, practically ending Dundee's ring career.

Babe Risko beat Yarosz, and Steele went to the top by giving Risko a sound trouncing in 15 rounds. Incidentally, Steele knocked out Apostoli in San Francisco, tenth round, in '35. Apostoli was rushed along too fast when he was matched with the Tacoma Terror. His sensational fighting in the east since then marks him as a fit opponent for Steele now. A good fight for New York, where Steele made himself popular by the masterly style in which he handed Babe Risko a beating three months ago. Or Philadelphia, where he jarred Pirrone to a technical knockout in round one less than two weeks later. Freddy gave Gorilla Jones, former N. B. A. selection as
champion, a bad eight round beating on Jan. l to start this year, but he had beaten Jones before.

Since titles are won by direct combat in the ring, and not by comparing records, Marcel Thil of France is still world's- middleweight champion. Thil had a good record. He beat Vince Dundee in 31 before Dundee had beaten Brouillard for the American title. He beat Gorilla Jones in '32, when Jones had won the N. B. A. tournament and had been recognized as American champion. He beat English champion Jock McAvoy in 15 rounds. He licked Brouillard a couple of times in France. And he is still unbeaten. As Thil will not come to America it might be a good scheme for Steele to go to France. Thil is a tough veteran, but he had been fighting seven years when Steele began, and there's little doubt that the American champion would bring that title back.

An Athlete and Competitor.

There are several interesting things about Freddie Steele beside his long, string of winning fights. He has everything to make a champion. The heart and punch to be another Ketchel, as far as ring ability goes. And other qualities that promise to list him with the most famous wearers of the crown. He is a natural athlete. In high school he was a fine football player, altho then weighing only 135 pounds. He keeps fit at all times. When not training for a fight he plays golf and is said to be the best golfer among the fighters, shooting in the low 70s." Ketchel was a hard trainer when preparing for a fight, but lived recklessly at other times.

Steele takes fighting so seriously that he trained five weeks for the recent bout in which he knocked out Battaglia. He'll never be caught off form on a fight date. He's only 24. He hasn't yet taken a heavy punching in any fight. In spite of his height and his powerful build he is lean and light, his favorite fighting weight being 156 pounds. He has an extraordinary heart.

Battling Nelson, the Durable Dane, when lightweight champion had a heart beat of only 44 per minute, which doctors said accounted for his amazing endurance. Steel's normal heart beat the same. Like Nelson's, his heart does not go above 82 beats while fighting, and returns to normal in a few minutes.

Battling Nelson was examined once before and after fighting a a tough 20 rounds with Jimmie Britt. His heart beat was 44 before entering the ring in Jim Coffroth's tent arena, and Bat was so interested in the test that he jumped from the ring the instant the fight was over and ran about 100 yards to his dressing room across the street, where the examiners found his heart little above the average heart's normal beat. In ten minutes it was back in the 40s. After that Nelson boasted that he "wasn't human," that he never felt arm weary or leg tired, and that he couldn't be knocked out. And he wasn't, until years of heavy fighting at last wore him down.

Steele, who is smart, and takes care of himself, and has a heart like that, ought to last a long time
up among the champions.

I enjoyed reading this. Thanks!

talk about MW/S-MW tourneys this bunch mid-30s to mid-50s what an excellent round robin elimination bout these would have been. U.S.A, GB, France and Australia. Now that would have been Boxings best!

should be able to provide some more on this shortly

Robert,

I just got a video of a movie that Freddie Steele played a prominent part in.

It was a 1945 movie titled "The Story of GI Joe," depicting the life (and death) of the great World War Two correspondent, Ernie Pyle.

Other than the Ernie Pyle character and Robert Mitchum, the main character as the infantry squad leader, Steele had the most prominent part, as a tough infantry soldier. He was excellent. I had no idea that part was played by former middleweight champion Freddie Steele until I read about the movie after seeing it.

The movie is known for its classic scene near the end, where after a battle the Mitchum character's dead body is brought down a steep hill strapped to a mule.

When his body is unloaded and laid on the ground, his men come over, one by one, crouch down beside him, and talk quietly to him (his lifeless body).

This was taken from one of Ernie Pyle's best known war articles, and the movie depicted it very effectively.

thanks for the info on that. I don't remember seeing the film but will ask a pal of mine if he has it as he is a bit of a fan of old films.

robert.snell1 wrote:thanks for the info on that. I don't remember seeing the film but will ask a pal of mine if he has it as he is a bit of a fan of old films.

Steele is probably the most distinctive character in the film, and he has a large number of speaking lines.

WHO wrote the article above on Steele?
The writer has a very good knowledge of the great fighters of the past.
[ "There was only one Fitzsimmons and there hasn't been another or anyone remotely like him since."]

I assume that is Lincoln, NEBRASKA?

Look at how good an artist Bob Edgren is (the second cartoon). I didn't realize he was still active in 1937. Did Edgren write the article?

Look at how well he captures Steele's face.

Look at his knowledge of anatomy in both the drawing of the golfer and the football player running. You can feel the twist of the spine in the golfer so that it evokes the feeling the coiled figure is about to come back and move in the other direction.

Similarly with the football runner, the feeling of movement and potential movement is strongly evoked.

I knew Edgren was good, but I didn't realize he was that good.

granberry wrote:

robert.snell1 wrote:thanks for the info on that. I don't remember seeing the film but will ask a pal of mine if he has it as he is a bit of a fan of old films.

Steele is probably the most distinctive character in the film, and he has a large number of speaking lines.

WHO wrote the article above on Steele?
The writer has a very good knowledge of the great fighters of the past.
[ "There was only one Fitzsimmons and there hasn't been another or anyone remotely like him since."]

I assume that is Lincoln, NEBRASKA?

Look at how good an artist Bob Edgren is (the second cartoon). I didn't realize he was still active in 1937. Did Edgren write the article?

Look at how well he captures Steele's face.

Look at his knowledge of anatomy in both the drawing of the golfer and the football player running. You can feel the twist of the spine in the golfer so that it evokes the feeling the coiled figure is about to come back and move in the other direction.

Similarly with the football runner, the feeling of movement and potential movement is strongly evoked.

I knew Edgren was good, but I didn't realize he was that good.

The article and the drawing go together and i omitted placing Edgrens name as the author - oops. He was one of the top illustrators and this is a very good example of his work - I have many more - and shows his ability and knowledge very well. The difference in style of the 3 artists is very clear.

robert.snell1 wrote:

The article and the drawing go together and i omitted placing Edgrens name as the author - oops. He was one of the top illustrators and this is a very good example of his work - I have many more - and shows his ability and knowledge very well. The difference in style of the 3 artists is very clear.

Please show any you care to.

Also any Edgren articles.

The article above is on an entirely different level from the usual 'boxing' writing.

even better than Uno Who?

Thanks for this article.

some more of Mr Edgren

Lincoln Sunday Star
5 April 1931
State Commish In Far West cracks down On
Title Holders' Tricks
BY ROBERT EDGREN.

With the California athletic commission absolutely barring non-title, fights it is likely other states soon will realize the usefulness of that action and pass similar rules. When there are no safety zones left where the timid champs can squirm and wriggle out of all danger of losing their titles, we'll see old-time championship fighting, and not before that. As long as champions can make no-decision matches or force their opponents to fatten up and come in overweight, they'll get the money with as little risk as possible. That's because boxing has become a business proposition under modern conditions- The old days when boxers fought for glory are gone for good.

Victim of Raw Deal.

Young Corbett is the chief victim of the unwillingness of champions to take a chance. Corbett's hard luck followed a lot of hard fighting that usually found the other fellow on the floor, and fully demonstrated the fact that Corbett was nobody's sparring partner. That at once barred him from the company of champions, who, as clever business men, recognized him as a menace to well established industry. Corbett had scores of fights and whipped scores of fighters, but the managers of champions, one after another, passed him up with just a few kind words.

"That guy Corbett." said the manager of Jackie Fields, "is a southpaw, and that lets him out."
He said it with a slight sneer, as one unwilling to knock anybody but unable to tell a lie. Pressed for more comment, he said:

Draws Line On Southpaws.

"I'll-never match Jackie and him because he is a southpaw, and awkward, and it wouldn't make a good fight." The manager's idea of a good fight for Jackie was a fight in which Fields, a perfect master of boxing, could pile up a lot of points without running into an accident. The fellows who fought Corbett usually ran into something. Eventually there was such a demand for a Fields-Corbett match, so much general public wondering why Fields was afraid to fight Corbett, that the match was made. But with a reservation. The champ demanded that Corbett fatten up and come in over the welterweight limit, thereby making the match a non-title affair so to be carefully advertised to save the title to Jackie if Corbett happened to slap his man on the button and knock him out, _ or by mischance even decision him on points.

Gave Fields Neat Thrashing

Corbett gave Fields a complete thrashing, and only Jackie's swift legs and very great boxing skill pulled him through to listen to the bell at the end of the last round. Losing a decision didn't worry Jackie and his manager much. Corbett had been forced to come in overweight and the money-getting title was still safe. Later, Fields lost to Young Jack Thompson, and Young Jack, who had 'been mussed up by Corbett previously, became bold enough to take the "risk" of a non-title fight, Corbett again fattening up according to contract and coming in overweight, although he is a natural welter.

Made Thompson Like It.

Young Corbett gave Thompson a very artistic thrashing, knocking him down for a nine count and nearly finishing him—although it wouldn't have made much difference, as the title would have been safe for Thompson even if he was knocked out, owing to the overweight clause in the contract. At that, Corbett was only just enough overweight to tip the beam at weighing In time, and an actual welterweight in the ring.

After that Thompson lost the title to Freeman, having made the mistake of letting Freeman come in at weight and underestimating Freeman's fighting ability. Then Freeman, a bold (?) fighter, became a regular champion and began looking around for non-title matches, like all the other champs.

Freeman Ducked Out.

He was offered a big purse to fight Young Corbett in California, and was willing to accept the money, provided it was signed and sealed as a non-title fight, 12 rounds to no decision. He might have gotten away with it. too. but just then the new state athletic commission, of which the writer is a member, decided that California had seen enough stalling by timid title holders, and ruled absolutely that on contract or secret agreement between a champion and a contender could provide that the contender come in overweight, under penalty of suspension for all parties to the agreement, and that a champion cannot appear in a non decision bout but must defend his title in every fight against an opponent who was within the weight limit of the class.

California Says Nay.

Freeman immediately dropped the idea of fighting in California. Here in California, we consider that the failure of one of these dodging champions who are willing, by any subterfuge, to avoid risking their titles, is no loss to boxing. The new idea seems to be gaining ground in eastern states, and, after a while, champions will have to act like champions or go back to work, for there'll be no place for them in the ring. And why should there be.

Even the dictionary makers agree that a champion is one supreme in his branch of sport, who stands ready to defend his honors against any recognized rival.

Playing An Old Game.

Some very good fighters have hidden behind the non-title thing when they became champions. You wouldn't think it of some of the lads, who were bold enough to take any chance when they were climbing to the top. Money makes cowards of them—it isn't that they have any fear of a punch on the nose. They aren't afraid of losing blood; they're afraid of losing money.

Joe Dundee was one of the roughest fighters I ever saw, as a contender. As a champion he was a
cooing dove. Even Mickey Walker, who isn't afraid of anything or anybody, let Jack Kearns make opponents come in overweight to keep the middleweight title safe. You wouldn't think that of Mickey. You'd expect Mickey to say: "Wottell, Jack, toss 'em in and let us fight."

Mandell and McTigue.

Mandell, the clever, forced Fields to come in overweight when clever Jackie was a lightweight, and it was good financial judgment, for that time Jackie had the edge. McTigue was a very clever and hard hitting light-heavyweight, but when he didn't have his own referee along he was strong for no decision fights.

Even buzz-saw LaBarba, flyweight champ, made dangerous punchers fatten up to fight him.
The championship holding generally spoils a good fighter. The only thing to do about it is to make champions defend their titles every time they show, and then we'll see championship bouts, not joke exhibitions.

Corbett and Pirrone.

Last week I saw Young Corbett and Paul Pirrone of Cleveland in a fairly hot 10 rounds. Pirrone is a dangerous puncher, and while Corbett earned the fight to him all the way and outboxed him enough to hold a lead, he boxed with plenty of caution. In the tenth round, Pirrone shook him up twice with right hand smashes on the jaw. Corbett won.

After the fight Pirrone walked over to Young Corbett's dressing room, slapped Corbett on the back laughingly and said: "I'm going to take a shower and dress. Hurry up so we can go out and get that spaghetti dinner/' Corbett laughed and went to the showers. Half an hour later the two boys who had been trying to knock each other for a goal were on the way to dinner together. Pirrone is a couple of months short of twenty one. Corbett is already a veteran.

Pirrone Has Better Chance.

Of the two, perhaps Pirrone has the better chance to become officially a welter champion. The
champion may fight the youngster and step in the way of his punch. But the welter champion and two or three favored "contenders" know what will happen if they meet Corbett. and they'll duck every time he comes in sight. It will be a pity if the best welter in the world grows too old to fight before he gets one of these dodging "champions” into a corner.

The News-Sentinel
Fort Wayne, Indiana
9 July 1922

By Robert Edgren

Benny Leonard for the lightweight championship at Jersey City July 27th, is going to have half a chance to get the title. There being no decisions in Jersey bouts he can win only by knocking Leonard out. After all the talk and challenging, the evasion and sidestepping and haggling of the past two years this should have been a decision bout.

Where men are at all evenly matched and both are clever boxers the chance of a knockout in a 12 round bout are slight.

A knockout is more likely in this bout, however, than in many others because Leonard never makes a runaway fight, and if Tendler’s attack weakens Leonard will press him hard and try to finish him. With Leonard Standing up to Tendler's attack there will always be a chance that Tendler may slip through Benny's guard a punch like the one that knocked out Bobby Barrett for half an hour.

What are Leonard's chances? Leonard hasn't shown any sign yet of slipping back in fighting form. Whenever he trains for a lightweight championship bout he gets down fine on weight and looks as hard as when he won the title He has all his speed and courage, and is always trying to win as quickly as possible. When Leonard is hurt he fights faster and hits harder.

His fights with Willie Ritchie and Mitchell are examples of Benny fighting style. The first time he fought Ritchie in san Francisco he was nearly knocked out in the second round and pressed hard in the third, but he came back fighting toe to toe in the fourth and drove Ritchie back on his heels with hard punches. When he fought Ritchie in New Jersey he knew every move Ritchie might make and he slugged with Willie and battered him until he was helpless. In the Mitchell fight Benny was nearly knocked out but recovered immediately and knocked Mitchell out.

Leonard is a fast boxer and a slugging fighter in one. In Kilbane he met a clever boxer with a world of speed and a good punch. He went after Kilbane from the first step, dazzled Kilbane with shifty fighting and swift punches that went through Johnny’s guard like hornets through a wide open barn door, outclassed him in everything and quickly and easily knocked him out.

That was years ago but Leonard hasn’t “Gone Back” since. He is never out of training, and he lives like a college athlete. Tendler. also a Hebrew, is much like Leonard. He knows that the championship would mean a fortune to him.

And for two or three years has concentrated everything on winning It, sticking to training and the simple life. Tendler is less stocky than Leonard and taller. Tendler has lighter legs than Leonard, his shoulders are wide and his reach is long. His face is long and narrow, and his nose prominent and his jaw is square.

In boxing Tendler is entirely different. He follows the "southpaw" style once made popular by Knockout Brown of New York. Boxing with right foot forward and right hand extended. He uses the left hand with much of Brown’s effectiveness. Beside having something of an educated right. Tendler has an advantage in his boxing position because he has plenty of practice in fighting men who stick out their left hand and left foot, while others have little experience against southpaws. He has fought nearly everyone but Leonard among the lightweights. Leonard hasn’t had any other starboard battery rivals.

Lew Tendler was a Philadelphia newsboy, and had his first ring experience when he stepped in as a volunteer for a preliminary fight, when he was fifteen. He made good from the first bout. He was naturally cunning and crafty. He didn’t win many fights with knockouts for a long time, but he was always fighting fast in the last ten seconds and nobody stopped him. As he met better men he improved and still held the lead.

Once in a while Tendler surprised his followers by knocking out some good man. He stopped George Chaney in a round, and half a dozen others of like class in from 3 to 6. He is cautious
more than aggressive, but he has a quality of determination that shows up when dazed or hurt. Like Leonard he is dangerous all the time. But where Leonard is always out to win at the first chance, Tendler is too cautious try to hurry matters.

When he slips over a K. 0. punch it is after long and cautious waiting and calculation of risks and chances. In the recent Barrett fight Tendler knew he was against the most dangerous puncher among the championship hunters. He never let Barrett find an opening for his deadly right hand punch. At the same time he punched Barrett steadily until at last he found his opening and drove a crashing left Into Barrett's solar plexus for a clean one-punch knockout.

That's the punch Benny Leonard will have to watch. It's the punch Leonard hasn't been accustomed to in other fights. For several months part of Leonard's training has been against clever boxers who have been coached to oppose him in Tendler’s characteristic position. But the imitation never has the genius of the original. Blocking the sparring partner's imitation of Tender's best punches isn't like blocking the real article when It comes winging.

Tendler is undoubtedly going to keep Benny busy watching. But Tendler isn't going to have any restful time himself. It Is said that Tendler has most trouble with a free right hand puncher. Willie Jackson once turned Tendler a half summersault and nearly slapped him for a ten count with a half hooked right on the chin. Rock Kansas, with his disregard for hard punches and his busy right hand, won a New York decision over Tendler. And of all The right hand hitters in the lightweight ranks Leonard is fastest and surest. Benny usually starts them with his left, but he’s an artist in finishing the job with a couple of right hand socks Dempsey wouldn’t need to be ashamed of.

I posted this on another thread regarding the biggest boxing event ever in Seattle.

Biggest boxing match in Seattle history

Al Hostak upset Freddie Steele for the world middleweight title at Seattle's Civic Stadium, July 26, 1938.


Al Hostak was the Seattleite in the match. He was born in Minneapolis, the fourth of six children, to Czech immigrants who moved to Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. He dropped out of Cleveland High School to pursue the boxing career he began as a 16-year-old in 1932.

His opponent was Tacoma native Steele, who had won the middleweight title from Babe Risko in 1936. Steele, with "one of the finest left hands in the game," according to then-P-I sportswriter Dick Sharp, had an 83-4-5 record when he faced the smaller Hostak.

Hostak was 22 when he signed the contract to fight for the world middleweight title, and entered the ring with a 43-1-7 record and 14 straight knockouts.

The 158-pound Hostak knocked down Steele four times before referee Jack Dempsey mercifully counted him out. It was the first time Steele, who died in 1984 at the age of 71, had been counted out.


"I think ring historians will agree that Al Hostak punched as hard as any middleweight that ever lived," boxing historian John Oaks told KOMO/4 in 2006.

He retired after defeating Jack Snapp on Jan. 7, 1949, with a record of 62-9-12 (42 KOs), according to his son, Phil Hostak. In 1999, the P-I ranked Hostak No. 17 on the list of Seattle's top 100 athletes of the century, ahead of Sonics legend Lenny Wilkens and NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon.

Before his death on Aug. 13, 2006, Hostak was the oldest living world champion.

.

Steele was the true Seattlelite, having been born in Seattle.