Fred Apostoli

Alfredo "Fred" Apostoli (February 2, 1913 – November 29, 1973) was a rugged, accomplished body punching middleweight, who was recognized as the world champion when he defeated Marcel Thil on September 23, 1937. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Apostoli as the #8 ranked middleweight of all time. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1978, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Fred Apostoli
Statistics
Real nameAlfredo Apostoli
Nickname(s)The Boxing Bell Hop
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height5 ft 9 12 in (1.77 m)
Reach70 in (178 cm)
Nationality American
Born(1913-02-02)February 2, 1913
San Francisco
DiedNovember 29, 1973(1973-11-29) (aged 60)
San Francisco
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights72
Wins61
Wins by KO31
Losses10
Draws1
External image
Apostoli (right) having his hand wrapped in an undated photo by Harry E. Winkler (film negative held by the University of Notre Dame library)

Early life

Freddie Apostoli was born in San Francisco and lived in North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf as a young child. His father worked as both a fisherman and laborer in the San Francisco area but had grown up in a farming community near Gibbstown, NJ in the late 19th century.

The Apostoli family immigrated to NYC in the 1880s from the city San Benedetto del Tronto in the Ascoli Piceno Province in the Marche region of Italy. Apostoli's mother died in child birth in the early 1920s and his father sent his other younger children back to live with relatives on the East coast and placed Freddy in the care of a Catholic orphanage in San Francisco. Apostoli attended grade school and high school in North Beach and was a lifelong friend of classmate Joe Dimaggio.

Tragically, Apostoli's father was one the workers killed in 1928 while working on a construction detail trying to access the damaged portion of a dam which had failed in Los Angeles County. During his time in the orphanage, Apostoli and the other teens were encouraged by the nuns of the parish to work their disputes out through boxing. Freddie quickly became a master of said technique and showed such promise that the parish arranged for him to receive more formal training. These lessons at a local YMCA gym were partially funded thru the donations the parish had received over the years from his family back East. Apostoli, who won the Pacific Coast Junior Welterweight championship, Golden Gloves Middleweight championship, and the National AAU middleweight championship in 1934, turned pro later that year.

Pro career

Middleweight contender

He quickly moved up the ladder and fought future middleweight champion Freddie Steele within his first seven months as a professional. Although the more experienced Steele stopped him in 10 rounds, Apostoli went on to defeat top fighters such as Swede Berglund, Babe Marino, Babe Risko, Solly Krieger and Lou Brouillard to become the leading contender for the world championship.

World middleweight champion

Eventually, Apostoli was matched with title claimant Marcel Thil; he defeated the Frenchman via a 10th-round TKO. The New York Boxing Commission, however, still recognized Freddie Steele as champion. In 1938, Apostoli fought Steele in a non-title rematch and avenged his earlier defeat with a 9th-round KO. On 11/18/1938 Apostoli will win by TKO in the 8th round of Young Corbett III and will officially be recognized by the NYSAC as absolute middleweight world champion. Apostoli also fought as a light heavyweight. Although he dropped two close decisions to Hall of Famer Billy Conn, Conn always credited Apostoli as a great fighter who hurt him in both matches. On October 2, 1939, Apostoli's title reign ended when he lost the middleweight crown to Ceferino Garcia.

World War II service and retirement

Apostoli served in the United States Navy during World War II as a gunner aboard the light cruiser USS Columbia (CL-56) in the Pacific theater. Wounded in battle, he received a Bronze Star and returned to San Francisco in 1946. He rehabilitated from injuries sustained in the Battle of Midway at Letterman Army Hospital located in the Presidio of San Francisco. He retired from the ring in 1948 and served as a member of the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Notable bouts

Result Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes[1]
Win Georgie Abrams MD 10 1947-11-17 Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Draw Ken Overlin PTS 10 1942-06-26 Foreman Field, Norfolk, Virginia
Loss Tony Zale PTS 10 1940-11-19 Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington
Loss Melio Bettina RTD 12 (15) 1940-02-02 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win Melio Bettina MD 12 1940-01-05 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss Ceferino Garcia KO 7 (15) 1939-10-02 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Lost NYSAC World Middleweight Title
Loss Billy Conn UD 15 1939-02-10 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss Billy Conn UD 10 1939-01-06 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win Young Corbett III TKO 8 (15) 1939-01-06 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Retained NYSAC World Middleweight Title
Loss Young Corbett III PTS 10 1938-02-22 Seals Stadium, San Francisco, California
Win Freddie Steele TKO 9 (12) 1938-01-07 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win Marcel Thil TKO 10 (12) 1937-09-23 Polo Grounds, New York, New York
Win Solly Krieger TKO 5 (12) 1937-04-14 Hippodrome, New York, New York
Win Solly Krieger UD 10 1937-02-17 Hippodrome, New York, New York
Loss Ken Overlin MD 10 1937-01-27 Hippodrome, New York, New York
Win Lou Brouillard PTS 10 1936-10-09 Dreamland Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win Babe Risko PTS 10 1936-05-08 Dreamland Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Loss Freddie Steele TKO 10 (10) 1935-04-01 Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California

References

  1. Fred Apostoli's Professional Boxing Record Archived 2014-05-25 at the Wayback Machine. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
Achievements
Preceded by
Freddie Steele
Recognition Withdrawn
NYSAC World Middleweight Champion
18 November 1938 – 2 October 1939
Succeeded by
Ceferino Garcia
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