Pete Rademacher Dies at 91, Olympic Gold Medalist Fought for Heavyweight Title in First Pro Bout
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Sandusky, Ohio (June 11th, 2020)– Pete Rademacher, the outgoing heavyweight who won the Chicago Golden Gloves, the All-Army championship, the All-Armed Forces Championship, and the 1956 Olympic Heavyweight Gold Medal, then challenged for the World Heavyweight championship in his first professional bout, has died in his native Sandusky, Ohio at the age of 91.
Rademacher made a bold prediction he could win the World Heavyweight championship in his first professional bout, an outrageous taunt accepted by the then World Heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. On August 22, 1957, Rademacher dropped Patterson in the second round. However, Patterson got up and knocked down Rademacher seven times before knocking him out in the seventh round.
Rademacher did not fight Muhammad Ali, but he did fight and lose to heavyweight contenders Archie Moore, Zora Folley, Brian London, Karl Mildenberger. Rademacher beat George Chuvalo, LaMar Clark, and former World middleweight champion Carl ‘Bobo’ Olson. Rademacher retired after winning a 10 rounds decision over Olson on April 3 1962, at Honolulu Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, retiring at age 34 with a professional record of 15-7-1 with eight knockouts.
A salesman and inventor, Rademacher was married with a daughter, and served as president of the Kiefer-McNeil Company. The company was founded by 1936 Olympic Gold Medalist Adolph Kiefer, Rademacher’s longtime business partner, who died in 2017 at age 98, a world record holder in aquatics competition, and an aquatics product inventor and innovator.
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