Redl vs Milone

I thought I'd start this blog off with an exciting fight my Dad, Stefan Redl had against Al "Rocky" Milone in 1957. Aside from the fierce brawl, which was common for fights in the 50's, it's also fun to go around saying, "Hey, my Dad fought 'Rocky' and won... TWICE!"

Their first battle was in 3/18/57 at the St. Nicholas Arena in NYC. This was an arena my Dad broke a record in for the biggest gate for a boxing match. (He drew all the Germans and Hungarians from President St. in Passaic. Bus loads of people from the local saloon and some of which my Dad's barber brought in!) Chris Shankle the commentator, sort of a pre-Howard Cosell who commented on fights back then, said this fight drew the biggest crowd in St. Nicks ever. I don't know if my Dad broke it again later.

Milone knocked my Dad down twice in the second round. First he slipped, which often happened to him, but since his glove touched the canvas, it counted as a knockdown. The second knockdown was for real! But Stefan made up for it by TKO in round 8!

A couple of months later, they met again in 5/4/57 in the Paterson Armory in NJ. [Check out that fight promotional poster! $5 for a seat!] Milone promised after their first encounter that the next time he knocked Stefan down, he'd keep him there! So recollects my Dad as well as indicated on the poster itself under Milone's name. But Stefan won that fight also, this time by KO in round 6.

An interesting side note is that before the fight they introduce Johnny DiGilio, who my Dad fought in 3/29/58 in Paterson NJ. He won that fight and became NJ Welterweight Champ. It's the biggest trophy on his mantle. (I use to compare my Han Solo action figure to the bronze boxing figures on it.)

Below is a broadcast of the first REDL vs MILONE fight! [Due to file sizes, I broke the fight up into two parts. Here's part one of a 38 min. video! It takes a while for the fight to start, but I didn't want to edit anything out. Interesting to see how things were done back in those days.]:

Stefan was cut in the first round, which also often happened to my Dad and you'll see his corner tend to his wound. One story he told me was that sometimes they'd keep half-dollar coins on ice and use that as a cold compress for swollen eyes and cheeks. Another more grisly story my Mom mentioned was during the 2nd Vince Martinez fight, my Dad had a plastic like film called "New Skin" applied to one of his cuts that was suppose to stop the bleeding. The blood needed somewhere to go, so part of his face and head swelled. Duva never used it again. My Dad told my Mom's Dad to take my Mom home. Since in those days men were only allowed in the dressing rooms, my Mom didn't see Stefan for a week or so until the swelling stopped. Even then, his features still seemed swollen.

At about 10:50 of the first video you'll see Al Milone hit my Dad behind the ears. This is called "Rabbit Punches". I first heard the term from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It can't knock a guy out, but could distract him with pain. You'll see old fighters and wrestlers especially with lumpy ears called cauliflower ears from abuse like that. When I drew Popeye's Brutus, he always had a cauliflower ear. (Can you tell I'm a cartoonist yet?) Those type of punches are illegal, but back then usually the ref looked the other way or simply told the other fighter to watch out.

My Dad told me once punches like this was the difference between "boxing" and "fighting". He had over 150 amateur fights in Germany where he was called "a boxer". Being a boxer, you try to tag your opponent with punches in specific areas of the head and body using specific areas of your glove. If you cut a guy, you tried to avoid the cut and still win. If you could do that, then you are really a champ. When he came to America in 1956 and turned pro, he was called "a fighter". As such, when you cut a guy, you rub your head against it in a clinch, poke the thumb of the glove in it, rub your forearms and elbows against it when the ref wasn't looking and generally hit nothing but that cut to bust it wide open and at least get the ring doctor to stop the fight. Almost a different sport!

One specific story my Dad told me was one of his first professional fights was with a guy shorter than him. My Dad thought going in that he'd beat this guy easy, "He's even shorter than me!" Well in round 1, this little guy pushed my Dad, then punched him when he was off balance. This little guy is getting the better of him! At the end of the round, Carl Duva, my Dad's trainer yelled at him and threatened to walk away from the fight. "If he pushes you, you push him back!" he yelled. Scolded and a little embarrassed, in the next round my Dad gave him a shove, then threw a left hook and down he went! It was a clear illustration of the difference between "boxing" and "fighting".

Of this fight, my Dad said Al Milone could really slug and was one tough guy. You can see Milone swinging bombs left and right! But he mentions that he won the fight because he fought smarter. My Dad was a better boxer and was in better shape with better stamina. That's what won the fight. But you have to hand it to Milone... in the end he wanted more!

My Mom mentioned that she never saw this fight, but saw the re-match (of the poster above). She knew my Dad as a boxer, but wasn't even dating him at that time. She remembers seeing through a window at the Paterson Armory my Dad's Army friends, whom he served with at Ft. Dix, carrying him on their shoulders upon his victory. My Mom was often dragged to fights by our Aunt Minnie!