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Lee Ramage at 80 is fighting a tougher foe than Joe Lewis
BYLINE: Jerry Magee, Staff Writer
At 80, Lee Ramage in a way still is on the move, up on his toes, jabbing, feinting, knowing the other guy's strengths, making him miss, frustrating him, in there to go the distance, to win. This time, his opponent is one as menacing as Joe Louis must have appeared when Ramage, a natural light heavyweight, twice fought him in the 1930s. Ramage recently suffered a heart attack and is resting at his San Diego home.
No pictures, please. "Not until I get squared away," he said. With him is his wife, Ruth. In 1930, when he was 19, Ramage said he met a girl in San Diego who was 15. In 1980, they met again in Las Vegas, where Ramage had gone to work after Margaret, his first wife, died in a fire in 1975. "She said, `Why don't you come back to San Diego?' " Ramage related.
He did.
Fifty years after they met, they married. "We're very happy," Ramage said.
"She's a swell person." Nice love story.
Nice fighter.
That's what Ramage was.
He had class.
A boxer, in the full meaning of the word.
The fight game thrives in times of depression, hunger being the greatest of motivations.
In the late '20s and '30s, in addition to his two bouts with Louis, Ramage opposed such heavyweights as Maxie Rosenbloom, King Levinsky, Ace Hudkins, Babe Hunt, Lou Nova and Bob Pastor. When Ramage was inducted into San Diego's Hall of Fame in 1972, the late Ken Bojens, a former sports editor of The San Diego Union, said this: "It was said of Lee that he was a fighter who arrived five years too early.
He fought during the depression years, when purses were small." Ramage said he doesn't remember how much he received for his bouts with Louis.
It was no more than $10,000, he said.
He met Louis twice in little more than two months.
In their first bout in Chicago in December 1934, Ramage won the first seven rounds handily before a Louis punch shattered the San Diego heavyweight's upper left arm, according to a Bojens account. Ramage likely rushed too quickly into a rematch.
In Los Angeles in February 1935, Louis stopped him in the second round. Louis, a first-year professional in 1934, would go on to claim the heavyweight championship by knocking out James J. Braddock in the eighth round of a 1937 fight in Chicago, but Louis never forgot how masterfully Ramage had boxed against him. Margaret, his first wife, died in a fire in 1975. "She said, `Why don't you come back to San Diego?' " Ramage related.
He did.
Fifty years after they met, they married. "We're very happy," Ramage said.
"She's a swell person." Nice love story.
Nice fighter.
That's what Ramage was.
He had class.
A boxer, in the full meaning of the word.
The fight game thrives in times of depression, hunger being the greatest of motivations.
In the late '20s and '30s, in addition to his two bouts with Louis, Ramage opposed such heavyweights as Maxie Rosenbloom, King Levinsky, Ace Hudkins, Babe Hunt, Lou Nova and Bob Pastor. When Ramage was inducted into San Diego's Hall of Fame in 1972, the late Ken Bojens, a former sports editor of The San Diego Union, said this: "It was said of Lee that he was a fighter who arrived five years too early.
He fought during the depression years, when purses were small." Ramage said he doesn't remember how much he received for his bouts with Louis.
It was no more than $10,000, he said.
He met Louis twice in little more than two months.
In their first bout in Chicago in December 1934, Ramage won the first seven rounds handily before a Louis punch shattered the San Diego heavyweight's upper left arm, according to a Bojens account. Ramage likely rushed too quickly into a rematch.
In Los Angeles in February 1935, Louis stopped him in the second round. Louis, a first-year professional in 1934, would go on to claim the heavyweight championship by knocking out James J. Braddock in the eighth round of a 1937 fight in Chicago, but Louis never forgot how masterfully Ramage had boxed against him. In a 1942 interview with The Ring magazine, Louis remarked on how well the Navy had chosen when it selected Ramage to teach sailors how to box. "They sure got the right man," Louis said.
"It tickles me to hear everybody rave about how good Billy Conn can box.
Conn is smart in a funny sort of way, but nobody I ever saw or ever fought could box like that Ramage, not when he boxed me, anyway. "The first time I fought him, I didn't hit him once for five rounds.
He looked like he was trying to see just how close he could make me miss.
And what a left!
He didn't block punches like Conn does; he just moved his head a little bit when I'd punch at him, and pop!
I'd get hit with another left." "I saw him box some other fellows out in Chicago, and he's one boy I loved to watch box.
I don't know how he did it.
Poor Chappie always said the same thing.
He was crazy about Ramage as a boxer.
Conn makes more mistakes in a minute than Ramage did in a whole fight." "Chappie" was Lyle Blackburn, Louis' trainer. During his time in Las Vegas, where he worked in a garage and conditioned fighters, Ramage said he sometimes would call on Louis, then serving as a greeter for a casino.
"Joe always would introduce me the same way -- as the finest boxer he ever met," Ramage said.
"He was a real nice guy." Louis died April 12, 1981. Ramage said his fights with Louis were fun.
Could he live his life over again, he said he likely would become a fighter again. "I sure had a wonderful time," he said.
"I traveled all over.
I fought in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and twice at the old Madison Square Garden at 29th and Broadway.
The promoter was Jimmy Johnson.
I liked him.
A right guy.
Most promoters I didn't like." Ramage said he "doesn't care too much" for boxing as it currently is being conducted, but not because he is envious of the purses fighters now are being paid.
Mike Tyson, to make this point, earned $20 million for dismissing Michael Spinks in just more than a minute. "If a fighter can draw the money, he's worth it," Ramage said.
"Tyson can draw the crowds.
If he didn't get the money, a promoter would." Ramage said he would favor Tyson over Muhammad Ali. And a Tyson-Louis bout? "The winner would be who hit first, that's all," Ramage said. Lee Ramage was born in Pismo Beach in 1910, the youngest of eight children in his family.
In 1912, he said, his father, a realtor, had a business appointment in San Diego. "And he fell in love with it," Ramage said.
"He came back to where we were living in San Luis Obispo and told us we were moving to San Diego." The Ramages leased a home for about $60 a month, as Lee recalls, on National Avenue in Logan Heights.
"In 1912," Ramage said, "there was no Mission Hills, no Hillcrest, no North Park. They didn't pave El Cajon Boulevard until 1927 or 1928." Ramage attended San Diego High School, where baseball was his first interest.
He was encouraged to try out for the football team, but he said he didn't care too much for that sport. In a room near the gym, meantime, some amateur boxers were working out. Ramage joined them. "I was so used to working out, I just went and worked with them," he said. "To me, boxing was just another game, just like baseball." At 17, he said, he won a San Diego amateur light heavyweight championship. Representing the San Diego Athletic Club, he went on to win two Far Western Amateur titles in San Francisco. "They said after that that I might as well turn pro," he said.
K.S.
"Pop" Hubley became his manager.
For nine years, he fought professionally, being ranked as high as No. 5 among heavyweights.
His record: 76-12. His last big fight was against Bob Pastor in May 1938, with Pastor stopping him in eight. Ramage is in another fight now.
It's another big one.
Know this: He's in there, moving.
LOAD-DATE: August 1, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: 1 PIC; CAPTIONS: Lee Ramage had a 76-12 record boxing in the '20s and '30s. (E-4); PHOTOBY: Hall of Champions
DOCUMENT-TYPE: BIOG; INTERVIEW;
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 1990 The San Diego Union-Tribune
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BYLINE: Jerry Magee, Staff Writer
At 80, Lee Ramage in a way still is on the move, up on his toes, jabbing, feinting, knowing the other guy's strengths, making him miss, frustrating him, in there to go the distance, to win. This time, his opponent is one as menacing as Joe Louis must have appeared when Ramage, a natural light heavyweight, twice fought him in the 1930s. Ramage recently suffered a heart attack and is resting at his San Diego home.
No pictures, please. "Not until I get squared away," he said. With him is his wife, Ruth. In 1930, when he was 19, Ramage said he met a girl in San Diego who was 15. In 1980, they met again in Las Vegas, where Ramage had gone to work after Margaret, his first wife, died in a fire in 1975. "She said, `Why don't you come back to San Diego?' " Ramage related.
He did.
Fifty years after they met, they married. "We're very happy," Ramage said.
"She's a swell person." Nice love story.
Nice fighter.
That's what Ramage was.
He had class.
A boxer, in the full meaning of the word.
The fight game thrives in times of depression, hunger being the greatest of motivations.
In the late '20s and '30s, in addition to his two bouts with Louis, Ramage opposed such heavyweights as Maxie Rosenbloom, King Levinsky, Ace Hudkins, Babe Hunt, Lou Nova and Bob Pastor. When Ramage was inducted into San Diego's Hall of Fame in 1972, the late Ken Bojens, a former sports editor of The San Diego Union, said this: "It was said of Lee that he was a fighter who arrived five years too early.
He fought during the depression years, when purses were small." Ramage said he doesn't remember how much he received for his bouts with Louis.
It was no more than $10,000, he said.
He met Louis twice in little more than two months.
In their first bout in Chicago in December 1934, Ramage won the first seven rounds handily before a Louis punch shattered the San Diego heavyweight's upper left arm, according to a Bojens account. Ramage likely rushed too quickly into a rematch.
In Los Angeles in February 1935, Louis stopped him in the second round. Louis, a first-year professional in 1934, would go on to claim the heavyweight championship by knocking out James J. Braddock in the eighth round of a 1937 fight in Chicago, but Louis never forgot how masterfully Ramage had boxed against him. Margaret, his first wife, died in a fire in 1975. "She said, `Why don't you come back to San Diego?' " Ramage related.
He did.
Fifty years after they met, they married. "We're very happy," Ramage said.
"She's a swell person." Nice love story.
Nice fighter.
That's what Ramage was.
He had class.
A boxer, in the full meaning of the word.
The fight game thrives in times of depression, hunger being the greatest of motivations.
In the late '20s and '30s, in addition to his two bouts with Louis, Ramage opposed such heavyweights as Maxie Rosenbloom, King Levinsky, Ace Hudkins, Babe Hunt, Lou Nova and Bob Pastor. When Ramage was inducted into San Diego's Hall of Fame in 1972, the late Ken Bojens, a former sports editor of The San Diego Union, said this: "It was said of Lee that he was a fighter who arrived five years too early.
He fought during the depression years, when purses were small." Ramage said he doesn't remember how much he received for his bouts with Louis.
It was no more than $10,000, he said.
He met Louis twice in little more than two months.
In their first bout in Chicago in December 1934, Ramage won the first seven rounds handily before a Louis punch shattered the San Diego heavyweight's upper left arm, according to a Bojens account. Ramage likely rushed too quickly into a rematch.
In Los Angeles in February 1935, Louis stopped him in the second round. Louis, a first-year professional in 1934, would go on to claim the heavyweight championship by knocking out James J. Braddock in the eighth round of a 1937 fight in Chicago, but Louis never forgot how masterfully Ramage had boxed against him. In a 1942 interview with The Ring magazine, Louis remarked on how well the Navy had chosen when it selected Ramage to teach sailors how to box. "They sure got the right man," Louis said.
"It tickles me to hear everybody rave about how good Billy Conn can box.
Conn is smart in a funny sort of way, but nobody I ever saw or ever fought could box like that Ramage, not when he boxed me, anyway. "The first time I fought him, I didn't hit him once for five rounds.
He looked like he was trying to see just how close he could make me miss.
And what a left!
He didn't block punches like Conn does; he just moved his head a little bit when I'd punch at him, and pop!
I'd get hit with another left." "I saw him box some other fellows out in Chicago, and he's one boy I loved to watch box.
I don't know how he did it.
Poor Chappie always said the same thing.
He was crazy about Ramage as a boxer.
Conn makes more mistakes in a minute than Ramage did in a whole fight." "Chappie" was Lyle Blackburn, Louis' trainer. During his time in Las Vegas, where he worked in a garage and conditioned fighters, Ramage said he sometimes would call on Louis, then serving as a greeter for a casino.
"Joe always would introduce me the same way -- as the finest boxer he ever met," Ramage said.
"He was a real nice guy." Louis died April 12, 1981. Ramage said his fights with Louis were fun.
Could he live his life over again, he said he likely would become a fighter again. "I sure had a wonderful time," he said.
"I traveled all over.
I fought in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and twice at the old Madison Square Garden at 29th and Broadway.
The promoter was Jimmy Johnson.
I liked him.
A right guy.
Most promoters I didn't like." Ramage said he "doesn't care too much" for boxing as it currently is being conducted, but not because he is envious of the purses fighters now are being paid.
Mike Tyson, to make this point, earned $20 million for dismissing Michael Spinks in just more than a minute. "If a fighter can draw the money, he's worth it," Ramage said.
"Tyson can draw the crowds.
If he didn't get the money, a promoter would." Ramage said he would favor Tyson over Muhammad Ali. And a Tyson-Louis bout? "The winner would be who hit first, that's all," Ramage said. Lee Ramage was born in Pismo Beach in 1910, the youngest of eight children in his family.
In 1912, he said, his father, a realtor, had a business appointment in San Diego. "And he fell in love with it," Ramage said.
"He came back to where we were living in San Luis Obispo and told us we were moving to San Diego." The Ramages leased a home for about $60 a month, as Lee recalls, on National Avenue in Logan Heights.
"In 1912," Ramage said, "there was no Mission Hills, no Hillcrest, no North Park. They didn't pave El Cajon Boulevard until 1927 or 1928." Ramage attended San Diego High School, where baseball was his first interest.
He was encouraged to try out for the football team, but he said he didn't care too much for that sport. In a room near the gym, meantime, some amateur boxers were working out. Ramage joined them. "I was so used to working out, I just went and worked with them," he said. "To me, boxing was just another game, just like baseball." At 17, he said, he won a San Diego amateur light heavyweight championship. Representing the San Diego Athletic Club, he went on to win two Far Western Amateur titles in San Francisco. "They said after that that I might as well turn pro," he said.
K.S.
"Pop" Hubley became his manager.
For nine years, he fought professionally, being ranked as high as No. 5 among heavyweights.
His record: 76-12. His last big fight was against Bob Pastor in May 1938, with Pastor stopping him in eight. Ramage is in another fight now.
It's another big one.
Know this: He's in there, moving.
LOAD-DATE: August 1, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: 1 PIC; CAPTIONS: Lee Ramage had a 76-12 record boxing in the '20s and '30s. (E-4); PHOTOBY: Hall of Champions
DOCUMENT-TYPE: BIOG; INTERVIEW;
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 1990 The San Diego Union-Tribune
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