Seattle boxing champ Albert "Al" Hostak (1916-2006), nicknamed "the Savage Slav," was born in Minneapolis to Czech immigrants who later moved to Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. He dropped out of Cleveland High School at 16 years old to pursue a career in boxing, and had his debut fight in 1932. He retired from boxing in 1949 with a record of 64 wins, 9 losses, 11 draws, and having won the middleweight championship title twice.
The program pictured here features five bouts organized by Seattle boxing promoter Nate Druxman (1892-1969), and held at the Seattle Civic Arena. The main event was Al Hostak's middleweight bout against fellow Seattleite Harry Lloyd "Kid" Matthews (1922-2003). The program incorrectly gives the night of the fight as Tuesday, September 28, 1942; the event actually occurred on Tuesday, September 29, 1942, and according to an article printed the following day in The Seattle Daily Times, Matthews won the fight by decision.
Caption information source: "Al Hostak, 1916-2006: Seattle fighter won middleweight title," by Casey McNerthney, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 13, 2006 Caption information source: boxrec.com Caption information source: https://highlinehistory.org/matthews
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv67520
