Seattle boxing champ Albert "Al" Hostak (1916-2006), nicknamed "the Savage Slav," was born in Minneapolis to Czech immigrants who 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, and 11 draws.
Hostak won the middleweight championship title twice. In July 1937, he won the title from Tacoma native Freddie Steele (1912-1984) by knockout in the first round in front of a record audience of 35,000 at Seattle's Civic Stadium. Hostak then lost the title to Solly Krieger (1909-1964) in 15 rounds by decision in November 1938. On June 27, 1939, in a rematch bout at the Civic Stadium, Hostak regained the middleweight championship title from Krieger by TKO in the fourth round.
This photo shows Solly Krieger grimacing after receiving a blow from Al Hostak in the June 1939 rematch fight at the Civic Stadium. The Civic Auditorium was part of a 1928 complex built on the future site of Seattle Center, and has been known since 2003 as Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.
Caption information sources: "Al Hostak, 1916-2006: Seattle fighter won middleweight title" by Casey McNerthney, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 13, 2006; boxrec.com
ID Number: 1986.5.29156.1a
Date: 1939
Physical Description: 1 nitrate negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
