324:. Young Ali would occasionally train at Bud Bruner's Headline Boxing Gym and test himself against the more experienced Stitch. Rich Keeling, a former boxer and promoter, said, "Cassius would leave everyday, saying, 'I'll be back tomorrow, and I'm going to get you then.' A week or two later, here he'd come. He never did get to where he could handle Rudell." Three months after Stitch's death, Ali won a gold medal at the 1960
394:"Our grandmother came down from Detroit when our father died, and after mother passed, she kept all of us together at the house there – instead of us getting separated," Donald Stitch, the oldest child, remembered. "She took us to church, worked day work, got Social Security, and we never wanted for anything. The lights were never turned out."
412:, and Love took two. The fight was stopped at 1:55 of the first round in favor of Stitch. Following the stoppage, Love walked to his corner, sat down on his stool and then slumped over unconscious. He was hospitalized and had two operations to remove blood clots from his brain. Love died six days after the fight.
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worker, fell into the river and began to sink. Stitch, who was fishing below a dam, waded into the water and took hold of
Schifcar. The current swept Stitch off his feet, but he maintained a strong hold on Schifcar. Stitch supported him at the surface as they drifted sixty-eight feet in water as much
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in New York City on
February 6, 1959, illustrated his character. In the third round, there was an accidental clash of heads. Stitch wasn't hurt, but Ortega was staggering around. Stitch backed away and let Ortega's head clear: he didn't believe in taking advantage of an opponent in such a situation.
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as his manager and trainer, Stitch started his professional boxing career as a welterweight in 1956. He won his first three professional fights, then lost a four-round split decision to Art Glass. He followed his first pro loss with two knockout victories, then lost a six-round decision in a rematch
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Stitch was scheduled to fight Carl
Hubbard in Chicago, Illinois on January 6, 1960, but the Illinois State Athletic Commission discovered that he had a cataract on his left eye and barred him from fighting. He returned home and was examined by two Louisville eye specialists who determined that the
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On August 26, 1959, Stitch faced future World
Welterweight Champion Luis Manuel Rodriguez at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Louisville. Stitch was ranked second in the world at welterweight, while Rodriguez was ranked seventh. Rodriguez won by a ten-round split decision, advancing his record to
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On
January 20, 1964, Stitch's widow, Rosa Mae Stitch, was shot and killed at her home while her six children slept in adjoining rooms. She was the victim of what was believed to be a murder-suicide incident. Her body, a bullet wound in the upper chest, was found lying against a bathroom door.
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in
Louisville. Stitch, who was the betting underdog, defeated Bahama by a ten-round unanimous decision. On December 28, 1958, Stitch defeated middleweight Chico Vejar by a ten-round unanimous decision at the Jefferson County Armory in Louisville. He gave away 11½ pounds to Vejar, a winner of
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in New York City. Stitch entered the fight ranked tenth in the world at welterweight. Logart, an 11–5 favorite, was ranked fifth. It was a close battle all the way. Logart had a strong finish and won by a close ten-round unanimous decision.
294:, was ranked third and had seventy-seven professional wins. Stitch won by a ten-round unanimous decision. Following his win over Dupas, Stitch fought Holly Mims, who was ranked eighth in world at middleweight. The fight took place in
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when Oliver slipped. He grabbed Stitch, and they both went into the Ohio River. As he was swimming back to shore, Stitch heard Oliver yelling and went back to get him. Stitch and Oliver, both weighed downed by heavy
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in Sydney on May 2, 1960. They fought before a crowd of 11,000. Dupas came on strong after a sluggish start, using his speed and boxing skill to pile up points. Dupas won by a twelve-round unanimous decision.
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at
Freedom Hall in Louisville on July 6, 1960. Promoter Bill King set aside 35% of the gross gate for Stitch's widow and six children. Bud Bruner accepted an invitation to act as one of Akins' seconds.
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For his tremendous sacrifice, Stitch posthumously received a silver medal from the
Carnegie Hero Fund. Only three other people have received two Carnegie Hero Fund medals. A Bible verse that Stitch—an
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Church—had doubtless heard many times in his young life encircles the outer edges of his two
Carnegie Hero Medals: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (
317:, Hawaii. Stitch, behind on points midway thorough the fight, picked up the pace in the second half and won by a ten-round unanimous decision. The win advanced his record to 27–7 with 13 knockouts.
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announced the creation of the Rudell Stitch
Sportsmanship Award, which would be presented annually to the professional boxer who displayed the most sportsmanship in and out of the ring.
428:. Stitch was the 22nd Louisvillian to be honored with a Hometown Hero mural under a program created by the Greater Louisville Pride Foundation in 2002. Others include athletes
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Stitch's youngest child, Daryl, boxed as an amateur and was trained by Bud Bruner. On October 9, 1982, Stitch boxed Charles Love in the welterweight semi-final of the
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Stitch was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Each inductee is recognized with a bronze plaque that hangs inside Louisville's Freedom Hall.
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To make ends meet, Stitch worked a full-time job at a meat packing plant while pursuing his boxing career. He had a wife, a daughter and five sons to support.
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Stitch knocked out Rudy Sawyer in the first round on July 1, 1959, in Louisville. In his previous fight, Sawyer lost a ten-round unanimous decision to future
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and welterweight, Stitch won 45 of 57 amateur bouts. He won Kentucky state titles in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. Stitch reached the semi-finals of the
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cataract wasn't serious enough to halt his career. Stitch returned to the ring on February 17, 1960, and stopped Charley "Tombstone" Smith in four rounds.
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in Louisville on August 27, 1958. Stitch, who was unranked, defeated Logart by a ten-round unanimous decision. On October 6, 1958, they had a rematch at
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On June 5, 2013, the 53rd anniversary of his death, Stitch was honored with a giant Hometown Hero mural in Louisville. The mural was placed on the
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Ortega went on to win by a ten-round split decision, but Stitch's sportsmanship earned him much respect. On May 8, 1959, they had a rematch in
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On June 5, 1960, Stitch went fishing with Bud Bruner, Bruner's son and Charles Oliver, a friend. They were fishing on a rock shelf below the
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Philander Bryant, whom she had been dating, was found just a few feet away with a bullet wound to the head. Bryant died the following day.
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Stitch died the day before he was to sign for a rematch with Luis Manuel Rodriguez. The fight would have taken place on July 24, 1960.
494:. The album concludes with "Song for Rudell (Stitch)" and "Rudell's Story," a recording of Stitch's son speaking about his father.
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After six consecutive wins, Stitch fought Isaac Logart, the second-ranked welterweight in the world. The fight took place at the
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as six feet deep over submerged rocks. A young man then entered the water and aided Stitch in towing Schifcar to safety.
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On November 26, 1958, Stitch faced Yama Bahama, a veteran with fifty-two professional victories, at the
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and fought numerous contenders, including Isaac Logart, Yama Bahama, Chico Vejar, Gasper Ortega,
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for rescuing a man from drowning in the Ohio River. On September 18, 1958, Joseph Schifcar, an
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Kentucky Association Senior Open Championship. The bout was a slugfest. Stitch took one
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with Art Glass. After two more wins, Stitch lost an eight-round split decision to
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Stitch used to spar with a Louisville amateur named Cassius Clay, later known as
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Stitch, once again ranked second in the world, had a rematch with Ralph Dupas at
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In his next fight, Stitch, now ranked eighth in the world, fought Ralph Dupas at
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and coats, disappeared in the turbulent water. Their bodies were found by the
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On the day of the Ortega rematch, Stitch was awarded a bronze medal by the
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with Stitch, paid tribute to his friend with two tracks on his 2014 album
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Kentucky singer-songwriter Mickey Clark, who used to do morning
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Stitch's first fight with Gasper Ortega, which took place at
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Donald Stitch played football and earned a scholarship to
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Recipients of the Carnegie Medal (Carnegie Hero Fund)
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Rodriguez fought former World Welterweight Champion
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in Louisville on October 7, 1959. Dupas, the future
160:(January 7, 1933 – June 5, 1960) was a professional
168:, Kentucky. He was ranked second in the world as a
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313:On May 24, 1960, Stitch fought Stan Harrington in
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363:The month following Stitch's death, the
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846:The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame
607:Professional Record of Rudy Sawyer
292:World Junior Middleweight Champion
245:eighty-three professional fights.
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903:Boxers from Louisville, Kentucky
871:Boxing record for Rudell Stitch
201:and the finals of the National
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274:World Welterweight Champion
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510:Kentucky Negro Journal
458:Kentucky Fried Chicken
338:McAlpine Locks and Dam
702:Eugene Register-Guard
594:St. Joseph News Press
250:Madison Square Garden
199:Chicago Golden Gloves
174:Luis Manuel Rodríguez
913:American male boxers
857:Reasons & Rhymes
806:– September 11, 2014
775:St. Petersburg Times
688:Southeast Missourian
551:St. Petersburg Times
523:Park City Daily News
492:Reasons & Rhymes
410:standing eight-count
224:Becoming a contender
205:Tournament in 1956.
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763:– November 25, 2005
661:Schenectady Gazette
649:– December 29, 1959
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553:– November 27, 1958
468:, basketball coach
189:Early boxing career
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262:Carnegie Hero Fund
234:St. Nicholas Arena
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58:June 5, 1960
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898:1960 deaths
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466:Ed Hamilton
347:Coast Guard
296:New Orleans
277:Benny Paret
195:lightweight
178:Ralph Dupas
70:Nationality
887:Categories
746:Miami News
498:References
470:Denny Crum
454:Phil Simms
210:Bud Bruner
182:Ohio River
166:Louisville
134:Wins by KO
79:Statistics
64:, Kentucky
62:Louisville
49:, Kentucky
47:Louisville
464:, artist
86:Weight(s)
488:roadwork
472:, actor
460:founder
382:15:13).
326:Olympics
315:Honolulu
255:Syracuse
101:Orthodox
73:American
442:Pat Day
406:USA/ABF
875:BoxRec
676:– 1960
512:– 1960
386:Family
343:waders
283:23–0.
142:Losses
97:Stance
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372:elder
332:Death
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126:Wins
55:Died
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