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Don Fullmer, 72; Boxer who Fought Dick Tiger, Jose Torres, Joey Archer, Emile Griffith, Bobo Olson and Nino Benvenuti
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Bill Schenley
Jan 29, 2012, 8:02:54 PM1/29/12
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Boxing legend Don Fullmer dies
Photo: http://tinyurl.com/85ezoep
FROM: KLS News Radio ~
By Amy Donaldson
WEST JORDAN
Utah gentleman bruiser Don Fullmer, 72, who fought some of the world's most
famous boxers and came within a single fight of a world title himself, died
peacefully Saturday morning surrounded by the prize he valued most - his
family.
Fullmer and his boxing brothers, Gene, the oldest and a world middle weight
champion in 1957, and Jay, second oldest who left the sport with a 20-5-2
record after an eye injury, put Utah on the international boxing stage in
the 1950s and '60s. Don Fullmer had been battling his toughest opponent,
lymphocytic leukemia, for the past 15 years. In November, doctors told him
an infection had damaged his spine and a valve in his heart and that he had
a few days, maybe a few weeks. He lived another two months.
The one that got away
One punch, thrown 43 years ago at a world champion, haunted Fullmer's
dreams. What if it had been harder? What it if was better placed? What if
he'd had the strength to follow it up with the kind of energy that would
have turned the fight and maybe, just maybe, changed the life of this
bricklayer and firefighter from West Jordan, Utah.
Instead of being listed as one of Nino Benvenuti's conquests, maybe the man
who fought nine world champions in his 79 fights would have been inducted
into the International Boxing Hall of Fame himself. In the seventh round of
the 15-round title fight, Fullmer, who was weak from weeks of fighting the
flu, landed a punch that sent Benvenuti to the canvas. But it wasn't enough,
and in the end he lost that fight by decision.
"About 10 years ago, he told me that a day never goes by that he hasn't
thought about that fight," said one of Fullmer's five sons, Hud Fullmer.
Adds his youngest son, Kade, "He told me he dreams about it every night."
On the 43rd anniversary of that fight, the Fullmer boys gathered at the
South Jordan home of their dad and mom, Nedra, to talk about their father,
his life and his legacy - inside and outside the ring. They discussed
Fullmer's second fight against Benvenuti, an Olympic gold medalist and
Italian superstar, on Dec. 14, 1968, which was for the world middleweight
title.
Brad Fullmer quietly voiced the sentiment that has haunted his father.
"Maybe our lives would have been a lot different from one punch," he said.
And then Don Fullmer, who sat in a recliner to ease the constant pain in his
back, responded with his simple, dry humor for which he is so well-known and
loved:
"Mine would have been. I don't know about yours, but mine would have been."
The reaction sparked an eruption of laughter, followed by a lot of ribbing.
And then the conversation shifted from the world they never knew to the
world in which they lived.
Sons of a brawler
Growing up a Fullmer was both a blessing and a curse. But it didn't begin
with Don, Jay or even Gene. It began with a man so adept at fighting that
his fisted feats became the stuff of legends in a rough and rowdy mining
town. The Fullmers are boxing royalty in Utah, but the trio of boxers was
born to a man who preferred to go by an adjective that described him rather
than his given name of Lawrence Fullmer.
"His real name was Lawrence, but everyone knew him as Tuff," said Hud
Fullmer. "In fact when I was growing up, I never knew his real name. Even
his mail came (addressed) to Tuff Fullmer." To understand why Don, Gene and
Jay Fullmer developed such skill and passion for boxing, one must understand
a little about the man who raised them.
The men from the Salt Lake Valley's southwest corner grew up hard and fast
and most had a chip on their shoulder. All of the Fullmers grew up listening
to tales of Tuff's adventures in barrooms and on street corners. "I thought
they were kind of exaggerated," Larry Fullmer said with a slight smile. "I
went to the old Bingham High School, and one day, an old-timer was out on
the sidewalk. He didn't know who I was. He started talking about the good
old days, and he
said, 'It was really rough in the old town of Bingham. I remember a guy
knocked six guys out in a bar one night. It was old Tuffy Fullmer.' I guess
if other guys are telling stories about Grandpa, maybe some of it's true."
The conversation was drowned out momentarily by laughter and a few bits of
other memories. And then Hud Fullmer broke through with his firsthand
account of just what kind of fighter Tuff Fullmer was. "He was 72-years
old," Hud said as he and his brothers tried to determine which fight they
had been at the fairgrounds to see. Their memories of fights and fighters is
something of an oral encyclopedia. Once they settled on which fighters, what
they had been fighting for and the round-by-round breakdown of what
happened, Hud resumed his story.
"Uncle Jay was reffing the fight. The fans weren't happy, and the
fairgrounds were absolutely packed. But people weren't happy with the
outcome, with the decision. And they started hollering at Uncle Jay,
thinking he had something to do with it. I was little, like 9 or 10, where I
could get up on the apron of the ring and just run around."
He and his cousin watched as one extremely large fellow in particular
verbally assaulted Jay Fullmer, who later became a bailiff for the Salt Lake
County Sheriff's Office after he retired from boxing. "He looked over at the
sheriff and said, 'Hey, turn your back. I'm going to teach these guys some
manners," Hud said smiling. "As he was getting out of the ring, the guy
grabbed him and threw him through all these chairs."
And then, from around the ring, came Tuff Fullmer, complete with glasses and
hearing aids, to defend his boy. "The guys was getting ready to go after
Uncle Jay, and Grandpa came running over there and the guy didn't even break
stride," Hud said. "He hit Grandpa right in the mouth, and Grandpa went
down. But it was like he had springs in his butt. As soon as he hit the
ground, he bounced back up."
Tuff's glasses were gone. The hearing aids were dangling from his ears like
gaudy earrings. "He jumped up and hit that guy with four or five shots," Hud
said as raucous laughter again filled Don Fullmer's modest living room. "The
guy went running for the door, and Grandpa was looking around for someone
else to fight."
When Tuff Fullmer, who was battered and bruised, saw his grandson, Larry, in
church the next day, he smiled at his grandson and said, "I haven't had so
much fun in 30 years."
Tuff Fullmer had three boys and a girl. The oldest was Gene, who was named
for Gene Tunney after he defeated Jack Dempsey in 1926 for the world
heavyweight title. "Had Dempsey won, he'd have been named Jack Fullmer,"
laughed Larry, who is Don's oldest son.
Colleen Fullmer was born second, followed by Jay and the self-described
"cab-ba-boose," Don. Tuff drove Gene past a West Jordan gym run by Marv
Jensen when he was just a boy. "He saw the guys out there boxing in an
outdoor ring, and Grandpa asked Gene if he wanted to get involved," said
Larry. "Gene said yes, and that's how it all started."
The Fullmer legacy
Fighting Benvenuti was the pinnacle of Don Fullmer's career. Despite his
bitter disappointment, he didn't let the defeat define him. "He felt like he
let everyone down, the family, the town of West Jordan," said Larry Fullmer.
"They had a parade planned if he'd won."
Don returned to his blue-collar life, complete with two jobs, a devoted wife
and five brawling boys. All of them boxed, but most of them gave it up in
favor of team sports like football or baseball. Don, Gene and Jay,
meanwhile, held down jobs while promoting and protecting the sport of boxing
in Utah. They refereed fights and taught generations of young men, and even
a few girls, how to box.
The Fullmers were instrumental in bringing the upcoming National Golden
Gloves Tournament back to Utah in May 2013. They know firsthand the lessons
boxing offers, and their goal was always to share it with anyone willing to
learn. That included, first and foremost, their children.
Larry Fullmer boxed the longest, and he was a two-time Golden Glove
champion. But he admits he never had the year-round commitment he saw his
father give to the sport. Don Fullmer awoke at 6 and went running - rain or
shine. Then he worked as a bricklayer all day. He'd head to the gym at 4 or
4:40, where he'd "get the heck beat out of him" and then he'd come home.
"Because he was trying to keep his weight down (160 pounds)," said Larry,
"he'd eat cottage cheese and lettuce. And he sucked on ice cubes, all while
we ate mashed potatoes. And then he'd start it all over the next day." He'd
leave for a fight and return wearing a hat and glasses, hoping to hide the
cuts and bruises on his swollen face. "I thought there's got to be an easier
way to make a living," said Larry.
Despite never achieving what their father or uncles did in the sport, all of
the Fullmers say boxing has blessed their lives beyond measure. But it was
watching Don Fullmer navigate the sport that really shaped who these men are
today.
"Never to give up," said Brad of what his father taught him. "And boxing, it
toughened us up." Troy agrees, but said his father taught him that toughness
didn't mean forfeiting grace. "This Don Fullmer, he's a great boxer, but
he's loved outside the ring because of the man he is," said Troy. "He's such
a good man. .And determination, he was an example of that."
Larry said his father's life illustrated the benefits of hard work. "I
learned discipline," he said of the sport. "I always have a little regret
that I didn't take it more serious."
Hud called his father his hero. "I think I learned from him about commitment
to family," he said. "Dad was a firefighter, and he'd work 24-hour shifts.
We can all name football games or baseball games where we saw a fire truck
come because he was there, no matter what happened, no matter who you were
playing." And as for boxing, Hud said the sport teaches a person that "no
matter how bad it gets, you don't quit. We learned from an early age, when
he tore a bicep and kept fighting, that no matter what it is you start, you
don't quit."
Kade said Don Fullmer offered his sons, and a lot of others who spent time
learning the sport in the Fullmer Brothers Boxing Gym, now run by Jay, "what
a hero really is."
Don Rulon Fullmer is survived by Nedra, his wife of 46 years; their sons and
their wives: Larry (Claudia), Brad (Marcie), Troy (Janet), Hud (Brenda) and
Kade; 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren (soon to be seven); his
beloved brothers, Gene and his wife Karen and Jay and his wife Marilyn; and
thousands of young men who found joy in the sport of boxing thanks to the
Fullmer brothers.
He was preceeded in death by his sister, Colleen, and his parents.
A viewing will be held Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the LDS chapel, 2200 West
9750 South, West Jordan, Utah. The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at the
LDS chapel, 2450 West 10400 South, South Jordan, Utah. There will be another
viewing prior to the funeral from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Friday.
Box Rec stats:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9799&cat=boxer
Photo: http://tinyurl.com/85ezoep
FROM: KLS News Radio ~
By Amy Donaldson
WEST JORDAN
Utah gentleman bruiser Don Fullmer, 72, who fought some of the world's most
famous boxers and came within a single fight of a world title himself, died
peacefully Saturday morning surrounded by the prize he valued most - his
family.
Fullmer and his boxing brothers, Gene, the oldest and a world middle weight
champion in 1957, and Jay, second oldest who left the sport with a 20-5-2
record after an eye injury, put Utah on the international boxing stage in
the 1950s and '60s. Don Fullmer had been battling his toughest opponent,
lymphocytic leukemia, for the past 15 years. In November, doctors told him
an infection had damaged his spine and a valve in his heart and that he had
a few days, maybe a few weeks. He lived another two months.
The one that got away
One punch, thrown 43 years ago at a world champion, haunted Fullmer's
dreams. What if it had been harder? What it if was better placed? What if
he'd had the strength to follow it up with the kind of energy that would
have turned the fight and maybe, just maybe, changed the life of this
bricklayer and firefighter from West Jordan, Utah.
Instead of being listed as one of Nino Benvenuti's conquests, maybe the man
who fought nine world champions in his 79 fights would have been inducted
into the International Boxing Hall of Fame himself. In the seventh round of
the 15-round title fight, Fullmer, who was weak from weeks of fighting the
flu, landed a punch that sent Benvenuti to the canvas. But it wasn't enough,
and in the end he lost that fight by decision.
"About 10 years ago, he told me that a day never goes by that he hasn't
thought about that fight," said one of Fullmer's five sons, Hud Fullmer.
Adds his youngest son, Kade, "He told me he dreams about it every night."
On the 43rd anniversary of that fight, the Fullmer boys gathered at the
South Jordan home of their dad and mom, Nedra, to talk about their father,
his life and his legacy - inside and outside the ring. They discussed
Fullmer's second fight against Benvenuti, an Olympic gold medalist and
Italian superstar, on Dec. 14, 1968, which was for the world middleweight
title.
Brad Fullmer quietly voiced the sentiment that has haunted his father.
"Maybe our lives would have been a lot different from one punch," he said.
And then Don Fullmer, who sat in a recliner to ease the constant pain in his
back, responded with his simple, dry humor for which he is so well-known and
loved:
"Mine would have been. I don't know about yours, but mine would have been."
The reaction sparked an eruption of laughter, followed by a lot of ribbing.
And then the conversation shifted from the world they never knew to the
world in which they lived.
Sons of a brawler
Growing up a Fullmer was both a blessing and a curse. But it didn't begin
with Don, Jay or even Gene. It began with a man so adept at fighting that
his fisted feats became the stuff of legends in a rough and rowdy mining
town. The Fullmers are boxing royalty in Utah, but the trio of boxers was
born to a man who preferred to go by an adjective that described him rather
than his given name of Lawrence Fullmer.
"His real name was Lawrence, but everyone knew him as Tuff," said Hud
Fullmer. "In fact when I was growing up, I never knew his real name. Even
his mail came (addressed) to Tuff Fullmer." To understand why Don, Gene and
Jay Fullmer developed such skill and passion for boxing, one must understand
a little about the man who raised them.
The men from the Salt Lake Valley's southwest corner grew up hard and fast
and most had a chip on their shoulder. All of the Fullmers grew up listening
to tales of Tuff's adventures in barrooms and on street corners. "I thought
they were kind of exaggerated," Larry Fullmer said with a slight smile. "I
went to the old Bingham High School, and one day, an old-timer was out on
the sidewalk. He didn't know who I was. He started talking about the good
old days, and he
said, 'It was really rough in the old town of Bingham. I remember a guy
knocked six guys out in a bar one night. It was old Tuffy Fullmer.' I guess
if other guys are telling stories about Grandpa, maybe some of it's true."
The conversation was drowned out momentarily by laughter and a few bits of
other memories. And then Hud Fullmer broke through with his firsthand
account of just what kind of fighter Tuff Fullmer was. "He was 72-years
old," Hud said as he and his brothers tried to determine which fight they
had been at the fairgrounds to see. Their memories of fights and fighters is
something of an oral encyclopedia. Once they settled on which fighters, what
they had been fighting for and the round-by-round breakdown of what
happened, Hud resumed his story.
"Uncle Jay was reffing the fight. The fans weren't happy, and the
fairgrounds were absolutely packed. But people weren't happy with the
outcome, with the decision. And they started hollering at Uncle Jay,
thinking he had something to do with it. I was little, like 9 or 10, where I
could get up on the apron of the ring and just run around."
He and his cousin watched as one extremely large fellow in particular
verbally assaulted Jay Fullmer, who later became a bailiff for the Salt Lake
County Sheriff's Office after he retired from boxing. "He looked over at the
sheriff and said, 'Hey, turn your back. I'm going to teach these guys some
manners," Hud said smiling. "As he was getting out of the ring, the guy
grabbed him and threw him through all these chairs."
And then, from around the ring, came Tuff Fullmer, complete with glasses and
hearing aids, to defend his boy. "The guys was getting ready to go after
Uncle Jay, and Grandpa came running over there and the guy didn't even break
stride," Hud said. "He hit Grandpa right in the mouth, and Grandpa went
down. But it was like he had springs in his butt. As soon as he hit the
ground, he bounced back up."
Tuff's glasses were gone. The hearing aids were dangling from his ears like
gaudy earrings. "He jumped up and hit that guy with four or five shots," Hud
said as raucous laughter again filled Don Fullmer's modest living room. "The
guy went running for the door, and Grandpa was looking around for someone
else to fight."
When Tuff Fullmer, who was battered and bruised, saw his grandson, Larry, in
church the next day, he smiled at his grandson and said, "I haven't had so
much fun in 30 years."
Tuff Fullmer had three boys and a girl. The oldest was Gene, who was named
for Gene Tunney after he defeated Jack Dempsey in 1926 for the world
heavyweight title. "Had Dempsey won, he'd have been named Jack Fullmer,"
laughed Larry, who is Don's oldest son.
Colleen Fullmer was born second, followed by Jay and the self-described
"cab-ba-boose," Don. Tuff drove Gene past a West Jordan gym run by Marv
Jensen when he was just a boy. "He saw the guys out there boxing in an
outdoor ring, and Grandpa asked Gene if he wanted to get involved," said
Larry. "Gene said yes, and that's how it all started."
The Fullmer legacy
Fighting Benvenuti was the pinnacle of Don Fullmer's career. Despite his
bitter disappointment, he didn't let the defeat define him. "He felt like he
let everyone down, the family, the town of West Jordan," said Larry Fullmer.
"They had a parade planned if he'd won."
Don returned to his blue-collar life, complete with two jobs, a devoted wife
and five brawling boys. All of them boxed, but most of them gave it up in
favor of team sports like football or baseball. Don, Gene and Jay,
meanwhile, held down jobs while promoting and protecting the sport of boxing
in Utah. They refereed fights and taught generations of young men, and even
a few girls, how to box.
The Fullmers were instrumental in bringing the upcoming National Golden
Gloves Tournament back to Utah in May 2013. They know firsthand the lessons
boxing offers, and their goal was always to share it with anyone willing to
learn. That included, first and foremost, their children.
Larry Fullmer boxed the longest, and he was a two-time Golden Glove
champion. But he admits he never had the year-round commitment he saw his
father give to the sport. Don Fullmer awoke at 6 and went running - rain or
shine. Then he worked as a bricklayer all day. He'd head to the gym at 4 or
4:40, where he'd "get the heck beat out of him" and then he'd come home.
"Because he was trying to keep his weight down (160 pounds)," said Larry,
"he'd eat cottage cheese and lettuce. And he sucked on ice cubes, all while
we ate mashed potatoes. And then he'd start it all over the next day." He'd
leave for a fight and return wearing a hat and glasses, hoping to hide the
cuts and bruises on his swollen face. "I thought there's got to be an easier
way to make a living," said Larry.
Despite never achieving what their father or uncles did in the sport, all of
the Fullmers say boxing has blessed their lives beyond measure. But it was
watching Don Fullmer navigate the sport that really shaped who these men are
today.
"Never to give up," said Brad of what his father taught him. "And boxing, it
toughened us up." Troy agrees, but said his father taught him that toughness
didn't mean forfeiting grace. "This Don Fullmer, he's a great boxer, but
he's loved outside the ring because of the man he is," said Troy. "He's such
a good man. .And determination, he was an example of that."
Larry said his father's life illustrated the benefits of hard work. "I
learned discipline," he said of the sport. "I always have a little regret
that I didn't take it more serious."
Hud called his father his hero. "I think I learned from him about commitment
to family," he said. "Dad was a firefighter, and he'd work 24-hour shifts.
We can all name football games or baseball games where we saw a fire truck
come because he was there, no matter what happened, no matter who you were
playing." And as for boxing, Hud said the sport teaches a person that "no
matter how bad it gets, you don't quit. We learned from an early age, when
he tore a bicep and kept fighting, that no matter what it is you start, you
don't quit."
Kade said Don Fullmer offered his sons, and a lot of others who spent time
learning the sport in the Fullmer Brothers Boxing Gym, now run by Jay, "what
a hero really is."
Don Rulon Fullmer is survived by Nedra, his wife of 46 years; their sons and
their wives: Larry (Claudia), Brad (Marcie), Troy (Janet), Hud (Brenda) and
Kade; 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren (soon to be seven); his
beloved brothers, Gene and his wife Karen and Jay and his wife Marilyn; and
thousands of young men who found joy in the sport of boxing thanks to the
Fullmer brothers.
He was preceeded in death by his sister, Colleen, and his parents.
A viewing will be held Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the LDS chapel, 2200 West
9750 South, West Jordan, Utah. The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at the
LDS chapel, 2450 West 10400 South, South Jordan, Utah. There will be another
viewing prior to the funeral from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Friday.
Box Rec stats:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9799&cat=boxer
Jane Margaret Laight
Jan 30, 2012, 7:13:57 AM1/30/12
to
very nicely done.
Thanks for posting this one, Bill.
Thanks for posting this one, Bill.
Lanskee Shuru
Jan 30, 2012, 12:09:19 PM1/30/12
to
with five: two elbows, head, fists--- in that order.
Had the pleasure of seeing Don fight Emile Griffith at MSG, 1962.
Tommy Joe
Feb 1, 2012, 1:45:48 AM2/1/12
to
On Jan 30, 12:09 pm, Lanskee Shuru <sugarlansk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Unlike Gene, Don fought with two weapons--his fists. Gene fought
> with five: two elbows, head, fists--- in that order.
>
> Had the pleasure of seeing Don fight Emile Griffith at MSG, 1962.
Yeah, but I have to hand it to Gene, he looked like a cave man
> Unlike Gene, Don fought with two weapons--his fists. Gene fought
> with five: two elbows, head, fists--- in that order.
>
> Had the pleasure of seeing Don fight Emile Griffith at MSG, 1962.
but seemed to be a gentle man in any of the few short interviews I saw
him give, mostly post fight stuff. I liked his style. I saw Don
fight too, but I remember Gene more. I remember both from the old
Gillette Friday Night Fights, or whatever night of the week it was.
Usually when famous people die I get a chuckle out of it. But
sometimes it'll be somebody I liked in a way and it's like I knew them
almost. Almost. But even if I liked them, I still reserve the right
to laugh if so inclined.
TJ
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