Thomas Peter "Pete" Rademacher A gold medalist at the 1956 Olympics, he became the only person to challenge for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional bout when he faced Floyd Patterson on August 22 1957. Rademacher took up boxing as a form of rehabilitation during his recovery from rheumatic fever, which he contracted in military school. He had wins over George Chuvalo, Lamar Clark, Buddy Turman and Carl Olsen, among others.