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This content is protected -November 01, 2009 The Michigan Wildcat Adolph ("Ad") Wolgast was definitely a champion. Born in 1888 in Cadillac, Michigan, he was the oldest in a family of seven (two of his younger brothers became championship boxers as well). After distinguishing himself in amateur boxing, Ad turned professional in 1910 and captured the World Lightweight title a year later. The forty-round brawl with Battling Nelson that earned him his title was the stuff of boxing legends as Wolgast did the impossible and survived the bloody fight. Eager sports reporters labeled him "the Michigan Wildcat" as Ad won all but one of his first eight-nine bouts. In one famous bout with Joe Rivers in 1912, Ad and Rivers both knocked each other out. Ad was awarded the fight because he was seen to get up first before they were both counted out (there was some controversy over this decision). He became legendary for his ability to take (and give out) horrendous head punches but Ad Wolgast didn't keep the title long. In a vicious 1912 bout with Willie Ritchie, Ad finally lost his title although his boxing career went on. The damage that Ad Wolgast took during his boxing career seems incredible. In his one hundred and thirty-five bouts, he sustained numerous injuries include cauliflower ears, numerous broken bones (hands, ribs, and arms), and a disfigured face. His wife, Mildred, threatened to divorce him if he didn't quit the ring and he arranged for plastic surgery to rebuild much of his face (including having his nose injected with paraffin to regain its former shape-the paraffin later leaked out). Milwaukee, Minnesota was a major fight center at the time and, through radio broadcasts of his boxing matches, Ad quickly gained fans across the country. After a brief attempt at retirement in 1916 (and the end of his marriage), the fact that Ad was suffering from "punch drunkenness" (a.k.a. dementia pugilistica) became apparent soon enough. ---------- http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...ZlHaJF3b-ccqhzWcA&sig2=Zoa7l3kgNc8Ob_Jwf5qESw
