Bob Pastor

Bob Pastor was an American heavyweight contender whose 53 wins, seven defeats and five draws place him among the strongest challengers of Joe Louis’s championship reign. Born Robert E. Pasternak in New York City on January 26, 1914, Pastor stood a shade under six feet, had a 76-inch reach and boxed from the orthodox stance. He was not a heavyweight built around one-punch power; only 17 of his 53 victories came inside the distance, but he compensated with sound movement, intelligence and an ability to adapt. At his best, he was a quick-footed counter-puncher who could frustrate larger opponents, recover from punishment and maintain his concentration through long contests.

Pastor had a useful amateur schooling before entering the paid ranks. He was a New York Golden Gloves champion in 1933 and 1934, experience which helped develop the balance, judgement of distance and defensive awareness that later distinguished his professional work. Trained by Freddie Brown, he made his professional debut on his 21st birthday, January 26, 1935, meeting the experienced Julius Vigh at Ridgewood Grove in Brooklyn. Weighing approximately 180 pounds and still closer in size to a light-heavyweight than the leading heavyweights of the period, Pastor won a six-round decision. It began an eight-fight winning sequence during which he recorded his first knockout, stopping Frank LoBianco in the fourth round at the Dyckman Oval, and appeared at Yankee Stadium, where he outpointed Terry Mitchell over four rounds.

His first eight victories brought him to Madison Square Garden, where he defeated another unbeaten prospect, Max Marek, in November 1935. A draw with Eddie Sims later that month was followed by Pastor’s first defeat, an eight-round decision against the seasoned Steve Dudas in January 1936. The setback was instructive rather than damaging. Pastor drew with Al Delaney and then reversed the Dudas result, outpointing him over six rounds at the Garden. His early matchmaking was brisk and purposeful. Rather than being protected through a succession of undemanding assignments, he was matched with experienced professionals and fellow prospects in short succession. By the end of 1936, wins over Dudas, Terry Mitchell, Frankie Sims and Ray Impelletiere had established him as a heavyweight of genuine promise.

Pastor’s first meeting with Joe Louis came at Madison Square Garden on January 29, 1937. Louis had won 29 of his 30 contests, 25 by knockout, and was only five months away from taking the world championship from James J. Braddock. Pastor could not match his speed of punch or authority, but he remained on his feet throughout ten rounds and lost a unanimous decision. His movement was sometimes described dismissively as retreat, yet there was more substance to it than that. Pastor understood the danger of remaining at Louis’s punching distance and made the favourite reset his feet before attacking. He lost clearly, but lasting the full contest against the most destructive heavyweight of the age improved rather than diminished his standing.

Pastor continued to accept difficult opposition. In May 1937 he travelled to Wrigley Field in Los Angeles to meet the unbeaten Bob Nestell. Dropped in the opening round, Pastor recovered, floored Nestell in the first and third and won the ten-round decision. He then lost on points to Nathan Mann at Madison Square Garden but responded with a busy and productive 1938 campaign. During a four-fight spell in less than a month, he stopped Hans Havlicek and Buck Tracy before outpointing Buck Everett and the highly regarded Al Ettore. A draw with the unbeaten Lou Nova in San Francisco followed, as did a ninth-round stoppage of Lee Ramage at the Olympic Auditorium. Pastor also defeated Al McCoy and Freddie Fiducia, drew with former world light-heavyweight champion Maxie Rosenbloom and ended the year with a narrow split-decision defeat by Gus Dorazio in Philadelphia.

That loss was followed by six successive wins, all over ten rounds, as Pastor worked his way towards a second meeting with Louis. Among them were further victories over McCoy and Fiducia, a clear decision over Maurice Strickland and an important win over Roscoe Toles in Detroit. Pastor’s form and experience made him a logical challenger: the National Boxing Association had placed him as high as second, while The Ring ranked him among the leading heavyweights. By then Louis had been champion for more than two years and had defeated Tommy Farr, Nathan Mann, Harry Thomas, Max Schmeling, John Henry Lewis, Jack Roper and Tony Galento in title contests.

Their return at Briggs Stadium in Detroit on September 20, 1939, was arranged for 20 rounds, making it an unusually severe assignment even by contemporary standards. Louis weighed 200 pounds to Pastor’s 183 and immediately removed any notion that the second fight would resemble their first. He knocked Pastor down four times in the opening round and once more in the second. Pastor’s powers of recovery were considerable. After five knockdowns inside six minutes, he regained enough control to resume moving, countering and tying up the champion at close quarters. He survived through the tenth, but Louis remained patient and continued to cut the ring down. Thirty-eight seconds into the eleventh, a right hand put Pastor down for the full count. A total attendance of 33,868 watched Louis complete his eighth successful defence of the world heavyweight title.

Pastor rebuilt once again. He outpointed Buddy Scott and Charlie Eagle before meeting Billy Conn at Madison Square Garden in September 1940. Conn was the world light-heavyweight champion and, like Pastor, depended upon speed, footwork and accuracy rather than heavyweight force. Conn proved the sharper man, dropping Pastor at the end of the ninth and again in the twelfth before stopping him with a left hook to the body in the thirteenth. It was only the second time Pastor had been beaten inside the distance, and the result advanced Conn towards his celebrated 1941 challenge of Louis.

There remained good work in Pastor. He defeated Mike Alfano and the dangerous Turkey Thompson, outpointed Buddy Scott and beat Thompson for a second time. In October 1941, making his first professional appearance outside the United States, he stopped old rival Al Delaney in six rounds at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto after flooring him five times. He then handed the unbeaten Booker Beckwith his first defeat and knocked out Jim Robinson in the opening round after putting him down four times. These performances demonstrated that Pastor, although primarily regarded as a boxer, could finish decisively when his opponents gave him the necessary openings.

His final year contained some of the strongest results of his career. In January 1942, he outpointed world light-heavyweight champion Gus Lesnevich over ten rounds at Madison Square Garden. He stopped the formidable Lem Franklin in eight and then met Jimmy Bivins in Cleveland. Pastor was knocked down twice in the first round but recovered to win a split decision, another example of the resilience which had become a defining feature of his career. A draw with Tami Mauriello and a third points victory over Buddy Scott followed. On October 20, 1942, Pastor returned to Cleveland for a rematch with Bivins and lost a split decision. It proved to be his final contest.

Pastor retired after fewer than eight years as a professional, having completed 65 bouts against an unusually deep selection of heavyweight and light-heavyweight talent. His record included Louis twice, Conn, Bivins twice, Lesnevich, Nova, Rosenbloom, Mann, Dorazio, Thompson, Toles, Ettore and Ramage. He never won the world championship, but his career was not built around a single title opportunity. He remained a highly placed contender across several seasons and defeated men of markedly different styles in New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, California, Cleveland and Toronto. Pastor died on January 26, 1996, his 82nd birthday. His standing rests chiefly upon his two contests with Louis, but the breadth of his record shows that he was considerably more than a durable challenger retained for one famous champion. He was a skilful, resourceful heavyweight who repeatedly competed at the highest level available to him.