GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Michigan, probably because it looks like a hand, has produced a lot of great boxers.
From Claressa Shields, to Joe Louis, to the Mayweathers, there have been a lot of icons who left their mark.
One of Michigan’s most legendary fighters was Stanley Ketchel, known as “The Michigan Assassin.”
Born Stanislaw Kiecal in Grand Rapids in 1886, Ketchel is still regarded as one of the top middleweight fighters in history. He often ranks among the greatest fighters regardless of weight class.
Ketchel was unpredictable. He wasn’t formally trained and was ambidextrous, able to knock someone out with either hand.
He reportedly said before each fight, he imagined his opponent had insulted his mom and became enraged.
His official record includes 51 wins, one no contest, and four losses, draws, and no-decisions each.
One of those losses was to his friend Jack Johnson in 1909. The heavyweight champion found two of Ketchel’s teeth embedded in his boxing glove after knocking him out.
Ketchel did not wake up for several minutes. The two remained friends after the fight.
Jack Johnson knocks out Stanley Ketchel in the 12th round after being knocked down by Ketchel earlier in the round. (Public Domain)Recovery, retirement
He moved to a Missouri ranch in 1910, looking to train and heal his jaw before a potential rematch with Johnson. Reports at the time said Ketchel wanted to move up to the heavyweight division.
Ketchel was also using his time to learn how to manage the ranch, with plans to open his own and retire from boxing.
Neither of these plans came to fruition as Ketchel was killed shortly after his 24th birthday.
Goldie Smith and Walter Dipley were recently hired as a cook and a ranch hand, respectively. Dipley ended up borrowing a rifle from Ketchel to help kill pests around the farm.
The murder
On Oct. 15, 1910, Ketchel was shot in the back during breakfast with the rifle he lent Dipley. The bullet entered his lung and he collapsed to the floor. He died hours later.
Dipley reportedly shot him over something Ketchel said about Goldie, or was jealous of Goldie’s attraction to Ketchel, or was in response to some slight he felt at the ranch. Most people believed it was just a robbery.
Before dying, Ketchel said he had been robbed by the two. He was known to carry large amounts of cash, but he was found with empty pockets. Goldie was quickly taken into custody, but Dipley had disappeared.
He was arrested the next day, a few miles south of the ranch.
Prosecutors said the murder was wilful and premeditated, pushing for the death penalty. The defense argued Ketchel had a revolver on him and Dipley was afraid for his life.
After 17 hours of deliberation, the jury found Dipley and Goldie both guilty of first-degree murder and recommended life in prison.
Goldie was eventually released after serving a year and a half in prison, after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled there wasn’t enough to show she was part of the shooting. Dipley’s conviction was reaffirmed and he served 23 years before being paroled.
How popular was Ketchel?
He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Grand Rapids. Ketchel’s funeral had the largest attendance of any Michigan funeral until Henry Ford’s. At the funeral, a fan allegedly shouted, “Count him, you’ll see him get up after eight seconds!”
Ketchel Valley in Grand Rapids is named after him. A statue of Ketchel stands on Bridge Street, roughly 1,000 feet west of the Grand River.
Ketchel was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
To this day, boxers traveling through Michigan stop at his grave to pay their respects.
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