Duane Bobick--Scott LeDoux I & II Challenge

[oldschoolhistorian]

Here's a challenge I'll put out to all the big film collectors. I've exhausted myself looking for sources, but have always struck out, and that includes the biggest film collectors I know of. But....here it goes. I have $250 for anyone that can produce the film of Duane Bobick vs. Scott LeDoux from 1976. NBC orginally aired it, but says they taped over it years ago. I'm also looking for their second fight in 1977. Scott is now in the later phases of Lou Geherigs's Disease and many say he has less than a year to live. I'd like to find this for Minnesota boxing fans as well as Bobick and LeDoux themselves. Anyone???

[Mikey Capp]

Hello Old School Historian,

I would like to see both of those fights too but chances are that the information that they gave you is true. Reusing 3/4 inch tapes at Television stations and I assume as well at Networks was a common practice back in the 1970's. The only chance you might have of retrieving that fight is if the Promoter lets say Top Rank or Don King have that fight in their archives. Other than that I have never seen or heard of either of the Bobick/Ledoux fights surfacing. That is sad news about Scott he seemed to be a nice guy and a decent heavyweight in his day. He was also well versed when providing color commentary on the ESPN 2 broadcasts. I wish him well in his fight with ALS.
Mikey Capp

[brutu]

Wouldnt someone from Bobick's team or family,have wanted to tape it?
You would figure his boxing team would have filmed all his pro fights for their archives.

[brutu]

Also if none of the collectors you ask can locate a copy.
You may want to contact the
Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington,MN,and see if they have like a
film archives department of events that happened there over the years.
Since iit was Nationally televised event maybe they made a copy from of the moniter there?

[Petey]

Also if none of the collectors you ask can locate a copy.
You may want to contact the
Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington,MN,and see if they have like a
film archives department of events that happened there over the years.
Since iit was Nationally televised event maybe they made a copy from of the moniter there?

Sadly Met Center bit the dust in the early 90s. There's a huge Ikea store there with a large parking structure, plus some overflow parking for the Mall of America.

[oldschoolhistorian]

I have contacted both Joe Frazier and Murphy Griffith, Bobick's old handlers and neither have it, nor does Duane or Scott. Scott's old manager Joe Daszkiewiscz used to film all of Scott's fights, but he has been dead for several years now and his kids say they don't have any films that he left behind. I did track down former executives from the Met Center and everyone there struck out. The stink of all of this is that I have 2 very nice pictures of both of their fights, and it is clear in both pictures that people all along the ring apron are filming it with their 16 mm cameras, so film does exist, it's probably just up in someone's attic cuz' they have no idea someone like me, Scott, or Duane are all searching for them.

[brutu]

Maybe you could put an ad on craigslist in the Bloomington,Minneapolis,St.Paul area to ask.
Although you may want to put it in the escort department of the ads,
so that you get the right demographic audience to see it!

[brutu]

As far as super8 movies go.
I was watching a show on television,
that mentioned there was a company in Los Angeles that actively collects old
8mm footage from yard sales and auctions.
Its called Sabucat productions.
Maybe they dont have any 8mm or 16mm footage of that particular fight but perhaps they found some of some other fights?
Also perhaps you can contact the Minnesota Film society,
they may have a division that collects 8mm footage.
"home movies'especially from the 1950's and 1960's,are now considered a part of"Lost Americana".

[brutu]

Maybe you should also try and contact Joe Daszkiewiscz's estate lawyer.
Maybe they'd know something.

[brutu]

Has anyone here actually remember seeing Bobick vrs LeDoux I on NBC back in 1976?
The reason I ask is because back then they use to pre-empt television programming for breaking news.
Like the resignition of Nixon or the Iranian hostage situation.

[brutu]

Was their first fight on the undercard of a major televised fight?
The reason I ask is because the calender of years lists
April-22-1977 as having been on a Thursday
(as was their second fight July-28-1977).

[sweetsci]

I wonder if Bobick-LeDoux was shown late at night? I know that sometimes fights used to be shown on weekdays after the local news, like around 11:30 pm. Both Spinks-Righetti and Norton-Cobb were shown late, if my memory serves.

[oldschoolhistorian]

Both of their fights was the Main Event and held at the Met Center. Pretty good draw, as over 8,000 people came to it. Not the 14,000 from their first fight, but nice enough. It just drives me crazy, as both Bobick and LeDoux both remember watching the films of these fights after they happened, but neither recalls just where or from whom. Even Don Riley, the old St. Paul Pioneer Press sportswriter who is still alive remembers watching the film (of the first fight) in his office at the paper and counting the blows landed by Bobick on LeDoux (665 he counted over 10 rounds), but Don does not recall who gave him a copy or where it went. The paper today claims to have no copy. My guess is that the promoter (Ben Sternberg--now deceased) had the only copy from NBC. But Ben had no kids and efforts to locate next of kin have been difficult. Even then, what are the odds they have his films? Then again, who knows?

[Evrenb]

Alot of these fight from this era were shown delayed here in the Uk so maybe try some of the tv stations here. ITV or BBC are the two that you could try. Got the Cleveland Williams - Billy Daniels fight this way as it was shown on the BBC back in the early 60's. Keep trying OSH. I'm sure its out there.
evren

[Michael Frank]

Try finding Scott LeDoux-Dino Denis. A great fight, but no one has it. It was old, and it's doubtful that anyone recorded it with a VCR.

[brutu]

Ken Norton vrs Duane Bobick aired on NBC May.11.1977(A Wednesday Night)
Did they show any highlights of Bobick's previous bouts in the beginning of it.

[oldschoolhistorian]

I have a copy of Bobick-Norton, but there are no highlights of any of his previous fights shown, at least on my copy. I read the one suggestion to try the British t.v. stations. I have not done that, but will. Thanks for the idea. Mike Frank asked about the Dino Dennis fight. I believe Scott has the film of that fight at his house. I can ask him.
Jake-

[Michael Frank]

I have a copy of Bobick-Norton, but there are no highlights of any of his previous fights shown, at least on my copy. I read the one suggestion to try the British t.v. stations. I have not done that, but will. Thanks for the idea. Mike Frank asked about the Dino Dennis fight. I believe Scott has the film of that fight at his house. I can ask him.
Jake-

Hi Jake, I can tell you that if Scott has the LeDoux-Denis fight and you/he can send me a DVD-R of it, I'll give him any 3 fights he wants in return. I have some hard-to-find fights of his, first generation, (vs. Norton, Coetzee (VERY rare, esp. since it's converted from PAL master on a $4000 professional converter), Foreman (mint), Holmes (mint, if I can find-- as it's packed away), Boudreaux (mint), Leon Spinks (mint and ULTRA rare this quality)).

Or, any other fights he may want that didn't involve him. My collection is only 5000-6000 fights, but the quality on 1950s-1980s is 2nd to none, usually, as I obtained several hundred of my recordings directly from studio sources onto Super VHS at huge expense. If you can look into getting the LeDoux-Denis fight, I'd sure appreciate it and will compensate as noted.

Thanks!

MF

[Michael Frank]

Jake,

Don't know how I forgot, but I also have excellent original recordings I taped live of Scott LeDoux vs. Greg Page, Marty Monroe, Ron Lyle, and Mike Weaver! All look just great to this day... in case they might be of interest.

Regards,

MF

[brutu]

Was the Scott LeDoux vrs George"Scrape-iron"Johnson fight
taped?
I believe it was a supporting bout for the Ken Norton vrs Jose Luis Garcia II,fight August-14-1975 St. Paul,MN.
Those fights were on a Thursday night and and at least the Norton vrs Garcia fight was shown later on television delayed.

[brutu]

Anyone ask Ken Norton if he has a copy?
He use to study fight films of his opponents way back in the early part of his career.
Since he fought Duane Bobick and Scott LeDoux,maybe there is a double chance he viewed a film or tape of the fight(s).

[KOJOE90]

Alot of these fight from this era were shown delayed here in the Uk so maybe try some of the tv stations here. ITV or BBC are the two that you could try. Got the Cleveland Williams - Billy Daniels fight this way as it was shown on the BBC back in the early 60's. Keep trying OSH. I'm sure its out there.
evren

How do you go about contacting the BBC or ITV about this?

[Overhand_Right]

Good luck Joe - the BBC had a policy of wiping tapes and reusing them (Even episodes of Steptoe & Son and Dads Army wiped!!) So I doubt anything from the 70s and prior will exist, and certainly there won't be a system to provide member of the public with old tapes.

[brutu]

Anyone know if either of the Bobick-LeDoux bouts have turned up yet?

[oldschoolhistorian]

Anyone know if either of the Bobick-LeDoux bouts have turned up yet?

I still have not found either of the fights. No one has, which is a pity. Scott is not doing well at all with his battle with Lou Gehrigs Disease, and we are inducting Duane Bobick into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame this year in October. Now, I am just looking for any film footage of Duane Bobick, be it interviews, highlights, or fight films.

[brutu]

Did you put the notice on Craig's List in Minnesota?
I wonder what a lot of people did with their Super 8 mm camera film footage that use to attend all those fights.
There were a whole lot of Duane Bobick fans back then.
like I said earlier,u should maybe think about placing the notice in the"escorts"section of the newspapers or Craig's List so
the right demographics can see it to read it!

[brutu]

Hey Oldschoolhistorian,

I'm old enough to remember watching the Norton-Bobick fight live on NBC-TV.
I remember a few days earlier both had appeared on the Chevy Chase television special(NBC).
Chevy Chase played the ref in a skit involving both fighters.
Also I remember both Norton and Bobick were interviewed together on the TOMORROW SHOW with Tom Snyder
BTW Do you have the complete television broadcast of Norton vs Bobick?
According to the TV Guide for that night.
The preliminary to it was Mike Rossman vrs Mike Quarry
and there was also featured a taped segment about Boxing in the movies hosted by Sylvester Stallone,

[brutu]

Does anyone have any video-tape of any of Duane Bobick's bouts when he fought for and won the National AAU title in New Orleans LA April-May 1971?
According to the TV Guide of April-May 1971.
The National AAU Boxing tournament from Muncipal Auditorium in New Orleans was video-taped for delayed broadcast on CBS and Muhammad Ali was one of the chief commentators.
Apparently the tape-delayed highlights were shown three weeks later May.23.1971 on CBS.

[brutu]

Bobick double-feature
April.23.1975
Bloomington Minnesota


http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...060,2175951&dq

[oldschoolhistorian]

Yes, I did put an ad out in Craig's list. No one ever responded. What film does exist out there for Duane Bobick? Why is it so difficult to even find his Pan Am Gold footage from 71' or his 72" footage in the Olympics against Stevenson or the Russian? Someone must have that. Right???