On October 21, 2000, Pete Sanstol was officially recognized as a bona-fide Legend of Boxing History.

Before that Saturday, he had never been a member of any boxing hall of fame -- not even The Ring magazine's now defunct Boxing Hall of Fame, the World Boxing Hall of Fame or the International Boxing Hall of Fame. But Pete was such a great boxer and too good a human being to remain forgotten any longer.

Back in May 2000, we received a surprise telephone call from Mr. Lou Filippo, the Chairman of the Hall's Selection Committee, who informed us that Pete was going to be inducted. A letter from Mr. Filippo followed shortly thereafter. (Do you recall Mr. Filippo as the ring announcer and/or referee in every "Rocky" movie? He often can be seen on American television refereeing or judging Los Angeles-area bouts, and has refereed a number of world title fights.) He seemed to make it a personal goal to get Pete onto the ballot in 1999; and, when Pete didn't get the sufficient votes that year, he successfully lobbied again in Year 2000.

Pete's eldest grandson, Ric, flew to Los Angeles to represent the family and accept Pete's Induction Plaque and Medal. All travel, lodging and meals were provided courtesy of the great folks at the Hall of Fame. Ric's special guests at the induction banquet were F. John LaBarba and his beautiful wife, Beth Ann. F. John is, of course, the son of Olympic Gold Medalist and former Flyweight World Champion, Fidel LaBarba.

In fact, on the afternoon of the day of the Induction Banquet, Ric, F. John and Beth Ann spent the day together trying to find the Los Angeles Amateur Athletic Foundation building, in hopes of locating Fidel's Olympic Gold Medal. They also visited the famous, but very old, Grand Olympic Auditorium -- where Pete had fought Young Tommy in early 1933, and Fidel had had many, many fights. The friendly daughter of the current owner invited the three into the building, and took them on a tour of the entire structure, including the old dressing rooms, "green room" and showers down below. The place resounded with memories of the many great battles fought there. One could imagine what the place must have been like in the 1930s!

The weekend of events was held in the famous Westin Bonadventure in Los Angeles, California -- which is located right in the heart of the L.A. financial district. There are four main groups of elevators which glide along the outside of the hotel, while also giving a view of the cavernous lobby for the first few floors. The elevators are delineated as Blue, Red, Yellow and Green  (and each is also given some geometric shape -- triangle, circle, square, etc., but we forget which elevators have which shape). One may recall this hotel being featured prominently in such motion pictures as True Lies (with Arnold Swarzenegger), In the Line of Fire, Strange Days, Lethal Weapon 2, Rain Man and, most recently (as of March 2002), Show Time starring Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy.

The weekend's events included an evening of boxing Thursday at the Anaheim Pond, which was provided free of charge by the promoter to the Hall of Fame inductees, their families, and for the great boxing stars present. (The "Pond" is, of course, the home to the Mighty Ducks National Hockey League team.) The small party included Ric, who rode on a bus to and from the Pond with Jimmy Ellis, Jose Torres, Carmen Basilio, Carlos Ortiz, and many other great boxing stars!

That Friday night, the Hall of Fame presented a very fine dinner for selected guests, staff, friends and sponsors. A hundred or so folks came. Of course, virtually all the living inductees-to-be were present for this dinner. And so was Champion Johnny Tapia, among many others.

The World Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and Ceremony took place in the grand ballroom of the Bonaventure Hotel -- Saturday, October 21, 2000. There were almost two thousand people in attendance -- virtually all dressed in their finest attire.

The Sons of Norway organization was so thrilled that Pete Sanstol was to be inducted -- to become the first Norwegian-born boxer ever to be inducted into any boxing hall of fame -- that they requested a slot on the Hall of Fame's induction agenda for a representaive to speak a few words. Permission was granted. So, Ms. Gerda Knudson attended the banquet/ceremony to speak on behalf of the Sons of Norway. But, because of the quickly choreographed pace at which the induction ceremony proceeded, the Hall forgot to call on Gerda. Nonetheless, she took many photos, and she and her husband had a grand time.

Everybody found on his/her seat a copy of the Official Program. (The page of that program regarding Pete was replete with errors. For example, Pete's birthdate, the name of Pete's manager, and some chronology were all incorrect. But who cared? Pete was to be inducted -- finally!)

Dinner consisted of traditional Caesar salad, grilled New York steak with Woodland mushroom sauce, herb-buttered & garlic-roasted mashed potatos, sauteed sliced red and green peppers, and New York-style cheesecake with fresh strawberry Grand Marnier sauce for dessert. (Two New York-style dishes in Los Angeles?)

The Masters of Ceremonies were Jimmy Lennon, Jr. -- famous ring announcer, and Rich Marotta of ESPN-TV. Early on, the emotional "Ten Count" was given -- which is a solemn ringing of the bell ten times to salute those of the Sweet Science who have passed on.
 

The Posthumous men were the first to be inducted. Besides Pete, they were Lou Bogash, Eddie Booker and Tommy Burns. As the Official Program stated:

Mr. Bogash, born February 24, 1901, in Foggia, Italy, was the Middleweight Champion of the World in 1923. His record is 107-15-18 (35 KO's). He died March 7, 1978.

Mr. Booker was born November 5, 1917, in Alto, Texas; and was a Middle and Light Heavyweight Contender of the 1930s and 1940s. His record is 68-5-9. He died January 26, 1975.

Mr. Burns was born Noah Brusso in Chelsey, Ontario, Canada, June 17, 1881; and died May 10, 1955. His record is 46-8-5 (36 KO's).

As we recall, Pete was the fourth person inducted that evening. The Hall of Fame had not been able to locate any actual fight film, so they made do with a great many photos (all taken from this web site!) for Pete's video. Grandson Ric accepted the gorgeous Induction Plaque and Induction Medal on behalf of Pete. Here is his Acceptance Speech:
 

It is such a surreal experience to be here -- to be HERE! -- to receive this on behalf of my grandfather, the great Peter Olai Sanstol -- the Blonde Tiger. (Applause.)

Before tonight, as you heard (from the video), Pete was usually known in boxing history accounts today as a loser to Al Brown. There is barely a mention of his own world championship. You've heard how great Pete was. And I had alot I was going to say about that, but it's already been said.

I would say, however, that Pete loved to fight. He believed in fighting the best you can. But, at the same time, he believed in fighting fair. He was the ultimate gentleman in and out of the ring. Plus he was darn handsome, too, wasn't he?

But Pete certainly wasn't a loser to his family. Our family did not know until only two years ago how great a fighter he was. We loved him for the man he was. He was the warmest, kindest -- a funny man. Very smart. Very loving. Last night I was asked by somebody if he was a hard man, a mean man. To the contrary, he was the greatest man I ever met in my life. And our whole family misses him terribly.

So, tonight, Pete Sanstol is no longer a footnote in boxing history. Tonight he becomes a bona-fide legend of boxing. He now becomes known for what he truly was: one of the most successful fighters who ever lived; a boxer of uncommon ability, amazing stamina, and heart-wrenching courage. And, most important of all, one of the extremely rare gentlemen of the ring.

You realize, tonight, with the Class of 2000 Inductees, Pete becomes one of only 197 fighters ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. One hundred and ninety-seven fighters out of the millions who ever were professional fighters. (Applause.) He, indeed, joins an elite few. (Our note: Only 197 boxers have been inducted as of October 2000, in addition to the "non-boxers." Thus, there are more than 197 actual inductees in the World Boxing Hall of Fame. And, okay -- maybe there have been "only" a few hundred thousand of pro boxers, not millions.)

And so, on behalf of my grandfather, Pete -- and on behalf of our joyous family -- thank you, Mr. Lou Filippo. Thank you for looking into Pete's record almost two years, realizing how good he really was, and for spreading the word. I heard over this weekend what you've done for Pete, and our family is indebted to you. (A couple of Hall of Fame board members had mentioned to him that Lou had sent out Pete's record to many folks, and campaigned for his name to be placed on the ballot.) Thank you, Mr. Filippo. (Applause, cheers and whistles from the crowd go out to Lou.) Like the great fighter you were yourself, you never gave up. Unlike some guy in Michigan last night. (The crowd chuckles at the reference to the Tyson-Golatta bout the night before.) Our family is, again, indebted to you, and thank you.

Thank you Mr. Alex Camponova for making my weekend here so wonderful. (Mr. Camponova was in charge of all the travel and hotel arrangements, and was the director of the banquet's proceedings -- running here and there, wearing a headphone walkie-talkie.) I am going to take home many warm memories from this event.

Finally, most of all, thank you to the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Thank you for recognizing the amazing achievements of my grandfather, for honoring his memory tonight, and for uniting him -- finally -- with his elite peers. Thank you for elevating Peter Olai Sanstol -- the Blonde Tiger! -- from a footnote to where he rightfully belongs: in the Pantheon of the greatest fighters who ever lived. Thank You!

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At one point during the induction ceremony, perhaps here, all the great boxing stars and other celebrities in attendance were acknowledged by the MCs, and thus by the crowd.

Then came the "The Fighter of the Year" award to "Sugar" Shane Mosley -- the WBC Welterweight World Champion;  and the "Trainer of the Year" award to his father.

The living boxers were the third and final group to be inducted that evening. These were Ken Buchanan (born June 28, 1945, in Edinburgh, Scotland) -- former WBA Lightweight Champion of the World 1970-1971, European Lightweight Champion 1974-1979, and British Lightweight Champion 1968-1973 (and a helluva nice guy) -- who brought his father to the event; Wilfredo Gomez (October 29, 1965, in Las Monjas, Purto Rico) -- former WBC Super Bantamweight Champion of the World 1977-1983, WBC Featherweight Champion of the World 1984, and WBA Junior Lightweight Champion of the World 1985-1986; Finbar Patrick "Barry" McGuigan (February 28, 1961, in Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland) -- former WBA Featherweight Champion of the World 1985-1986, European Featherweight Champion 1983-1985, and British Featherweight Champion 1983-1985 ; and Ralph Dupas (October 14, 1935, in New Orleans, Louisiana) -- former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion of the World 1963.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic weekend. Next stop: The International Boxing Hall of Fame for Pete!

Click here for the World Boxing Hall of Fame's report of that weekend. And click here for one fan's account of his weekend at the World Boxing Hall of Fame's events.