Al Hostak

At 90 years old, Al Hostak has this physical status:

After taking time for his hands to heal, Hostak returned in February 1941 with a knockout win in Chicago, followed up by two more knockouts in April and May in Seattle. He returned to Chicago to face Zale in a third fight on May 28, 1941. Hostak knocked down Zale early, but he was up before a count could be administered. In the 2nd round, Zale pounded Hostak to the body, dropping him eight times, before he was finally counted out. In November, Hostak would make his first and only appearance at Madison Square Garden, against former middleweight champion Ken Overlin. Overlin easily outboxed a befuddled Hostak, who threw very few punches before losing a lopsided decision.

In Hostak's absence from Seattle, another middleweight attraction had been developed by Druxman, Harry (Kid) Matthews of Emmett, Idaho. The two would face each other on September 29, 1942, in Seattle, with Hostak knocking Matthews down twice, but again being outboxed, losing a majority decision. The two would fight to a draw in a November rematch in Seattle. This time both boxers performed more poorly than in their first bout, particularly Matthews, who spent much of the bout in retreat. Hostak's boxing career temporarily ended along with Druxman's after the bout, as both did service in World War II. Hostak joined the Army in 1942, and trained as a paratrooper, serving in the 101st Airborne. His overseas duty included acting as part of the occupying force in Japan, according to his son.

Hostak had two bouts in 1944 while stationed in Houston, Texas, scoring a pair of knockouts. On June 21, 1944, he defeated Glen Lee in a third round knockout for the USA Texas Light Heavyweight championship while serving as a Corporal in the army. Both contestants were serving in the armed forces, and Jack Dempsey, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy served as referee. The match raised millions in war bonds.

He made his post-war return in June 1946, with four more knockouts against modest opposition. He took on middleweight contender Steve Belloise in Houston in January 1947. He sent Belloise to the mat in the 1st, but was knocked out in the 4th. After a 5th-round TKO over Anton Raadik in August 1947 in Chicago, Hostak avenged his loss to Belloise by winning a decision in Seattle before a crowd of 7,000 on August 26. Hostak put Belloise down for a seven count in the second, and had an edge in eight of the ten rounds with only one to Belloise and one even. With the win, the 31-year-old Hostak again earned a rating and wide recognition as a middleweight contender.

Hostak's resurgence would be short-lived, as he was held to a draw in a mixed decision on October 7, 1947 by George Duke, with many fans thinking Duke had outboxed him. He then lost a split decision in Portland, Oregon, to Jack Snapp, followed by a draw to Paul Perkins. In December 1948, Hostak decisioned Perkins in a rematch, before finishing his career on his 33rd birthday by stopping Snapp in nine rounds in Seattle.

After boxing, Hostak held jobs as a bartender, a King County Jail guard, and a security guard at the Longacres Race Track. He even taught school-age kids how to defend themselves in fights. Hostak was married to Rose Francis in 1948. He died on August 13, 2006, in Kirkland, Washington, of complications from a stroke that he suffered ten days earlier, and was interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Seattle. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997.

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