Hall of Fame
Pete Rademacher became the Cougars’ first Olympic Gold Medal winner in 1956 when he knocked out Russian Lev Mouhkine in the first round of the Heavyweight Boxing Finals in Melbourne, Australia.  Just a year later, Rademacher became the first man in history to fight for the World Heavyweight Championship in his first professional fight. Pete lost to Floyd Patterson but knocked Floyd down in the second round, the first time Patterson had been floored by a contender. He was a lineman and two-year letterman in football for the Cougars in 1950-51 but was unable to box for WSC because of numerous Golden Glove victories prior to entering college. Rademacher had a professional record of 17-6-1 in the ring.
