Ace Hudkins
Ace Hudkins (August 30, 1905 – April 8, 1973) was an American boxer of the 1920s. He was known for his ferocious style and for never being knocked out during his career. His boxing nickname was "The Nebraska Wildcat".
Early life
Ace Hudkins was born in Valparaiso, Nebraska on August 30, 1905, and grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hudkins had seven brothers and one sister. His brothers Clyde and Art would train and manage his boxing career, and his brother Ode would later run the office of the Hudkins Brothers Stables.[1]
A Lincoln Evening Journal article from 1926 claims, "Ace was a cocky 14 year old working in a pool hall, and mouthing off, when local boxer Harold Jolsmer teased him saying, 'I wish you were a fighter so I could tame you with a few socks on the jaw.' The red-head spouted back, 'Maybe I don't need to be a fighter to fix you!'"[2] With that challenge, Hudkins trained for two weeks and came back to beat Jolsmer.
Career
Hudkins was never knocked out during his career.[3] He fought in different weight classes, ranging from lightweight to light-heavyweight. Most of his success was at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. During his career Charles Lindbergh came to see him, as did many movie star fight fans in Hollywood in the 1920s. He also sparred with screen legend Rudolph Valentino.[4][5][6][7]
Ruby Goldstein
On June 25, 1926, Hudkins fought Ruby Goldstein at Coney Island Stadium in Brooklyn, New York.[3] To the surprise of many east coast fight fans who knew little about Hudkins, he knocked out the favored Goldstein in the fourth round.
Sergeant Sammy Baker
Hudkins had two notable bouts with Sammy Baker. The first was on June 16, 1927. Hudkins was so excited to box in front of the aeronautic hero Charles Lindbergh, who was attending and was a friend from his Nebraska days, that he wanted to present him with a gift. It was the only time Hudkins would lose with a TKO. After the fight, Hudkins left to attend to his injuries, and had his gift presented by someone else. It was a golden boxing glove charm with the inscription, "From the Ace of the ring, to the ace of the air".[8]
The second Sammy Baker fight was quite different. On July 25, 1927, Hudkins fought like a wildcat and beat Baker in one of the bloodiest fights the ring had ever seen, as evident in newspaper photos of the fight showing blood covering the referee's shirt.[9]
Mickey Walker and a controversial ruling
Hudkins also had two notable bouts with Mickey Walker.[10] The first fight was on June 21, 1928[3] and it was for the Middleweight Championship of the World. A record-breaking audience of 30,000 watched as Walker and Hudkins battled in the rain. In the end, the ruling was given to Walker. The audience booed and screamed. People who were sitting close to the ring sided with Hudkins.
The second fight Hudkins had with Walker was uneventful, except for the publicity that it generated beforehand. On October 29, 1929 Hudkins fought Walker and lost by points.[3]
Boxing record
Hudkins won 64 fights, 25 of these were won by knock out. Hudkins was never knocked out, but he did lose 16 fights, one by a technical knockout. Twelve of Hudkins's fights were draws on account of points.[3][4][5][6][7][11][12][13][14]
Life after boxing
After retiring from the ring, Hudkins had run-ins with law enforcement. He was arrested for drunk driving numerous times, and shot during a bar fight. His friend Darryl F. Zanuck suggested that Hudkins get into the movie business.
Hudkins Ranch
Ace, Clyde, Art, and later Ode ran the Hudkins Stables, or "The Ranch" as it was called. They provided horses, wranglers, stuntmen, and carriages for the movies and television. They were the ones to sell a horse named Golden Cloud to Roy Rogers, who renamed it Trigger.[15] They worked on movies with John Wayne, James Cagney and many more.
Published works
Kristine Sader, Ace Hudkins: Boxing with The Nebraska Wildcat USA, Kindle Direct Publishing, 2018 ISBN 978-1-7328529-0-7 Search this book on 
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References
- ↑ University of Nebraska- Lincoln, website https://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/saunders/valparaiso/
- ↑ Lincoln Evening Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) 03 August 1926.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "BoxRec: Ace Hudkins". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Roche, Frank. Meet The Nebraska Wildcat. The Arena, 10 October 1929: 14-15, 35,36
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Raglin, Jim. Ace Hudkins Named to Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame. Lincoln Evening Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) 09 August 1955: 11
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Baker, George. Ace Hudkins Had the Face Of A Killer. Boxing Illustrated: The Magazine For Ring Fans March 1961: 18,19,62,63,65
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fight Game Was Good To Ace Hudkins. The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) 05 March 1961
- ↑ Milton, Joyce Loss of Eden: A Biography of Charles and Anne Morrow LindberghNew York, HarperCollins 1993: 130-131.
- ↑ "[Ace Hudkins Fighting Sergeant Sammy Baker, Wrigley Field Arena, Los Angeles] (Getty Museum)". The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
- ↑ "Ace Hudkins, Boxed in Many Divisions". New York Times. April 19, 1973. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ↑ Farrell, Henry L."Hooks and Slides" The Daily Tribune(Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin)27 December 1928. p.5.
- ↑ Runyon, Damon. "True Champs" The Evening Review (East Liverpool, Ohio)10 June 1942. p.4.
- ↑ The Ottowa Journal(Ottowa, Ontario, Canada) 22 February 1950.p.19.
- ↑ Springer, Steve."The City Was Full of Fight." The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) 30 March 2006.
- ↑ Pando, Leo (2019). Trigger: The Lives and Legend of Roy Rogers' Palomino. McFarland & Company. pp. 48–56. ISBN 9781476634524. Search this book on
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