Roland La Starza (May 12, 1927 – September 30, 2009) was an American boxer and actor. La Starza was a top rated heavyweight contender in the early 1950s and is famous for his two fights with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.
Biography
Early life and career Born in 1927, La Starza grew up in the Van Nest section of the Bronx. La Starza’s skills for boxing showed early, and he would become a very crafty out-boxer and counterpuncher. He had a very successful amateur career, winning five Golden Gloves titles in New York in 1944 and 1945. He began his professional career on July 7, 1947, and in less than three years, put together an undefeated record of 37 straight victories. This would line him up for a fight with another undefeated, rising heavyweight.
Fights with Marciano
La Starza and Rocky Marciano met for the first time in Madison Square Garden on March 24, 1950. La Straza fought well, and although the fight went against him on a split decision, La Starza may have come closer than any other boxer to defeating Marciano. The scoring for the bout was 5–4, 4–5, and 5–5, but La Starza lost on a supplemental point system used by New York and Massachusetts at that time (which was awarded to Marciano on account of him scoring the fight’s only knockdown). La Starza felt he was robbed of victory, and even went on record in the New York Herald Tribune, March 25, 1950, as saying, "The fact is [Rocky’s] manager Al Weill was matchmaker for the Garden. I would say that had a lot to do with the decision." He maintained that belief for over 50 years after the bout.
Over the next three years, La Starza fought 18 more times, (losing on points to Dan Bucceroni and Rocky Jones, before avenging both losses in 1952), and eventually won a heavyweight title eliminator against Rex Layne in early 1953. This set himself up for what would be the most important fight of his career: a world heavyweight championship bout which was also a rematch against Marciano on September 24, 1953. The fight took place in an outdoor venue—the Polo Grounds in New York City. La Starza fought Marciano quite well for the first six rounds, but began to wear down as he took more punishment. In the 11th round, Marciano had knocked La Starza through the ropes. La Starza beat Goldstein's count, but the referee stopped the fight shortly thereafter on a TKO as Marciano battered La Starza relentlessly. This was the first of only two times La Starza was stopped during his career.
Later career Following the title bout, La Starza was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the fight, and required surgery to treat the damage done to his arms. He continued his boxing career but was never the same again. He lost his next match in March 1954 to British champion Don Cockell, and went on to lose half of his subsequent eight fights. La Starza finally retired after his final fight on May 8, 1961. During his over 14 year long career, he fought a total of 446 rounds in 66 professional fights, and won 57 of them with 27 by knockout.
After his boxing career La Starza appeared on television in a number of stereotypical tough-guy roles. His biggest break was a regular role as Pvt. Ernie Lucavich on the short-lived World War II series The Gallant Men. He also did guest appearances on various shows including 77 Sunset Strip, The Wild Wild West and Perry Mason. He appeared in two episodes (13 and 14) of the Batman series of the 1960s, and appeared in movies including Point Blank (1967) and The Outfit (1973).
He, his wife (Jane) and two children (Amy and Mark) left California to retire at their family's cattle ranch outside of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in 1972.
La Starza died on September 30, 2009, in Port Orange, Florida, at the age of 82.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes66Loss57–9Monroe RatliffUD10May 8, 196165Win57–8Ike ThomasTKO3 (8), Dec 21, 196064Win56–8Danny LoganTKO7 (8), Nov 30, 196063Loss55–8Larry ZernitzSD10Dec 1, 195862Win55–7Al AndersonSD10Oct 8, 195761Win54–7Jimmy McMillanTKO3 (10)Jun 11, 195760Loss53–7Julio MederosKO5 (10), Mar 2, 195559Loss53–6Charley NorkusUD10Dec 1, 195458Loss53–5Don CockellPTS10Mar 30, 195457Loss53–4Rocky MarcianoTKO11 (15)Sep 24, 195356Win53–3Rex LayneSD10Feb 13, 195355Win52–3Rocky JonesUD10Dec 1, 195254Loss51–3Rocky JonesUD10Oct 9, 195253Win51–2Dan BucceroniUD10May 13, 195252Win50–2Joe McFaddenTKO5 (10), Apr 18, 195251Win49–2Ralph SchneiderUD10Feb 13, 195250Win48–2Bill WilsonKO4 (10), Feb 1, 195249Loss47–2Dan BucceroniUD10Dec 21, 195148Win47–1Ted LowryUD10Aug 3, 195147Win46–1Gene FeltonKO3 (10)Jun 11, 195146Win45–1Vern MitchellTKO8 (10), May 4, 195145Win44–1Keene SimmonsUD10Mar 12, 195144Win43–1Curt KennedyTKO6 (10), Feb 5, 195143Win42–1Ted LowryUD10Jan 15, 195142Win41–1Duilio SpagnoloUD10Oct 20, 195041Win40–1Keene SimmonsUD8Aug 25, 195040Win39–1Georgie FullerTKO9 (10), May 13, 195039Win38–1Jimmy WallsKO3 (10), May 1, 195038Loss37–1Rocky MarcianoSD10Mar 24, 195037Win37–0César BrionUD10Dec 2, 194936Win36–0Walter HaferKO9 (10), Oct 29, 194935Win35–0Joe DominicPTS6Sep 2, 194934Win34–0Jackie LyonsTKO5 (10)Jul 29, 194933Win33–0Harry HaftTKO4 (8), Jun 27, 194932Win32–0Jimmy CarolloUD10Jun 9, 194931Win31–0Eldridge EatmanUD8Apr 28, 194930Win30–0Gino BuonvinoTKO6 (10), Feb 25, 194929Win29–0Bill WeinbergPTS8Jan 14, 194928Win28–0Gene GosneyTKO7 (8), Dec 10, 194827Win27–0Don MogardUD8Nov 6, 194826Win26–0Mike JacobsPTS6Oct 20, 194825Win25–0Don MogardPTS6Sep 23, 194824Win24–0Mel McKinneyKO4 (8), Aug 30, 194823Win23–0Teddy GeorgesTKO2 (6), Aug 17, 194822Win22–0Oscar GoodeTKO4 (8,) Jul 27, 194821Win21–0Tony GangemiUD8Jul 14, 194820Win20–0Benny RuskPTS6Jun 25, 194819Win19–0Freddie McManusUD6May 4, 194818Win18–0John HollowayTKO5 (6), Apr 24, 194817Win17–0Claude McClintockPTS6Apr 7, 194816Win16–0Steve KingPTS6Mar 19, 194815Win15–0Jimmy WhiteKO2 (6), Feb 24, 194814Win14–0Frankie ReedTKO4 (6)Feb 14, 194813Win13–0Mike BelluscioPTS6Jan 30, 194812Win12–0Luther McMillanPTS6Dec 23, 194711Win11–0Fred RamseyTKO4 (6), Dec 13, 194710Win10–0Matt MincyPTS6Dec 1, 19479Win9–0Lorne McCarthyPTS6Nov 11, 19478Win8–0Jimmy EvansPTS6Oct 31, 19477Win7–0Matt MincyPTS6Oct 21, 19476Win6–0Zeke BrownKO1 (6), Oct 10, 19475Win5–0Jim JohnsonKO1 (6)Sep 9, 19474Win4–0Jimmy DoddTKO4 (6), Aug 25, 19473Win3–0Al ZappalaKO5 (6)Aug 12, 19472Win2–0Zack JohnsonKO6 (6), Jul 15, 19471Win1–0Dave GlantonPTS6Jul 7, 1947
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1962 Convicts 4 Duke 1966 A Fine Madness Angie - Sparrer Uncredited1967 The Big Mouth Jack - Motorcycle Officer Uncredited1967 Point Blank Reese's Guard 1970 Which Way to the Front? Von Krebs Uncredited1973 Incident on a Dark Street Sonny 1973 The Outfit Hit Man #2 1973 The Don Is Dead Mert Shansky Uncredited, (final film role)
References
External links
TV.com page for Roland La Starza Roland La Starza's professional boxing record Account of the Marciano–La Starza title fight by Don Sibrel Photograph from the Marciano–La Starza title fight