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Forgotten Champions: Fred Apostoli
By Martin Mulcahey
Seventy-two years ago today long forgotten Fred Apostoli became a world middleweight champion. The legendary Billy Conn recalled Apostoli as, "The toughest fellow I ever fought. He was a great fighter." It's sad Conn's words never found a larger audience, since Apostoli was a unique boxer. In today's game Apostoli's movie star looks, action style, and willingness to face any challenge would earn him HBO money. He might feel strangely at home in today's world of fractured titles as well, since promotional politics denied Apostoli universal recognition as a champion.
Apostoli had power, but that raw strength intermixed with subtle skills honed at national amateur competitions. Much of his success derived from an eagerness to train, and long days of roadwork put Apostoli on a path to fight the best middleweights and light heavyweights of the era. A straight right hand served as Apostoli's best weapon in grueling battles against the elite. While the right hand did most of the damage, Apostoli could in turn be damaged by the feet of slick boxers who moved and countered his charges. Apostoli even underappreciated himself. "I wasn't a boxer or fancy Dan. I liked to wade in and bang hard to the body."
The 5'7 Apostoli was a solid physical specimen, with particularly broad shoulders and neck, sporting a body made for slugging it out in the trenches. Which is not to say Apostoli could not box, he could as a championship amateur background suggested. It was a lack of world class handspeed that led Apostoli to brawl. Ring Magazine writer Lester Bromberg called Apostoli, "A San Francisco Adonis, a stand-up middleweight equally versed on defense and attack. The latter portion of his career remains shrouded in mystery, as his style fell away to upper crust club fighters." International Boxing magazine also lauded Apostoli's ability, "A skilled, intelligent boxer who could be a brutal punisher."
Maybe Apostoli was born under an unlucky star? His rise to the top coincided with the most baffling era of middleweight titles and champions. From the mid 1930's to early 1940's the middleweight title was a fractured collage of confusion, with multiple champions recognized by numerous organizations. Unifying, or receiving recognition, was even harder than in today's game. Gorilla Jones, Ben Jeby, Lou Brouillard, Vince Dundee, Teddy Yarosz, Babe Risko, Al Hostak, Solly Krieger, Ken Overlin, and Billy Soose held various claims a middleweight title. Boil it down however, and three men held the most legitimate title claims. They were Marcel Thil, Freddy Steele, and Fred Apostoli.
Above everything Apostoli was a legitimate tough guy, and with a nickname like "The Boxing Bell Hop" he needed something to be remembered for. Born in 1913, Apostoli endured hard knocks early in life, growing up in a home for boys after his mother died when he was seven years old. His grandmother and father tried to raise the child, with four other siblings, but soon banished him to the Father Crowley orphanage for unwanted children. That is where Apostoli was introduced to boxing. He recalled the initial shock upon entering the orphanage, "That's really where I learned something about boxing, you had to fight or get run over."
After surviving his formative years in the home Apostoli worked on a chicken ranch at age 15, only leaving the farm once (to watch a baseball game) in two years. Life was hard work for the maturing boy, something he took with him to the gyms of San Francisco. It was that work ethic, and willingness to train that launched a championship career. Apostoli said of the gym, "I like to study other fighters in the gym, I don't mind training either. Roadwork doesn't bother me, and when it comes time to go into the gym I'm not bored to death as some seem to be."
Apostoli became serious about boxing after meeting Joe Niderost, an occasional boxing manager. Niderost introduced the young man to the Olympic athletic club, where boxing was a major feature. Apostoli quickly found his way in the canvas covered square, and Niderost helped his charge by finding him work as a bellhop at Hotel St. Francis. Spider Roach trained Apostoli, a marginal lightweight whose claim to fame was losing a four-rounder to Benny Leonard, making impressive strides at the amateur level. In 1933 Apostoli won his first tournament, stopping all five opponents. By 1934 Apostoli had won the American middleweight amateur title, beating future contender Lloyd Marshall in the semi-finals. In all, Apostoli won forty four of forty five amateur bouts.
After winning the Golden Gloves and AAU title's Apostoli climbed the pro boxing ladder, earning a reputation as an exciting performer with good looks. A San Francisco newspaper article heralded the arrival of Apostoli, "Out of a sea of dim faces his unmarked profile stands forth like a Greek statue among a pile of muddy rocks." Apostoli also found new tutelage, under the legendary mind of ****** Bimstein. On his pro debut Apostoli knocked out seventy fight veteran Gilbert Attell in the third round. In his fifth bout Apostoli was taken the distance for the first time when hundred fight journeyman Andy DiVodi lasted six rounds.
The early success Apostoli enjoyed made him marketable at a time when the middleweight division was looking for an appealing new force. Frenchman Marcel Thil was the most widely recognized middleweight champion, but America was looking for a homegrown star. Three young guns appeared in the form of Fred Apostoli, Freddie Steele, and Harry Balsamo. As West Coast draws Steele and Apostoli were destined to clash. Steele was breaking gate record in Washington, while Apostoli held sway in San Francisco. Harlem's Balsamo fell to the wayside, after Babe Risko and Solly Krieger exposed him as a limited brawler.
A major bump in road appeared to Apostoli in his seventh pro fight, when his management reached beyond the limits of their still maturing prospect. Apostoli was matched against Freddie Steele too soon. Both men were twenty two years old, but Steele had turned pro eight years earlier establishing a 95-2-11 record, and only lost once the previous four years. Considering the challenge before him Apostoli did well, but he faded as the bout wore on and Steele asserted himself. Apostoli was knocked down in the ninth round by a left hook, and out in the tenth. It would not be the last time the bitter rivals would meet.
Apostoli bounced back, winning seven fights before the calendar leafed its final for 1935. Seven bouts filled 1936, with Apostoli showing world-class potential beating Lou Brouillard and Eddie Risko (the reigning American middleweight champion). The wins put Apostoli solidly in the contender bracket. This facilitated a move to New York City to pursue title dreams. Dreams that turned melancholy when his arrival was spoiled by Ken Overlin. Some suggested it was the judges who defeated Apostoli. The official's scored the Overlin fight 8-2, 8-0-2, 5-5, with many newspapers deriding the decision. Most notably the New York Times, scoring in Apostoli's favor six rounds to four. Twenty days later Apostoli beat future champ Solly Krieger, taking seven out of ten rounds. He repeated that victory, scoring a TKO after Kriger suffered a severe cut to his lower lip. The wins set up Apostoli for a shot at reigning champion Marcil Thil..., if not his title as it would turn out.
The clash was staged on the famed 'Carnival of Champions' card, where four of the eight world titles were up for grabs. For seven rounds it was an even contest, then Thil began to pull away behind a jab right hand combination. Apostoli countered well in the ninth, and gained momentum after opening a bad cut over Thil's right eye. Apostoli smartly targeted the eye, and staggered Thil at the end of the round. Referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight in the next round, with Thil's eye damaged beyond the point of safety. Apostoli later explained his slow start, "They were telling me in the corner to take it easy; you got to go fifteen rounds; take your time." When Thil's blood began to flow he could not contain himself. "I was a wild man. I just kept right on him. It was inevitable that I would have knocked him out."
Even though Thil was regarded as the middleweight champion by most (and held the International Boxing Union title), the fight was not recognized for the title by a major sanctioning body. The New York State Athletic Committee compelled both boxers to sign an agreement stipulating that no title was at stake, since the Commission had recognized Freddie Steele as the champion after a long layoff by Thil. Boxing politics deprived Apostoli of official recognition. Apostoli collected $5,000 (Thil got $30,000) for the win, softening the blow somewhat. The fight Apostoli, and boxing fans, wanted most was a rematch with Freddie Steele. It came four months later at Madison Square Garden, and Apostoli was primed. "From the day it was made all I thought of was banging him out in the same round he stopped me."
Freddie Steele had beaten up the green Apostoli in their first encounter, but suffered a similar fate to Apostoli in their rematch. A punch broke one of Steele's ribs early in the bout, putting Steele at an obvious disadvantage. As the fight wore on it was his eye that caused the most concern. News wires reported, "Blood came in a cascade down Steele's eye, the right was just a slit in the middle of his face there was a ring of red to show where once a nose had been. It was the greatest middleweight fight seen around here in a generation, topping even the Greb-Walker brawl by many a sanguinary punch." Boxing Illustrated recalled, "For sheer savagery there have been few fights like this one. It was one of the wildest most boisterous evenings ever put on at the Garden."
Eight thousand fans witnessed the pummeling, during which Apostoli showed world-class bravado mixed with a tinge of revenge. The two titles Steele held were not on the line for this fight, since it was stipulated in the contract that Apostoli had to weigh in a pound over the limit. Thus Apostoli never added the NBA and NYSAC titles to the IBU belt he won from Marcel Thil. In the final analysis the fans knew who the real champion was, and even called for the fight to be stopped as the blood flowed out of Steele. Apostoli called the victory, "The greatest of my life". Such was the sting of his first loss of his career three years earlier. There was much interest in a West Coast rematch, but Steele never signed a contract.
Apostoli made a defense of his IBU world title against brawler Glen Lee at MSG. Lee, at 30-7, was a wade in slugger with more heart then punch, but fought on the inside with particular intensity. The scoring was in favor of Apostoli 9-3, 9-3, and one against at 5-6-1. Apostoli made it hard on himself choosing to stand his ground, instead of jabbing or pushing the smaller man off. An unexpected hometown loss to Young Corbett III proved to be one time drop in form, as Apostoli continued to rack up wins that included a rematch win against Glen Lee. This time Apostoli had learned from past mistakes, and boxed his way to an easy decision, tying up Lee whenever he got inside. A rematch with Young Corbett III was won by Apostoli via kayo, scoring four knockdowns in the process.
A move up to challenge light heavyweights brought excitement (even though Apostoli did not break the 160 pound mark), but not much in the way of wins. Testing the waters at the new weight Apostoli ran into a newly arrived force. His name was Billy Conn, and they fought twice with both decisions going to Conn narrowly. The first was scored 7-8, 6-9, and 6-9 for Conn, but the decision was roundly booed. In the second bout trainer ****** Bimstein urged Apostoli in the final round, "Take this round and the fight is yours." Apostoli went out and won the round, but lost the fight on decision. Recalling the day Apostoli said, "****** told me that was the first time in all his days of handling fighters that he missed calling the fight." Most thought the extra five rounds, in the second fight, would favor Apostoli. However, the naturally larger Conn, Apostoli spotted Conn ten pounds both fights, was able to maintain a brisker pace and push Apostoli backwards.
Conn had considerable respect for Apostoli. "The toughest fellow I ever fought. You couldn't make a mistake with him because he could box real good, and he could punch real good. He was a real good-looking fellow, there wasn't a mark on him. I wound up in the hospital for five days, he busted me up so bad in the second fight. I won both of them. I didn't want too many fights like that. We disliked each other, hurling racial slurs such as '****' and 'Mick'. But later became friends."
A return to middleweight, and four wins, followed the two loses to Conn. Then Filipino great Ceferino Garcia took Apostoli's title claims away, knocking him out using the famed bolo punch at 2:07 of the seventh round. Apostoli was knocked down three times in the seventh, on the last occasion the referee didn't bother to count past two. Maybe Apostoli was having problems making the weight after his light heavyweight excursion? A return to light heavy in 1940 suggests this might have been the case.
Back at light heavy Apostoli had two memorable slugfests with former world titlist, and unwieldy brawler, Melio Bettina. The New York Times wrote of their first fight, "In as savage a light-heavyweight bout as has been seen in a local ring for years, Fred Apostoli, former world middleweight champion, conquered the stouthearted but awkward Melio Bettina". Apostoli had to come back from three visits to the canvas in the first three rounds, and returned the favor to Bettina in the 10th. The final verdict had two judges favoring Apostoli, with one calling it a draw. A month later the pair fought again. In the second fight Apostoli was carried back to his corner in the 12th, where his trainer stopped the fight after being unable to get positive response from him in the minute given between rounds. Apostoli said it was his toughest fight.
By this time the championship drive was gone from Apostoli, he still worked hard but it was not transferring to the ring. He became re-energized by World War II, joining the Navy as a gunner just as he had begun to go through the motions as a boxer. That was shortly after Tony Zale had ripped through Apostoli, knocking him down three times, winning a decision over ten rounds. Apostoli confirmed this line of though, "Since I enlisted, this sailor life has put me back in Shape. The environment is perfect for a young fellow, it makes him feel right at home."
Apostoli returned to boxing in 1946, after his enlistment had ended, with seven wins against mediocre opposition. The bouts were largely made to boost name appeal in the Bay area after his absence from the scene. 1947 started badly for Apostoli, he suffered a shock, and fluky, first round TKO loss to Bobby Volk on a cut eye. Volk was summarily knocked out in a return bout. Age crept up on Apostoli however, and now he was fighting more for money than pride. A win over former middleweight title challenger Georgie Abrams suggested Apostoli could still lock horns with the divisions elite.
Curiously Apostoli did not exploit the Abrams win, retiring for a year and falling off the public's radar. An itch to return cost Apostoli, and he lost a ten round decision to Earl Turner in his last bout. "When the bell rang for the tenth round I knew I had had it. I walked over and raised Turners hands before they even announced the decision. You can only go so far. That was the end of the line for me."
At 34 it was time to retire. Having invested some money in a home and property around San Francisco Apostoli was content. He soon drifted into the real world without problems, working as an advertising executive. Apostoli worked hard at this, as he had with everything else, so it was not shocking to hear he was found dead in his office in 1973. Of course it was shock that he was dead at 59, of natural causes, but Apostoli was doing what he did best. Work.
By Martin Mulcahey
Seventy-two years ago today long forgotten Fred Apostoli became a world middleweight champion. The legendary Billy Conn recalled Apostoli as, "The toughest fellow I ever fought. He was a great fighter." It's sad Conn's words never found a larger audience, since Apostoli was a unique boxer. In today's game Apostoli's movie star looks, action style, and willingness to face any challenge would earn him HBO money. He might feel strangely at home in today's world of fractured titles as well, since promotional politics denied Apostoli universal recognition as a champion.
Apostoli had power, but that raw strength intermixed with subtle skills honed at national amateur competitions. Much of his success derived from an eagerness to train, and long days of roadwork put Apostoli on a path to fight the best middleweights and light heavyweights of the era. A straight right hand served as Apostoli's best weapon in grueling battles against the elite. While the right hand did most of the damage, Apostoli could in turn be damaged by the feet of slick boxers who moved and countered his charges. Apostoli even underappreciated himself. "I wasn't a boxer or fancy Dan. I liked to wade in and bang hard to the body."
The 5'7 Apostoli was a solid physical specimen, with particularly broad shoulders and neck, sporting a body made for slugging it out in the trenches. Which is not to say Apostoli could not box, he could as a championship amateur background suggested. It was a lack of world class handspeed that led Apostoli to brawl. Ring Magazine writer Lester Bromberg called Apostoli, "A San Francisco Adonis, a stand-up middleweight equally versed on defense and attack. The latter portion of his career remains shrouded in mystery, as his style fell away to upper crust club fighters." International Boxing magazine also lauded Apostoli's ability, "A skilled, intelligent boxer who could be a brutal punisher."
Maybe Apostoli was born under an unlucky star? His rise to the top coincided with the most baffling era of middleweight titles and champions. From the mid 1930's to early 1940's the middleweight title was a fractured collage of confusion, with multiple champions recognized by numerous organizations. Unifying, or receiving recognition, was even harder than in today's game. Gorilla Jones, Ben Jeby, Lou Brouillard, Vince Dundee, Teddy Yarosz, Babe Risko, Al Hostak, Solly Krieger, Ken Overlin, and Billy Soose held various claims a middleweight title. Boil it down however, and three men held the most legitimate title claims. They were Marcel Thil, Freddy Steele, and Fred Apostoli.
Above everything Apostoli was a legitimate tough guy, and with a nickname like "The Boxing Bell Hop" he needed something to be remembered for. Born in 1913, Apostoli endured hard knocks early in life, growing up in a home for boys after his mother died when he was seven years old. His grandmother and father tried to raise the child, with four other siblings, but soon banished him to the Father Crowley orphanage for unwanted children. That is where Apostoli was introduced to boxing. He recalled the initial shock upon entering the orphanage, "That's really where I learned something about boxing, you had to fight or get run over."
After surviving his formative years in the home Apostoli worked on a chicken ranch at age 15, only leaving the farm once (to watch a baseball game) in two years. Life was hard work for the maturing boy, something he took with him to the gyms of San Francisco. It was that work ethic, and willingness to train that launched a championship career. Apostoli said of the gym, "I like to study other fighters in the gym, I don't mind training either. Roadwork doesn't bother me, and when it comes time to go into the gym I'm not bored to death as some seem to be."
Apostoli became serious about boxing after meeting Joe Niderost, an occasional boxing manager. Niderost introduced the young man to the Olympic athletic club, where boxing was a major feature. Apostoli quickly found his way in the canvas covered square, and Niderost helped his charge by finding him work as a bellhop at Hotel St. Francis. Spider Roach trained Apostoli, a marginal lightweight whose claim to fame was losing a four-rounder to Benny Leonard, making impressive strides at the amateur level. In 1933 Apostoli won his first tournament, stopping all five opponents. By 1934 Apostoli had won the American middleweight amateur title, beating future contender Lloyd Marshall in the semi-finals. In all, Apostoli won forty four of forty five amateur bouts.
After winning the Golden Gloves and AAU title's Apostoli climbed the pro boxing ladder, earning a reputation as an exciting performer with good looks. A San Francisco newspaper article heralded the arrival of Apostoli, "Out of a sea of dim faces his unmarked profile stands forth like a Greek statue among a pile of muddy rocks." Apostoli also found new tutelage, under the legendary mind of ****** Bimstein. On his pro debut Apostoli knocked out seventy fight veteran Gilbert Attell in the third round. In his fifth bout Apostoli was taken the distance for the first time when hundred fight journeyman Andy DiVodi lasted six rounds.
The early success Apostoli enjoyed made him marketable at a time when the middleweight division was looking for an appealing new force. Frenchman Marcel Thil was the most widely recognized middleweight champion, but America was looking for a homegrown star. Three young guns appeared in the form of Fred Apostoli, Freddie Steele, and Harry Balsamo. As West Coast draws Steele and Apostoli were destined to clash. Steele was breaking gate record in Washington, while Apostoli held sway in San Francisco. Harlem's Balsamo fell to the wayside, after Babe Risko and Solly Krieger exposed him as a limited brawler.
A major bump in road appeared to Apostoli in his seventh pro fight, when his management reached beyond the limits of their still maturing prospect. Apostoli was matched against Freddie Steele too soon. Both men were twenty two years old, but Steele had turned pro eight years earlier establishing a 95-2-11 record, and only lost once the previous four years. Considering the challenge before him Apostoli did well, but he faded as the bout wore on and Steele asserted himself. Apostoli was knocked down in the ninth round by a left hook, and out in the tenth. It would not be the last time the bitter rivals would meet.
Apostoli bounced back, winning seven fights before the calendar leafed its final for 1935. Seven bouts filled 1936, with Apostoli showing world-class potential beating Lou Brouillard and Eddie Risko (the reigning American middleweight champion). The wins put Apostoli solidly in the contender bracket. This facilitated a move to New York City to pursue title dreams. Dreams that turned melancholy when his arrival was spoiled by Ken Overlin. Some suggested it was the judges who defeated Apostoli. The official's scored the Overlin fight 8-2, 8-0-2, 5-5, with many newspapers deriding the decision. Most notably the New York Times, scoring in Apostoli's favor six rounds to four. Twenty days later Apostoli beat future champ Solly Krieger, taking seven out of ten rounds. He repeated that victory, scoring a TKO after Kriger suffered a severe cut to his lower lip. The wins set up Apostoli for a shot at reigning champion Marcil Thil..., if not his title as it would turn out.
The clash was staged on the famed 'Carnival of Champions' card, where four of the eight world titles were up for grabs. For seven rounds it was an even contest, then Thil began to pull away behind a jab right hand combination. Apostoli countered well in the ninth, and gained momentum after opening a bad cut over Thil's right eye. Apostoli smartly targeted the eye, and staggered Thil at the end of the round. Referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight in the next round, with Thil's eye damaged beyond the point of safety. Apostoli later explained his slow start, "They were telling me in the corner to take it easy; you got to go fifteen rounds; take your time." When Thil's blood began to flow he could not contain himself. "I was a wild man. I just kept right on him. It was inevitable that I would have knocked him out."
Even though Thil was regarded as the middleweight champion by most (and held the International Boxing Union title), the fight was not recognized for the title by a major sanctioning body. The New York State Athletic Committee compelled both boxers to sign an agreement stipulating that no title was at stake, since the Commission had recognized Freddie Steele as the champion after a long layoff by Thil. Boxing politics deprived Apostoli of official recognition. Apostoli collected $5,000 (Thil got $30,000) for the win, softening the blow somewhat. The fight Apostoli, and boxing fans, wanted most was a rematch with Freddie Steele. It came four months later at Madison Square Garden, and Apostoli was primed. "From the day it was made all I thought of was banging him out in the same round he stopped me."
Freddie Steele had beaten up the green Apostoli in their first encounter, but suffered a similar fate to Apostoli in their rematch. A punch broke one of Steele's ribs early in the bout, putting Steele at an obvious disadvantage. As the fight wore on it was his eye that caused the most concern. News wires reported, "Blood came in a cascade down Steele's eye, the right was just a slit in the middle of his face there was a ring of red to show where once a nose had been. It was the greatest middleweight fight seen around here in a generation, topping even the Greb-Walker brawl by many a sanguinary punch." Boxing Illustrated recalled, "For sheer savagery there have been few fights like this one. It was one of the wildest most boisterous evenings ever put on at the Garden."
Eight thousand fans witnessed the pummeling, during which Apostoli showed world-class bravado mixed with a tinge of revenge. The two titles Steele held were not on the line for this fight, since it was stipulated in the contract that Apostoli had to weigh in a pound over the limit. Thus Apostoli never added the NBA and NYSAC titles to the IBU belt he won from Marcel Thil. In the final analysis the fans knew who the real champion was, and even called for the fight to be stopped as the blood flowed out of Steele. Apostoli called the victory, "The greatest of my life". Such was the sting of his first loss of his career three years earlier. There was much interest in a West Coast rematch, but Steele never signed a contract.
Apostoli made a defense of his IBU world title against brawler Glen Lee at MSG. Lee, at 30-7, was a wade in slugger with more heart then punch, but fought on the inside with particular intensity. The scoring was in favor of Apostoli 9-3, 9-3, and one against at 5-6-1. Apostoli made it hard on himself choosing to stand his ground, instead of jabbing or pushing the smaller man off. An unexpected hometown loss to Young Corbett III proved to be one time drop in form, as Apostoli continued to rack up wins that included a rematch win against Glen Lee. This time Apostoli had learned from past mistakes, and boxed his way to an easy decision, tying up Lee whenever he got inside. A rematch with Young Corbett III was won by Apostoli via kayo, scoring four knockdowns in the process.
A move up to challenge light heavyweights brought excitement (even though Apostoli did not break the 160 pound mark), but not much in the way of wins. Testing the waters at the new weight Apostoli ran into a newly arrived force. His name was Billy Conn, and they fought twice with both decisions going to Conn narrowly. The first was scored 7-8, 6-9, and 6-9 for Conn, but the decision was roundly booed. In the second bout trainer ****** Bimstein urged Apostoli in the final round, "Take this round and the fight is yours." Apostoli went out and won the round, but lost the fight on decision. Recalling the day Apostoli said, "****** told me that was the first time in all his days of handling fighters that he missed calling the fight." Most thought the extra five rounds, in the second fight, would favor Apostoli. However, the naturally larger Conn, Apostoli spotted Conn ten pounds both fights, was able to maintain a brisker pace and push Apostoli backwards.
Conn had considerable respect for Apostoli. "The toughest fellow I ever fought. You couldn't make a mistake with him because he could box real good, and he could punch real good. He was a real good-looking fellow, there wasn't a mark on him. I wound up in the hospital for five days, he busted me up so bad in the second fight. I won both of them. I didn't want too many fights like that. We disliked each other, hurling racial slurs such as '****' and 'Mick'. But later became friends."
A return to middleweight, and four wins, followed the two loses to Conn. Then Filipino great Ceferino Garcia took Apostoli's title claims away, knocking him out using the famed bolo punch at 2:07 of the seventh round. Apostoli was knocked down three times in the seventh, on the last occasion the referee didn't bother to count past two. Maybe Apostoli was having problems making the weight after his light heavyweight excursion? A return to light heavy in 1940 suggests this might have been the case.
Back at light heavy Apostoli had two memorable slugfests with former world titlist, and unwieldy brawler, Melio Bettina. The New York Times wrote of their first fight, "In as savage a light-heavyweight bout as has been seen in a local ring for years, Fred Apostoli, former world middleweight champion, conquered the stouthearted but awkward Melio Bettina". Apostoli had to come back from three visits to the canvas in the first three rounds, and returned the favor to Bettina in the 10th. The final verdict had two judges favoring Apostoli, with one calling it a draw. A month later the pair fought again. In the second fight Apostoli was carried back to his corner in the 12th, where his trainer stopped the fight after being unable to get positive response from him in the minute given between rounds. Apostoli said it was his toughest fight.
By this time the championship drive was gone from Apostoli, he still worked hard but it was not transferring to the ring. He became re-energized by World War II, joining the Navy as a gunner just as he had begun to go through the motions as a boxer. That was shortly after Tony Zale had ripped through Apostoli, knocking him down three times, winning a decision over ten rounds. Apostoli confirmed this line of though, "Since I enlisted, this sailor life has put me back in Shape. The environment is perfect for a young fellow, it makes him feel right at home."
Apostoli returned to boxing in 1946, after his enlistment had ended, with seven wins against mediocre opposition. The bouts were largely made to boost name appeal in the Bay area after his absence from the scene. 1947 started badly for Apostoli, he suffered a shock, and fluky, first round TKO loss to Bobby Volk on a cut eye. Volk was summarily knocked out in a return bout. Age crept up on Apostoli however, and now he was fighting more for money than pride. A win over former middleweight title challenger Georgie Abrams suggested Apostoli could still lock horns with the divisions elite.
Curiously Apostoli did not exploit the Abrams win, retiring for a year and falling off the public's radar. An itch to return cost Apostoli, and he lost a ten round decision to Earl Turner in his last bout. "When the bell rang for the tenth round I knew I had had it. I walked over and raised Turners hands before they even announced the decision. You can only go so far. That was the end of the line for me."
At 34 it was time to retire. Having invested some money in a home and property around San Francisco Apostoli was content. He soon drifted into the real world without problems, working as an advertising executive. Apostoli worked hard at this, as he had with everything else, so it was not shocking to hear he was found dead in his office in 1973. Of course it was shock that he was dead at 59, of natural causes, but Apostoli was doing what he did best. Work.
