A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
The March 10, 1951, edition of the Deseret News was full of exciting news. The Utah Legislature had concluded its session but Gov. Bracken Lee had vowed to veto a number of appropriations and a special session seemed likely.
On the sports pages, two items catch the eye.
The first, news that FBI director J. Edgar Hoover had been approached about becoming the commissioner of Major League Baseball.
Hoover turned the job down, and Abe Chandler remained commissioner.
But can you imagine ...
The second news item involved a heavyweight boxing bout the night before in New York City between Rex Layne and Bob Satterfield. The two were up-and-comers and the Deseret News sent sports editor Hack Miller (no relation) to the Big Apple to report on the fight.
Who is Rex Layne?
Rex Layne was the pride of Lewiston, Utah, and was sometimes known as the “Lewiston Larruper” and later “Poor Ole Rex.”
He had a very typical Utah childhood. Born in 1928, he served in World War II with the 11th Airborne Division in Japan. It was during this time that Layne began to box. When the army sent out a call for boxing candidates at Sapporo, Japan, he won a heavyweight tournament for his troops in the region.
During his amateur career, Layne fought in Ogden and Salt Lake and West Jordan and Logan, getting his big win in October 1950 against Jersey Joe Walcott in Madison Square Garden.
His March fight against Satterfield was his next big chance to make it to the big time.
As the fight clips show, Satterfield almost knocked Layne down in the first round, but the Utah fighter came back to earn the victory.
Deseret News coverage of the fight was extensive, and guys like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Ezzard Charles wanted a shot at the “Lewiston Larruper.” Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey weighed in on the battle.
In July of ’51, Marciano was first to take on the favored Layne. Marciano won with a sixth-round TKO.
Next was Charles, in October at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The fight went 11 rounds, with Charles winning the wild fight.
Layne would split two more fights with Charles, winning at the Ogden Stadium in an August 1952 fight judged by Dempsey. But he never got a title shot in all his career.
Layne’s pro fight record stands at 50-17-3 with 34 knockouts.
In 1968, Layne had a bit part in the movie “The Devil’s Brigade,” starring William Holden. Layne returned to Utah, raised sugar beets in the Salt Lake Valley and died in 2000.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Layne, and Utah’s great boxing legacy:
“About Utah: Modest M.D. had his day in Olympics”
“Boxer Rex Layne dies at age 72″
“End of an era — the last of the Fighting Fullmers”
“Answering the bell: Can Utah help revive Sweet Science?”
“About Utah: Boxing fans fighting to build shrine highlighting Utah’s pugilistic past”