Roland La Starza was an American boxer and actor. Originally from the Van Nest section of the Bronx, La Starza fought 66 professional bouts from July 7, 1947 to May 8, 1961. He won 57 of the fights, 27 by knockout. In a March 24, 1950 fight that went against him on a split decision, La Starza may have come closer than any other boxer to defeating Rocky Marciano. The scoring for the bout was 5?4, 4?5, 5?5, but La Starza lost on a supplemental point system used by New York and Massachusetts at that time. Both boxers were undefeated at the time of the fight, with La Starza's record at 37?0. According to newspaper reports, the decision was "universally condemned around ringside as a miscarriage of justice". La Starza himself went on record in the New York Herald Tribune, March 25, 1950, as saying, ?The fact is his manager Al Weill was matchmaker for the Garden. I would say that had a lot to do with the decision.? He continued to maintain that belief for over 50 years after the bout. [More at Wikipedia]

May 12th, 1927 in The Bronx  /  Died:   Sep 30th, 2009