On May 9, 1951, the Dispatch reported that the wife and family of boxer Lee Savold were living at 4230 Brookside Ave. Savold’s wife Ruth moved here from Englewood, NJ to be near her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Moen. Lee’s mother grew up in Minneapolis.
At the time, Lee Savold, who once billed himself as “Savoldi,” was the third ranking heavyweight. At 36, he had fought big name boxers such as Lou Nova, Billy Conn, and Max Baer. The article said that he was to meet Joe Louis at the Polo Grounds in New York on June 13. Louis scored a knockout in round 6 in the first fight broadcast on closed-circuit TV. Louis retired shortly afterwards and Savold’s career as a headliner was over.
A correspondent from England tells us: In about 1949/1950, Joe Louis was the British heavyweight champion. He retired, leaving the world heavyweight title vacant for some months for eliminators to take place and produce a world champ. British promoter Jack Solomons staged a “British version of the World Heavyweight Championship” between Bruce Woodcock and Lee Savold. Savold beat Woodcock to become the “British version of the World Heavyweight Champion.” Correspondent John said that “Lee’s attitude won the hearts of many fight fans in England.”
The couple was divorced – something about a blonde in Germany – and Ruth was remarried to Peter Finian. In October 1952, 14-year-old daughter Sandra Ruth Savold died of polio after a four day illness. It was St. Louis Park’s fifth polio death of the year.
An undated postcard indicates that Lee had an interest in the Collingwood Hotel in New York City. He owned a bar in Hudson, Wisconsin and died in Neptune, New Jersey.
Ruth Schwartz (perhaps married a third time?) sold the house on Brookside in 1963.