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Kreuger, Battling

Pugilist in Deadwood, Dakota Territory,[1] in 1877. (October 27, 1840 – May 24, 1909)[2]

Standing six-feet, four inches and also known simply as "the Battler," Kreuger began his boxing career in 1858 at the age of 17. In 1861, he joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. After the War, he returned to boxing and fought all comers undefeated from New Orleans to St. Louis.[2]

In April of 1877 in Council Bluffs,[2] Kreuger was recruited by Tony Cadiz to fight at Cadiz's Golden Nugget Saloon in Deadwood. There, together with Cadiz's wife, Coral Stacey, they boarded the Dakota Queen bound for Deadwood. That night, Bret Maverick won more than $4,000 from Cadiz in a poker game in the riverboat's salon. Afterwards, Cadiz introduced Bret to Kreuger, telling Bret he will be paying two-to-one odds to any challenger in Deadwood to stand ten rounds with Kreuger. In an attempt to recoup his poker losses, Cadiz offered Bret a quarter interest in the Battler for $2,500. Bret declined, and stepped out on the deck for a cigar. A few minutes later, Cadiz had Kreuger sucker punch Bret and knock him out. Cadiz and Coral robbed Bret of all his money and Kreuger threw him overboard into the Missouri River.[1] By May,[2] Kreuger had earned Cadiz an on-going fortune as the undisputed Champion of Deadwood Gulch.[1] That month,[2] Bret and Dandy Jim Buckley arrived in Deadwood with Noah Perkins, who they had convinced to fight Kreuger by telling him Kreuger was a ruthless deer hunter. Perkins, a pacifist, reluctantly agreed in order to win $1,000 and buy the valley in which he had settled to protect its wildlife from encroaching gold-seekers. Bret and Buckley studied Kreuger's fighting technique and discovered his Achilles Heel was a weak belly, and told Perkins to go for his gut in the ring. But Perkins met Kreuger the next day in the streets of Deadwood and learned that not only had Kreuger never killed a deer in his life but, in fact, actually liked deer. Perkins backed out of the match, forcing Bret to step in for him. Knowing of Kreuger's weak belly, Bret finally managed to defeat Kreuger and become the new Champion of Deadwood Gulch. Kreuger's defeat also resulted in Cadiz losing the Golden Nugget to a group of miners who had bet heavily on Bret to win the match.[1]

Kreuger left Deadwood shortly thereafter, but once the secret of his weak belly had gotten out, he was never able to regain his former level of success in the ring.[2]

See: Stampede