Bob Ranck, a record-setting heavyweight on the Wisconsin boxing team in the late 1940s and early 50s, died June 11 in Idaho at the age of 87.
Ranck, who was born Nov. 12, 1929, in Alliance, Neb., and grew up in Cody, Wyo., was a standout high school athlete in football, basketball and wrestling in addition to boxing.
Ranck's high school boxing coach, Bill Waller, brought him to the attention of John Walsh, then coach of Wisconsin's boxing team and a former Olympic coach.
According to an obituary in the Jackson Hole News & Guide, Ranck hitched a ride to Madison with a friend and only $20 in his pocket to attend Wisconsin on scholarship.