Mills Lane
Born
Mills Bee Lane III

(1937-11-12)November 12, 1937
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 6, 2022(2022-12-06) (aged 85)
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Statistics
Weight(s)Welterweight
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights11
Wins10
Wins by KO6
Losses1

Mills Bee Lane III (November 12, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada district court judge, and television personality.

Lane was best known for having officiated several major heavyweight championship boxing matches in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and for starring in the syndicated court show Judge Mills Lane. On June 9, 2013, Lane was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame on August 10 the same year.

Early life

Lane was born in Savannah, Georgia, on November 12, 1937.[1][2] He hailed from a prominent Georgia family: his grandfather founded the largest bank in Georgia, and his uncle (and namesake) was the president of Citizens & Southern National Bank.[3]

Lane attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he played American football as a linebacker and ice hockey as a goaltender.[4] Lane joined the United States Marine Corps in 1956, and was discharged in 1959. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno. He graduated with a business degree in 1963.[4]

Boxing career

Boxer

Lane became a boxer while serving as a Marine, becoming the All-Far East welterweight champ. He was a National Collegiate Athletic Association welterweight boxing champion in 1960.[5][6] In the U.S. Olympic Trials in San Francisco for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Lane was defeated by Phil Baldwin in the semifinals.[7] He turned pro while in college, eventually earning a 10–1 (.909) record as a professional.[4]

Referee

Lane refereed his first world championship boxing match in 1971, when Betulio González had a fifteen-round draw with Erbito Salavarria for the WBC flyweight title.[8]

Lane refereed Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II between world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and challenger Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997. Mitch Halpern was supposed to referee the fight, but Tyson's camp protested, so Lane was brought in at the last minute.[9] After Tyson bit Holyfield's ears twice, Lane disqualified him. Lane's shirt was stained with blood from the incident, and he sold it to a memorabilia collector on the same night.[10]

Less than three weeks later, Lane refereed the Lennox Lewis vs. Henry Akinwande match.[11] As in Tyson vs. Holyfield, it ended in disqualification when Akinwande used illegal tactics, these being excessive clinching and ignoring Lane's repeated orders to stop.[12] After refereeing the fight between Thomas Hearns and Jay Snyder on November 6, 1998, Lane retired as a boxing referee.[13]

Lane was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013.[14][15] On August 10 that same year, he was also inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.[16]

Legal career

Lane attended the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law, graduating with the class of 1970 and joined the bar in Nevada.[4] In 1979, Lane became Chief Deputy Sheriff of Investigative Services at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. Lane also served as one of fourteen witnesses to Nevada's last gas chamber execution, that of Jesse Bishop that same year.[17] He was elected District Attorney in 1982 and District Judge in 1990.[8]

Television career

Lane presided over the court show Judge Mills Lane, which lasted for three seasons, from 1998 to 2001.[8] In addition to this show, the producers of MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch approached him about having his character and voice used in their show as the referee of their plasticine figure matches.[8] Lane accepted the offer and became an MTV personality. As a referee, Lane started boxing matches by declaring "Let's get it on!", which became his catchphrase. This was reproduced in Celebrity Deathmatch as his character would shout the same phrase to initiate fights.[8]

Lane made two appearances in the world of professional wrestling. He appeared on the November 16, 1998, episode of WWE Raw on the Titantron and made a ruling in regards to a contract dispute between Stone Cold Steve Austin and the McMahon family.[18] He was also the special guest referee for a boxing match between "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Buff Bagwell at WCW Bash at the Beach on July 11, 1999.[19]

Lane was a guest voice actor on an episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.[20]

Personal life and death

Lane and his wife, Kaye, had two sons.[21]

Lane titled his autobiography Let's Get It On: Tough Talk from Boxing's Top Ref and Nevada's Most Outspoken Judge.[22]

Lane suffered a debilitating stroke in March 2002, which left him partially paralyzed and virtually unable to speak.[13] With his blessing, this led to his Celebrity Deathmatch alter-ego being voiced by Chris Edgerly (already the voice of color commentator Nick Diamond) for the MTV2 revival.[23]

Lane's adopted city of Reno proclaimed December 27, 2004, as "Mills Lane Day'".[24] In May 2006, Lane made his first public appearance in years at the dedication of a new courthouse in Reno which is named after him.[14] The Mills B. Lane Justice Center houses the Reno Municipal Court and the Washoe County District Attorney's Office.[25]

Lane died on December 6, 2022, at the age of 85, in Reno, Nevada.[26]

Professional boxing record

11 fights 10 wins 1 loss
By knockout 6 1
By decision 4 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
11 Win 10–1 United States Buddy Knox UD 6 May 9, 1967 United States Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada [27]
10 Win 9–1 Mexico David Camacho UD 10 February 28, 1963 United States Mathisen Hall, Reno, Nevada [28]
9 Win 8–1 United States Al Walker UD 6 January 31, 1963 United States Mathisen Hall, Reno, Nevada [29]
8 Win 7–1 United States Larry Sanchez KO 2 (6), 1:04 December 12, 1962 United States Mathisen Hall, Reno, Nevada [29]
7 Win 6–1 United States Artie Cox KO 3 (8), 0:43 August 7, 1962 United States Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California [29]
6 Win 5–1 United States Al Carroll TKO 5 (8), 3:00 July 17, 1962 United States State Building, Reno, Nevada [29]
5 Win 4–1 United States Dick Smith PTS 6 June 26, 1962 United States Sacramento, California [29]
4 Win 3–1 United States Marva Hawkins KO 6 (6) June 12, 1962 United States Sacramento, California [29]
3 Win 2–1 United States Sonny King TKO 1 (6), 2:10 May 27, 1962 United States Wagon Wheel Convention Center, Stateline, Nevada [29]
2 Win 1–1 United States Carlos Loya TKO 1 (4) May 10, 1962 United States State Building, Reno, Nevada [29]
1 Loss 0–1 United States Artie Cox TKO 1 (4), 0:35 April 7, 1961 United States State Building, Reno, Nevada [30]

References

  1. ^ "Mills Lane III – Reno, Nevada". Familytreenow.com. April 29, 1987. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  2. ^ Clifton, Guy (November 19, 2014). "Happy 77th Mills Lane ... and other Nevada tidbits". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  3. ^ "Mills B. Lane Dies; A Banker 64 Years". The New York Times. 1945. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Nack, William (July 28, 1997). "The Ultimate Arbiter As Mike Tyson Learned, Mills Lane Is An Iron Judge In The Ring, And In Court". Vault, Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "31 Dec 1960, Page 6". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 31, 1960. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "11 Jan 1961, Page 18". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 11, 1961. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Moe, Doug (2005). Lords of the Ring: The Triumph and Tragedy of College Boxing's Greatest Team. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-299-20424-2.
  8. ^ a b c d e Erickson, Hal (2009). Encyclopedia of television law shows: factual and fictional series about judges, lawyers and the courtroom, 1948–2008. McFarland. pp. 147–48. ISBN 978-0-7864-3828-0.
  9. ^ Lane late replacement, center of action[usurped], AP via Slam! Boxing, 1997-06-29, Retrieved on March 9, 2007.
  10. ^ Sugar, Bert Randolph (2003). Bert Sugar on Boxing: The Best of the Sport's Most Notable Writer. Globe Pequot. pp. 247–49. ISBN 978-1-59228-048-3.
  11. ^ Friend, Tom (July 12, 1997). "Lewis-Akinwande: a Fight for Heavyweight Redemption". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Akinwande disqualified in Lewis bout for holding Another bizarre ending for Tyson fight referee". Baltimore Sun. July 13, 1997. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Carp, Steve (November 9, 2008). "Stroke victim Mills Lane, family cope". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Mike; Morley, Patrick (February 28, 2013). Third Man in the Ring: 33 of Boxing's Best Referees and Their Stories. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-61234-242-9.
  15. ^ Woods, Michael (June 11, 2013). "Lane inducted into Boxing Hall of Fame". ESPN.
  16. ^ Kantowski, Ron (August 11, 2013). "Boxing royalty whip up emotions". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022. Former boxing referee Mills Lane, seated, attends Saturday's ceremony with son Terry, rear. Lane, 76, is one of 19 members of the inaugural Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame class.
  17. ^ Volek, Sue (October 22, 1979). "Bishop Executed; Claim of More Killings Revealed". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  18. ^ "WWF Raw—November 16, 1998". www.pwwew.net. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "Bash at the Beach 1999". Pro Wrestling History. July 11, 1999. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  20. ^ Tapp, Tom (November 17, 2022). "Mills Lane Dead: TV Judge & Referee Of Tyson-Holyfield Bite Fight Was 85". Deadline. Deadline.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  21. ^ Sneddon, Steve (August 9, 2006). "Legendary Lane returns to the spotlight for a night". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Lane, Mills; Jedwin Smith (1998). Let's get it on: tough talk from boxing's top ref and Nevada's most outspoken judge. Crown. ISBN 978-0-609-60311-6.
  23. ^ "Legendary Boxing Ref Mills Lane Dead At 85". TMZ. December 6, 2022.
  24. ^ "Mills B. Lane – Historical Washoecourts". www.washoecourts.com. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  25. ^ "Justice Center | City of Reno". www.reno.gov. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  26. ^ Krajewski, Jim (December 6, 2022). "Beloved Reno boxing icon Mills Lane dies at age 85". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  27. ^ "28 Apr 1983, Page 32". Reno Gazette-Journal. April 28, 1983. Retrieved December 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "01 Mar 1963, Page 10". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. Newspapers.com. March 1, 1963. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h "• Mills Lane boxer •". Boxerlist.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  30. ^ Eastham, Cliff. "Referee Mills Lane To Be Honored By Boxing Writers Association". Bleacher Report.

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