Anyone have any memories of Mills Lane?

[billeau2]

J Edgar Hoover was a trans man... Oscar, well we know about Oscar and Pantyhose... But Mills! Got away with leading a double life all his career! nd it was so obvious! Look long and hard my friends, fellow posters... You will never, and I mean ever, see Mills Lane and Elmer Fudd in the same location!

Seriously though, Mills was in some respects a polarizing figure. I always liked him. Part of it is having some understanding of Nevada, I mean Mills really was a true resident of Reno! A real cowboy! Imagine telling Tyson "Come on come on fellas break it up!" Mills was also a judge, I always thought he carried himself like a G.

Was he a great ref? I mean Steve S, might be the best I ever saw, but I thought Mills was good... Thoughts?

[max baer]

J Edgar Hoover was a trans man... Oscar, well we know about Oscar and Pantyhose... But Mills! Got away with leading a double life all his career! nd it was so obvious! Look long and hard my friends, fellow posters... You will never, and I mean ever, see Mills Lane and Elmer Fudd in the same location!

Seriously though, Mills was in some respects a polarizing figure. I always liked him. Part of it is having some understanding of Nevada, I mean Mills really was a true resident of Reno! A real cowboy! Imagine telling Tyson "Come on come on fellas break it up!" Mills was also a judge, I always thought he carried himself like a G.

Was he a great ref? I mean Steve S, might be the best I ever saw, but I thought Mills was good... Thoughts?

I loved him most as a ref. My biggest memories of him was the ear bite reaction and the way when the toastmaster announced his name he would tap his nose. We used to think it was him saying he's had some stimulant and was ready and on the ball.
there's a godamn limit to everything you know including biting.
this is a good profile of him.

[The D3vil]

Celebrity Deathmatch was my show.

[QueensburyRules]

- - Could care less about his private life that Apples may be demeaning absent any proof.

As a ref he was generally solid by the book, but he blew the first Allen/Popkins bout when somehow little Mills was breaking a shyte fight clinch in the corner and Poppy somehow miraculously flew 20' out the ring to burst into tears on the arena floor, either a DQ or TKO as he quit that fight.

Tyson's first bite should've been an automatic DQ because part of Field's earlobe was now quivering on the canvas. Of course the bite wouldn't have happened if Mills was enforcing Field's butting.

[billeau2]

I loved him most as a ref. My biggest memories of him was the ear bite reaction and the way when the toastmaster announced his name he would tap his nose. We used to think it was him saying he's had some stimulant and was ready and on the ball.
there's a godamn limit to everything you know including biting.
this is a good profile of him.

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[billeau2]

- - Could care less about his private life that Apples may be demeaning absent any proof.

As a ref he was generally solid by the book, but he blew the first Allen/Popkins bout when somehow little Mills was breaking a shyte fight clinch in the corner and Poppy somehow miraculously flew 20' out the ring to burst into tears on the arena floor, either a DQ or TKO as he quit that fight.

Tyson's first bite should've been an automatic DQ because part of Field's earlobe was now quivering on the canvas. Of course the bite wouldn't have happened if Mills was enforcing Field's butting.

Lol. Ear bites are painful... I do remember that there was a "first" I do not remember if it was a bite... But if it wasn't it was bad, Mills in his usual way was like: "aww come on fellas!" then i remember shortly there after seeing the Bstard Maker grimacing hard.

[Willie Pep 229]

Better than most in a business where no one talks about you unless you do something wrong. E.g. Baseball Umpire.

Handled the Tyson ear bite correctly. The only foul that calls for immediate DQ is a deliberate head butt, because they are dangerous.

Low blows, rabbit punches, clinching, and an occasional bite doesn't warrant immediate DQ. Not that dangerous.

The London Prize Ring Rules gives head butts its own line. All other fouls are grouped together as lesser crimes.

Technically speaking Tyson was DQed for refusing to follow the referee's direction. At least that is what Lane said afterward.

[Tatabanya]

Excellent referee, with an oversized ego.

He owes his fame almost exclusively to Mike Tyson's bite, around which a sizable chunk (no pun intended) of the narrative in his book Let's Get It On is built. Lane clearly puts into words his pro-Holyfield bias there, sometimes in genuinely shameless fashion.

As Lane himself told various times, the nose tap (followed by a thumb up) during his introduction was born as a sign of understanding between him and one of his dearest friends, who was dying of cancer. That gesture became a trademark, together with the catchphrase, which Mills started yelling louder and louder as his popularity was increasing.

And I'll leave you with a picture that speaks volumes, after many years from Lane writing such enlightening lines as "For every Mother Theresa there's a Jeffrey Dahmer and for every Evander Holyfield there's a Mike Tyson" in the aforementioned book.

image.png

[billeau2]

Better than most in a business where no one talks about you unless you do something wrong. E.g. Baseball Umpire.

Handled the Tyson ear bite correctly. The only foul that calls for immediate DQ is a deliberate head butt, because they are dangerous.

Low blows, rabbit punches, clinching, and an occasional bite doesn't warrant immediate DQ. Not that dangerous.

The London Prize Ring Rules gives head butts its own line. All other fouls are grouped together as lesser crimes.

Technically speaking Tyson was DQed for refusing to follow the referee's direction. At least that is what Lane said afterward.

Interesting!

[TintaBoricua]

Excellent referee, with an oversized ego.

He owes his fame almost exclusively to Mike Tyson's bite, around which a sizable chunk (no pun intended) of the narrative in his book Let's Get It On is built. Lane clearly puts into words his pro-Holyfield bias there, sometimes in genuinely shameless fashion.

As Lane himself told various times, the nose tap (followed by a thumb up) during his introduction was born as a sign of understanding between him and one of his dearest friends, who was dying of cancer. That gesture became a trademark, together with the catchphrase, which Mills started yelling louder and louder as his popularity was increasing.

And I'll leave you with a picture that speaks volumes, after many years from Lane writing such enlightening lines as "For every Mother Theresa there's a Jeffrey Dahmer and for every Evander Holyfield there's a Mike Tyson" in the aforementioned book.

image.png

I should just spend all my time on this website here in the history section! THIS is the kind of stuff I crave for. Information/trivia/sources and nuance.

I didn’t know any of this…

However, playing devil’s advocate…for the top to bottom rejuvenation of Tyson’s career in the last 8-10 years, for a LONG while there (especially around the Tyson/Lewis/Holyfield era, Mike looked to be one of those typical “riches to rags” tales that a lot of athletes (especially boxers…DOUBLE ESPECIALLY for those under Don King) were prone to.

With all his botched TV interviews, public flogging of his image (whether or not how much of it was true with the Givens marriage), and his usage of drugs and financial illiteracy, Lane simply had the same perspective as I’m sure many people had of Tyson around that time.

To fast forward in 2024 and see him become really beloved figure amongst sports fans again (and not black listed from ESPN, Showtime and other television avenues considering his guilty conviction from females) is nothing short of a miracle.

I can’t think of a single other athlete (or celebrity) that’s been convicted of something such as what he was convicted only to bounce back into an almost entrepreneur-like success.

I’m almost tempted to say Michael Jackson but he never was convicted. He had a couple (or a few) settlements to squash the cases.

I’m not saying that Mills Lane was right, I’m just trying to understand why he could’ve said what he said. Regardless, it’s really messed up how he spent the last years of his life like that…especially after being such a sturdy, authoritative referee.

Thank you for the post, Tatabanya.