Isaac Deeter, 101; Washington State’s Only Boxing Coach

Isaac Deeter, 101, the only boxing coach in the history of Washington State University, died Saturday in Pullman, Wash., of complications from pneumonia, which he contracted after a fall at his home.

Isaac Ferguson “Ike” Deeter coached boxing at the college from 1931 until the program was ended in 1959. His 1937 team won the national championship.

Deeter’s teams won eight Pacific Coast Intercollegiate team titles, the last in 1954, and 13 of his boxers took national crowns.

Deeter was born in Hartline, Wash., and entered Washington State to play football. But a knee injury ended his football career, and he turned to boxing. As a middleweight, Deeter was the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Coast amateur champion while at the university.

After the school dropped its boxing program in 1959, Deeter taught intramural boxing and other classes in the physical education program until his retirement in 1965.