three more knockouts in 1937, he stretching his streak to eleven. At the end of 1937, Ring Magazine ranked Hostak the #3 Middleweight in the world. A match with Steele in Seattle appeared likely for the summer of 1938. Steele suffered a setback in January, when Fred Apostoli stopped him in a non-title bout at Madison Square Garden. In the process, New York recognized Apostoli, not Steele as middleweight champion. Seattle promoter Nate Druxman continued with plans to pit Steele against Hostak that summer. Taking the NBA world middleweight championship, Freddie Steele, July, 1938 Hostak's bout with Steele was scheduled for July 26, 1938, at Seattle's Civic Stadium. It would be the largest attendance in Seattle's boxing history, with over 35,000 fans. Hostak used his own jab to parry Steeles's. Feinting with his jab to entice Steele to drop his right hand, he connected with a rapid left hook that travelled only eight inches, but knocked Steele down. Though Steele was up quickly from the initial knockdown, Hostak would send him back to the canvas three more times. Steele arose quickly from his third trip to the canvas, but after a stiff right, Steele was counted out by referee Jack Dempsey at 1:43 of the 1st round, officially giving Hostak his first NBA world middleweight championship. Hostak fought again in September 1938, stopping Young Stuhley in three rounds. Losing the NBA world middleweight title to Solly Krieger, September, 1938 He made his first title defense against Brooklyn's Solly Krieger on November 1, 1938, losing a fifteen round decision before a crowd of 10,000, in Seattle. Hostak broke both of his hands early in the bout. Krieger fought inside against Hostak, pounding his body. In the 14th round, Krieger sealed a majority decision victory, when he knocked down a tired Hostak for the first time in his career. With terrific body blows, and savage and effective infighting, Krieger wrested the championship from Hostak. Krieger employed a successful bob and weave strategy, which puzzled Hostak, and which he could not successfully defend, particularly in later rounds. Retaking the world middleweight championship, Solly Krieger, June, 1939 After his hands had healed, Hostak returned with a third-round knockout of Johnny Erjavec in Seattle, before facing Krieger before a huge crowd of 22,000 in a world middleweight championship rematch in Seattle on June 27, 1939. In the seven and a half months between their two