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Bret Phipps

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Although he'd enjoyed some modest success during the late Sixties, particularly following the release of his hit singles "Freight Train to Newark" and "Baby Got a Ticket (on a Freight Train)," folk musician Bret Phipps found his career entering a slump during the early Seventies. He entered the 1973 Great Outdoor Fight in an effort to boost his public image.

Phipps made it through the Qualifying Rounds handily and considered that even if he didn't win the Fight, surviving to Day 3 would be enough to salvage his career. But Fate had other plans for him: Phipps fell within the first six hours, making him the 2,551st Man Standing. More significantly, he was the 126th man to fall to dark horse contender Rodney Leonard Stubbs. In a 1993 interview (portions of which appeared in the documentary Blood, Dust, and Fisticuffs: a Great Outdoor Fight Retrospective), he recalled the incident fondly: "Stubbs just came barrelin' at me like a freight train out of hell, takin' down men left and right as he passed, his eyes never leaving mine. Then he done the finest Philadelphia Tea Party on me that one human being'd ever done to another. Giant of a man, that Stubbs. Giant of a man."

Phipps left the Acres with six broken ribs, a shattered collarbone, and a mildly concussed but deeply inspired brain. After a few months of physical therapy, he began work on a new song, one that would ultimately catapult him to stardom: "The Man with the Blood on His Hands." Released in 1974, it immediately soared to the top of the charts and made Rodney a folk hero even among those who didn't follow the Fight. Phipps leveraged his newfound success into a worldwide concert tour, which he pursued from 1975 until his retirement in 1991.

But he wasn't done with the Fight yet. Bowing to fan pressure, the 61-year-old Phipps entered the 1997 Great Outdoor Fight only to suffer a heart attack as he passed through Kenneth's Gate. As he lay dying, he whispered to the medical staff, "My death ain't no thing. I never wanted immortality for myself. All for Stubbs, man - all for Stubbs." And with that he passed on.

[edit] Record

  • 1973: Eliminated Day 1, 2,551st Man Standing.
  • 1997: Eliminated Day 1, 3,000th Man Standing. (natural causes)
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