Blue Team bests Red at 36th annual Guns ‘N Hoses

The charity boxing event held annually the night before Thanksgiving benefits the families of first responders killed in the line of duty

By TIM ROWDEN
Editor in Chief

St. Louis – First responders from the St. Louis area rallied at the 36th annual Guns ‘N Hoses boxing event Nov. 22 at the Enterprise Center. The annual charity competition between police and fire fighters raises money for BackStoppers to assist the families of first responders killed in the line of duty.

Team Blue bested Team Red across 12 boxing and mixed martial arts matches, winning the night with a record of 8-3-1.

Participants and organizers said the event shows how much the connection between the community, law enforcement, and fire fighters has grown over the years.

“This is our 36th year, and it remains all about the cause,” said David Stokes, president of the Guns ‘N Hoses Boxing Association. “That cause is to raise the necessary funds to support the survivor families of fallen first responders.”

Col. Ron Battelle, former chief of the St. Louis County Police Department and executive director of The BackStoppers, said he expects this year’s event raised around a million dollars. The exact total won’t be announced until late February 2024.

At present, BackStoppers is assisting 95 families and 70 dependent children.

“If we have a time where financially there’s an issue and we have a public safety officer die in the line of duty, the community will step up and they’ve done it every time,” Battelle said.

SURVIVORS
“It’s awesome,” said former Arnold Police Officer Ryan O’Connor, who was shot in the head and seriously injured while transporting a burglary suspect in 2017.

O’Connor was seated front and center for this year’s event to cheer on fellow survivor Lucas Roethlisberger, a St. Louis Police officer shot twice in two separate incidents, who was there to fight for Team Blue.

Roethlisberger lost his bout but was still enthused about the fight.

“We fought really hard,” he told News Channel 5, sporting a fresh bruise under his right eye. “There wasn’t one point where we stopped. We just kept fighting and fighting and fighting.”