On the day of the Ortega rematch, Stitch was awarded a bronze medal by the Carnegie Hero Fund for rescuing a man from drowning in the Ohio River. On September 18, 1958, Joseph Schifcar, an Army Corps of Engineers worker, fell into the river and began to sink. Stitch, who was fishing below a dam, waded into the water and took hold of Schifcar. The current swept Stitch off his feet, but he maintained a strong hold on Schifcar. Stitch supported him at the surface as they drifted sixty-eight feet in water as much as six feet deep over submerged rocks. A young man then entered the water and aided Stitch in towing Schifcar to safety.