The WAWLI Papers # 021 ...

TORONTO MAT FILE -- SUMMER OF 1956

July 5 -- Billy Watson def Dick Hutton 22:13 (NWA title defense), Yukon Eric def Fritz Von Ulm, Brunetti Bros. def Ike Eakins-Tiger Tasker, Dick Beyer drew Samson Berg, Roberto Pico def Brian Clary

July 12 -- Dick Hutton drew Pat O'Connor 36:47 (curfew), Ed Carpentier def Donn Lewin, Yukon Eric def Frank Valois, Gallagher Bros. def Gil Mains-Brian Clary, Roberto Pico def Aldo Bogni

July 19 -- Brunetti Bros. def Gallagher Bros., Pat O'Connor drew Fred Atkins, Lord Layton def Fritz Von Ulm, Ike Eakins def Samson Berg, Pat Flanagan def Tiger Tasker

July 26 -- Billy Watson def Dick Hutton 23:25 cor (NWA title defense), Pat Flanagan def Aldo Bogni, Fritz Von Erich-Karl Von Schober def Brian Clary-Dick Beyer, Roberto Pico def Sandy Scott, Donn Lewin drew George Scott

Aug. 2 -- Billy Watson def Dick Hutton 25:34 cor (NWA title defense), Ed Carpentier def Angelo Savoldi, Brunetti Bros. def Fred Atkins-Fritz Von Ulm, Tex McKenzie def Mark Lewin, Samson Berg def Tiger Tasker

Aug. 9 -- Ed Carpentier def Pat O'Connor 26:37 cnc, Guy Brunetti-Pat Flanagan def Fred Atkins-Ike Eakins, Prince Maiava def Roberto Pico, Mighty Ursus def Mike Gallagher, Doc Gallagher def Sandy Scott

Aug. 16 -- Brunetti Bros. def Karl Von Schober-Fritz von Erich (Canadian Open tag title), Gallagher Bros., def Brian Clary-Samson Berg, Lord Layton def Mark Lewin, Prince Maiava def Ike Eakins, Tex McKenzie def Donn Lewin

Aug. 23 -- Argentina Rocca drew Ed Carpentier 31:34 (curfew), Hardboiled Haggerty def Harry Lewis, Mighty Ursus def Fritz Von Ulm, Fred Atkins drew Tex McKenzie, Pat Flanagan def Jan Gotch ____________________________________________

LEO JENSEN CAME TO AUSTRALIA FOR TWO YEARS -- THAT WAS TEN YEARS AGO, BUT HE'S STILL HERE

(Sports Novels, February 1950, by Ron Casey)

Each season a batch of weighty wrestlers comes from America to pack the stadiums in Australia's big cities. The wrestlers earn good money . . . and they also give our preliminary boxers an extra night in the week to ply their trade.

Each November the "troup" packs its bags and heads for home, much richer, much thinner, and always the same strength numerically.

But, ten years ago, one wrestler didn't go home. He settled in Newcastle, married a local girl, and today is the proud father of two kiddies. That wrestler was Leo Jensen.

Leo is generally regarded as one of the most scientific matmen ever to be seen in this country, although he is anything but a giant as wrestlers go.

Jensen has made a study of the human body.

Since Leo settled in Newcastle he has opened a physical culture academy in Hunter Street, where he specialises in weight reducing, body building, infra red ray treatment, and made-to-order-sun-tans with the ultra violet ray lamp.

Leo frankly admits that he'd be finished as a wrestler today if he hadn't tried his own cure after a self-analysis.

Upon his discharge from the army at the end of the last war, Leo had a severely strained stomach muscle. The doctors said he'dnever be able to take part in heavy sport again.

Jensen decided he had only one chance to strengthen the stomach muscle. His weight was at the 16 1/2-stone mark, so he began to reduce until he reached the 11 1/2-stone level. Leo says this relieved the strain on the muscle and gave it a chance to heal.

Today Leo is back in action, and the stomach doesn't worry him at all.

Leo Jensen was born in Denmark 37 years ago. At school he took part in all sports. Children attending school in Leo's homeland find that it is compulsory to compete in every branch of sport.

When he was fourteen and a half, Leo decided he wanted to see some of the world, so he worked his way to America on a sailing boat . . . that's doing it the hard way, too!

Leo settled down as a laborer in a skyscraper construction crew. It was hard work for a man, let alone a youth of fifteen.

With his natural strength and athletic leaning, Leo soon made up his mind to try his hand at professional boxing.

He launched himself as a "pro" in Washington and made the lightweight division.

Leo was tough and opponents could knock him about. The fans soon linked him with the famous Battling Nelson, known the world over as as the "Durable Dane."

Jensen met with moderate success. The promoters were always keen to obtain his services. They billed him as "the Durable Dane the Second." It was a fitting title.

But Leo Jensen didn't take this as a compliment. He figured that it wasn't too good for his body to be knocked around several times a week just to let a crowd roar.

He gave up boxing, but continued with body building exercises.

When he was 18, Leo made a trip back to Denmark and then returned to Canada with his younger brother.

By this time Leo was shaping as a wrestler of promise. He impressed the late Emil Klank (onetime manager of the great Frank Gotch). Leo hasn't grown greatly in height since those days (he stands 5ft. 8 in. today) but this has never gone against him. Klank groomed Leo for several months, teaching him all the finer points of the ancient profession.

Ted Thye, Stadium Ltd.'s American wrestling representative at present, visited Canada shortly after Klank took an interest in Leo and was greatly impressed with the young Danish lad's talent.

Leo had developed into a light-heavyweight and found it wasn't asking too much of him to toss, in short time, all the top-notch "small men" appearing in Canadian circles.

Before he was twenty Leo had run up a great record and the promoters decided to give him his big chance . . . an overweight match with the world middleweight champion, Gus Kallio, who had never been defeated.

It was a tough plum to hand young Leo.

As everyone expected, the classy Finn proved too experienced for Leo and gained the decision. But it was close.

(Readers might note that a remarkable feature has crept into this wrestling story. The "hero" admits defeat! Leo Jensen is one of the few wrestlers who admits to being defeated by plenty of name wrestlers. Usually visiting matmen roll off a long string of names denoting the men they have pinned . . . but never a mention of the men who have taken their measure. Leo was refreshingly frank.)

After the Kallio bout, Leo centred his work on the Pacific Coast and became light-heavyweight champion of that section.

But in the eyes of the wrestling world, Leo Jensen was still a youngster.

Ted Thye thought he would benefit from a tour of South Africa, so Jense was "exported" and appeared against the African champion, Bullet Myers, in his first contest.

Myers had run up something of a reputation by remaining undefeated in five years' wrestling in the southern sector of the Dark Continent.

In 1934, Leo weighed 192 lbs. and the topline light-heavyweights refused to meet him because he was over the weight limit. Leo was forced to invade the open class, and his fast style made up for his lack of bulk.

Jensen wrestled in South Africa for 11 months and then made his way to France. The French claim Henri de Glane as the heavyweight champion of the world. He has been beaten several times, but always reclaims the title.

Jensen was given a "shot" at deGlane's version of the heavyweight title. Leo lost to the Frenchman after a hectic two-hour match.

The Danish globetrotter made his way to England and took part in another series of matches. The promoters in Paris were still interested in the Danish ball of tricks, so they signed him up for another bout with de Glane, with the title at stake once again.

This time Leo's scientific work stood him in better stead and a draw was given after neither man had scored a fall.

Ted Thye beckoned across the Atlantic and Leo went trotting back to America. This time he made his headquarters on the East Coast.

In one short year Leo was thrown in against all the big names in the business -- Dutch Hefner, Everett Marshall, Lee Wyckoff, the late Ray Steele, Dean Detton and Jimmy Londos.

Ted Thye stopped nursing Leo Jensen along at this stage.

He figured, and correctly so, too, that Leo knew as much about the business as anyone, and he didn't need trips to South Africa and England to give him experience.

Between 1935 and 1939 Leo Jensen took part in several title matches with the legitimate champion and imposters.

Leo wrestled a draw with Jimmy Londos, then lost to him in a return. Leo thinks one of his best performances was to hold Ed (Strangler) Lewis to a draw. Ed was, of course, one of the greatest matmen seen in the last 25 years.

Jensen says Ed was a marvel of strength and almost unbeatable until he was toppled from his feet.

That was the secret . . . get Lewis to the mat and the bout was half won. The Danish star says giant Indian Arjan Das is very similar to the former world champion -- once off his feet Das isn't so tough.

"But," Leo hastens to add, "it wasn't just a matter of sitting on the canvas and asking Ed to play the game your way. Lewis was as strong as an ox and almost impossible to get off his feet."

In 1939 Walter Miller signed Leo for a season in New Zealand. At the time Sammy Stein, Pat Fraley, Andy MOen and Lofty Blomfield were burning up the New Zealand rings, and Jensen's arrival heated things just a little more.

After five months in New Zealand Jensen made up his mind to return to America. He booked his passage, but a week before the boat was due to sail, promoter Hughie Dwyer (of Newcastle) cabled Jensen an offer through Ted Thye for a long Australian season.

The plan was for Jensen to more or less settle in Australia for two years and keep himself in shape with matches during the off season until the rest of the Americans arrived again.

Leo's two-year stay has been rather drawn out, and the Danish matman has already been here for ten years.

Leo has taken out his naturalisation papers. He says Newcastle is good enough for him, and that's the opinion of a man who has wrestled all over the world.

But, after talking to leo for an hour, I'd say the real attraction is his family. He has two healthy children -- Lee (5) and Suzanne (2).

During the war Leo became interested in physio-therapy. Leo had always taken good care of his body, but after reading several books he realised there was much more to it than he knew.

Leo studied hard and, upon his discharge from the Services, took his diploma and opened a practice in Newcastle.

Jensen, always popular with the fans, was an immediate success in his business venture. Leo devised a special course of exercises and treatment that brings amazing results.

In twomonths the wrestler-come-physiotherapist increases his patient's weight by a stone, buts three inches on the chest, 2 inches on the thigh, 1 1/2 inches on the neck, 2 inches on the arms, and increases the height by half an inch. That's results!

Being a Doubting Thomas at heart, I'd have taken Leo's facts and figures with a pinch of salt. But I spoke to several men who had improved to this extent under his methods and they vouched for the other names on the books in Leo's office.

Today Leo Jensen is one of the most popular men in Newcastle. He seemed to know everybody as we walked down the street. He greeted the newspaper boy with "Hey 'ya, pal," and a little further down the street he gave the same welcome to one of the most influential gentlemen in the city.

That's the secret of Leo's popularity . . . he treats everyone the same, which is not a bad idea. ____________________________________________

PITTSBURGH MAT FILE-1936-Promoter Elwood Rigby

Jan. 6 (Northside Arena) -- Danno O'Mahoney NC Ernie Dusek (world title defense), Joe Dusek drew Vic Christy, Hans Steinke def Charley Strack, Sandor Vary def John Swenski, Bill Sledge drew Joe Tonti

Jan. 16 -- Joe Savoldi def Vic Christy, Sergei Kalmikoff def Mike Mazurki, Sam Cordovano def Freddie Meyer, Sandor Vary def Pete Peterson, Joe Tonti def Andy Meixner

Jan. 30 -- Joe Savoldi def Joe Dusek, Vic Christy drew Sam Cordovano, Hans Steinke def Tex Morgan, Ole Olsen def Tom Jenkins, Joe Tonti drew Floyd Marshall

Feb. 13 -- Joe Savoldi def Ernie Dusek, Hans Steinke def Sergei Kalmikoff, Dick Shikat def Andy Rascher, Bobby Baxter def Dr. Louis Pessolano, Sam Cordovano def Floyd Marshall

Feb. 26 (Wednesday) -- Ernie Dusek def Joe Savoldi, Dick Shikat def Ole Olsen, Vic Christy drew Dean Detton, Hank Barber def Scotty MacDougal, George Koverly def Abe Coleman

Mar. 11 (Wednesday) -- Ed Don George drew Ernie Dusek, Gino Garibaldi drew Dean Detton, Hans Steinke def Dr. Harry Fields, Hank Barber def Stan Sokolis, Joe Tonti def Jim Wallace

Mar. 19 (flooded out) -- Everett Marshall vs. Al Getz

Apr. 2 (Moose Hall) -- Everett Marshall def Al Getz (world title defense), Ivan Rasputin def Max Martin, John Grandovich def Roy Graham, Bert Rubi drew Eddie Malone, Jack Conley def Hans Schnabel

Apr. 8 (Motor Square Garden) -- Danno O'Mahoney def Ernie Dusek, Dean Detton def Sergei Kalmikoff, Hank Barber def Jim Coffield, Fred Grubmeier drew John Katan, Mike Romano def Jim Wallace

Apr. 16 (Thursday, Bunny Buntach, promoter) -- Jack Sherry def Pat McClary, Ivan Rasputin def Al Getz, Nanjo Singh drew Walter Podolak, Bert Rubi def Bad Boy Brown, Eddie Malone def Jack Conley

Apr. 30 -- Ernie Dusek def Hank Barber, Fred Grubmeier def Emil Dusek, Rudy Dusek def Rusty Westcoat, Al Bisignano def Joe Dusek, Dr. Louis Pessolano def Andy Meixner

May 4 (Monday) -- Ivan Rasputin def Nanjo Singh DQ, Billy Thom def Pete Sherman, Bert Rubi drew Leo Wallick, Eddie Malone def Bad Boy Brown, Jack Conley drew Walter Sirois

May 29 (Greenlee Field) -- Ali Baba vs. Ivan Rasputin (world title defense), Everett Marshall vs Lee Henning, Bert Rubi vs. Jack Conley, Alan Eustace vs. Pat McClary, Young Gotch vs Roy Graham

June 5 (Millivale Pa., Hickey Park) -- Rudy Dusek def Chief Little Wolf, Gus Sonnenberg drew Gino Garibaldi, Fred Grubmeier def Olaf Olson, Ed Fisher drew Ed Meske, Ivan Managoff def Jim Wright

June 11 (Greenlee Field) -- Bert Rubi def George Dusette, Chief Saunooke def Whitey Govro, Walter Podolak def Ivan Rasputin, Everett Marshall def Alan Eustace, Leo Wallick def Rough House Nelson

June 25 (Greenlee Field) -- Bert Rubi def George Dusette, Lee Wyckoff def Firpo Wilcox, Walter Podolak def King Kong cor, Chief Saunooke def Roy Graham, Leo Wallick def Odille Marchioni

June 30 (Millivale, Pa., Hickey Park) -- Dave Levin vs. Fred Grubmeier (world title defense), Joe Savoldi vs. Chief Little Wolf -- THIS SHOW CANCELED IN FAVOR OF A BOXING CARD RAINED OUT PREVIOUS NIGHT. AL HAFT WAS SENDING MEN FOR THE BUNTACH PROMOTION. MIKE ROMANO, WHO DIED IN JUNE, WAS HELPING ELWOOD RIGBY. BOTH PROMOTIONS GAVE UP DUE TO POOR FAN SUPPORT AND THERE WAS PRECIOUS LITTLE WRESTLING IN PITTSBURGH UNTIL THE FALL OF 1938
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The WAWLI Papers # 022...

FALLS GUYS: THE BARNUMS OF BOUNCE The Inside Story of the Wrestling Business, America's Most Profitable and Best Organized Professional Sport

By Marcus Griffin, 1937,The Reilly & Lee Co., Chicago

Chapter One -- How It All Started

Within the past sixteen years professional wrestling has become the best organized professional sport in America. Baseball, hockey, boxing, tennis, golf and football have yet to achieve the degree of perfection in organization and the solidarity of unified action which prevails among the mat pachyderms.

These ring mastodons, known as wrestlers, have organized their business far beyond the wildest dreams of those early grappling figures known as Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Earl Caddock, Fred Beale, Tom Jenkins, and other colorful personalities who zoomed across the catch-as-catch-can horizon early in this century.

Picture unheralded champions who draw bigger crowds than tennis racketeer Bill Tilden, actress Greta Garbo, fisticuffer Jack Dempsey, Mae West, and "Dynamite" Joe Louis, and consider raw-boned country bumpkins who are possessed of incomes of from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars yearly, and you have in a nutshell professional wrestling, America's most profitable and best organized sport.

It's not the sport of kings, but the entertainment of the hoi polloi. Some two thousand heavyweight grapplers appear weekly in more than a thousand auditoriums throughout the United States and Canada, and those eight men behind the scenes who furnish the slam-bang style of pier six brawling to devotees of the scrambled-eared neckbenders, garner a total yearly income of nearly ten millions of dollars.

In one short year in the United States, matman Danno O'Mahoney appeared in more towns and cities, drew more money, and wrestled before more people than the highly touted and praise-agented "Dynamite" Joe Louis. During that period, after all expenses were deducated, O'Mahoney made one hundred and fifty thousand dollars clear for his own particular pocketbook.

While Louis earned much more in the same period, training expenses and the division of his earnings among various piecemen and racketeers who cut in on him, brought his net earnings to approximately one hundred thousand dollars.

Pretty good pickings whether a wrestler or fighter, you might say, and true enough, but consider that the average puglist's and athlete's professional career spans only ten years, while a "meat tosser" looks forward to forty years of active competition.

Stanislaus Zbyszko, John Kilonis, Ed (Strangler) Lewis, Jim Londos, Joe Stecher, Fred Grubmeier and Marin Plestina, just to name a few, were grappling when most of us were in swaddling clothes, but they continue today, like Barnum's famed elephant, "bigga and betta" than ever.

Think of Woodrow Wilson, Jack Johnson, Gene Tunney, Calvin Coolidge, Jack Dempsey, Enrico Caruso, Benny Leonard, Blanche Sweet, Mickey Walker, Tommy Gibbons, Theda Bara and other public figures who have passed from the picture since those wrestlers first put on their tights, and you'll realize their longevity.

Too, most fighters and theatrical performers are lucky indeed if they can average seventy-five dollars weekly during their periods of competition.

Chiselers and the primrose pathway get most of their money. It is not uncommon for a run of the mill neckbender to average one hundred and fifty dollars weekly over a period of twenty-five years. And because they wrestle so often and must be in reasonable shape, matmen drop very little of this long green along Heartbreak Boulevard.

--to be continued
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BITS & PIECES FROM THE WRESTLING SCRAPBOOK _____________________________________________

LOS ANGELES (CAL.) ATHLETIC CLUB, Nov. 16, 1924

Walter Miller vs. Taro Miyake, scheduled for mixed bout, part catch, part jiu-jitsu (Miller said to have defeated Miyake in 1922 catch bout) ____________________________________________

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, NOVEMBER 22, 1923

Joe Stecher def Dan Koloff, 1:30:00 ____________________________________________

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, NOVEMBER 23, 1923

Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated Josef Ogurkeiwicz, 2-0 _____________________________________________

THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF JOE SAVOLDI

Saturday, Oct. 11, 1930--Navy 2, at Notre Dame 26

The week before, Notre Dame Stadium, a brand new, $750,000 facility, had opened with 25,000 on hand to see Notre Dame turn back Southern Methodist University, 20-14, on a late touchdown plunge by Marchie Schwartz. The first Fighting Irish score came in the first period, on a 98-yard kickoff return run by Joe Savoldi. The first hero of the new stadium, trumpeted the papers, and the excitement continued on this day as the stadium was officially dedicated before a crowd of 40,000. Savoldi, dubbed "Gallopin' Joe" by the press, ran for three touchdowns: a 23-yard smash off left tackle, 48 yards up Navy's left flank after taking a lateral from teammate Marty Brill, and a nine-yard plunge up the middle in the third period.

A little over a month later, this great college football player would be lost to the Irish when his marriage to Miss Audrey Koehler, May 29, 1930, at South Bend, Ind., became public knowledge. She initially filed suit for divorce in late October, prompting Savoldi to miss the Drake game. That suit was withdrawn, but when it was re-filed November 17, Savoldi was booted off the squad, lost his scholarship -- and was ready to find some real gold in the professional wrestling rings of the world.
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1910 RECORDS OF ORGANIZED BASEBALL

Ed Lewis, Winchester (Blue Grass League), appeared in 11 games, had 23 at-bats, scored one run, collected four hits, all singles, stole one base, walked once, struck out ten times and batted .174 _____________________________________________

NOVEMBER 29, 1939 -- L.A. OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM

Dean Detton def Vic Christy 14:26; Nanjo Singh def Ad Herman; Bobby (Kawka) Roberts def Jules Strongbow; Vincent Lopez def Danny Dusek _____________________________________________

OCTOBER 8, 1947 -- L.A. OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM

Vincent Lopez def Reginald Siki 20:04 cnc (won state heavyweight title); Willie-Karl Davis def Larry Moquin-Sam Menacher 2-1; Gorilla Ramos drew Brother Frank Jares; Earl McCready def Vic Christy; Black Panther (Jim Mitchell) def Carlos Mojica (better known as Benito Gardini in and around Chicago) _____________________________________________

GRAPPLER LEWIN FRACTURES LEG (11-27-54)

NEWARK, N.J., November 27 (AP) -- Wrestler Ted Lewin of Buffalo, N.Y., took one fall too many during a tag team match last night and suffered a broken leg.

The 21-year-old grunt and groan specialist, who also is a commercial arts student at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, was carried from the mat at Laurel Garden on a stretcher and taken to Martland Medical Center.

Lewin's right leg was fractured during a tag team match with Hal Kanner, Buddy Lee and John Heideman.

Lewin bounced with abandon off the ropes, bounded over Heideman's head and crashed to the canvas and broke his ankle upon impact. _____________________________________________

WESTCHESTER COUNTY CENTER, White Plains, N.Y.

(November 26, 1954) Argentina Rocca def Art Neilson _____________________________________________

MARIGOLD ARENA, CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 27, 1954

Argentina Rocca def Pedro Escobar 2-0; Don Leo Jonathan def Roy Rogers (later Eddie Graham); Hans Hermann def Tom Bradley; Farmer Jones-Farmer Marlin def Pete Bartu-Duke Demetri; Billy Goelz def Paddy Mack; Harry Lewis def Pete Vukavich; Johnny Silvi drew Jack Carter _____________________________________________

BOSTON ARENA, NOVEMBER 29, 1954

Yukon Eric defeated Wild Bull Curry _____________________________________________

'GREATEST' FOOTBALL PLAYER, NAGURSKI, 81

INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn., Monday, Jan. 8, 1990 (AP)--Bronko Nagurski, who played with a mean streak and mission and became one of football's first stars during the Golden Age of sport, has died of natural causes after a short illness. He was 81.

Nagurski, who died Sunday here, was a bullish, 235-pound fullback who starred for the University of Minnesota and the Chicago Bears. He was with the bears 1930-37 and again in 1943 and was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He was born Bronislau Nagurski in Rainy River, Ontario, in 1908, but had been known as Bronko since his early childhood.

Fellow Hall of Famer George Halas, the late owner-coach of the Bears for whom Nagurski played, called Nagurski "the greatest all-around football player who ever lived."

"Tackling Bronko was like trying to stop a freight train running downhill," Ernie Nevers once said. "He was the only man who ran his own interference," said Steve Owen, longtime coach of the New York Giants. "Undoubtedly, the hardest runner to bring down I ever saw."

Nagurski, who operated a gas station and lived with his wife, Eileen, in International Falls after his retirement, guarded his privacy and rarely granted interviews. He told Sports Illustrated in 1984 that he was still 235 pounds. But in recent years he underwent surgery on both knees and was plagued by arthritis, which prompted him to retire from operating the service station in 1968, at age 60.

Injuries were more frequent in football's earlier years, he believed. "Our protective gear was nothing like it is now. We wore leather helmets, flimsy pads, no facemasks. Every joint in my body was damaged by football."

Damaged joints are suscepticable to arthritis and the4 affliction put Nagurski on half-crutches in later years. "Don't make it sound like I'm a cripple or something," he told interviewers. "I may not not get around as well as I would like to, but the wheelchair hasn't got me yet."

Surgeons at Mayo Clinic in Rochester fused bones in an ankle in the late '70s in an attempt to eliminate movement and thus reduce the pain.

He felt he hadn't been treated fairly financially by Halas late in his career. "After the 1937 season, I asked him for $6,000 and I didn't get it so I retired," he said of his first stint with the Bears. But he came back during the war year of 1943, scored two touchdowns in the Bears' opener at age 35 and led them to an 8-1 regular-season record. Later, he spent a year coaching the backfield at UCLA in Los Angeles, before returning for good to his native Minnesota.

Nagurski never led the NFL in rushing and averaged a modest 3.4 yards per carry during his career. He played in an era of 190-pound guards and 215-pound tackles and often was the biggest man on the field.

He wrestled professionally during his initial tour of duty with the Bears and following his retirement and three times was recognized as champion. However, he always said he regarded that phase of his life as "degrading."

Nagurski's wife died in 1987. He is survived by four sons and two daughters, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral services are scheduled for this coming Saturday (Jan. 13) in International Falls.

ED. NOTE--Bronko Nagurski may have thought his participation in wrestling to be a "degrading" exercise but he managed to take money from wrestling promoters for more than a quarter of a century, working fulltime and traveling from coast-to-coast during much of that span. Yet, in later life, he always sternly resisted talking with reporters about his experiences and dismissed it as "a lot of foolishness."
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WRESTLERS IN THE MOVIES -- A PARTIAL LISTING

Man Mountain Dean--Reckless (1935), We're In The Money (1935), Big City (1937), The Three Legionnaires (1937), The Gladiator (1937)

Abe Kashey--Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)

Tiger Joe Marsh--Alias the Champ (1949) Panic In the Streets (1950), The Egyptian (1954), The Rebel Set (1959), Here Come the Jets (1959), Vengeance (1964), C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967), Cactus in the Snow (1972), Top of the Heap (1972), Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Cat From Outer Space (1978)

Joe Varga--The Magnificent Brute (1936)

Billy Varga--Alias the Champ (1949), Bodyhold (1950), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), Twenty Plus Two (1961), Convicts Four (1962), Oklahoma Crude (1973)

Sandor Szabo--Once In a Blue Moon (1936), Mission to Moscow (1943), Dreamboat (1952), Hell's Island (1955), Topaz (1969)

Stanislaus Zbyszko--Madison Square Garden (1932), Night and the City (1950)

Wild Red Berry--My Wife's Best Friend (1952)

Mike Mazurki--Belle of the Nineties (1934), Shanghai Gesture (1941), Dr. Renault's Secret (1942), Gentleman Jim (1942), Behind the Rising Sun (1943), Bomber's Moon (1943), Henry Aldrich Haunts a House (1943), It Ain't Hay (1943), Mission to Moscow (1943), Swing Fever (1943), Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), The Canterville Ghost (1944), Lost Angel (1944), The Missing Juror (1944), The Princess and the Pirate (1944), Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944), Summer Storm (1944), The Thin Man Goes Home (1944), Abbott & Costello in Hollywood (1945), Dakota (1945), Dick Tracy (1945), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945), Murder, My Sweet (1945), Nob Hill (1945), The Spanish Main (1945), The French Key (1946), Mysterious Intruder (1946), Killer Dill (1947), Nightmare Alley (1947), Sinbad the Sailor (1947), Unconquered (1947), I Walk Alone (1948), The Noose Hangs High (1948), Relentless (1948), Abandoned (1949), Come to the Stable (1949), The Devil's Henchman (1949), Neptune's Daughter (1949), Rope of Sand (1949), Samson & Delilah (1949), Dark City (1950), He's a Cockeyed Wonder (1950), Night and the City (1950), Criminal Lawyer (1951), The Light Touch (1951), My Favorite Spy (1951), Pier 23 (1951), Ten Tall Men (1951), The Egyptian (1954), Blood Alley (1955), Davy Crockett (1955), Kismet (1955), New Orleans Uncensored (1955), New York Confidential (1956), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Comanche (1956), Man in the Vault (1956), Hell Ship Mutiny (1957), The Man Who Died Twice (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Facts of Life (1960), The Errand Boy (1961), Pocketful of Miracles (1961), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), Swingin' Along (1962), Zotz! (1962), Donovan's Reef (1963), Four For Texas (1963), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Cheyenne Autumn (1964), The Disorderly Orderly (1964), Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965), Seven Women (1966), The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967), The Wild McCullochs (1975), Challenge to Be Free (1976), Won Ton Ton, the Dog (1976), One Man Jury (1978), The Man With Bogart's Face (1980) __________________________________________

DALLAS, TEX., 1941 RESULTS, PROMOTER ED McLEMORE, SPORTATORIUM (ORIGINAL), TUESDAYS

Sept. 2--Ted (King Kong) Cox def Roy Graham 2-1 (ref Johnny Galiano), Ray Clements def Don Evans DQ, Ellis Bashara drew Al Lovelock, Otto Kuss def Babe Zaharias

Sept. 9--Sol Slagel def Ted Cox 2-0 DQ (ref Charlie Schwartz), Roy Graham def Al Lovelock, Don Evans def Ray Clements, Don Lee def Babe Zaharias

Sept. 16--Sol Slagel def Roy Graham 2-0, Ted Cox def Ray Clements DQ, Don Lee def Ellis Bashara DQ, Paul Bozzell drew Al Lovelock

Sept. 23--Don Evans def Sol Slagel 2-1 (stopped on cuts), Ted Cox def Ray Clements, Roy Graham def Billy Venable, Al Lovelock drew Babe Zaharias

Sept. 30--Ted Cox def Don Evans 2-0, Bobby Managoff (Dallas debut) def Babe Zaharias, Roy Graham def Ellis Bashara, Count Von Schacht (Count Rossi protege) def Al Lovelock

Oct. 7--Ted Cox def Don Evans 2-1 cnc (ref Doc Sarpolis), Bobby Managoff def Roy Graham DQ, Sol Slagel drew Count Von Schacht, Ray Clements def Babe Zaharias

Oct. 14--Roy Graham def Ellis Bashara 2-0 (ref Ted Cox, shaved loser in mustache vs. mustache match), Bobby Managoff drew Don Evans, Paul Bozzell drew Masked Cowboy (230 lbs., described as "a West Texas ranch youth, managed by his wife"), Count Von Schacht def Ray Clements

Oct. 21--Juan Humberto def Don Evans 2-1, Ted Cox def Roy Graham, Hans Kampfer drew Sol Slagel, Joe Hill def Paul Bozzell

Oct. 28--Ted Cox def Juan Humberto 2-1, Bobby Managoff drew Roy Graham, Ellis Bashara def Ray Clements, Dan Baxter drew Joe Hill

(ED. NOTE--Matches during this period were aired, live, on radio station KRLD from 10:15 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. each Tuesday night.)
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The WAWLI Papers # 023...

ASSOCIATED PRESS MAT RESULTS, MARCH 12, 1935

ATLANTA--Ed (Strangler) Lewis, Los Angeles, and Orville Brown, Kansas City, drew (one fall each, time limit).

ALBANY, N.Y.--Dan O'Mahoney, 217, Ireland, threw Joe Dusek, 216, Omaha, 19:26 (Dusek unable to return after first fall.)

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--George Zaharias, 230, Pueblo, Col., and Gino Garibaldi, 216, Italy, drew (one fall each, stopped by closing law.)

WACO, Tex.--Karl Sarpolis, 215, Pittsburgh, Pa., tossed Ivan Vakturoff, 225, Russia, two falls out of three.

SPOKANE, Wash.--Earl McCready, 235, Montreal, Que., beat Louis Bacigalupi, 245, Milan, Italy, two falls out of three.

SAN FRANCISCO--Gus Sonnenberg, 200, Providence, R.I., defeated Hardy Kruskamp, 200, Ohio, when latter unable to return to ring after injury; Pat Fraley, 210, Boston, won over cy Williams, 225, Florida, when latter disqualified for roughness; Milo Steinborn, 220, California, beat Bulldog Johnson, 218, New York, 7:00.

SAN DIEGO, Cal.--Joe Savoldi, 200, Three Oaks, Mich., won over Frank Speer, 225, Los Angeles, when latter disqualified for roughness; Howard Cantonwine, 230, Iowa, beat Mike Mazurki, 222, New York, two out of three falls. NEWARK, N.J.--Ernie Dusek, Omaha, threw Sandor Szabo, Hungary; Al Bisignano, Iowa, threw Stan Sokolis, Pennsylvania; Frank Judson, Harvard, drew with Dick Daviscourt, California; Tor Johnson, Sweden, threw Jim Henry, Oklahoma.

BOSTON--Ted Germaine, Boston, threw Jack Lucas, New York; Dr. Louis Altschuler, Boston, threw Dutch Schmidt, New York; Buck Jones, Boston, threw Tony Papalino, Natick; Jose Firpo, Argentina, drew with Bey Suleyman, Turkey; Cannonball Grange, Boston, drew with Jim Rinaldi, New York. __________________________________________

ZAHARIAS THROWS JACOBS, TRIUMPHS IN 8:51 WITH A BODY SLAM AT HEMPSTEAD ARENA

(reprinted from the New York Times, 3-14-35)

HEMPSTEAD, Long Island, March 13 (Special) -- George Zaharias, 230, threw Harry Jacobs, 315, with a body slam in 8:51 of the feature wrestling match tonight at the Hempstead Arena. Al Bisignano, 212, won the semifinal, tossing Walter Underhill, 204, with a body slam after 20:08.

In two other tests, Bill Middlekauf, 212, and Pat McKay, 220, scored falls. The former used a crotch hold to pin the shoulders of Ernie Stevens, 225, in 11:32 and McKay downed Pat McClary, 220, in 14:39 with a body hold.

Sun Jennings, 230, defeated Jim Henry, 238, in the thirty-minute opener.

(ED. NOTE -- Pat McClary later became wrestling's first Hard Boiled Haggerty.) _____________________________________________

EASTERN MAT RESULTS FROM MARCH 13, 1935

BOSTON--Rudy Dusek, Omaha, threw Frank Sexton, Ohio; Bob Russell, Newport, R.I., threw George Linehan, Boston; Charley Strack, Oklahoma, threw George Saunders, Nerw Orleans; Farmer George McLeod, Los Angeles, threw Gene LeDoux, Quebec; Leo Lefebre, Montreal, threw Don Petroff, Russia; John Schaeffer, Boston, threw Jack Ross, New York; Jim Wallis, Boston, drew with Eddie Elzear, Denmark; Hank Barber, New York, drew with Al Peckham, Boston.

REVERE, Mass.--Drop Kick Murphy, Boston, threw Gorilla Max, Revere; Arthur Flynn, Lawrence, threw Carroll Cranson, Springfield; Jim Spencer, Boston, threw Joe Ferrona, New York; Ed Shaboo, California, defeated Bill Rooney, Portland, Me., disqualification.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--Ed Don George, North Java, N.Y., threw Vanka Zelezniak, Russia; Dick Shikat, Philadelphia, threw Billy Bartush, Chicago; Bibber McCoy, Rhode Island, drew with Henry Piers, Holland.

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Charley Fischer defeated The Great Mephisto; Jimmy Heffner, Texas, won from Bad Boy Brown, Shreveport, La.; Walter Roxy, Detroit, pinned Fred Kimball, Muskegon, Mich.; Marion Mynster, Charleston, W. Va., pinned Tiger Miller, Topeka, Kan.; Stan West, Lincoln, Neb., defeated Pat McGinnis, Rochester, Minn.

TRENTON, N.J.--Chief Little Wolf, 215, California, threw John Swenski, 197, Lynn, Mass., two straight falls.

DES MOINES, Iowa--Al Sparks, 215, Utah, defeated Ernest Heffner, 230, Texas, two straight falls.
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VARIOUS MAT RESULTS FROM MARCH 14, 1935

DETROIT--Billy Thomas drew with George Gable; Freddie Nichols defeated Adolph Von Schultz; Dick Graber defeated Speedy Martin; Eddie Graimer drew with Jack Carson.

CHICAGO--Everett Marshall, 210, La Junta, Col., threw Mehmet Yousiff, 200, Turkey, 37:12.

CAMDEN, N.J.--Gino Garibaldi, 218, Italy, defeated Joe Dusek, 212, Omaha, two out of three falls.

TORONTO--Ernie Dusek, 230, Omaha, defeated Vic Christie, 208, Glendale, Cal., two out of three falls.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Dan O'Mahoney, 220, Ireland, beat Fred Grubmeier, 195, Iowa, two straight falls.
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SZABO CONQUERS HAGEN; TOSSES RIVAL FROM RING TO WIN AT STAUCH'S ARENA LAST NIGHT

(reprinted from the New York Times, 3-16-35)

Sandor Szabo, 214, conquered George Hagen, 212, in the feature finish wrestling match at Stauch's Arena, Coney Island, last night. The victor tossed his rival from the ring in 23:12 and Hagen was unable to continue.

In the semifinal, Abe Goldberg, 204, threw Ernie Stevens, 212, in 13:26 with a flying tackle. Frank Bronowicz, 216, pinned Tex Morgan, 275, to the mat with a body slam and crotch hold in 13:10 of another battle.

Bill Middlekauf, 225, gained a thirty-minute decision over Mike Romano, 208; Rube Wright, 225, threw Jim Henry, 235, in 16:18 with an airplane scissors, and John Swenski, 204, defeated Walter Underhill, 204, in other bouts. Underhill was unable to continue after being tossed from the ring in 11:52. _____________________________________________

WRESTLING RESULTS FROM MARCH 15, 1935

DETROIT--Jim Londos, 222, St. Louis, threw Orville Brown, 199, Kansas, 1:09:30.

CINCINNATI--George Gable, 155, Cincinnati, threw Olaf Hanson, 153, Sweden, 1:10:00.

SALEM, Mass.--Jean La Rochelle, Canada, threw Mike Tellegen, Boston; Richard Wallington, England, defeated Ima Hassan, Boston, disqualification; Jack Burns, Boston, drew with Yankee Hall, Canada; Cleve Welch, Boston, drew with Bob Riley, Boston.

BOSTON--Ed Don George, 218, East Aurora, N.Y., won over George Zaharias, 228, Pueblo, Col. (Zaharias disqualified after each had won one fall.)

PHILADELPHIA--Chief Little Wolf, 213, Los Angeles, threw Dick Shikat, 235, Philadelphia, 14:53.

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.--Pinky Gardner, 178, Schenectady, defeated Marion Mynster, 175, Charlestown, W. Va., two straight falls. ____________________________________________

A SURPRISE INCLUSION IN THE WAWLI PAPERS

There may be some on the WAWLI list who may not understand why Andy Kaufman could be included in a series of reports detailing the history of professional wrestling in the 20th century, particularly since the time he became involved with the business was for the most part a dozen years past our time frame of inquiry. Yet, I cannot resist -- for those of you who never had the opportunity to watch Kaufman in "action," you missed the last of the great "workers." Kaufman, unlike most of today's professional wrestlers, could get "heat" -- never mind in a wrestling arena; he could turn an audience at a comedy nightclub into an angry, surly mob within minutes. A marvelously inventive mind, Kaufman died young -- far too young -- and so who knows what he might have come up with to entertain us had he continued living . . . but I've always had a hunch he would have stayed connected with the world of professional wrestling, and by his presence, that world would have stayed connected to a time when the performers could "work" a room and not just trade body slams and mouth inanities into a television camera, hyping the next pay-per-view. The following summary of Andy Kaufman's life comes from a Web page dedicated to his honor:

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ANDY KAUFMAN

January 17, 1949 - Born in New York City, the first son of Stanley and Janice Kaufman, Andy grows up in Great Neck, Long Island.

1956 - Begins performing jokes and magic tricks for family and friends.

1958 - At the age of 9, Andy begins working as an entertainer at children's parties.

1964 - Andy's lifelong fascination with Elvis Presley begins. He also becomes a fan of West African percussionist Olatunji and learns to play the congas. Andy dreams of being a professional wrestler, he especially admires Nature Boy Buddy Rogers and Bruno Sammartino.

1965 - Completes his first novel (unpublished) titled, The Hollering Mangoo.

1967- Graduates from Great Neck North High School.

1967-1968 - Drives cabs and trucks in Great Neck for a year.

1969 - Enrolling at Boston's Grahm Junior College to study Television and Radio, Andy aspires to be a television clown. While attending Grahm, he takes a course in Transcendental Meditation (TM). The TM techniques he learns ease him into performing in front of large audiences. TM becomes an important routine in Andy's life and he begins a ritual of meditating two times-a-day.

1969 - Andy travels to Las Vegas to see Elvis Presley perform in concert.

1970 - Hosts Uncle Andy's Fun House on the Grahm Junior College radio station. Begins to perform at local coffee houses and is hired as a comedian by an African-American student's group for their show, The Soul Time Review.

1971 - Andy sees a performance by Las Vegas Lounge Legend Tony Clifton and becomes a fan for life, even going so far as to imitate Clifton during his own stand-up performances. As Andy becomes more successful, he hires Clifton as his opening act.

1971 - Discovered by Improvisation Comedy Club owner Budd Friedman while performing stand-up comedy at My Father's Place (a Long Island rock club), Andy begins doing his stand-up act at Friedman's Improv's in New York and Los Angeles. Andy's uncle, Sam Denoff introduces Andy to Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke. Impressed with his talent, they encourage their manager, George Shapiro, to represent Andy.

1973 - Andy's appears at Rick Newman's Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club.

1975 - While in Los Angeles, NBC executive Dick Ebersol sees Andy's nightclub act and asks him to audition for a new late-night comedy show tentatively named, Saturday Night.

October 11, 1975 - On the inaugural broadcast of Saturday Night Live Andy lip-synch's The Theme from Mighty Mouse. Dates of other SNL appearances:

October 25, 1975 November 8, 1975 February 28, 1976 January 15, 1977 October 15, 1977 December 10, 1977 March 25, 1978 February 24, 1979 January 30, 1982 May 15, 1982 November 20, 1982 (Andy is voted off the show 195,544 to 169,186) January 22, 1983 (Video of Andy thanking all the viewers who voted for him in vain)

September 20, 1976 to December 30, 1976 - Performs as cast member on Dick Van Dyke's weekly variety show, Van Dyke and Co.

1977 - Plays a psychotic assassin cop in the made-for-television movie, God Told Me To (AKA) Demon.

1976 - Makes the first of several guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

1978 - Performs as a guest on The Mike Douglas Show.

1978 - Andy hires Tony Clifton to appear as the opening act at Andy's nightclub and concert performances.

1978 - Andy appears as a contestant on The Dating Game.

September 20, 1978 - First broadcast of the ABC situation-comedy, Taxi. Andy plays the role of foreign auto mechanic Latka Gravas. Andy convinces executive producers James L. Brooks and Ed. Weinberger to sign Tony Clifton to a contract that promises at least 2 episodes of work, and Tony's own parking space. Clifton is fired before the shooting of episode #10, A Full House for Christmas, for unprofessional behavior. Andy supports the decision to fire Clifton.

April 22, 1979 - In a charity benefit for the New York Police Department, VIP Night on Broadway, Andy sings Tomorrow from the musical Annie with Sarah Jessica Parker.

April 26, 1979 - Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall. After the show Andy invites the audience (2,800) to board 20 buses for a trip to the Manhattan School of Printing's cafeteria for free milk and cookies.

April 30, 1979 - Guest spot on The Lisa Hartman Show: Hot Stuff variety/comedy hour.

May 30, 1979 - Plays the role of Andy the robot helper in a space-age comedy television pilot titled, Stick Around.

August 28, 1979 - Stars in his own ABC comedy show, The Andy Kaufman Special - Andy's Funhouse (originally taped in 1977).

1979 - Appears on HBO's 2nd Annual Young Comedians Show.

1979 - Nominated for a Golden Globe award as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Musical Series by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his work on Taxi.

1979 - Andy begins his reign as World Inter-gender Wrestling Champion, challenging any woman in the audience to wrestle him for his championship belt. He also promises to pay $500 if they can pin his shoulders to the mat.

1980 - Stars with Marty Feldman, Richard Pryor and Peter Boyle in the Universal Pictures movie In God We Tru$t. Andy plays a televangelist named, Armageddon T. Thunderbird.

February 20, 1981 - As guest host for the ABC comedy show, Fridays, Andy creates general mayhem and turmoil during the live broadcast. This results in a scuffle between Andy and several cast and crew-members during the last sketch of the night. Andy insists the incident was a terrible misunderstanding.

February 27, 1981 - Fridays airs a video-taped apology from Andy. "It was an experimental piece...something different. This has been a very hard week for me. Because of last week's show, my job at Taxi is in jeopardy...my agent is having trouble convincing anybody to hire me. (to audience) I think you laughing at it is pretty tasteless. Thanks to last week I'm in a separation with my wife...I was just trying to have fun (begins to cry)."

1981 - Featured on the undercard of a pro-wrestling show at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, Andy easily defends his Inter-gender Championship.

1981 - Co-stars with Bernadette Peters in the Universal Pictures movie, Heartbeeps. Kaufman and Peters star as two housecleaning robots who fall in love, set out on their own and search for happiness in the future world of 1995.

1981 - When not shooting Taxi or performing stand-up, Andy works as a busboy at a local delicatessen, Jerry's Famous Deli.

1981 - Guest spot on The Midnight Special impersonating Tony Clifton.

1981 - On The Merv Griffin Show Tony Clifton denounces Andy and emphatically denies that he and Kaufman are one and the same.

February 17, 1982 - After appearing as a guest on David Letterman's ill-fated morning show, Andy makes his first of 10 appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. Dates of other Late Night guest spots-

February 18, 1982 (Tony Clifton appears for Andy) March 30, 1982 April 1, 1982 May 17, 1982 July 28, 1982 (During the interview Andy is slapped out of his chair by Jerry Lawler, Andy shouts curses and tosses coffee on Lawler before running out of the studio.) (See April 5, 1982 below) November 17, 1982 January 7, 1983 February 23, 1983 September 22, 1983 November 17, 1983

February 1982 - In this month's issue of Playboy, a full-length article and pictorial of Andy's wrestling match with Playmate Susan Smith is featured.

April 5, 1982 - At the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee Andy finally wrestles Jerry Lawler and Lawler pile-drives Andy into the hospital, seriously injuring his cervical vertebrae. (See Late Night, July 28, 1982 above.)

1982 - Tony Clifton does a song and dance routine on The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show.

1982 - Andy appears on the Catch a Rising Star 10th Anniversary Show.

April 14, 1983 - Performs at the Nederlander Theater on Broadway (2 performances) in the play, Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap.

1983 - Andy's wrestling career is chronicled in the video, I'm From Hollywood. The movie documents Andy's year-long battle for revenge against Jerry Lawler.

November 29, 1983 - Andy plays the role of Dr. Vinnie Boombatz on The Rodney Dangerfield Special: I Can't Take it No More.

1983 - PBS broadcasts the Soundstage special, The Andy Kaufman Show. In an apparent attempt at reconciliation, Andy features a tribute to Tony Clifton by using a Tony Clifton marionette as his sidekick during the show.

March 20, 1984 - Andy's short film, My Breakfast with Blassie, premieres.

May 16, 1984 - At Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California Andy Kaufman dies at the age of 35, the victim of a rare form of lung cancer.

1985 - After a year long engagement at the Shoes & Socks Lounge in Las Vegas, Tony Clifton retires from show-business and is now living in a retirement community just outside of Reno, Nevada.
_____________________________________________________

The WAWLI Papers # 024 ...

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The WAWLI Papers # 025 ..

THE CHAMPIONSHIP MUDDLE, CIRCA 1929-30

(Below is a copy of a letter sent by James G. Brown, manager of Gus Sonnenberg, to John W. Driskill, secretary of the National Boxing Association of the United States.)

January 21, 1930 Boston, Mass.

Mr. John W. Driskill Secretary, National Boxing Association 1008 Ingalls Building 6 East Fourth St. Cincinnati, Ohio

Dear Sir:

Your letter of January 10 to Gus Sonnenberg turned over to me for reply, and I have given it careful consideration before writing you this letter.

First I want to thank you for your kind offer of permitting champion Gus Sonnenberg to compete in your elimination tournament, which you plan to stage sometime in the near future.

Some time ago, Paul Prehn, who was at that time chairman of the Illinois Athletic Commission, wrote many letters to various promoters and commissions throughout the United States. In these letters, Mr. Prehn asked that Ed (Strangler) Lewis be recognized by all commissions and promoters as the Champion Heavyweight Wrestler of the world. Some time later Mr. Prehn sent out a second series of letters to promoters and commissions throughout the country, stating that Ed (Strangler) Lewis and Joe Stecher were matched to meet for the world's heavyweight championship at St. Louis, Mo. Mr. Prehn further stated that the winner of this match would be declared the Champion Heavyweight Wrestler of the world and would be asked to defend his title at least once every six months. Two of these letters written by Mr. Prehn are now before me on the desk as I write this letter. It is a matter of history that Ed (Strangler) Lewis defeated Joe Stecher in this match at St. Louis, Mo., and successfully defended his title until he met Gus Sonnenberg, January 4th, 1929, at the Boston Garden. It is also a matter of history that Gus Sonnenberg defeated Ed (Strangler) Lewis for the title on this occasion. Since that time Sonnenberg has defeated Ed (Strangler) Lewis, Dan Koloff, Joe Stecher, Marin Plestina, Joe Malcewicz, Stanley Stasiak, Pat McGill and many others.

According to Mr. Prehn's own requirements, this makes Gus Sonnenberg without a doubt the Champion Heavyweight Wrestler of the world. Now in your letter you state that Richard Shikat, John Pesek, Jim Londos and Pete Sauer (Ray Steele) are considered the logical men to compete along with Sonnenberg for the world's heavyweight championship.

Your investigating committee, in making these selections, must have been guilty of one of three things. They are either unfamiliar with the ability of real wrestlers, or they used very poor judgment, or else they are showing injustice to some people and showing favors to others.

Richard Shikat has been defeated by Jim Londos and Wladek Zbyszko. Jim Browning too much the worst of a match with Stanley Stasiak, quit in a private match with Pat McGill and has either lost decisions or held even by such wrestlers as Nick Lutze, Renato Gardini, Dick Daviscourt, and others.

John Pesek has been defeated many times by Ed (Strangler) Lewis, Joe Stecher, Stanley Zbyszko, Jim Londos, Toots Mondt, Nick Lutze and many others.

Jim Londos has been defeated from one to seven times by the following wrestlers: Wladek Zbyszko, Stan Zbyszko, Ed (Strangler) Lewis, Joe Stecher, Earl Caddock, Joe Malcewicz, Renato Gardini, George Calza, Dick Daviscourt and many others.

Pete Sauer, alias Ray Steele, has been beaten so many times that it is difficult to see how any sensible committee could consider him as a heavyweight champion contender.

I think this clearly shows you my opinion of the contenders your committee has selected and would prove to any fair minded critic that justice has not been done in the selection of these contenders. A tournament such as you propose between these contenders proves nothing, decides nothing and only leaves room for future arguments.

The only tournament that would clear up the present existing circumstances would be a legitimate elimination tournament open to any wrestler in the world that thinks he can wrestle and wears a pair of tights and has enough confidence of his own ability to put up a forfeit for his appearance. Such a tourney as I have now described is in the making under the supervision of General John V. Clinin, chairman of the Illinois Athletic Commission. This is the only fair, square and true sportsmanlike manner to settle this argument. When General Clinin put the proposition up to me to have Sonnenberg meet the winner of such a tournament, I was the first to post my money and jump at the proposition.

Inasmuch as Sonnenberg won his title fairly and squarely in active competition, I think it hardly fair that he is asked to win it again by entering an elimination tournament. Never before in the history of the sporting game have I ever heard of a champion being asked to win his title the second time. The duty of a champion is to defend his title after he has won it and not to win it over and over again.

As I stated before, I am willing and ready at any time to have Sonnenberg post a forfeit to meet the winner of any legitimate tournament staged, which is open to all the wrestlers in the world. I contend that a tournament such as you propose, shows favors only to a few and will leave fifty or sixty wrestlers through the United States greatly dissatisified and many groups will be at war with each other in much the same manner as at present. Consequently, although I greatly appreciate the honor conferred upon Champion Gus Sonnenberg by offering him a chance to compete in this tournament, I shall have to decline to allow him to take part in an elimination contest of any kind.

However, in conclusion, let me say that should you ever decide to stage a real legitimate tournament, I would be the first one to praise you for your efforts, and will be the first to post a forfeit for Gus to meet the winner of such a contest.

Trusting that this letter states my views and feelings clearly, I am

Very truly yours,

James G. Brown Manager of Gus Sonnenberg World's Champion Heavyweight Wrestler
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KOLOFF PLANS MAT CAMPAIGN (Nov. 21, 1930)

(reprinted from the Los Angeles Times)

Dan Koloff's devastating headlocks and front head slams, two holds in which the Balkan mat lion specializes, are expected to play havoc with Don George's chances of repeating his victory over the powerful 225-pounder when they meet in the finish feature event of Lou Daro's wrestling show at the Olympic Wednesday night (Nov. 26).

Koloff is expected to center his attack in this match at George's head. George was knocked cold when he and "Dynamite" Gus Sonnenberg met head-on in their sensational title match here last month, and despite the young star's recent statement that he had completely recovered from the effects of the blow, his trainers have been cautioned not to use headlocks against him in training.

After a hard workout at the Commercial Club yesterday afternoon, George declared that he had asked his trainers not to use headlocks on him as he did not care to risk another head injury before he stepped on the mat with Koloff. By the first of next week, he expects to be able to withstand all of the punishment the powerful Balkan is able to inflict either with headlocks or head slams.

Ed "Strangler" Lewis, the game's leading exponent of the headlocks, will tangle with Henri DeGlane, the sensational French mat ace, in the special event of this card. Although the bout is for a one-hour time limit, it is expected to develop into one of the most spectacular bouts between two giants ever seen in the local ring.

Steve Strelich, the "Terrible Swede," will meet Les Grimes of Australia in the opener.
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LEWIS KEEPS TITLE BY PINNING MEYERS

(reprinted from New York Times, 2-7-33)

By James P. Dawson

Ed (Strangler) Lewis, world's heavyweight wrestling champion, had no difficulty defending his crown last night against the assault of Dr. Fred Meyers, Chicago's grappler-dentist, in Madison Square Garden.

Before a crowd of about 5,000, Lewis pinned the shoulders of his rival in 25 minutes, 27 seconds, discarding for the occasion his famed headlock, which has claimed so many victims, and using for the fall the more prosaic arm scissors and wrist lock.

The victory brought to an ending a match that was notable for the rough work of the challenger against the burly champion.

Meyers had no qualms whatever against clubbing his right forearm solidly against the jaw of the champion, who protested repeatedly to the referee, only to be told that since the drivers were made with the forearm and the open hand they were legal.

In brief flashes of offensive work, Meyers applied a Japanese arm lock that brought Lewis some pain for a time, and several times the Chicagoan clamped the titleholder's head in a scissors as he broke Lewis' headlock pressure. At no time, however, could it be said that Lewis really was in any danger.

In the end, Meyers' propensity for cracking his right arm against the jaw of Lewis brought up the downfall of the challenger. Tiring of this treatment, Lewis started a slugging campaign of his own and three times dropped Meyers with pokes of his own right.

One such trip to the canvas proved the last for Meyers. They were wrestling in mid-ring when Meyers repeatedly drove his right forearm against Lewis' jaw. The champion staggered backward protesting, but Referee Ernst Roeber disregarded the complaint and ordered Lewis to wrestle in kind, as he had done before.

Lewis did. He barged in close to Meyers and sent the Chicagoan down under what resembled the boxing ring's good old right to the jaw. Suddenly Lewis plunged headlong upon the prostrate Meyers, clamping an arm scissors and a wristlock, and Referee Roeber slapped Lewis' shoulders in token of victory. Lewis weighed 240 pounds and Meyers 206.

Jim Browning, Boston heavyweight, pinned the shoulders of Century Milstead, New Haven, in 17:57 of their scheduled twenty-minute exhibition, with a body scissors. Browning weighed 230 and Milstead 208.

Gus Sonnenberg, former claimant of the heavyweight title, threw Earl McCready, Oklahoman, in 22:45 of their finish struggle, with a succession of flying tackles, a body spread and a double wristlock. Sonnenberg weighed 205 and McCready 229.

Nick Lutze, former Notre Dame athlete, threw George Hagen, ex-Marine, in 14 minutes, 27 seconds of their event, listed for twenty minutes. A reverse double arm lock brought to a close the most exciting of the supporting bouts. Lutze weighed 203 and Hagen 212.

Leon Pinetzki, 260, and Luigi Bacigalupi, 225, wrestled to a draw in their twenty-minute struggle. Sid Westrich, 225, threw Lilo Nardi, 210, in 10:32 of their scheduled twenty-minute struggle with a pickup and drop.

Sammy Stein, 205, pinned the shoulders of John Poddubney, 205, in 12:28 of their twenty-minute event with a flying tackle and body hold.

In the opening exhibition, Mike Mazurki, 218, tossed Henry Piers, 208, in 14:10 with a pick-up and drop.
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MORE FROM "FALL GUYS" (Chapter 1, How It All Started) (Installment Number Two)

...Down through the pages of history have come stories of wrestling. It is the most elemental of sports. Homer twanged his lyre about the glories of Grecian matmen and even the Bible speaks of "grappling."

As sports oracle Frank G. Menke points out in his accurate All Sports Record Book, it is difficult to approach the subject of present day wrestling without being facetious. The modern grapplers are such hoydenish fellows, who do such weird things, in utter conflict with all the sane rules of competition, that the obvious conclusion is the lads are just fooling. The mat boys have invented many melodramatic effects in their bouts that certainly arouse the fans, but on second and more sober thought, lead the spectator to wonder what it's all about and how they get that way.

No matter how the wrestlers and promoters dodge the issue, the question of wrestling's honesty crops up. The fans who know of matmen meeting bonebreaking partners every night in the week often inquire if the sport is on the level.

The ruling of the New York State Athletic Commission answers that by declaring that all mat contests, unless otherwise billed by authority of the Commission, are exhibitions only, and not matches or contests. The grappling industry doesn't mind this a bit so long as the fans pay their money at the box office to witness the catch as catch can carnivals.

As the population of the world increased, so did the popularity of wrestling. It is a form of sport requiring no special equipment. In ancient Rome and Greece, bonecrushing was most popular and such contests were employed to settle national athletic supremacy. As far back as 511 B.C., history tells of Milo of Croton, of Athens, who was so strong that he could hurl a three-hundred pound opponent twenty feet.

Those were the days when a matman was a big shot. Milo broke arms and legs like match sticks and the greater damage he did to an opponent, the more wildly he was cheered by the Athenians. Like the famed Paul Bunyan of our Wisconsin woods, Milo tore trees out of the ground by the roots, could carry a chariot on his head with six men seated in it, could kill an ox by punching it between the eyes, could gain a strangle hold on a bull and kill it without real effort, after which he would eat the raw meat. His appetite was such that an omelette of four dozen eggs failed to satisfy him.

Milo finally came to a bad end through his own overconfidence. According to historians, he was out hiking in the Greek groves one fine afternoon and came upon a huge tree. One of those trees only found in mythology. At any rate, Milo noticed that some wood choppers were trying to cut the tree down, and upon making inquiry, learned they had been at their task seven long years and had only managed to hew a quarter of the trunk away.

"I'll tell you what I'll do," said Milo in whatever prose the ancient Greeks used. "I'll split the tree down the center and you guys put the trunk of another tree in as a wedge and you'll be able to make faster progress in your labors."

It was no sooner said than done, and Milo, stripping to his leopard skin, split the three in two with his bare hands and then stepped between the parted trunk and bid the workmen to put their wedge in. The woodchoppers were trady, however, and before they could insert their wedge, which was probably as long and as wide as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Milo's strength gave out, the tree snapped together and the great athletic hero was crushed to death. His remains were devoured by hungry wolves who came upon his corpse while the workmen were away from the scene seeking aid for their luckless strong man.

Even the women of the ancient world wrestled (as they do today). Vases from ancient Greece, dug out of the ruins, show the handiwork of the fair sex and always the favorite poses were those of the matmen.

The Emerald Isle, too, has its wrestling heroes who antedated the present bonecrushers known as Danno O'Mahoney and Steve "Crusher" Casey. Perhaps the best known of the Celtic grapplers was Terence O'Houlihan Griffin. Misty Irish folklore does not reveal whether or not he was a member of the author's family.

At any rate, Terence O'Houlihan Griffin was, of course, one of the many Irish kings. He was so strong he could hold himself at arm's length. Scooped gaps through the Wicklow Mountains with his bare hands. Exercised his youngest son by playing catch with him, using huge shoulders the size of the Empire State Building. Was faster than the storm winds sweeping over the Gaelic coast, and in wrestling battle-royals, would take on ten thousand men at a time and pin them all with one swoop of his big hand. According to fable it was nothing for Terence to swing bulls above his head and hurl them for miles, and twenty of the greatest ships, in full rigging hooked to his immense body, couldn't budge him one inch. Such deeds as knocking down steers with a blow of his fist were beneath him. He left those minor exercises to his younger sons and daughters who needed the training.

Terence's epic brawl with Roy Neal, which lasted ten years, without either drawing breath, left many a landmark on the Emerald Isle in the form of huge rock mounds, made when the contestants hurled boulder after boulder at each other.

It seems it all started when Neal expressed a desire to marry one of Terence's daughters and the irate parent objected to the advances. It all ended with a truce, Neal had his way, and the resulting progeny was Brian Baru, greatest of all Irish wrestlers and strong men.

(to be continued in subsequent WAWLI Papers) ____________________________________________

THESZ, BURKE RETAIN WRESTLING TITLES

(reprinted from the Indianapolis Courier)

Lou Thesz, wrestling champion of the world, defeated Karol Krauser, Polish star, in straight falls last night at the Coliseum in the headline match of an all-star Infantile Paralysis fund-benefit card.

Despite the weather, Promoter Leon Balkin announced that the fund received $381 of the receipts. Several who purchased tickets and hundreds who made reservations did not brave the snow and icy streets to see the show.

Thesz won the first fall in 19:10 with a body slam and smother after Krauser hurt his shoulder. He won the second fall in 1:10 with arm blows on the injured shoulder. Referee Dick Patton stopped the bout.

In the supporting feature, Mildred Burke, queen of the girl grapplers, won two of three falls from June Byers, Texas girl.

Byers won the first fall in 7:47 with a double reverse leg lock.

The champion won the second in 5:42 with a "reverse sitting grapevine," a new hold, and she took the third fall in 3:38 with two Irish whips and a body press. Vic Jarboe refereed this match.

Sky Low Low, Canadian, won the battle of the midgets, defeating Mighty Fritz, German, in 16:07 with a jackknife.

Gentleman Jim Dobie, who whipped polio before he became a grappler, opened the program with a victory over Lou Britton, Canadian. Dobie won with a flying body scissors in 8:53.
_______________________________________________

The WAWLI Papers # 026 ...

(ED. NOTE -- The first major, contemporary account we have regarding Ed Lewis' early career appeared in The Chicago Sunday Tribune, November 30, 1913. The strangehold at this point was called a "Neck Yoke" and the article was accompanied by several photos of the young Strangler. Among some of the sub-headlines: "Famous Hold Asset to Grappler in Ambition to Wear Frank Gotch's Crown," "Also All Around Athlete," "Crushing Scissors on Body Usually Follows Use of the Exhausting Grip on Head," "Below Weight of Usual Heavy.")

NECK YOKE HELPS STRANGLER LEWIS IN BID FOR HONORS

By Ray C. Pearson

By aid of what is termed the "neck yoke" in wrestling parlance, Ed Lewis of Lexington, Ky., bids fair to become one of the greatest heavyweight wrestlers America ever has produced. It is not improbable that at some future date the crown so ably worn by Frank Gotch, the Humboldt, Ia., farmer, may rest on the head of the Kentuckian, for he is only a "kid" in years as well as in the mat game, and still has plenty of time to "grow."

Lewis has forced his way into the limelight with great suddenness through clamping his new hold on the necks of many opponents, several of whom have appeared prominently in the wrestling game in the last few years. The last big match for the Kentuckian was a losing one, but not until after a struggle that lasted more than a hour and a half. His conqueror was Charley Cutler, the Chicagoan, and it is only proper to say that it is hard to fine a better man in the heavyweight ranks than this same Cutler.

Cutler has been in the game for several years and what he doesn't know about the art is hardly worth knowing, but he is willing to admit that his struggle with Lewis was one of the toughest he ever encountered in any arena, made so by the now famous "neck yoke" as applied by the Kentuckian. Lewis scored a fall in his match with Cutler by use of the neck lock, and the punishment he inflicted is not likely to be forgotten by Charles. There were other times that Lewis tried to secure the hold and failed, and in these efforts there was more punishment for Cutler. Although the Chicago man won and deserves credit for his victory, it is worthy of note that Lewis nimbly left the ring after the bout, while Cutler, thoroughly exhausted, did not spurn assistance.

There are many who claim that Lewis' new hold is of the strangle variety. The fact that it shuts off the breathing of an opponent does not, however, make it a "strangler," for none of the rules of the game covers a grip that is secured in the way Lewis applies it from the back of the neck. It is far different from the strangle hold which long ago was barred because of its disastrous effects.

LEWIS DUBBED 'STRANGLER'

Lewis has been dubbed "Strangler" Lewis by those who follow the mat sport, but not because of the "neck yoke," as might be supposed. When he was in the primer of wrestling he gained some little fame by applying the original strangle hold to his opponents, and this, together with the fact that one of the most famous mat men the world ever knew was named "Strangler" Lewis, was responsible for the handle attached to his name. The history of the sport tells plenty about the original "Strangler," Evan Lewis.

Although Lewis has really been in the game only about two years, he spent a great deal of his time experimenting on the hold which now promises to make him famous. He had gained a considerable knowledge of the regulation holds which are applied when the men are on the mat, and he set about to discover tactics that would give him an advantage while he was contesting with an opponent head to head in an effort to gain a grip that would bring an opponent to the floor on the defensive. He discovered the neck yoke, which he calls a neck or head lock. First he tried the play for the hold with his right arm, but changed to the left when he discovered he could apply greater leverage that way.

FAMOUS HOLD PAVES WAY

Lewis does not secure his falls with the neck yoke. It is simply part of the system which he had worked out to pin an opponent's shoulders to the mat. He secures the hold while standing. His first move is to get an opponent's right arm down in front of him and when he gets this position he places his left arm underneath that of his opponent from the outside. From this position he reaches his left arm up around the neck and then clamps on the lock with his right hand and forearm. It is next to impossible for an opponent to break out of the grip once it is securely locked, and the harder the man on whom it has been applied tries to pull out of it the farther his chain is forced down onto his chest.

Lewis does not need to hurry his man once the hold is locked on, for at most any time he can bring him to the mat. There is no doubt but that when a man's chin is forced down onto his chest his breathing is greatly handicapped, and so Lewis can afford to take his time.

THEN APPLIES BODY SCISSORS

Gradually Lewis forces an opponent nearer to the mat, then, quickly as a cat, he releases the neck and, with a flying fall, throws his right leg over his opponent's body, the left being underneath, forming a scissors across the body hold. He hangs on to his opponent's left arm with both hands, and with the arm lock and scissors hold forces his opponent's shoulders to the floor for the fall.

The power of the scissors across the body is too great for an opponent to escape from, and as showing how strong Lewis is able to apply it, it is only necessary to recall his last match with Dr. B.F. Roller, when three of Roller's ribs were fractured by the hold.

Realization of all the promises made for Lewis will give the world another American wrestler for champion. Lewis is an exceptional man in the game he has chosen. He is well educated, having attended Ripon college at Ripon, Wis., although he is not a graduate.

In one respect Lewis resembles Frank Gotch, who claims that he has retired from the game. That is the ability to think quickly. Lewis has already shown evidence of wrestling mentality well above the average. In a match recently with Paul Martinson the Kentuckian was tricked into a toe hold which looked certain to produce a fall, but it didn't, for the simple reason that Lewis used his head and got out of trouble by taking the only possible way -- the long run.

AN ALL AROUND ATHLETE

Lewis is an all around athlete and it would be hard to fine a better proportioned man. Unlike the great majority of the powerfully muscled foreigners who for years have invaded this country in the chase for dollars and glory, he is not overburdened with bulging muscles and fat. It is hard to imagine where his remarkable strength comes from, but it is there. If there is one thing that may be a hindrance to Lewis that will be lack of weight. He weighs 206 pounds, which is somewhat low for a heavyweight grappler.

Early athletic training, gained in high school and at college, have done wonders for the Badger. When he attended high school he played on the baseball and football teams, and he also played some football while in college.

Sheboygan, Wis., may have a chance to boast if Lewis becomes a champion, for it was there that he was born on June 30, 1891. His father and mother are German. Lewis passed the early years of his life in Sheboygan and attended the grammar school there. When he was 13 years old, with his parents, he moved to Grand Rapids and there gained his high school education.

WRESTLED IN HIGH SCHOOL

While attending high school Lewis engaged in his first wrestling match. His team was playing in a small town not far from Grand Rapids, and after the game was over he was asked if he would meet the star of the town in a bout. He agreed and two hours later they had it out in the opera house before a crowd of 300 persons. Lewis won after a tough battle.

There was not a town in the state that didn't have its champion wrestler, and a fellow didn't have much trouble getting a match, although there was little financial return. He met several of the other boys in the small towns and defeated them. It was not until shortly after he had left college, a little more than three years ago, that he decided to take up wrestling. Freddie Beell, the Marshfield star, visited Grand Rapids, and as Lewis was the champion of the town a match was quickly made. Lewis didn't know how good Beell was at the time, but it didn't take him long to find out.

DESCRIBES MATCH WITH BEELL

He describes that match:

"Beell suggested to me just before we met that we make it a handicap match, that he would throw me twice in an hour. His offer made me angry, for I thought I was a real wrestler, and I told him it would have to be a finish contest or there would be no match. He agreed. What Beell did to me was something awful. He threw me twice in an hour, but he could have done it much more quickly. He just let me stay to punish me and he taught me a good lesson. For two weeks after that bout I had to hold my head up with one hand and eat with the other, so severely did he wrench my neck. That match also gave me the idea that I could make good, and so not long after that I made a trip out west meeting anybody I could get on. I met Zbyszko at Minneapolis and won twice from him, not allowing him to secure falls on me in fifteen minute handicaps."

Lewis was wrestling in Lexington, Ky., when his present manager, Jerry Walls, saw him, and immediately took hold of his affairs. That was about a year ago. Lewis has made Lexington his headquarters ever since. He secured the position of wrestling and boxing instructor at Kentucky university, which he held for a year, resigning in order to go out after championship honors.

SOME OF HIS VICTIMS

Among some of Lewis' victims to date are Jack Leon, William Demetral, and Dr. B.F. Roller. Lewis met Roller twice at Lexington. In the first match last spring the physician was the winner in straight falls, the first fall being won on a toe hold in 52 minutes and the second in 1 1/2 minutes.

In their second meeting, on Sept. 18, Lewis turned the tables by winning the match in one fall, when Roller's ribs cracked from the famous scissors across the body hold. Demetral won one match from Lewis, but in the second Lewis was the victor.
____________________________________________

C.A.A.'S BEST BOUT GOES TO ED LEWIS

(reprinted from Chicago Sunday Tribune, 11-30-13)

By Hammerlock

Ed Lewis added another victory to his string last night when he won from Jack Sajatovic of Belgium in the feature bout of the wrestling show at the Chicago Athletic Association. Lewis showed great cleverness and gained many additional admirers by his sportsmanlike attitude toward his opponent.

The first time the pair came on the mat it was evident the match would develop a tussle, as Sajatovic proved himself a finished wrestler. He broke many holds clamped on him by Lewis, and on several occasions had the Kentuckian on the defensive.

After they had been wrestling for about fifteen minutes Lewis secured a wicked hammerlock, from which the Belgian was unable to escape. The hold injured Sajatovic's shoulder so badly that he had to give up, but Lewis refused to accept a fall, and Referee Smith called time. When the two returned to the mat later Lewis kept away from the Belgian's injured shoulder, and in 12:30 threw Sajatovic with an arm scissors and wrist lock.

Other results: Polly Grimm, northwestern champ, threw Roughhouse Anderson in the time of 6:37. Charles Challenger, "the Mysterious Conductor," won from Jack Koleman in straight falls. The Mysterious Horseshoer met Marty Cutler in "a hippodrome match" and defeated him in 11:02 with a waistlock. Red O'Brien threw Lionel Armstrong in straight falls. _____________________________________________

ZBYSZKO VS. LEWIS

For the Championship of the World Purse of $20,000 and Diamond Belt

Catch-as-catch-can--Best Two Falls in Three Pin Falls Only to Count--Strangle Hold Barred

Positively the Greatest Mat Contest of All Times

Scale of Prices--Ringside A, $11.00; Ringside B, $8.25; Arena, $5.50. Boxes, Nos. 18, 20, 22, 24, 19, 21, 23, 25, $11.00, $8.25 and $5.50. Parquet, C and D, $5.50; Parquet, A, B and E, $4.40. Stage Seats, $3.30. First and Second Rows Balcony, $3.30; Rest of Balcony, $2.20. All seats include war tax. Where to Order--Dockum Drug Co. No. 1, Phone Market 6471, Wichita, Kansas--Make Reservations Now--Seat Sale Opens Tuesday, February 14

FORUM, FRIDAY NIGHT, MARCH 3, Wichita, Kansas

(advertisement reprinted from February 11, 1922) _____________________________________________

STRANGLER LEWIS, WRESTLER, DEAD (8-8-66)

(reprinted from the New York Times)

MUSKOGEE, Okla., Aug. 7 (AP) -- Ed (Strangler) Lewis, a wrestler who parlayed bulging muscles, a nasty headlock, a frightening name and a talent for publicity into ring earnings of more than $4 million, died here today at the Veterans Administration Hospital. He was 76 years old.

Mr. Lewis, whose real name was Robert H. Friedrich, was blind and poor in his last years, but he said of his afflictions: "This is just another test to prove the allness, the omnipotence of God. I'm going through a beautiful experience."

IN THE RING AT 14

As musicians are born with perfect pitch and sharpshooters with perfect eyesight, Ed Lewis was born with a perfect wrestler's body. In 1904, at the age of 14, he carried his 200-pound frame into a wrestling ring in Madison, Wis., and won his first professional victory.

He had taken the name of Lewis, as a form of disguise, because his parents did not approve of wrestling. The Strangler part of the name was given him two years later by a Chicago Tribune reporter who saw in the formidable youth a resemblance to a famous old mat champion called the Strangler.

As the youth matured, he grew, adding more muscle to his large-boned frame, until, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was climbing into the ring at weights of 260 and 270 pounds. His neck was said to be larger than some men's thighs, measuring 21 inches around. Ordinary neckties did not fit him; he had his made at least eight inches longer than the normal necktie.

The heavyweight wrestling title was as legitimate as the kingship of Graustark, but for what it was worth, Lewis was said to have won it five times, the first time in 1920 in a match with Joe Stecher at the 71st Regiment Armory in New York.

FIVE AND A HALF HOURS IN THE RING

That was not the first time they had climbed into a ring together. On Independence Day of 1916, in Omaha, they fought what may have been the longest wrestling match on record, going five and a half hours to a draw. Stecher was the inventor of the scissors-hold and was a formidable opponent.

The man who took the title from Lewis finally was Gus Sonnenberg, a former Dartmouth football star. It was in 1932 (sic) and it marked the end of an era. Sonnenberg developed the flying tackle, a free adaptation from his football experience, and is said to have started wrestling down the road to showmanship and away from serious tests of strength, agility and cunning.

But long before that Lewis achieved worldwide fame and wealth through judicious use of publicity and an unusual hold. His headlock caused riots of protests from angry fans; it was declared unfair by the Illinois Athletic Commission, and the New York State Assembly tried to legislate it out of existence.

Lewis' adeptness at holding the headlines was proved in 1922 when he declared to the sports writers of America that wrestling was superior to boxing. He then challenged Jack Dempsey, the world heavyweight champion, to a mixed match to the finish. The dispute was fought, after a fashion, in the newspaper columns, but the two champions never squared off against each other in a ring.

CONDEMNED NEW STYLE

In 1937, returning to the United States after a tour around the world, Lewis declared that he was quitting the ring. He condemned what he called the new style of "slambang wrestling" as "terrible and awful" and said: "If you put on a good scientific match, they (the wrestling fans) walked out. They want to see slamming."

But there were many codas to Lewis' ring career, and he continued to wrestle after his announced retirement. His last match was in Honolulu in 1947.

By his own record-keeping, Lewis appeared in more than 6,200 matches and lost only 33. At the peak of his fame, in the golden age of sports in the 1920s, he was ranked with Babe Ruth, Bill Tilden, Bobby Jones and Dempsey.

So great was Lewis' drawing power that he was able to demand $125,000 guarantees to perform. By his own admission, he squandered most of the money he earned.

Lewis later turned to other endeavors, becoming a restaurant operator, a rancher and athletic director of a health club. He also tried the moves, and acted in such films as "Stranglehold" and "That Natzy Nuisance."

Lewis twice suffered blindness. He lost his sight after a siege of trachoma early in his career but recovered and credited the recovery to prayer. He became deeply religious in the 1940s and said later that faith had enabled him to sustain his life after he was again stricken with blindness.

"I have come to realize a true sense of values through this tribulation," he said.

(ED. NOTE--For a man who spent more than a half-century in the glare of the public spotlight, the above obituary is remarkably littered with error. His full name was Robert Herman Julius Friedrich. The last name evolved, during his youth, from Friedrich, to Friedrichs, to Friedricks, and several other variations.)

"I began as a professional at age 14," Lewis told Portland Oregonian sports columnist L.H. Gregory not long before his death. "I weighed, believe it or not, 195! I was put on against one of the great old veterans, Fred Beell. What he did to me that night! Among other things something to my neck which made my head hang down on one side -- how ashamed I was of that, and scared, too; for a year I was very wary of wrestling. Then I took it up again in dead earnest to learn about some of the things Beell had shown me."

For an article printed July 22, 1956, in the Los Angeles Times, Lewis told the paper's Dan L. Thrapp that he began wrestling the farm boys back in Wisconsin when he was 13 and weighed 194 pounds "and he has been taking on all comers ever since."

Arthur Mann, in the August 1961 issue of Sport magazine, tells us "Bob Friedrichks (originally spelled Friedrichs) (was born) on June 30, 1891, in Nekoosa, a Wisconsin River settlement numbering a few hundred people, many of whom were Chippewa Indians. He was the second of four children, the only son, of Jacob Friedricks, who dealt big in Wisconsin lumber."
_______________________________________________

The WAWLI Papers # 027...

WRESTLING TACTICS HAVE KILLED THE GAME

(reprinted from Tacoma, Wash., News Tribune)

SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 (1917) -- Several efforts have been made of late by wrestling promoters to bring the game back into the favor that it occupied until some months ago, when the tactics of both wrestlers and promoters caused a big falling off in the attendance.

The last attempt of this character was staged in a match between Strangler Ed Lewis and Wladek Zbyszko. While the two heavyweights did all that was expected of them and put up an interesting contest, a wrangle between the promoters over financial matters delayed the start of the match and kept the audience waiting for more than two hours.

Recriminations followed in the trail of this match between between the so-called partners in the venture, and who, if anyone, will undertake to finance and stage another match here is still being argued. _____________________________________________

GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, RESULTS FROM 1936

Promoter: Bill Root

Jan. 1--Pat Meehan drew Rudy Skarda, Rob Roy def Mickey McGuire, Hugh Adams def Billy Spendlove, Sammy Evans, Jacques Eku, Bob Cummings & Eddie Meyers eliminted

Jan. 8--Pat Meehan def Rudy Skarda DQ, Roy Roy def Hugh Adams, Bob Cummings drew Klem Kusek, Benny Greenfield def Betty Bushey

Jan. 15--Billy Spendlove def Roy Roy, Eddie Meyers def Jacques Eku, Pat Meehan drew Jack Rogers, Betty Bushey def Art Belcher

Jan. 22--Pat Meehan def Rudy Skarda, Eddie Meyers def Tex Hager, Hugh Adams def Betty Bushey, Horace Barber drew Hal (Ole) Erickson

Jan. 29--Rudy Skarda def Jack Rogers DQ, Bob Cummings def Mickey McGuire, Tex Hager def Eddie Meyers, Billy Spendlove, Rob Roy and Klem Kusek eliminated

Feb. 5--Pat Meehan def Jack Rogers, Bob Cummings def Rob Roy, Hugh Adams drew Tex Hager, Eddie Meyers drew Mickey McGuire

Feb. 12--Tex Hager def Klem Kusek DQ, Bob Cummings def Rob Roy DQ, Billy Spendlove def Mickey McGuire, Eddie Meyers def Jacques Eku, Hager def Meyers, Cummings def Spendlove, Cummings def Hager (won 1-night tournament)

Feb. 19--Mickey McGuire def Art Belcher, Bob Cummings def Billy Spendlove, Roy Roy def Leonard Jorgenson, Pat Meehan def Jack Rogers

Feb. 26--Otis Clingman def Mickey McGuire, Bob Cummings def Tex Hager, Billy Spendlove def Art Belcher, Horace Barber drew Rob Roy

Mar. 4--Bob Cummings def Klem Kusek, Otis Clingman def Eddie Meyers, Pat Meehan drew Rudy Skarda, Billy Spendlove def Leonard Jorgenson

Mar. 11--Otis Clingman def Eddie Meyers, Rob Roy def Art Belcher, Tex Hager drew Mickey McGuire, Rudy Skarda, Billy Spendlove & Bob Cummings eliminated

Mar. 18--Bob Cummings def Billy Spendlove (won Montana middleweight title), Beanpole Larry drew Pat Meehan, Mickey McGuire def Rob Roy, John Demchuk def Horace Barber

Mar. 25--Bob Cummings def Jacques Eku, John Demchuk def Tex Hager, Benny Greenfield def Betty Bushey, Beanpole Larry drew Rudy Skarda

Apr. 1--Bob Cummings def Eddie Meyers, Rudy Skarda def Beanpole Larry, Phil Olson def Pat Meehan, John Demchuk drew Klem Kusek

Apr. 8--Bob Cummings drew Eddie Meyers, Hugh Adams def John Demchuk, Phil Olson def Beanpole Larry, Jacques Eku def Rob Roy DQ

Apr. 15--Billy Spendlove def Rob Roy, Bob Cummings def John Demchuk, Phil Olson drew Rudy Skarda, Beanpole Larry drew Emil van Velzer

Apr. 22--Bob Cummings def Billy Spendlove, Rudy Skarda def Phil Olson DQ, Jacques Eku drew Klem Kusek, Art Belcher drew Tex Hager

Apr. 29--Mickey McGuire def Billy Spendlove, Rob Roy def Tex Hager, Phil Holson drew Bill Root, John Demchuk, Eddie Meyers, Len Jorgenson eliminated

May 6--Phil Olson def Rudy Skarda, Mickey McGuire def John Demchuk, Eddie Meyers drew Rob Roy, Tex Hager drew Billy Spendlove

May 13--Eddie Meyers def Rob Roy, Bill Root def Phil Olson, Al Wescott def Jacques Eku, Len Jorgenson drew Klem Kusek

May 20--Mickey McGuire def Eddie Meyers, Al Wescott def Hugh Adams, Bob Cummings def Art Belcher, Horace Barber drew John Demchuk

May 27--Bob Cummings def Mickey McGuire, Al Westcott def Billy Spendlove, Jack Brentano drew Rob Roy, John Demchuk drew Emil Van Velzer

June 3--Al Wescott def Klem Kusek, Jack Brentano def Rob Roy DQ, Sammy Evans drew Mickey McGuire, Bob Cummings def Tiger Miller

June 10--Al Wescott def Rob Roy, Billy Spendlove def Tiger Miller, Sammy Evans def John Demchuk

June 17--Bob Cummings def Al Wescott, Sammy Evans drew Rob Roy, Gus Johnston def Klem Kusek, Hugh Adams def Art Belcher

June 24--Gus Johnston def Billy Spendlove, Al Wescott def Sammy Evans, Rob Roy def Hugh Adams, Mickey McGuire def John Demchuk, Jack Brentano drew Tex Hager

July 1--Gus Johnson drew Rob Roy, Hugh Adams def Tiger Miller DQ, Sammy Evans def Klem Kusek, Billy Spendlove def Jack Brentano, John Demchuk def Art Belcher

July 8--Gus Johnson def Sammy Evans, John Demchuk drew Rob Roy, The Bat def Hugh Adams, Art Belcher drew Jack Brentano, Mickey McGuire def Billy Spendlove

July 15--Gus Johnson def Rob Roy, Klem Kusek def John Demchuk, The Bat def Mickey McGuire, Al Wescott def Tiger Miller, Art Belcher drew Tex Hager

July 22--The Bat def Klem Kusek, Gus Johnson drew Al Wescott, Mickey McGuire def Sammy Evans, Tiger Miller def Tex Hager, Hugh Adams drew Jack Brentano

July 29--The Bat def Rob Roy, Klem Kusek def Al Wescott, Mickey McGuire def Sammy Evans, Tiger Miller def Tex Hager, Hugh Adams drew Jack Brentano

Aug. 6--The Bat def Bob Cummings

Aug. 7--Lord Lansdowne def The Bat

Aug. 8--Lord Lansdowne drew Jack Reynolds

Aug. 12--Lord Lansdowne def Mickey McGuire, Bob Cummings def The Bat, Klem Kusek def Art Belcher, Hugh Adams def Billy Spendlove

Aug. 19--Lord Lansdowne def Bob Cummings, Al Wescott def Klem Kusek DQ, Tex Hager def Darby Milnick, Rob Roy def Benny Wilson

Aug. 26--Klem Kusek def John Demchuk DQ, Rob Roy def Billy Spendlove, Al Wescott def Hugh Adams, Jack Brentano def Darby Milnick

Sept. 2--Eddie Meyers def Bob Cummings, Klem Kusek def Hugh Adams, John Demchuk drew Al Wescott, Mickey McGuire drew Benny Wilson

Sept. 9--Martino Angelo def Mickey McGuire, Al Wescott def Rob Roy, Art Belcher drew Jack Brentano, John Demchuk def Benny Wilson

Sept. 16--Martino Angelo def Hugh Adams, Al Wescott def Rob Roy, Jack Brentano drew Mickey McGuire, Tex Hager drew Jack Smith

Sept. 23--Martino Angelo def Rob Roy, Eddie Meyers NC Al Wescott, Tex Hager def Leonard Jorgenson

Sept. 30--Otis Clingman def Rob Roy, Martino Angelo def Al Wescott, Buck Weaver def Tex Hager

Oct. 7--Martino Angelo def Otis Clingman, Buck Weaver def Hugh Adams, Rob Roy def Jack Smith

Oct. 14--Buck Weaver def Martino Angelo, Otis Clingman def Al Wescott, Jacques Eku def Rob Roy

Oct. 21--Martino Angelo def Eddie Meyers, Buck Weaver def Mickey McGuire, Leonard Jorgenson drew Rob Roy, Jacques Eku def Al Wescott

Oct. 28--Otis Clingman def Martino Angelo, Buck Weaver def John Demchuk, Roughhouse Ross def Jack Smith, Art Belcher drew Jacques Eku

Nov. 4--Martino Angelo def John Demchuk, Jack Eku def Billy Matthews, Art Belcher drew Alvin Sams, Mickey McGuire, Otis Clingman & Roughhouse Ross eliminated

Nov. 11--Otis Clingman drew Buck Weaver, Eddie Meyers def Martino Angelo, Klem Kusek def Alvin Sams, Roughhouse Ross def Jacques Eku

Nov. 18--Otis Clingman drew Buck Weaver, Klem Kusek def Jacques Eku, Tex Hager def Jack Brentano, Cyclone Franco drew Eddie Meyers

Nov. 24--Otis Clingman def Gus Johnson, Cyclone Franco def Jacques Eku, Klem Kusek def Billy Matthews, Leonard Jorgenson def Alvin Sams

Dec. 2--Otis Clingman def Klem Kusek, Gus Johnson def Buck Weaver, Martino Angelo def Cyclone Franco

Dec. 9--Ike Cazzell def Gus Johnson, Otis Clingman def Cyclone Franco, Buck Weaver def Tex Hager

Dec. 16--Buck Weaver def Eddie Meyers, Otis Clingman def Ike Cazzell DQ, Gus Johnson def Cyclone Franco

Dec. 23--Ike Cazzell def Otis Clingman, Buck Weaver def Leonard Jorgenson, Cyclone Franco drew Tex Hager

Dec. 30--Eddie Meyers def Tex Hager, Otis Clingman drew Buck Weaver, Ike Cazzell def Cyclone Franco
_________________________________________

MEMPHIS, TENNESEE, RESULTS FROM 1938

Feb. 21--Lou Thesz def Willie Davis, Dorve Roche def Red Ryan, George Clark def Angelo Cistoldi DQ

Feb. 28--Steve Casey def Dorve Roche, Bill Bartush def Mike Strelich, Angelo Cistoldi def Red Ryan

Mar. 7--Ed Don George def Bill Bartush, Dorve Roche drew Angelo Cistoldi, Milo Steinborn drew Joe Marsh

Mar. 21--Lou Thesz def Angelo Cistoldi, Dorve Roche def Alex Baranoff, John Katan drew Bill Bartush

Apr. 4--Abe Coleman def Karl Sarpolis, Pete Baltram def Henry Piers, Ray Eckert drew Ray Villmer

Apr. 11--Abe Coleman def Bill Bartush, Ray Villmer drew Ray Eckert, Pete Baltram def Dobie Osborne

Apr. 18--Steve Casey def Abe Coleman, Ray Villmer def George Ligorsky, Pete Baltram drew Ray Eckert

Apr. 25--Everett Marshall def Cliff Olson, Young Gotch def Alex Beranoff, Pete Baltram def George Ligorsky

May 2--Everett Marshall def Cliff Olson, Lou Thesz drew Dorve Roche, Little Beaver def Ray Eckert

May 9--Lou Thesz def Dorve Roche, Everett Marshall drew Joe Cox, Little Beaver def Jim Wright

May 23--Bob Gregory def Jacques Bernard, Danno O'Mahoney drew Dorve Roche, Lou Thesz drew Ernie Dusek

May 30--Lou Thesz def Ernie Dusek, Bill Bartush def Henry Piers, Pete Baltram def Pat Kelly

June 6--Lou Thesz def Bill Bartush, Frank Sexton def Pete Baltram, Ray Villmer drew Dick Lever

July 11--Lou Thesz def Frank Sexton, Juan Humberto def Babe Zaharias, Red Ryan def George Ligorsky

July 25--Lou Thesz drew Joe Cox, Red Ryan def Bill Bartush, Juan Humberto def Henry Piers

Aug. 8--Lou Thesz def Rudy Strongberg, Joe Cox drew Juan Humberto, Red Ryan def Dick Lever

Aug. 15--Joe Cox drew Juan Humberto, Lou Thesz def Tiny Ruff, Bill Bartush def Marshall Blackstock

Aug. 22--Joe Cox def Angelo Cistoldi, Lou Thesz drew Juan Humberto, Eli Fisher def Chris Zaharias

Aug. 29--Joe Cox def Jim Coffield, Juan Humberto def Joe Marsh, Rudy Strongberg def Ray Villmer

Sept. 26--Joe Cox def Ben Morgan, Juan Humberto drew Harry Kent, Rudy Strongberg drew Fred Carone

Oct. 3--Ali Baba def Frank Foster, Clara Mortenson def Ritz Gomez, Ali Baba def Bill Bartush (Chief Chewaki was scheduled for main event, refunds were offered and 50 percent of the people walked out--which, as the immortal results researcher Uncle Bert Ray appended to these results, "says something about Ali Baba, what?")

Oct. 10--Ali Baba def Rudy Strongberg, Tom Sawyer def Benny Stein, Clara Mortenson def Betty White

Oct. 31--George Zaharias drew Lou Thesz, Tom Sawyer def Mike Stampilis, Whitey Hewitt def Joe Marsh

Nov. 7--Everett Marshall def Ralph Garibaldi, Whitey Hewitt def Mike Stampolis, Allan Eustace def Fred Carone

Nov. 21--Dorve Roche def Tom Sawyer, Bill Bartush drew Nick Grandovitch, Joe Corbett def Tommy Marvin

Nov. 28--George Zaharias def John Katan, Bill Bartush def Joe Corbett, Whitey Hewitt def Mike Antone
_____________________________________________

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, RESULTS FROM 1939

Jan. 5--Joe Gunther def Flash Clifford, Art O'Mahoney def Sid Bromberg, Jack Dillon drew Leo Jenson

Jan. 12--Joe Gunther def Art O'Mahoney, Leo Jenson def Earl Malone, Del Raines def Jack Dillon DQ

Jan. 19--Joe Gunther def Leo Jenson, Charley Keene def Del Raines, Flash Clifford def John Ellis

Jan. 26--Joe Gunther def Flash Clifford, Charley Keene def Earl Malone, Billy Marcus def Jack Dillon

Feb. 2--Leo Jenson def Flash Clifford, Charley Keene drew Art O'Mahony, Billy Marcus def Nick George

Feb. 9--Art O'Mahoney def Leo Jenson, Sid Markus def Charley Keene, John Ellis def Cecil Travis

Feb. 16--Joe Gunther def Joe Wolfe, Clara Mortenson def Mae Harris, Sid Markus def Jack Steele, George Cologne (pro debut) drew Leo Mortenson

Feb. 23--Charley Keene-Jack Steele def Joe Gunther-Sid Markus, Billy Marcus def Red Roberts, George Cologne def Bernard Seely

Mar. 9--Joe Gunther-Fred Knickles def Charley Keene-Jack Steele, Sid Markus def Leo Jenson

Mar. 16--Mildred Burke def Gladys Gillem, Sid Markus def John Ellis, Charley Keene drew Art O'Mahoney

Mar. 23--Art O'Mahoney def Fred Knickles, Tetsuro Higami def Red Roberts, Joe Dillman drew John LaRue

Mar. 30--Joe Dillman def Sid Markus, Tetsuro Higami def Jack Steele, John LaRue def Fred Knickles

Apr. 6--Sid Markus def Charley Keene DQ, John LaRue def Bill Hall, Pete Tripodes def Red Riley

Apr. 13--Joe Gunther-Fred Knickles drew Charley Keene-John LaRue, Tetsuro Higami def Leo Jenson

Apr. 20--Joe Gunther-Maurice LaChappelle def Charley Keene-John LaRue, Tetsuro Higami def Joe Wheeler

Apr. 27--Tetsuro Higami def Fred Knickles, Art O'Mahoney def John LaRue DQ, Pete Ripodes def Bill Hall

May 4--Joe Gunther drew Art O'Mahoney, Pete Tripodes def Leo Jenson, Billy Sandow def Red Roberts DQ

May 11--A Bear def Charley Keene, Tetsuro Higami def Mike Nazarian DQ, Art O'Mahoney drew Roy Welch

May 18--Joe Gunther drew Tetsuro Higami, Billy Fox def Jack Dillon, Sid Markus def Red Ace

May 25--Charlie Keene def Tetsuro Higami DQ, Billy Fox def Red Roberts, Maurice LaChappelle def Walter Miller

June 1--Billy Fox-Art O'Mahoney def Bob Corby-Jack Steele, Buddy Knox def Walter Miller

June 8--A Bear def Charley Keene-Mike Nazarian, Bill Fox def Roy Welch, Bob Corby drew Sid Markus

June 15--Joe Gunther def Buddy Knox, Mildred Burke drew Babe Meyers, Carlos Rodriguez def Art O'Mahoney

June 22--Joe Gunther def Tetsuro Higami, Carlos Rodriguez def Walter Miller, Jim Goodrich drew Al Szasz

June 29--Mildred Burke def Gladys Gillem, Charley Keene def Billy Fox, Larry Tillman def Jim Goodrich DQ
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HARRISBURG, PA., RESULTS FROM 1940

Jan. 3--Orville Brown def Gino Martinelli, Rene LaBelle (Maurice LaChappelle) drew Hans Schwarz, Bad Boy Brown def Wladyslaw Dalski, Primo Delmonte def Juan Olaquivel

Jan. 17--Karol Krauser drew Rene LaBelle, Gino Martinelli drew Hans Schwarz, Bad Boy Brown def Al Norcus, Alex Fabiankovitz def Bobby Brown, Juan Olaquivel def Sammy Cohen

Jan. 31--Dick Shikat def Bad Boy Brown, Hans Schwarz def Karol Krauser, Rene LaBelle def Al Norcus, Michele Leone def Juan Olaquivel

Feb. 15--John Murphy vs. Rene LaBelle (ppd due to bad weather)

Mar. 13--Irish Angel def Michele Leone, Rene LaBelle def Hans Schwarz, Otto Wallick drew Fritz Zigfried, Juan Oliquivel def John Melas

Mar. 26--Zim Zam Zum def Gino Martinelli, Juan Oliquivel def Rene LaBelle, Otto Wallick def Al Norcus, Maurice Boyer drew Fritz Zigfried

Apr. 10--Swedish Angel def Zim Zam Zum, Irish Angel drew Maurice Boyer, Vanka Zelesniak def Otto Wallick, Juan Oliquivel def Waldo Dalski

Apr. 24--Swedish Angel def Irish Angel, Maurice Boyer def Otto Wallick, Kola Kwariani def Juan Oliquivel, Vanka Zelesniak def John Melas

May 8--Swedish Angel def Kola Kwariani, Gino Martinelli def Pat Cavanaugh, Irish Angel def John Melas, Nanjo Singh drew Slovi Kowski

(no cards from June thru October)

Nov. 6--Irish Angel won battle royal over Louis Marino, Zim Zam Zum & Fritz Sigfried, Otto Wallick drew Mendel Singer, Michele Leone drew Fritz Wallick, Swedish Angel def Jesse Apollo

Dec. 11--George Koverly NC Golden Terrork, Elmer (Great) Slagel def Ted Cox, Jack Russell def Billy Watson, Eddie King drew Benny Stein ___________________________________________

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, RESULTS FROM 1941

Promoter: Earl Strick

Jan. 9--Jim Londos def Roy Graham, Don Evans drew Joe Millich, Pete Managoff def Sandy O'Donnell, Tom Mahoney def Jake Patterson (said to be Londos' first match in Erie)

Jan. 18--George Koverly def Bill Longson, Billy Hansen def Roy Graham, Joe Millich vs. Juan Humberto, Frank Taylor vs. Pete Managoff

Jan. 25 -- George Koverly def Bill Longson, Billy Watson vs. Don Evans, Billy Hansen vs. Cy Williams, Joe Millich vs. Frank Taylor

Jan. 30--Nanjo Singh def Bill Longson, John Grandovich def Joe Millich, John Grandovich def Frank Taylor, Billy Watson drew Juan Humberto

Earl Strick withdrew as promoter Feb. 15 and gave up his license which was good to the end of the year. Buffalo was able to draw well with the same wrestlers, but Erie was only getting from 100 to 300 fans per show. _____________________________________________

HELENA, MONTANA, RESULTS FROM 1949

Promoter: Earl Malone

Jan. 11--Frank Marconi def Darna Ostapovich, Cardiff Giant def Rube Wright, Tiny Mills def Pete Kravonick, Pete Ruhl def Sonny Hildenstab

Feb. 26--Jack McDonald def Frank Marconi, Gene Bowman def Emir Badui, Francois Miquet def Earl Malone, Babe Sharkey referee

Mar. 5--Sockeye Jack McDonald def Gene Bowman, Francois Miquet def Stu Hart, Rube Wright drew Babe Sharkey, Tiny Mills referee

Mar. 12--Babe Sharkey won five-man royal over Lou Sjoberg, Dave Ruhl, Tiny Mills and Jack McDonald, Lou Sjoberg def Ruhl, McDonald def Mills, Sjoberg def McDonald DQ, McDoanld def Sharkey

Mar. 19--Sockeye McDonald def Pat McGill DQ (McGill's Montana State Heavyweight Title held up), Stu Hart drew Francois Miquet, Emir Badui def Dave Ruhl

Mar. 25--Sockeye McDonald def Pat McGill, Paul Lorti drew Stu Hart, Lou Sjoberg def Gene Bowman DQ

Apr. 1--Paul Lortie def Jack McDonald, Stu Hart def Chief Thunderbird, Francois Miquet def Dave Ruhl

Apr. 8--Jack McDonald TKO Paul Lorti (7th round, boxing), Stu Hart def Lou Sjoberg, Gene Bowman drew Gil (Guy) Ross

Apr. 22--Lord Albert Mills def Stu Hart, Darna Ostapovich def Tony Verdi, Laverne Baxter def Lou Sjoberg

May 6--Helen Hild def Ellen Olson, Laverne Baxter def Tiger Joe Mash, Stu Hart def Tony Verdi
_________________________________________________

The WAWLI Papers # 028...

1965 RESULTS FROM BURT RAY'S MATMANIA

Oct. 1--PHOENIX--Don Arnold def Luis Martinez, Mad Mongol-Gypsy Biviano drew Tito Montez-Ramon Torres, Tony Manousos def Blas Corona, Frankie Cain def Jess Duran

Oct. 1--OAKLAND TV--Ray Stevens-Pat Patterson def Al Costello-Alex Medina, Bobo Brazil def Buddy Austin, Pedro Godoy NC Eric Froelich

Oct. 1--HOUSTON--Destroyer def Fritz Von Erich, Tiger Conway drew Karl Kox, Red Lyons def Louie Tillet, The Yankees def Kanji Inoki-Ken Hollis, Great Dane def Victor Rivera

Oct. 1--ATLANTA--Fred Blassie def Bob Orton DQ, Nick Kozak def Dutch Savage DQ, Dale Lewis def Bill Dromo, Dick Steinborn def Bob Boyer

Oct. 1--SAN DIEGO--Luke Graham def Luke Brown, Gorilla Monsoon def El Vampiro, Jake Smith def Don Duffy, Pedro Morales drew Nick Bockwinkle, Al Torres def John Vander.

Oct. 2--OMAHA--Larry Henning-Harley Race def Maurice Vachon-Haru Sasaki DQ, Stan Pulaski def Igor Vodik, Danny Hodge def Bob Rader, Billy Red Cloud def Ivan Kalmikoff

Oct. 2--BOSTON--Bruno Sammartino def Bill Miller, Fabulous Moolah def Bette Boucher, Miguel Perez-Argentine Apollo def Clyde Steeves-Angelo Savoldi

Oct. 4--OMAHA TV--Billy Red Cloud def Rader, Pulaski def Chris Belkas, Sasaki def Joe Millich, Hodge-Reg Parks def Jerry Owens-Claude Patterson

Oct. 4--PHOENIX--Tito Montez-Ray Torres def Kenny Yates-Corona, Medina drew Chuck Karbo, Cain drew Frank Zomar, Mark Starr drew Manousos