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Abe Jacobs
Abe Jacobs (born June 18, 1928) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler. He was one of the first men to follow fellow New Zealander Pat O'Connor to the United States where, like O'Connor, Jacobs became a major star in the National Wrestling Alliance during the " Golden Age of Wrestling". One of the most recognisable "babyfaces" during this period, he was billed as the "Jewish Heavyweight Champion" and wrestled in a number of high-profile matches with many stars of the era including numerous bouts against NWA World Heavyweight Champions Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski, Buddy Rogers, Dick Hutton and Pat O'Connor. His bout against O'Connor in 1961, which aired on Capitol Wrestling's weekly television show, was the first time two New Zealanders wrestled for a championship title on foreign soil. Jacobs was also an established journeyman wrestler, touring Europe and Japan on several occasions, travelling around the world 4 times and wrestling over 8,000 matches in his 30-year car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Von Erich
David Alan Adkisson (July 22, 1958 – February 10, 1984) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name David Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich Family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling, the Dallas, Texas-based professional wrestling promotion owned by his father, Fritz Von Erich.Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.129) Von Erich was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. Early life David was named after his mother Doris' brother David, who had died only months before David Von Erich was born in 1958. Doris' brother David (real name Eugene David Smith) had died of a brain tumor at 14. David, along with brothers Kevin and Kerry, loved to hunt and fish with their father; Fritz. Hunting on the Von Erich ranch was quite an event. Many of their relatives and friends would join in and sometimes the hunting group would be 20 or more. WCCW Referee David Manning and WCCW Announcer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NWA Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ''Florida Championship Wrestling''. When Mike Graham tried a return to promoting, the rights to the name had been acquired by an outside party, forcing him to use another name, ''Florida Championship Wrestling''. History Founding The original owner and promoter was "Cowboy" Clarence Preston Luttrall, a former journeyman heel wrestler who once fought a widely publicized boxing match, resulting from a wrestling angle, with a forty-something Jack Dempsey. It worked but Cowboy took a severe beating. Cowboy opened the office in 1949, and Eddie Graham bought into the promotion in 1961, then took over completely in 1971, because of health reasons with Cowboy. The office was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance during the entire CWF era, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promotion emerged as a cornerstone of the National Wrestling Alliance. By the 1980s, Jim Crockett Promotions was, along with the World Wrestling Federation, one of the two largest promotions in the United States. The Crockett family sold a majority interest in the promotion to Turner Broadcasting System, which was acquired by Time Warner (later became WarnerMedia from 2018–2022, now known as Warner Bros. Discovery) in 1996, resulting in the creation of World Championship Wrestling from 1988. History Early history (1935–1952) Jim Crockett (1909–1973) was a promoter of live events including professional wrestling, music concerts, plays, minor league baseball, and ice hockey. In 1935, he founded his own professional wrestling promotion, Jim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Crockett
James Allen Crockett Sr. (June 2, 1909 – April 1, 1973) was a professional wrestling promoter and professional sports franchise owner sometimes known as Jim Crockett Sr., or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim". Early life Crockett was born on June 2, 1909 in Bristol, Virginia, to Charles Sampson Crockett (1878-1960) and Josie E. (Berry) Crockett. As a youth, he became a fan of pro wrestling, which had thrived during the 1920s with such grapplers as Strangler Lewis and Joe Stecher dominating the scene. Career Professional wrestling In the early 1930s, a dispute arose over the bookings of new wrestling sensation Jim Londos, so New York City promoter Jack Curley negotiated an alliance between various regional managers that enabled Londos to travel the country as champion while allowing the promoters to share profits evenly across the regions. As a result of this arrangement, new wrestling "territories" emerged across the U.S., and in 1935, a 25-year-old Crockett, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luther Lindsay
Luther Jacob Goodall (December 30, 1924 – February 21, 1972) was an American professional football player and wrestler, known by his ringname Luther Lindsay or Lindsey, who competed throughout the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, Joint Promotions and Stampede Wrestling. One of the first African American wrestlers to become a major star, he was extremely popular in the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic territory. A frequent rival and tag team partner of Shag Thomas, he also teamed with Bearcat Wright, Nick Bockwinkel, Pepper Gomez and was involved in feuds with "Iron" Mike DiBiase, Mad Dog Vachon, Beauregarde, Moondog Mayne, Tony Borne and Pat Patterson and The Hangman. For much of the early 1950s and '60s, Lindsay was billed as the U.S. Colored (or Negro) Heavyweight Champion and took part in the first interracial professional wrestling matches held in the United States. Between 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man Mountain Mike
Gary Fletcher, (September 15, 1940 – April 30, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who was best known by his ring name, Man Mountain Mike. Career Fletcher was discovered by Al Lovelock, who wrestled as The Great Bolo. Lovelock trained Fletcher as a wrestler, and Fletcher made his wrestling debut in 1967 for American Wrestling Association. He wrestled as a tag team with Haystacks Calhoun, who also weighed over 600 pounds. Their combined weight was over 1200 pounds in the ring. Mike was wrestling with "Iron" Mike DiBiase on July 2, 1969 in Lubbock, Texas, when DiBiase suffered a fatal heart attack in the ring during the match. DiBiase was pronounced dead at the hospital. DiBiase's death was not related to professional wrestling; he died as a result of high cholesterol. Mike later wrestled in British Columbia, where he had a series of matches against Don Leo Jonathan in 1970 and 1971. Mike wrestled for Championship Wrestling from Florida in the early 1970s. He particip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klondike Bill
William Soloweyko (December 1, 1931 – October 3, 2000), better known by his ring name Klondike Bill, was a Canadian professional wrestler. Trained by Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he wrestled in various National Wrestling Alliance territories throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before moving onto World Championship Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Bill was trained by Stu Hart in the famous Dungeon in Calgary. He began his career wrestling as Bill "The Brute" Soloweyko in Hart's local promotion, Stampede Wrestling before moving on to other territories. During his career he formed various tag teams with wrestlers such as Whipper Billy Watson and Skull Murphy. He performed in WWWF in 1964. Under the name Klondike Bill, he was hired by Jim Crockett during the 1970s to build guard rails and rings for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and was also a road agent for World Championship Wrestling. During the late 1990s, Bill was involved in a storyline that saw Eric Bisch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sailor Art Thomas
Arthur Thomas (January 30, 1924 – March 20, 2003), better known as Sailor Art Thomas or Seaman Art Thomas, was an American Merchant Mariner, bodybuilder, and professional wrestler. A former WWA World Heavyweight Champion, Thomas was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. Early life Thomas was born in Gurdon, Arkansas, as the son of Alfred and Jessie (Lunon) Thomas. In 1935, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin. After his mother's death he was raised in a Wisconsin orphanage and in foster homes. Military career Thomas spent 27 months in the United States Merchant Marine. Serving in a construction battalion, Thomas helped build an airstrip in Guam. Professional wrestling career After leaving the Merchant Marine, Thomas worked for Greyhound Lines before becoming a professional bodybuilder. After joining a bodybuilding troupe, he began touring the United States. After being spotted by promoter Jimmy Demetral, Thomas trained as a professional wrestler. He made h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonino Rocca
Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 1995 and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996. Professional wrestling career As a soccer and rugby player when he moved to Argentina before World War II, Rocca was known for his unique, acrobatic, off-the-ground, flying wrestling style. He began his American professional wrestling career in the late 1940s in Texas. He had been trained by former World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Stanislaus Zbyszko in Argentina. In the early 1950s, he held two regionally recognized World Heavyweight Championships while still headlining nationwide, frequently in territories where other wrestlers were the recognized champions. Capitol Wrestling Corporation/World Wide Wrestling Federation (1949–1976) In 1949, Rocca started wres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pez Whatley
Pezavan Whatley (January 10, 1951 – January 18, 2005) was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with NWA Mid-America. Professional wrestling career Whatley played football and wrestled for Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). He was UTC's first African-American wrestler. Whatley started wrestling in 1973 after a brief career as a power lifter. He wrestled with the (original) Sheik's Big Time Wrestling, after which he wrestled primarily in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. While in Georgia Championship Wrestling, he had a memorable angle on television, where he was confronted by the Junkyard Dog, before a match against Buzz Sawyer. JYD slapped Whatley in the face, enraging him enough to pin Sawyer twice in a single episode of World Championship Wrestling. While in Ga, Whatley had a feud with Paul Ellering's Legion Of Doom that included matches against Jake "The Snake" Roberts. He also had a mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NWA Western States Tag Team Championship
The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title was in use from 1969, when it replaced Amarillo's version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship, through the promotion's 1981 closure. The title was revived on July 15, 2014, by Vendetta Pro Wrestling when they joined the NWA. The Vendetta Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions at the time, Shane and Shannon Ballard, were recognized as the NWA Western States Tag Team Champions, and since then, the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Tag Team title belts have represented the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. On September 30, 2016, The Twisted Sisterz (the team of Holidead and Thunder Rosa) defeated Alexander G. Bernard and Jimi Mayhem for the title to become the first team of women to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. On Octo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haystacks Calhoun
William Dee Calhoun (August 3, 1934 – December 7, 1989) was an American professional wrestler, who used the professional name "Haystack" or "Haystacks" Calhoun. Early life Born on August 3, 1934, William Dee Calhoun grew up on a farm in McKinney, Texas; a rural suburb located in Collin County about north of Dallas. By age 14, he already weighed , as he routinely ate a dozen eggs for breakfast. By the time he was in his early 20s, Calhoun weighed over . Legend has it that Calhoun was discovered by a traveling wrestling promoter that saw him pick up and move cows across a field. Calhoun first broke into wrestling in 1955 and he began competing for local promoter Orville Brown. Professional wrestling career Initially performing under the name "Country Boy Calhoun", he performed in various regional territories, including Houston, Kansas City, and Canada. However, he first appeared nationally on Art Linkletter's ''House Party'', a televised variety show where Calhoun to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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