Danny McShain (October 30, 1912 – July 14, 1992) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He competed in the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Early life

McShain was born on October 30, 1912, in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. He made his professional wrestling debut in

on October 30, 1930. McShain later joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, where he excelled as a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and won several championships.

Professional wrestling career

McShain's family moved to

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, where he competed for the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA). He won his first championship, the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship, on October 11, 1937. Over the next ten years, he held the title another nine times. He later moved to

Alvin, Texas Alvin is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city population was 27,098. Alvin's claim to fame is Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, ...

, where he continued to compete for the NWA. He won the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on ten occasions between in 1948 and 1960 by defeating such wrestlers as

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 ...

and

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

. On November 19, 1951, he also defeated Gagne to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. In 1954, McShain won the

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The cham ...

with partner Oyama Kato while competing for the Midwest Wrestling Association in Ohio. After his retirement, McShain worked as a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

in Texas.

Ring style

McShain wrestled as a "tough guy"; he proudly advertised his list of injuries to demonstrate the amount of punishment his body could take. He was also known for blading, as he often cut his own forehead during matches to draw blood. McShain was a stiff worker, as he put legitimate force behind his punches and made contact with his opponents rather than pretending to hit them. He used a piledriver as one of his ring moves, in which he would hold his opponents upside-down and then drop them head-first to the ring floor. McShain attributed the piledriver to the deaths of two opponents. McShain used a cocky strut to anger opponents and spectators. His brother-in-law Donn Lewin stated that the strut was so arrogant that it "made you want to kill him" and that he walked the same way in real life. McShain was arrested once after starting a riot by spitting tobacco juice from his trademark cigar on an opponent. His behavior was considered so inappropriate that he was summoned to appear in front of the Texas Gaming Commission. He was also the subject of another inquiry, as he changed the pre-planned outcome of a bout midway through the match. Because there was a championship on the line and two promoters were arguing over the wrestling territory in which the match took place, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

became involved. The match was the origin of the rule used in many promotions that prevents a title belt from changing hands when the match ends with a disqualification. Following his end to in ring action he worked as a referee in Houston.

Personal life

In a match against

Donn Lewin Donn Lewin (April 1, 1926 – December 18, 2010) was an American professional wrestler, marine and tropical fish breeder. Early life Lewin was born on April 1, 1926, and grew up in Buffalo, New York, where he attended Lafayette High School. M ...

, McShain broke Lewin's nose. Shortly thereafter, Lewin's father invited McShain to dinner. McShain met Donn's sister Sallee, whom he later married. McShain appeared in the 1949 movie The Inspector General, as well as several other films.

Championships and accomplishments

*Midwest Wrestling Association **MWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) * National Wrestling Association ** NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship ( 10 times) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by N ...

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Southwest Sports, Inc. ** NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship ( 7 times)* ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' ( 6 times) :* NWA World Tag Team Championship ( 6 times) - with Joe Christie *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

**(

Class of 2010 The 2010 general election took place on 6 May 2010 and saw each of Parliament's 650 constituencies return one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons. Parliament, which consists of the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, ...

) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' :* Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ( Class of 1996) ¹McShain won the title once just briefly before the formation of the

when the title was simply referred to as the Texas Heavyweight Championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McShain, Danny 1912 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Arkansas Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Sportspeople from Glendale, California People from Alvin, Texas 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version) WCWA Brass Knuckles Champions