George Arnold McCarther (March 28, 1932 – July 1, 1994), better known as George "Crybaby" Cannon, was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, best known as the manager of the Fabulous Kangaroos.

Professional wrestling career

Prior to beginning his wrestling career, Cannon spent some time in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded i ...

. He began wrestling in Japan in 1953. He wrestled for a while in Canada beginning in 1955, left for a time, and returned for good in 1959. Cannon got the nickname "Crybaby" from his ability to wipe sweat from his face, making it look as though he were weeping. In 1968, Cannon won a tournament to win the NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship. Also that year, he wrestled in the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

as Crybaby Cannon in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and the Northeast where he fought against

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyw ...

, Virgil the Kentucky Butcher,

Toru Tanaka Charles J. Kalani Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and martial artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, o ...

, and Baron Mikel Scicluna. He hosted a weekly variety show on KTLA-TV in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

from 1968 to 1970, when he returned to Canada. Cannon got his big break when he became the manager of the Fabulous Kangaroos, predominantly for The Sheik's promotion in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. As a manager, he often came to the ring wearing a battle helmet and a ring jacket emblazoned across the back in large capital letters with the phrase "I am right", with "cannon" above that. The team feuded with

The Stomper Archibald Edward Gouldie (November 22, 1936 – January 23, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of ...

and Ben Justice in a storyline in which the Kangaroos supposedly broke The Stomper's leg. The teams feuded for two years, during which The Stomper continually tried to get revenge by attacking Cannon. Cannon worked for the American-based International Wrestling Association run by Eddie Einhorn in 1975. McCarther performed many duties, including wrestling, managing wrestlers (including The Mongols), and

booking Booking may refer to: * Making an appointment for a meeting or gathering, as part of event planning/scheduling * The intake or admission process into a prison or psychiatric facility. * ''Booking'' (manhwa), a Korean comics anthology magazine ...

events. Cannon was also involved in several other areas of wrestling, including publishing magazines and hosting a wrestling television show taped in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

called '' Superstars of Wrestling'', which was nationally syndicated throughout Canada during the early 1980s. He later partnered with

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

owner

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

but later became unable to continue his duties due to

phlebitis Phlebitis (or Venitis) is inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs. It most commonly occurs in superficial veins. Phlebitis often occurs in conjunction with thrombosis and is then called thrombophlebitis or superficial thrombophlebitis. Unlik ...

Death

McCarther died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

on July 1, 1994, at the age of 62.

Championship and accomplishments

* NWA Los Angeles ** NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship ( 1 time) **

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship ...

( 1 time) – (with

Freddie Blassie Frederick Kenneth Blassman (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Ellio ...

) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** Manager of the Year (1975)

References

External links

Article on Gary Will's Canadian Wrestling Page of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, George 1932 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Canadian people Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers in the United States Canadian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling executives Professional wrestling managers and valets Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Montreal Professional wrestling promoters Deaths from cancer 20th-century professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Montreal NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champions NWA Americas Tag Team Champions

Professional wrestling career

Death

Championship and accomplishments

See also

References

External links