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 o ...
, 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 ci ...
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 in 1 ...
.
He began wrestling in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
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 The NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling singles title defended in Johnny Doyle's NWA Los Angeles from 1951 to 1959. The title was defended in the same area during the 1960s under promoters Gene and Mi ...
.
[ 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 p ...
as Crybaby Cannon in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
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
Mikel Scicluna (July 29, 1929 – March 20, 2010) was a Maltese professional wrestler who gained his fame during the 1960s and 1970s. He reached the peak of his success in WWWF where he was 2-time tag-team champion, having held the United S ...
.
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 world' ...
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 th ...
.[ 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 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 Eddie Einhorn (January 3, 1936 – February 24, 2016) was minority owner and vice chairman of the Chicago White Sox.
Biography
Einhorn grew up in a Jewish family in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Mae (née Lippman) and Harold B. Einhorn and resi ...
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 pub ...
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 souther ...
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 vario ...
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 w ...
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. Unlike ...
.
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 b ...
on July 1, 1994, at the age of 62.[
]
Championship and accomplishments
*NWA Los Angeles
NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...
**NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship The NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling singles title defended in Johnny Doyle's NWA Los Angeles from 1951 to 1959. The title was defended in the same area during the 1960s under promoters Gene and Mi ...
( 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 f ...
( 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 Elliot ...
)
*''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 Publish ...
''
**Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to:
* Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award
* League Managers Association Manager of the Year
* Premier League Manager of the Season
The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...
(1975)
See also
*List of professional wrestling promoters
This is a list of professional wrestling promoters in the United States.
Pioneer-era (1900s–1940s)
This section lists notable professional wrestling promoters, especially those of the "Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch and "Gold Dust Trio"-eras, act ...
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