Gustav Kallio (May 17, 1891 – March 2, 1962) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

born

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 ...

known under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Gus Kallio or Gust Kallio. Kallio's wrestling career peaked in the 1920s and 1930s where he was known as the "King of the Welterweights" and later on "King of the Middleweights" as he held multiple world titles in those two weight divisions.

Biography

Gustav Kallio was born a
August Hassinen
in 1891 in Karttula, Finland. He immigrated to the United States with his brother Issac Hassinen in 1913 when both were in their early 20s. Issac moved on to Canada, while Gus stayed in the US wrestling under the name Gus Kallio.

Professional wrestling career

Kallio was about 15 years old when Kallio and his father attended a professional wrestling event that featured

Billy Sandow Wilhelm Baumann (September 4, 1884 – September 15, 1972), better known as Billy Sandow, was an American professional wrestler and promoter. Biography Sandow is best remembered as the manager of professional wrestler Ed "Strangler" Lewis and a ...

, a successful middleweight wrestler that participated in

Barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

tours. Seeing the success of the relatively small Sandow inspired Kallio to become a wrestler himself. Kallio made his debut in 1916 under the name "Gus Kallio" (some placed he was billed as "Gust Kallio") and began competing in the Welterweight division, a weight class with a top weight limit of . Kallio's conditioning earned him the nickname "the Finnish strong boy". On October 3, 1921, Kallio defeated Jack Reynolds to win the

National Wrestling Association The National Wrestling Association (NWA) was an early professional wrestling sanctioning body created in 1930 by the National Boxing Association (NBA; now the World Boxing Association, WBA) as an attempt to create a governing body for professional ...

's World Welterweight Championship. Kallio retained the title through at least 1923, earning the nickname "the Welterweight King". During the 1920s Kallio often travelled around the United States, facing regional champions such as the Navy champion Jack Rich, Royal Van Dusen or Canadian Champion . On August 7, 1928, Kallio became the top Middleweight in the world, defeating Charlie Fisher to become the World Middleweight Champion in two and a half hour long match. Kallio later proved his incredible condition when he wrestled Henry Jones in a three-hour match before winning the bout. In 1930 Kallio defeated both Ralph Parquat and Ray Carpenter, two of the top Middleweights in the United States to once again become recognized as the World Middleweight Champion. With his second reign as Middleweight champion he proved that he was "King of the Middleweights". In 1932 he lost, then regained the title from George Sauer making him a three time world champion. Each year the National Wrestling Association would meet and determine who was the recognized champion of their heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight divisions. In 1933 the NWA confirmed that Gus Kallio was still the "king of the middleweights" and imposed a $500 bond for promoters wishing to book Kallio. Just like when he held the Welterweight title, Kallio travelled the United States facing local Middleweight competitors. In one match he lost to a wrestler who did not start out as his opponent. On April 16, 1935, Kallio wrestled against the Irish Middleweight Champion McBride, McBride had to be removed from the ring due to an injury after the first fall, which saw Nashville local Joe Gunther enter the ring and take McBride's place, defeating Kallio to win the title. By the late 1930s Kallio was in his fifth reign as Middleweight champion but the lower weight divisions became less and less popular in the United States. By the late 1930s, the Middleweight division was mainly active in Mexico, which led to Gus Kallio touring Mexico with the title. In 1938 or 1939 Mexican promoter

Salvador Lutteroth Salvador Lutteroth González (21 March 1897 – 5 September 1987) was a Mexican professional wrestling promoter of the mid-twentieth century. Lutteroth's organization, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), was the dominant Mexican wrestling pr ...

created a Mexican version of the

World Middleweight Championship In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

for his

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

(EMLL) and awarded the title to Kallio. Kallio defended and lost both the NWA and the Mexican version of the World Middleweight title to Octavio Gaona on February 19, 1939, which was the last time he would hold a wrestling championship. Gus Kallio was still an active wrestler as late as the early 1950s. After his wrestling career ended, Gus Kallio ran wrestling/boxing arena (promptly named Gus Kallio Arena) promoting regular shows in Monroe, Louisiana for 20 years. He was also involved in operating a roller skate rink and Finnish-style steam baths (sauna). Gus Kallio sold his business interests after suffering a stroke in 1959. He died of self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 2, 1962, at his home.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican '' lucha libre'' promotion Consejo Mundial ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) *

:* World Middleweight Champion ( 5 times) :*World Welterweight Championship (1 time)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kallio, Gus Finnish male professional wrestlers 1891 births 1962 deaths Suicides by firearm in Louisiana Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917) 1962 suicides 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA World Middleweight Champions