Harold Lecht, known professionally as Harry Light (September 17, 1898 - October 29, 1971) was a French/American

professional wrestling 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 o ...

promoter. He is best known for running the Harry Light Wrestling Office in Detroit, Michigan from 1945 to 1959. He was one of the six founders of 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 ...

, the body that dominated professional wrestling in North America for much of the latter half of the twentieth century.

Early life

Light was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, in 1898. He was brought to the United States at the age of one and raised in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. When he was 14, his family relocated to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in Canada. Light enlisted in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

at the age of 17, serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Following the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, Light became a professional boxer, fighting approximately 60 bouts under the ring name "Kid Yank" as a featherweight. In 1919, Light returned to the United States, working 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 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

as an usher.

Promoting career

After a chance encounter with Adam Weissmuller, the promoter of Detroit's Arena Gardens, Light began working for Weissmuller Wrestling Enterprises. He initially worked as an usher and cashier, eventually becoming Weissmuller's protégé. After Weissmuller died in 1937, Light began working as an assistant to his successor, Louis Markowitz. Light began promoting in his own right in 1939. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Light secured the rights to promote events at the Arena Gardens. The Harry Light Wrestling Office began staging professional wrestling shows under the banner " Big Time Wrestling". Light's right hand men were Jack Britton, a road agent, and

Bert Ruby Bert Ruby (born Bertalan Rubinstein, November 29, 1910 - March 9, 1968) was a Hungarian/American professional wrestler, professional wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. Early life Rubinstein was born in the village of Valea lui Mihai in ...

, a booker and trainer. In 1947, Light began airing ''Big Time Wrestling'' on Channel 7, giving him a major advantage over other promoters active in Detroit. In 1948, Light reported that the television product had enabled him to increase attendance while reducing advertising costs by 60%. In 1948, Light founded the

along with

Al Haft Albert C. Haft (November 13, 1886 - 10 November 1976) was a wrestler (both professional and amateur), wrestling and boxing promoter and wrestling trainer who was a prominent promoter in the United States from the late 1910s until the 1960s, runnin ...

Orville Brown Orville Brown (March 10, 1908 – January 24, 1981) was an American professional wrestler. He is a thirteen-time world champion and was recognized as the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. Brown's professional wrestling career ended ...

, Paul George,

Sam Muchnick Samuel Muchnick (born Jeshua Muchnick, August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often regarded as wrestling's equivalent of Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commission ...

, and Tony Stretcher. The six promoters agreed to divide the United States into regional territories within which they would not compete with one another and to recognise a single

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

who would travel the country wrestling in each territory. By the 1950s, Light effectively controlled professional wrestling in Detroit and ''Big Time Wrestling'' was one of the most popular programs airing in Detroit. As part of the NWA, Light and his colleagues were responsible for coordinating the booking of

midget professional wrestlers Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

by NWA members. Their role included training rookie wrestlers and

blacklisting Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

wrestlers who failed to fulfill their commitments. In the mid-1950s, Ruby broke away from Light to found the outlaw promotion Wolverine Wrestling, weakening Light's promotion. This left Light vulnerable in an ensuing promotional war with Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle, who began staging professional wrestling events in the

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

in opposition to Light in 1959. After a short rivalry, Light stepped away from promoting, leaving the Barnett-Doyle Corporation in control of professional wrestling in Detroit.

Personal life

Light had six children: five sons and a daughter.

Death

Light died on October 29, 1971 at the age of 73 in Detroit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Light, Harry 1898 births 1971 deaths Big Time Wrestling (Detroit) Businesspeople from Paris Canadian military personnel of World War I French emigrants to the United States Professional wrestling promoters Royal Canadian Navy personnel Military personnel from Paris

Early life

Promoting career

Personal life

Death

See also

References