Lee Arlo Wykoff, often misspelled as "Wyckoff", (March 10, 1898 - April 2, 1974) was a professional wrestler in the United States. Throughout his career he wrestled for various U.S. based territorial promotions including the

St. Louis Wrestling Club The St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. ...

(SLWC), Gulf Athletic Club (GAC),

NWA Hollywood Wrestling 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 ...

, Atlantic Athletic Commission (AAC) and

Midwest Wrestling Association Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...

Early life

Lee Wykoff was born in Mayetta, KS to Charles and Ethel (Haynes) Wykoff on March 10, 1898. Charles Wykoff was a blacksmith. The family settled in

Osborne, Kansas Osborne is a city in and the county seat of Osborne County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,335. History Settlers from southeastern Pennsylvania founded Osborne City in May 1871. They named the s ...

in 1908 where Lee attended school."Obituaries", Osborne County Farmer, May 9, 1974, p.19

Collegiate sports career

Wykoff was a member of Student Army Training Corps ( S.A.T.C.) at

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 u ...

Topeka, KS Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

. Wykoff played football for Washburn from 1918 to 1920. He was named all-state fullback in 1919 and 1920."Osborne Football Stars", Osborne County Farmer, December 9, 1920, p.1

Professional football career

Wykoff played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the St. Louis All-Stars in 1923.

Professional wrestling career

A skilled wrestler, Wykoff had exceptional shooting skills. His signature finishing move was a stepover toehold. In his career, Wykoff wrestled for the

(SLWC), Gulf Athletic Club (GAC),

, Atlantic Athletic Commission (AAC), and

MWA MWA may refer to: * Machas with Attitude, Indian hip hop group * Mandatory Work Activity, UK * Married Women's Association, UK * May Week#May Week Alternative, May Week Alternative, a Cambridge University student charity * Metropolitan Waterfront ...

. He is best remembered for his tenure with the MWA where he was a four-time MWA World Heavyweight champion. He had many memorable bouts within the MWA against

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 ...

. In 1931, Wykoff defeated NFL player

Father Lumpkin Roy Lee "Father" Lumpkin (January 27, 1907March 31, 1974) was an American football player. A native of Jefferson, Texas, Lumpkin attended high school in Dallas. He played college football for Georgia Tech and was an All-Southern fullback for ...

in the Cleveland, OH Equestrium with two straight falls. Wykoff and

Ed "Strangler" Lewis Robert Herman Julius Friedrich (June 30, 1891 – August 8, 1966), better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-ti ...

matched up in a shoot contest on August 13, 1936, at the Hippodrome in New York City. The match went 2 hours and 14 minutes before both wrestlers fell from the ring and were counted out. In an early wrestler vs. boxer match up, Wykoff defeated boxer Harry Thomas in April 1938 in Kansas City. Wykoff won the MWA World Heavyweight Title (Kansas City) in April 1941 by defeating Orville Brown at Memorial Hall in Kansas City. Wykoff held the title for 182 days before losing it back to his nemesis Brown. In January 1943, Wykoff regained the MWA World Heavyweight Title (Kansas City) from Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Wykoff lost the title to Orville Brown 35 days later. Wykoff would regain the title later in 1943 before losing it to Brown once again. Wykoff defeated

Dave Levin George William Wenzel (February 27, 1913 – August 25, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century, best known under the ring name Dave Levin. Introduc ...

for the MWA World Heavyweight Title (Kansas City) in June 1944. Orville Brown defeated Wykoff 48 days later to claim the title.

Personal life

Wykoff married Nada Belle Henrietta Hayes on February 17, 1920, in Topeka. Two children were born to the couple; Dorothy Louise Wykoff Wilber and Robert Lee Wykoff. Robert died in an auto accident in 1930 at the age of 4. Nada Belle died in 1935. Lee then married Eleanor Wykoff."Deaths", Osborne County Farmer, October 3, 1935, p.2

Championships and accomplishments

MWA World Heavyweight Championship The MWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Kansas City, Kansas-based Midwest Wrestling Association (MWA). It was the direct predecessor of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World ...

(4 times) **Kansas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wykoff, Lee 1898 births 1974 deaths American male professional wrestlers People from Jackson County, Kansas Professional wrestlers from Kansas Washburn University alumni St. Louis All-Stars players