Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt
(January 18, 1894 – June 11, 1976)
/ref> was an American 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 promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted 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 ...
.[Wrestling Perspective: The Founding Father](_blank)
/ref> Some of the stars Mondt helped create from the 1920s through the 1960s included Wayne Munn
Wayne Munn (February 19, 1896 – January 9, 1931) was an American professional wrestler and collegiate football player from the University of Nebraska. As a wrestler, Munn was a World Heavyweight Champion. His world title win is historic as it ...
, Jim Londos
Christos Theofilou ( el, Χρήστος Θεοφίλου; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos (Greek: Τζίμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most p ...
, Antonino Rocca, Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...
, Stu Hart
Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...
and Cowboy Bill Watts
William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939) is a retired American professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South Un ...
.
Early life
Joseph Raymond Mondt was born in Garden Grove, Iowa
Garden Grove is a small town in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 174 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
On April 24, 1846, emigrants affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction ...
on January 18, 1894. Joseph (Joe) Toots was his professional name. Toots' father, Frank, was a farmer and building contractor. The Mondt family moved to Weld County, Colorado
Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley.
Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denver ...
in 1904.
Professional wrestling career
Early wrestling career
Toots Mondt made his wrestling debut in Greeley in 1912 at the age of 18 in a carnival/wrestling style match, a match he would wrestle in for many years. Stu Hart
Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...
claimed he ran into Toots by chance while wrestling in New York City and that Mondt said he received his first wrestling lesson in 1916 from Jack Taylor, and Mondt tried to recruit Hart into a territory in Washington D.C. Around this time, he also tried his hand at acrobatics. However, this was an unsuccessful move and Toots returned to wrestling matches. Toots received his big break when he was discovered by wrestling pioneer Farmer Burns
Martin Burns (February 15, 1861 – January 8, 1937), nicknamed Farmer Burns, was an American catch wrestler, wrestling coach, and teacher. Born in Cedar County, Iowa, he started wrestling as a teenager and made money traveling around the Midw ...
during one of his scouting trips. The nickname ‘Toots’, had to do with either his small feet or his relative youth and baby face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
. Mondt was the youngest wrestler in Farmer Burns' camp.
Gold Dust Trio
Until 1919, wrestling matches were slow-moving exhibitions mainly confined to the mat and lasting on an average 60 minutes. Crowds no longer found this to be suitable entertainment and accordingly, they began to dwindle. Wrestling matches slowly and eventually became pre-determined. Toots Mondt joined the camp of 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 ...
with the recommendation of Farmer Burns. Toots served in many capacities as a sparring partner, trainer, sometimes as an opponent and as a police officer. As a sparring partner and trainer, Toots Mondt helped Ed Lewis develop new holds and counters. The working relationship and unity amongst wrestling promoters was beginning to wear thin and crowd attendance was still low. Toots conceived a solution and combined features of a boxing ring, Greco-Roman, freestyle wrestling, and the old-time lumber camp
A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...
-style of fighting. Toots had called it ’Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling’.
Toots Mondt's second plan was to promote this new style of wrestling on a much higher scale. Toots convinced Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow of forming their own promotion as opposed to having different promoters controlling them. The team of Mondt, Lewis and Sandow used their connections to convince many other wrestlers to sign up. Under the control of Mondt, Lewis and Sandow, they served as bookers and agents. Toots also instituted time limits as wrestling matches would often go three or four hours. Within six months, the "Gold Dust Trio" controlled the course of professional wrestling in North America. Their product was moved out from venues such as burlesque theaters and back alley halls to the major sports venue in each city. All new talent was tested in Billy Sandow's private ring while routines and finishes were carefully determined by Toots. The Gold Dust Trio later dissolved from a power struggle between Toots Mondt & Billy Sandow's brother Max.
Mondt then formed a partnership with Philadelphia promoter, Ray Fabiani. The new combination wasted little time and found their new title holder in Dick Shikat
Richard I. Shikat (11 January 1897 – 3 December 1968) was a German professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Shikat was considered to be one of the most dangerous 'hooker ...
, a former circus strongman from Germany. Once Dick Shickat's title reign had run its course, Mondt and Fabiani made Jim Londos
Christos Theofilou ( el, Χρήστος Θεοφίλου; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos (Greek: Τζίμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most p ...
their new champion and continued their hold on the Northeast. They soon expanded onto New York City, Hartford, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Toots/Fabiani were unsuccessful because rival New York promoter Jack Curley
Jack Curley (July 4, 1876 - July 12, 1937), born Jacques Armand Schuel, was a sports promoter of the early 1900s. He managed several high-profile boxing events around the turn-of-the-century and he also established professional wrestling as a vi ...
prevented them from promoting in NYC for years, and it was during this time that he came around an up-and-coming Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...
, with whom Mondt had a bad history. As Jack Curley was on his deathbed, Toots realized that New York wrestling would fall apart. So Toots & Fabiani immediately formed an alliance with fellow booking heavyweight Rudy Dusek. This formation to take over New York was kept a secret. At Curley's funeral, one of his sons approached Toots about taking over New York and was not aware that Toots had a plan. Toots also gained help from other bookers such as Jack Pfeffer
Jack Pfefer (also commonly spelled as "Pfeffer"; December 10, 1894 – September 13, 1974) was an American professional wrestling promoter during the early-to-mid twentieth century. He pioneered an earlier form of sports entertainment, as he was ...
, the Johnston Brothers and Jess McMahon
Roderick James "Jess" McMahon Sr. (October 29, 1882 – November 21, 1954) was an American professional wrestling and professional boxing promoter, and the patriarch of the McMahon family. It is not certain if either he or his son Vincent J. ...
. Jess McMahon worked for boxing promoter and New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
hockey franchise founder Tex Rickard
George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (January 2, 1870 – January 6, 1929) was an American boxing promoter, founder of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and builder of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden in New York City ...
, who despised wrestling and prevented bookings in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
(MSG) from 1939 to 1948. Toots found former wrestler turned millionaire Bernarr McFadden, who gave Toots the financial backings.
Bernarr McFadden helped Toots promote in NYC and gain access into Madison Square Garden. In 1948, in the main event of the first card held in MSG for 9 years, Gorgeous George
George Raymond Wagner (March 23, 1915 – December 26, 1963) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous ...
defeated Ernie Dusek. In that same year Toots Mondt was in search for another champion. After several failed attempts, Toots Mondt found Antonino Rocca, who brought in more Latino fans to the matches which financially favored Toots. Mondt, however, was not able to keep Rocca happy and Vince McMahon Sr. was brought into the scene by Ray Fabiani.
In 1954, Mondt signed up Rafael Halperin
Rafael Halperin ( he, רפאל הלפרין; 1924 – 20 August 2011) was an Austrian-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi, businessman, athlete, professional wrestler, and bodybuilder.
Biography
Halperin was born in Vienna to Austrian Jewish parents i ...
a rabbi from Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
who wrestled in a blue and white costume emblazoned with the Jewish star
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
.Wrestling Rabbi loses faith in Toots Mondt
/ref>
Birth of the World Wide Wrestling Federation
In 1963, Toots Mondt and Vince McMahon Sr. broke away from 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 ...
(NWA), renaming Capitol Wrestling Corporation
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 ...
to 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 ...
(WWWF). Toots Mondt parted ways with NWA President 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 ...
on good terms so that the WWWF would not be seen as an enemy. Toots and Vince were also in the middle of fighting off an invasion by Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
from promoting in the WWWF territories.
When Buddy Rogers was crowned NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Toots controlled the bookings for Rogers’ title defenses. Toots would rarely allow Buddy Rogers to defend the title outside the Northeastern region. This would be one of the factors which led to the World Wide Wrestling Federation splitting from the NWA. In April 1963, Buddy Rogers was awarded the WWWF World Heavyweight title, supposedly for winning a tournament for the title in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, a fictitious storyline created by Toots Mondt. In 1965, Toots Mondt stepped down as promoter at Madison Square Garden and Vince McMahon, Sr. took over. When Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...
was brought into the WWWF, Vince Sr. predicted that he would be a midcarder for two or three years at best. Toots called Sammartino the future of the company because people instantly liked and responded to him. Toots convinced Vince McMahon Sr. to build the company around Bruno Sammartino. In a June 2012 Wrestling Observer Radio podcast, Bruno acknowledged that Mondt and Vince McMahon Sr. were not on the best of terms during his tenure with the company, with Bruno suggesting it was due to the fallout over the promotion's handling of Buddy Rogers.
Changing times and the rise of television saw Mondt's influence in the sport diminishing. Mondt was an arena booker and was never able to get a handle on television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
like McMahon. That fact coupled with Mondt's gambling problems allowed his business-minded partner to muscle him out of ownership of the New York territory. Toots sold off his share to McMahon in the mid-60s. McMahon reduced Mondt to salaried employee for Capitol. Mondt died on June 11, 1976 at the age of 82 after a long battle with an illness. Since then, he has been inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
in 1996, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...
in 2008 and the WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...
in 2017 as a recipient of its Legacy Award.
Accomplishments
*Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...
**( Class of 2008)
*''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
''
**Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
(1996)
* WWE
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 ...
:*WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...
(Class of 2017
''Class of 2017'' is a 2017 Hindi web series created and produced by Vikas Gupta (producer), Vikas Gupta for Ekta Kapoor's video on demand platform ALTBalaji. The web series revolves around the lives of a few teenagers who get intertwined with ...
)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
New York Pro Wrestling
Toots Mondt's Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mondt, Toots
1894 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male professional wrestlers
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Professional wrestling promoters
WWE Hall of Fame Legacy inductees
20th-century professional wrestlers