The Kalmikoffs were a

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 or ...

group of fictitious soviet brothers. It began as a tag team consisting of Ivan (Edward Bogucki) and Karol (Karol Piwoworczyk) who were later joined by "brothers" Nikita (Nikita Mulkovitch) and Stan (or Igor) (Eric Pomeroy). They were very successful in the mid-1950s to early 1960s, especially the original tag team of Ivan and Karol.

History

The original two members debuted on October 28, 1953 in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

as Ivan Kalmikoff and Karol Krauser against George and Jack Curtis. Later, already known as the Kalmikoffs became fictional brothers and became a successful tag team in the Minneapolis territory (future

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part ...

) and in Canada winning several titles. In 1962, after the formation of the AWA, Karol shortly left the promotion and Ivan begun teaming with another brother, Nikita with some success. After Karol returned to the AWA, the original duo won the AWA World Tag Team Championships. By 1963, Ivan settled into a part-time job in the Detroit zoo as a landscaper. Karol Kalmikoff begun teaming with yet another "brother", Stan Kalmikoff, sometimes called Igor. The tandem didn't last, however, as Karol suffered a fatal heart attack on September 12, 1964 in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. Ivan would spend some time managing Mighty Igor Vodic while the other "brothers" moved on to other gimmicks. In 1939 or 1940, Karol Krauser modeled for the Fleischer Studios in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

for the

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

animated shorts.http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news.php?readmore=11553 Did You Know? Karol Krauser was Fleischer's Superman Model Karols wife Zosia was also one of the first female wrestlers in the late thirties and early forties. She was managed by Jack Pfeifer and billed out as "Zoska Burska"

Championships and accomplishments

Ivan & Karol

Ivan & Nikita

* Maple Leaf Wrestling :* NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (

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)

Ivan Kalmikoff

Born Edward Bogucki (May 21, 1918 - June 9, 1996) 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 t ...

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 t ...

, Ivan found early success outside the Kalmikoffs in

Dory Funk Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Early ...

NWA Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

. * Southwest Sports, Inc. ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Duke Keomuka * Western States Sports **NWA Southwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ace Abbott **NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Karol Krauser/Kalmikoff

Karol Piwoworczyk (Born August 12, 1912 - Sept 12, 1964) in

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfiel ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, Karol won one singles championship before passing away in 1964. *Midwest Wrestling Association **MWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Online World of Wrestling profile - The Kalmikoffs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalmikoff American Wrestling Association teams and stables Faux Russian professional wrestlers Independent promotions teams and stables AWA World Tag Team Champions