Ventura Tenario (25 November 1911 – 13 November 1984), better known by his

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 ...

Chief Little Wolf (sometimes, Big Chief Little Wolf), 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 ...

, who spent much of his professional career wrestling in Australia and New Zealand.

Family

The second of four children of Jose Porfiria "Joe" Tenario (1884-1956), and Maria Soleila "Mary" Tenario (1890-1928), née Senas, Ventura Tenario was born at

Hoehne, Colorado Hoehne is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town, a post office, and a Census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Las Animas County, Colorado, Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The Hoehne post ...

on 25 November 1911. He married three times. His first wife was Irene Olive (1909-1998); his second wife was Dorothy Helen Pratt (1918-1972), whom he married in 1946; and his third wife was Australian-born Audrey Lillis "Dona" Corner (1923-2013) — with whom he had a daughter, Markeeta.

Markeeta Little Wolf

Markeeta, born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 25 January 1958, was a pop-star in Australia by the time that she was 16. She later moved to the USA; and, having unsuccessfully tried to break into the American music industry and the Hollywood movie scene, she turned to real-estate, eventually moving to

Waitsburg, Washington Waitsburg is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,166 at the 2020 census. Waitsburg has a unique city classification in Washington state, being the state's only city which still operates under its terri ...

, where she married lawyer Michael Hubbard, became involved in local politics, joined the City Council, and served three terms as the city's Mayor.

Ernesto Tenario

According to the ''Online World of Wrestling'', Ventura's brother, Ernesto Tenario (1915-1998), wrestled under the name of "Chief Lone Wolf".

Military service

He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in May 1943 and served until January 1945. He served in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

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 ...

Wrestling

In his professional career, which lasted from 1932 to 1958, he fought in 1,141 matches for 501 wins, 178 draws, and 357 defeats; his opponents included:

Lord James Blears Lord Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality. Early life Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, E ...

Warren Bockwinkel Warren Bockwinkel (often misspelled Bockwinkle, May 21, 1911 – March 25, 1986) was an American professional wrestler. Career Bockwinkel competed in the National Wrestling Alliance and North American regional promotions during the 1930s, 1940 ...

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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 ...

, Jack Claybourne,

Man Mountain Dean Frank Simmons Leavitt (June 30, 1891 – May 29, 1953) was an American professional wrestler of the early 1900s, known by the ring name Man Mountain Dean. Early life Leavitt was born in New York City, the son of John McKenney Leavitt and Henriet ...

Dean Detton Dean Henry Detton (June 27, 1908 – February 23, 1958) was an American professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Previously he was a proficient University of Utah football ...

Yukon Eric Eric Holmback (April 16, 1916 – January 16, 1965) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yukon Eric. Holmback spent the majority of his career in Southern Ontario, Canada, where he won the NWA Canadian Open Tag T ...

, Ken Fenelon,

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, Gorgeou ...

Otto Kuss Otto Robert "Pat" Kuss (March 12, 1911 – March, 1980) was an American professional wrestler who was best known for his work with Central States Wrestling from 1948 to 1950, and 1952 as well as Stampede Wrestling in 1952. NCAA wrestling Otto ...

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, Ed Lewis,

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 ...

Wild Bill Longson Willard Rowe Longson (June 8, 1906 – December 12, 1982) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Wild Bill Longson. He spent most of his career in St. Louis, Missouri. He perfected the role of the arrogant heel, and ...

Bobby Managoff Robert Manoogian Jr. (January 4, 1918 – April 3, 2002) was an American professional wrestler of Armenian descent who was best known for his work with National Wrestling Alliance in the 1940s as Bobby Managoff. Professional wrestling career Man ...

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional w ...

Danno O'Mahoney Danno O'Mahony (9 September 1912 – 3 November 1950) was an Irish professional wrestler who enjoyed a brief but meteoric rise to massive popularity in the mid-1930s following a successful introduction to the Boston regional wrestling scene. Hi ...

Harold Sakata , better known as Harold Sakata, was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor of Japanese descent. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting, and later b ...

, "Jumping Joe" Savoldi,

Frank Sexton Frank Sexton (1914–February 1990) was an American professional wrestler in the early to mid-twentieth century. Along with Orville Brown, Bill Longson, and Lou Thesz, he was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s. A multiple-time world champio ...

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, Sándor Szabó,

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 ...

, and

George Zaharias Theodore Vetoyanis ( el, Θεόδωρος Βετογιάνης, February 27, 1908 – May 22, 1984) was an American professional wrestler and sports promoter known by his ring name George Zaharias. He was also popularly known as "The Crying Greek ...

. In 1946, having resumed his wrestling career post-war, and before returning to Australia, he sustained a double fracture of a leg in a match in Chicago; and, for a time, it was thought that he would not wrestle again.

United States

In February 1935, the (then) reigning heavyweight champion,

was suspended in California, Illinois, and New York for failing to appear for his scheduled

World Heavyweight Championship (Pacific Northwest) The World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship of the Pacific Northwest defended in the states of Oregon, Washington, and California from 1930 until 1952, when it was unified with the NWA World Hea ...

title defense against Tenario on 27 February 1935. On 8 July 1935, Chief Little Wolf wrestled against Daniel "Danno" O'Mahoney, at Yankee Stadium, New York, in a heavyweight title match. This was the first title defence for O'Mahoney, who had won the

New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship The NYSAC World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athlet ...

from Jim Londos twelve days earlier, on 27 June 1935. O'Mahoney eventually won the match, by a

pinfall In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

, after 28 minutes and 23 seconds.

Australia and New Zealand

Tenario arrived in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, from

Vancouver, Canada Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, on 28 June 1937. In his first match in New Zealand, he was defeated (on points) by Sammy Stein; and, in his last match on his first visit to New Zealand, against

Earl McCready Earl Gray McCready (June 5 or 15, 1905 – December 9, 1983) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler. McCready competed in the U.S. for Oklahoma State University in folkstyle, and as a freestyle wrestler who competed for Canada in ...

on 9 August 1937, he was disqualified in the seventh round. At the time of his first Australian appearance, on 28 August 1937, in a match against Hal Rumberg, at West Melbourne, the press noted that "Chief Little Wolf is at present ranked third on the list of world heavy weights". In 1947, the wrestling journalist, "Ringmaster", noted that "his capacity for absorbing punishment seems to be unlimited, and he has the power and stamina to keep handing it out indefinitely". In Australia, from 1937 to 1958, "he fought more than a hundred individual wrestlers in more than a thousand contests"; and, in addition to his stadium wrestling he had a travelling tent-show, in which he demonstrated professional wrestling holds, told Navajo stories, and performed horse-riding tricks, with which he toured most of Australia — claiming, in 1953, that seventy-five percent of the Australian people had physically seen him either as a wrestler or as a tent-show performer. In his last match in Australia, he teamed with "Great Zorro" in a tag-team match, at West Melbourne Stadium on 10 November 1956. They defeated the team of "Lucky" Simunovich and Dr. Jerry Graham, two falls to one.

Retirement

He wrestled twice more in the USA: * 26 February 1957 (

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

): teamed with Bob Leipler (a.k.a. "Duke Hoffmann"), he lost a tag-team match against "Mr. Hito" and "Mr. Moto" in 24 minutes 17 seconds. * 5 March 1957 (Syracuse, New York): he was defeated by

Dick Beyer Richard John Beyer (July 11, 1930 – March 7, 2019) was an American professional wrestler who is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X. Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one of th ...

in 15 mins 7 seconds. Tenario suffered a debilitating stroke "that badly affected one side of his body and face" in 1958.York (1998), p.35. He retired from wrestling, and never worked again. He lived at Mount Royal Special Hospital for the Aged, in

Parkville, Victoria Parkville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Merri-bek, M ...

, from 1961 to 1980, when he returned to the United States.

Australian Folk-Hero

In his 1998 article, "Big Chief Little Wolf: Wrestling, Radio and Folklore in Australia", Barry York — at the time a

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

— describes how, in the months following his (1994) appeal for information from the public on

Bert Newton Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie award-winning entertainer and radio, theatre and television personality and presenter. Newt ...

's ''Good Morning Australia'', he received more than 700 letters from "former wrestlers who had wrestled him, … nurses who had nursed him … and hundreds of people who had seen him wrestle or caught his side-show, or who had just met him by chance in the street or in a restaurant, pub, shop or cinema". :: Their letters represent a folkloric understanding of the Chief. They indicate the qualities that individual writers wanted to believe were his qualities. Even the most exaggerated letter is a valuable source in identifying why so many people cherish him without even necessarily really knowing him personally.
If I were to sum up from the entire collection of 700 letters, I would say that Chief Little Wolf is a folk-hero because of the following perceived qualities …: he came from underprivileged origins and, despite success and celebrity status, identified with the common folk; he was an exceptionally kind-hearted human being: active and generous in helping others less fortunate than himself; he was excellent at what he did; he was regarded as possessing super-human qualities; he suffered a quick and tragic decline; and he was exotic — an acceptable outsider, a foreigner of the non-threatening kind.

Captain Tom Bairnsfather

During the sixth round of a fierce best-of-three-falls match against Terry McGinnis, at Leichhardt Stadium, on Saturday, 7 September 1940, with each wrestler having scored a fall, Tenario was thrown from the ring by McGinnis. McGinnis, who had lost his temper, refused to allow Tenario to re-enter the ring, and went on to attack the referee; and, for this, he was disqualified. On 24 October 1940, Thomas Duncan Bairnsfather (1897-1949) — brother of

Bruce Bairnsfather Captain Charles Bruce Bairnsfather (9 July 188729 September 1959) was a prominent British humorist and cartoonist. His best-known cartoon character is Old Bill. Bill and his pals Bert and Alf featured in Bairnsfather's weekly "Fragments from Fr ...

, Leichhardt Stadium's ring announcer, and, as "Captain Tom Bairnsfather", the ring-side wrestling commentator for the Sydney radio station 2KY (2KY listeners were assisted by the I.A.W. chart) — lodged a Supreme Court writ for £2,000 against Tenario, McGinnis, and New Leichhardt Stadium, Ltd., alleging that, "on September 9 last, when Chief Little Wolf and McGinnis were wrestling at Leichhardt Stadium, McGinnis threw Little Wolf out of the ring on top of Bairnsfather, causing him considerable Injury". Responding to a ''ca re'', Tenario's own position was that "I am under contract and I am fully protected against any accident that might occur". Tenario was released on a £350 bond. Tenario was released from bail on 21 November 1940, and was eventually allowed to leave Australia. Although Tenario returned to Australia, as promised, in July 1941, nothing more was heard of Bairnsfather's legal actions — although, of course, Bairnsfather was no stranger to being a defendant at court.

Championships and accomplishments

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 Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (1 time: 10 March 1948). *New York's Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 1974.

Movies

There are a number of mistaken claims that Tenario appeared in two movies, as himself in the documentary ''Bone Crushers'' (1933), and as "Chief Pontiac" in the feature film ''We're in the Money'' (1935). In both cases, the man in the movies was the marathon swimmer, lifeguard, and professional wrestler Myron Cox (1901-1975).Lodge, John, E., "Beach Guards Save Lives with Surfboards", ''Popular Science'', (August 1939), pp.78-81.
/ref>

Death

He died at

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

on 13 November 1984, and his remains were cremated.

Gallery

Footnotes

References

Little Wolf Seen as a Mat Thriller, ''The (Washington) Evening Star'', (Wednesday, 24 April 1935), p.A16.

Lardner, John" From the Press Box: Little Wolf Won't Divulge "Death Trap" Secret Until He Gets Jim Londos' Title", ''The (Washington) Evening Star'', (Wednesday, 24 April 1935), p.A16.

The Wolf at Londos' Door (Photograph), ''The (Washington) Evening Star'', (Wednesday, 24 April 1935), p.A16.
* I.A.W.
International Associated Wrestlers’ Home Training System, ''The Tell-U-Vision Entertainer: The Wrestling Chart Published to Create a Mind Picture and Increase your Appreciation of the (2KY) Radio Broadcasts '', I.A.W. Home Training System, (Darlinghurst), 1937

Chief Little Wolf (as told to William Kadison), "How The Son Of A Poor Ranchman Won His Title: Tribal Gathering Shaped His Destiny", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 27 May 1939), p.7.

La Conga: New Dance Craze Hits Australia, ''Pix'', Vol.8, No.8, (Saturday, 23 August 1941), pp.42-43.

Ray Olson's 18 Photographs, taken on 1 August 1941, for the ''Pix'' article, collection of the State Library of New South Wales.

Women Prefer Wrestlers, ''Pix'', Vol.35, No.1. (Saturday 11 September 1954), pp.27-31.

Wolf Wants Boys' Choir, ''The (Brisbane) Truth'', (Sunday, 10 October 1948), p.13.

Sullivan, Jane, "For Chief Little Wolf, the last trip home, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 31 July 1980), p.1.

Juia, "Wrestling Can Be Quite Gentle Fun: Big Chief Little Wolf Never Bites — A Lady", ''Wireless Weekly'', Vol.14, No.18, (Wednesday, 12 July), p.7.

York, Barry, "Big Chief Little Wolf: Wrestling, Radio and Folklore in Australia", ''Journal of Australian Studies'', Vol.22, No.58, (January 1998), pp.29-37.

York, Barry, "Tenario, Ventura (Chief Little Wolf) (1911–1984)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 18'', Melbourne University Press, (Carlton), 2012.

"Taste Test No.10", ''The (Washington) Evening Star'', (Friday, 5 June 1936), p.D-2
Advertisement for "''White Owl Cigars''", featuring action photographs taken on 4 May 1936, in New York, of the match between Chief Little Wolf and

, and the match between Yvon Robert and Ernie Dusek.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chief Little Wolf 1911 births 1984 deaths American male professional wrestlers Native American professional wrestlers Australian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Colorado People from Las Animas County, Colorado United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II