Billy Goelz and other 50s finds

[ohtani's jacket]

Vic Christy vs Hans Schnabel and Don Arnold vs. Jimmy Lott -- this footage was a bit weird as the video said it was Red Berry & Tony Morelli vs the Becker Brothers, but it ended up being the two singles matches. And weirder still, the footage was spliced together so it kept switching between the two bouts. We actually have one other Christy vs. Schnabel match on tape. Watching Schnabel this time, I was struck by how good he was as brawling 50s heel. I don't think I've ever dug him as much as I did here. I don't know if that's because Christy is a good foil, or because he's working Los Angeles instead of Chicago, but he got over with me. Arnold vs. Lott is the better match -- more of a fired up, aggravated, technical bout -- but Schnabel stood out as giving the best performance. Despite the odd splicing, this is another example of why Los Angeles was such an exciting territory. Plenty of rhubarb in Los Angeles, that's for sure. 

[ohtani's jacket]

World's Championship Womens Wrestling 1938. Clara Mortensen vs. Rita Martinez.

This was really good. These Golden Age women really knew how to grapple, and they could fight too. They were right up in each other's grill the entire bout and worked that technical brawling style I'm so fond of. The commentary belittled the wrestlers, but the in-ring action made them look like stars. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Bill Cody vs. Honest John Cretoria

This was a nice, simple wrestling match. Cody was billed as a newcomer to the professional ranks and used a lot of amateur style "leg dives." Cretoria, on the other hand, used a lot of inside moves. Cody proved he could handle himself in the ring, and in the end he proved too skillful. Cretoria had a great moustache and beard. He looked like he could've been a fun worker, especially if he had a bit more time. 

[ohtani's jacket]

"Sockeye" Jack McDonald vs Dave Levin

"Sockeye" Jack McDonald is definitely one of the characters of the 50s TV footage. I love how Jules Strongbow paints this picture of McDonald as a lumberjack learning to wrestle in lumber camps. It's slightly more flattering than Lou Thesz' description of him as "the barfly being pushed by the Texas office." This was a match between veterans. Most sources have Levin retiring the same year he worked this bout ('54), but there are records of him having matches later in the decade. In any event, both guys were far removed from their salad days, but they put on a neat preliminary bout with some fun leg scissors work and a strong build to the fast paced finish. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Juan Sepeda vs. Joe Pazandak

Interestingly, this episode of Main Event Wrestling from Hollywood Legion Stadium didn't feature any flashy gimmicks, but it did have three clear heel vs babyface matches featuring roughly the same archetypes. Of the three heels, I thought Pazandak was clearly the best. Perhaps not the best stooge of the three, but definitely the best wrestler. Not only was he a great wrestler, but he looked like a right hard bastard as well. Tough as nails, dishing out the fish hooks along with the wristlocks. If he'd been a British wrestler, I could totally imagine wanting to see all of his four round television showcases. He did a fantastic job of jawing with the two hens at ringside as well. Sepeda looked good, and I especially loved the finish to the second fall, but this was a Parandak feature bout and he was the one who shone. 

[ohtani's jacket]

The Great Bolo and Louie Miller vs. Wild Red Berry and Bud Curtis

On any other night, I think Red Berry and Bud Curtis would have been the heels here, but the crowd seemed to hate Bolo more .This was almost like a handicap match since Bolo was tagging with his manager, long-time California promoter, Louie Miller. Bolo was no Destroyer, but he was a half-decent brawler. The match is a bit long for what it is, but Berry and Curtis do their best to keep it interesting. Berry cuts a promo afterward with the announcer, Bill Welsh. If you're never heard a Wild Red Berry promo before, it's basically verbal diarrhea. I'm not a huge fan of it myself. I actually preferred the clever interplay between Welsh and Bud Curtis, but if you like Berry's promo style, you can check him out on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life.

Lindsay Luther vs. Fred Atkins

I've always wanted to see a Lindsay Luther match. Unfortunately, this is more of a boxing match than a wrestling match, as Lindsay gets a bit pissy after spending the better part of the match trapped in wrist and hammerlocks. I've never understood babyfaces who get upset because they were outwrestled by heels. Luther is pretty good at the boxing stuff, but between the headbutts and the bearhugs, I'm not sure that he was the wrestler I imagined him to be. It's hard to tell in a match like this where he spends the majority of the bout giving the heel a little payback. but aside from a great looking build, I didn't see a whole lot of wrestler in him. Not saying he looked bad, it's just that this style of match was a dime a dozen in the 50s. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Wilber Snyder vs. Wally Greb

I'm a Snyder fan. He reminds me of wrestling's version of Burt Lancaster. It's just a shame that he was so often in these veteran vs. youngster matches instead of a technical showpiece. Not that there's anything wrong with what they do. It's solid pro-wrestling between a veteran journeyman and a young buck, but I'd like to see what Snyder was capable of on the mat. 

Bobo Brazil vs. Jim (Brute) Bernard

Well, this was over quickly. The most interesting thing about this match, aside from the gimmick of Brazil beating opponents in under 20 seconds, was Bobo being interviewed afterward by Lord Layton. I don't think I've heard Bobo speak before. He seemed like a likeable fella. 

Dick Hutton vs. Wally Greb 

I believe this is the only Dick Hutton match we have on tape. Segunda Caida lists this as being from 11/1/57. If that's the case, then it's about two weeks before Hutton defeats Thesz in Toronto. It's difficult to watch this and imagine one guy is about to be crowned NWA champ. Hutton looked like a tough customer, but he didn't come across as the anointed guy to beat Thesz. Very much by-the-numbers pro-wrestling.

[ohtani's jacket]

Yukon Eric vs. Baron Gattoni 

I don't think this is a new match, but it hasn't been on the internet for a while. Easily the most entertaining Yukon Eric bout we have on tape. It wasn't your typical run-of-the-mill 50s match. It was far more hectic and used plenty of smoke and mirror tricks, but I enjoyed the change of pace. Short and sweet. 

[ethantyler]

On 1/28/2022 at 2:08 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

World's Championship Womens Wrestling 1938. Clara Mortensen vs. Rita Martinez.

This was really good. These Golden Age women really knew how to grapple, and they could fight too. They were right up in each other's grill the entire bout and worked that technical brawling style I'm so fond of. The commentary belittled the wrestlers, but the in-ring action made them look like stars. 

This match made me research Clara Mortensen in more detail. She holds the crown as the first major female star in pro-wrestling - predating Burke, which will be news to a lot of folks. She consistently headlined shows in front of 5-6,000+. This includes 5,300 in Birmingham, Alabama, 5,000 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and a series of 5-6,000+ vs Burke in Chattanooga with the highest being 6,200 on 1/28/37. These are big numbers for those towns. In the matches vs Burke, Mortensen won the vast majority of the time. You won't hear about anyone else handing Burke the Ls that she did. Anyway, her time on-top didn't last long - 1936-37 - which may explain why history has forgotten her (she isn't in any wrestling HOFs as far as I can tell).

As dreadful as the commentary consistently is for women's matches, it does provide important historical context on the environment they were battling against. With men constantly belittling them, determined to make everything they do seem like silly comedy spots, it makes the achievements of Mortensen, Burke, and Byers in particular seem far stronger. This was not an environment that encouraged women to draw in pro-wrestling. Very much the opposite. Yet, those 3 did so on a regular basis and, in the case of Burke & Byers, for many years. 

Long-term, sadly, men won the argument. Women's wrestling became mid-card nothingness post-Byers and stays like that in North America until 2014. 50+ years of awfulness makes you appreciate more the great that came before it. Especially when, all things considered, it had no business existing to begin with. 

[Al]

There's a parallel to other sports and industries in this period. Women had a great deal of success in the '40s. Women took jobs during the war, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League enjoyed a decade plus run. But that all died off in the early '50s and I think that context needs to be remembered as far as womens' wrestling.

Laprade and Murphy's book Sisterhood has a chapter on Mortensen as well as Cora Livingston who IIRC came slightly before. Invaluable reading as far as womens' wrestling in the US.

[ethantyler]

Agreed re parallels to other sports/industries. See the disparaging commentary at the 1948 Olympics in London with regards to Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won 4 gold medals, and the way women are portrayed in films during the 50s, etc - desperate to marry rich older men or crazy loons who break up families & lead men astray. Those who succeeded faced an uphill battle and their achievements were very much against the grain.

I disagree with the downfall being the early 50s. Tracking June Byers' numbers, 57/58 is when the number of shows she headlines drops dramatically. This coincides with the rise of localized women's titles (Texas, Georgia, etc). Similar thing happened to men during Dick Hutton's NWA title reign. The difference, of course, is that the men recover once you move to Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, Thesz, etc. Women, once Moolah takes over, do not. I feel safe in saying that she held everyone back by many decades.    

I wouldn't put Livingston at the same level as the other three. She did indeed come before (mid-1910s-early 20s), and deserves a mention, but under no circumstances would you describe her as a headliner/draw. She mostly worked small shows and not in a headline capacity. She would've learnt the hard way that there was little interest in women's wrestling in that era. Fortunate to be married to Paul Bowser, who became one of the greatest promoters/booking agents of all time.

I'd second the recommendation for Laprade & Murphy's book and add Jeff Leen's The Queen of the Ring alongside it.

[ohtani's jacket]

Roy McClarity vs. Al Korman
Tony Marino vs Great Zabio

I'm a big fan of 50s wrestling but even I have to admit that it gets a bit samey at times with the heel/face antics. But, that's what the public paid to see. Interesting to see that Buffalo had already devised the 10 minute television match. These bouts feel extremely short by 50s standards. That may be a good thing depending on your point of view as there's plenty of action and movement. I really like the way they put over submission finisher holds. Watch how long it takes Korman to recover from the cobra clutch hold in the McClarity match. Marino vs. Zabio was uploaded a hundred years ago, but it's a fun look at a pretty unique beatnik gimmick. I wish Zabio had done a bit more with the gimmick in-ring, as it was mostly the commentator putting it over. Marino working over the fingers so Zabio wouldn't be able to play the piano afterwards was a nice touch. 

[ohtani's jacket]

The last bit of footage from the Buffalo video is a Gallagher Bros. vs Lisowski Bros match that was uploaded donkeys years ago, and the beginning of a Fritz Von Erich vs Great Zabio match that probably didn't last much longer than what was shown. I'm surprised at how short these matches are. I understand that they were taped for TV, but Chicago and Los Angeles tended to give you longer bouts than these. 

I was quite impressed by Killer Kowalski in the Australian clips from 1967. They're only clips, but he wrestled with much more urgency and intensity than I've seen from his US work. O'Connor looks solid too. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Here's a Christmas present for yours truly...

Jan (Lord James) Blears & Frank (Gorilla) Marconi vs Sandor Kovacs & Harry Finkelstein 3/20/47

This is the earliest Blears we have on tape. Given he's one of my favorites from this era, I was excited to see this. The commentary is corny, but there's some pretty decent action. Mostly brawling with some nice forearm smashes. Blears' big move is the front dropkick, which he does repeatedly throughout the film reel. It's amusing seeing him as a game youngster without the  aristocrat gimmick. Fun present. Thanks, Santa Claus. 

[ohtani's jacket]

The Fabulous Moolah & Patti Neilson vs. Barbara Owens & Rita Boucher

I was all ready to shit on Moolah for setting back the cause of women's wrestling 20 years, but she was actually pretty good in this. Decent brawling, solid heel work, lots of energy. She took the head scissors' bumps well, and the match picked up every time she was in the ring. The other girls weren't that talented, which may have been a factor in Moolah standing out, but this was also before she became a big name and she appeared to have a lot of vigor. I guess it's like they say, just about everybody was good at some point or another. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Loss has somehow come across a bunch of 50s and 60s footage. Some of it has been in circulation before, some of it is new, and some of it is longer versions of footage that already exists.

Jim Londos vs Ivan Rasputin (Clark Sports, Chicago Rainbo Arena, 09/13/1950)

I've long sung Jim Londos praises and argued that he should be in the top 100 of the GWE regardless of how limited the footage is. This isn't a game changer in that argument, but it does give us a fun maestro performance to add to his resume. I enjoyed his interview at the start (probably more than the match itself, if I'm being honest.) He showed a keen sense of humour and I liked those flashy grins. The match was a typical Chicago bout. Ivan is a fun worker but this was by the numbers. Londos reminded me of Blue Panther after he lost his mask. Nothing really surprised me about this having watched just about more Chicago than most people have had hot dinners, but it was entertaining for what it was. 

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Don Arnold vs Larry Hamilton (NWA Los Angeles, 08/31/1953)

This was the final few minutes of a three fall bout. We have have footage of both guys against other wrestlers but not against each other. There was a nice headscissors sequence, and I liked how Hamilton sold the airplane spin after the bout was over. 

Emil Dusek & Ernie Dusek vs Wild Red Berry & Great Togo (NWA Los Angeles, 08/13/1951)

A while back there was another Dusek brothers tag posted with Tony Morelli in place of Wild Red Berry. This was a similar sort of bout except that there was a lot more showmanship by the heels. The bout itself was mostly guys mugging each other. That gets boring after a while, but I don't mind Togo when he's stepping forward and using some of his judo style offense, and Red is one of the premier entertainers of his era. It amuses me that you have these Nebraska boys talking about cat fish while in glitzy Hollywood, California. 

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Pat O'Connor vs Ivan Rasputin (NWA Chicago, 01/15/1954)

This was uploaded by the Chicago Film Archives in better video quality. 

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Verne Gagne vs Roy McClarity (NWA Chicago, 08/06/1954)

The Chicago Film Archives uploaded the first fall of this, but this is the complete three fall match with about 20 minutes of additional action. This was an excellent match. The struggle to apply the sleeper hold was epic. I can't recall a more titanic battle over the sleeper hold than in this bout. The finish was awesome as well and extremely well done. The crowd seemed to be for McClarity and booed Gagne at times, which Verne leaned into. Even Pappy Davis liked this one. 

Don Leo Jonathan vs Jack Moore (NWA Chicago, 10/22/1954)

This was uploaded by the CFA in better quality. 

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Danny McShain vs Bulldog Plesches (Southwest Sports, 1950s)

This was already in circulation but McShain is always fun to watch and Paul Boesch gives us a decent history lesson. Mike DiBiase is at ringside wearing a straight jacket so that he can't interfere in the match. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Angelo Poffo vs Tony Morelli (NWA Los Angeles, 07/16/1951)

This is basically the finish. Poffo was working as a babyface in the LA territory and had a brief flurry before the end. Morelli was a tough as nails worker. 

Sonny Boy Cassidy vs Farmer Pete (Capitol Wrestling, 1950s)

This was already in circulation. It's a newsreel film of midget wrestling.

Ruffy Silverstein vs Mr Moto (Jiu Jitsu) (NWA Chicago, 1950s)

This was new. Russ Davis calls it a jui-jitsu match, but it was more commonly referred to as a judo jacket match in other territories. The Chicago Film Archives has a number of these matches in their collection which haven't been digitally preserved yet. It's basically a submission match with both guys wearing gis. It's not a particularly exciting match, but it's a chance to see Ruffy Silverstein again. If you remember, he was in a Thesz match that notable for them working fairly stiff. Interesting find if nothing else. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Black Panther vs Gene Stanlee (1950s)

You wouldn't know it from this newsreel footage, but the Black Panther Jim Mitchell was an important figure in the history of pro-wrestling becoming the first African-American superstar. Instead, the focus is on pretty boy Gene Stanlee, one of the original blond main eventers and early TV stars and the changing image of wrestling in the 1950s. Which would have been great if the voiceover commentary hadn't been such cornball crap. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Roy McClarity & Jack Guy vs Kimon Kudo & Walter Achiu (Clark Sports, Chicago Rainbo Arena, 09/13/50)

This was already in circulation.

Billy Goelz vs Jack Owens (NWA Chicago, 08/13/1960)

Goelz is one of my favorite workers from the 50s. He was a bit older here but still kicked ass. This was similar to a lot of 60s wrestling we've seen where it feels like more of a studio match than an arena bout. It was a fun bout though with Jack Owens going ape shit at the end. 

Reggie Lisowski vs Ivan Kalmikoff (Southwest Sports, 06/23/1952)

This was interesting but unfortunately it was a scrap of footage. 

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Pat O'Connor vs Sky Hi Lee (NWA Chicago, 05/08/1953)

This was out there in the wild but not easily accessible. Really fun big man vs. small man match. Pat O'Connor is the real deal. 

Larry Chene vs Bobby Nelson (NWA Upstate, 1950s)

This was uploaded on YouTube a few years ago in better video quality. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Sandor Szabo & Wilbur Snyder vs Karl Davis & Mr. Moto (NWA Los Angeles, 02/08/1954)

This was an exciting match. It may be the best tag match I've seen from the 50s, and that's saying something since I'm not a fan of 50s tag wrestling in the slightest. It starts off in typical 50s fashion playing to everything the audience enjoys and nothing that I like, but it's a great cast of characters. You've got the older-than-dirt, ex-world champion Sandor Szabo, the young, handsome football star, Wilbur Snyder, "Killer" Karl Davis (has there ever been a wrestler with the nickname "Killer" who wasn't awesome?), and Moto with his judo strikes and devastating sleeper hold. There's a great back and forth struggle between the two, leading to an awesome third fall where they do a fantastic nearfall with Szabo almost succumbing to the sleeper hold for a second time. The crowd at ringside are on their feet and the heat is sensational. We have a couple of other Szabo & Snyder tags on tape, but I don't recall any of them leaving an impression as impressive as this one. Great match.