Loss Posted June 26, 2022 Report Share Posted June 26, 2022 History of Pro Wrestling #3 (04:19:53) Matches from 1938-1950 JESSE JAMES vs KIMON KUDO (04/25/1938; MSG; New York, NY; 00:00:57) BATTLE ROYAL (05/30/1938; USA; 00:01:14) RAY STEELE vs RUDY DALITZI (06/20/1938; Sydney, Australia; 00:01:37) Ray Steele debuts in Australia at Sydney Stadium. This thread includes some excerpts of newspaper reports of the match. SAMMY STEIN vs PAUL JONES (07/25/1938; Sydney, Australia; 00:01:04) DANNO O’MAHONEY vs WLADYSLAW TALUN (07/29/1938; Buffalo, NY; 00:00:54) GUS SONNENBERG vs BRONCO NAGURSKI (08/03/1838; Los Angeles, CA; 00:15:20) PAT O’SHOCKER vs BROTHER JONATHAN (08/15/1938; Sydney, Australia; 00:00:59) Brother Jonathan drew record houses in Sydney, as explained in this article. FRANK BROWN vs GOLDEN TERROR (11/18/1938; Philadelphia, PA; 00:03:01) JIM LONDOS vs BRONCO NAGURSKI (11/18/1938; Philadelphia, PA; 00:14:35) GREAT MATCH! If you’re looking for great matches for which we have a decent amount of footage, this is probably the earliest example. “The first great match on this set was Jim Londos versus Bronko Nagurski. Bronko was a national sports star, also from the world of football. A comprehensive biography drops in August and I hope it covers his wrestling career in some detail. He was embarrassed later in life of his time in wrestling and always downplayed it. Londos was one of the most enduring stars ever, running on top for almost two decades. You get a sense for why here. Lots of subtle, very cool mat wrestling and a sense of drama that doesn't really exist in the other footage from the 30s. This was a great match in its own right, not just a piece of history or a cool glimpse into the past.” — reader Jonathan Snowden BILLY MEESKE vs PAT GALLAGHER-MUD WRESTLING (12/15/1938; Sydney, Australia; 00:01:02) The card, which was a combination of this mud wrestling match and “midget car racing”, drew a horrendous crowd of only a few hundred people. There are some newspaper article excerpts in this thread. CHICK KNIGHT vs BILLY WELLS-WRESTLER vs BOXER (12/16/1938; London, England; 00:00:24) ALI BABA vs DICK LEVER (1938; 00:03:17) CLARA MORTENSEN vs RITA MARTINEZ (1938; 00:09:10) DUTCH SMITH vs BILL LEWIN-UNDERWATER WRESTLING (01/23/1939; Palm Springs, CA; 00:01:03) The match takes place at the Mirador Hotel. Oh, wrestling. BILLY HANSON vs ANDY MOEN (04/17/1939; Sydney, Australia; 00:01:19) GEORGE ZAHARIAS vs VIC CHRISTY (06/19/1939; Sydney, Australia; 00:01:13) This thread contains some excerpts of newspaper articles covering the match. ALI BABA vs RED BRANNIGAN (10/11/1939; Los Angeles, CA; 00:05:00) VIC HILL VS JACK GACEK (10/11/1939; Los Angeles, CA; 00:06:10) Watch Gacek apply an early version of the sharpshooter! JOSE SEVILLA vs KO KOVERLEY (10/18/1939; 00:04:35) This thread contains some interesting stories about Ko Koverley. COWBOY KARL DAVIS vs TERRY MCGINNIS (10/25/1939; 00:08:40) JOHNNY PARADISE vs TAMPLIN (10/30/1939; Australia; 00:00:58) KARL POJELLO vs CHARLES MANOOGIAN (11/29/1939; Genoa, Italy; 00:01:41) Some interesting information about Charles Manoogian here. DR. JOHN DROPKICK MURPHY & NICK LUTZE VS LAVERNE BAXTER & HARDBOILED HAGGERTY (1939; Los Angeles, CA; 00:08:57) Celtic punk band The Dropkick Murphys named themselves after the wrestler in this match. NICK LUTZE & TINY ROEBUCK vs VINCENT LOPEZ & EL PULPO-TORNADO ELIMINATION (1939; Los Angeles, CA; 00:10:19) RAW FISH BATTLE ROYAL (1939; USA; 00:01:10) IVAN MANAGOFF vs SERGEI KALMIKOFF (1930s; 00:01:49) PAUL BOESCH vs DICK SHIKAT | PAUL BOESCH vs JACK SHERRY (1930s; 00:03:12) Yes, the same Paul Boesch that went on to be the legendary promoter of Houston Wrestling. BATTLE ROYAL (1930s; 00:04:50) KAROL KRAUSER vs CHIEF BAMBA TABU (1930s; 00:01:24) OLGA BARANOFF vs HANKA KAVETZKA (1930s; 00:02:22) TOMATO BATTLE ROYAL (01/08/1940; 00:00:47) Just like it sounds. A battle royal with a ring filled with tomatoes. FRENCH ANGEL vs LUIGI BACIGALUPI (01/24/1940; AWA Boston, MA; 00:00:44) This is the debut match of Maurice Tillet, and because of his unique look, he immediately received coverage all over the country. MAURICE TILLET vs JOE COX (02/24/1940; Brooklyn, NY; 00:01:18) MAURICE TILLET vs JERRY MONOHAN (03/07/1940; 00:01:02) GOLDEN TERROR vs UNKNOWN WRESTLER (04/01/1940; 00:00:48) BOBBY MANAGOFF vs ERNIE DUSEK (04/17/1940; AWA Boston, MA; 00:01:00) OTTO VAN SCHACHT vs BOBBY BRUNS | SWEDISH ANGEL vs JUAN OLAGUIVEL (05/13/1940; MSG; New York, NY; 00:01:15) JACK DEMPSEY vs COWBOY LUTTRELL (07/01/1940; Atlanta, GA; 00:09:19) The authenticity of this match/fight is heavily debated to this day. Here’s a great summary on the Classic Boxing Matches YouTube channel. The bizarre comeback fight for Jack Dempsey against Cowboy Luttral from 1940. Dempsey had been retired for almost 13 years when he took on professional wrestler Cowboy Luttral. To this day there is still some debate around if the fight was staged or a legitimate professional contest. More info below... Jack Dempsey was one of the most popular sporting icons in America and his legend lives on to this day. His local popularity during the 1910's and 1920's can only be matched by arguably John L. Sullivan or James J. Jeffries from previous eras. Over the course of 13 years from 1914 to 1927, Dempsey amassed a 54-6-9 professional record and had an extremely exciting fighting style fans loved akin to Mike Tyson during his prime. Some stand out achievements include knocking out one of the best European boxers to ever lace gloves in Georges Carpentier, scoring a record number of knockdowns against the extremely hard hitting Argentinian fighter Luis Angel Firpo and absolutely demolishing the giant 6'6" Jess Willard for the World Heavyweight Championship. Dempsey's two losing efforts against Gene Tunney make up one of the most documented sporting rivalries of all time. Following his retirement from the ring Dempsey became a referee for wrestling and boxing matches, which is where his rivalry with "Cowboy" Clarence P. Luttral started. Most sources explained that during a wrestling match in which Dempsey was referee, Cowboy Luttral (sometimes spelt Luttrel or Lutrell) took a swing at him for an apparent "bad call". To settle the matter, both men agreed to a boxing match. It was a classic Boxer vs Wrestler match up to settle their differences. Most people believe the fight itself was "worked", or in other words the outcome predetermined. In Round 2 Luttral got trapped in a corner and initially it looked like he was just daring Dempsey to punch him however a short time later Demspey landed some very realistic looking punches that dropped Luttral to the canvas three times before a fourth knockdown put him through the ropes and out for the count. Luttral left the arena in an ambulance. Interesting fact, Nat Fleischer, the editor in chief of Ring magazine, was referee in this fight! The punches Dempsey threw in this match looked legitimate. They may have lacked the speed he once possessed but they were certainly solid and snapped Luttral's head back more than once. The ending is dubious however as it looks like Luttral was waiting for the punch when he fell out of the ring... Some boxing pundit's view this fight as nothing more than an exhibition, some sources have it recorded as a legitimate professional fight, either way it was the last recorded in-ring performance from one of the all time greats. Even at 45 years old Demspey still looked in good physical fighting condition. With Joe Louis as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion however, Dempsey must have realised any serious attempt at a comeback would be futile because although he told reporters it was a comeback fight he never fought again. FRENCH ANGEL vs LEN MACALUSO (10/09/1940; Hammond, IN; 00:01:35) MARVIN WESTENBERG vs JOE COX (01/01/1941; AWA Boston, MA; 00:00:57) MARTIN LEVY vs BOBBY BRUNS (03/27/1941; MSG; New York, NY; 00:01:57) MILDRED BURKE vs PATSY MILLER (04/03/1941; 0:01:20) ACE FREEMAN vs BILLY VENABLE | BILLY RABURN vs JACK HAGEN (1941; 00:10:15) DEAN DETTON vs RICK RAINES (1941; 00:06:24) WILD RED BERRY vs YUKON JAKE (1941; 00:07:52) MARTIN LEVY vs PIERRE DEGLANE | MUSTAP HA HAMID vs KING KONG MARSHALL (01/05/1942; Washington, DC; 00:01:32) PRIMO CARNERA vs ERVIN SELZER (03/02/1942; Italy; 00:01:40) ASH MAHONEY vs HERMAN RODHE (1943; 00:04:59) Our first look at the legendary “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers, wrestling as Rodhe here, before he took on the persona that made him a star. BABE SHARKEY vs DON EVANS (1943; 00:04:47) MILDRED BURKE vs MAE WESTON (12/08/1944; Houston, TX; 00:02:29) This match happened in remarkable context, as it was part of the sixth war bond drive to fund World War II. The show did a staggering $20 million gate. There is more information about the match and show in the above thread. BUDDY ROGERS vs GORGEOUS GEORGE (04/1946; 00:03:07) BERT ASSIRATI vs GEORGE GREGORY (1946; 00:00:39) This site contains a program for the show. BUTCHER BUKOVAC vs JACKKNIFE JOHNSON (1946; 00:01:13) REX GALLE vs BEN VILLE (1946; 00:00:54) Great action in this short clip! MILDRED BURKE vs MAE WESTON (03/20/1947; AWA Boston, MA; 00:07:09) GORGEOUS GEORGE vs LARRY MOQUIN (11/26/1947; 00:06:25) GORGEOUS GEORGE vs PETE PETERSON (10/20/1948; Promotions Eddie Quinn; Montreal, Quebec; 00:00:48) DUSEK BROTHERS vs LARRY MOQUIN-WHIPPER WATSON (1948; 00:01:19) TEDDY BOYS vs GILBERT CESCA & RENE BEN CHEMOUL (1948; French Catch; 00:17:10) KILLER LETEUR vs HAIRY HESSLE (1948; 00:00:58) LEE HENNIG & BILL LONGSON & RAY ECKERT vs PETE PETERSON & YVON ROBERT & LARRY MOQUIN (1948; 00:09:32) SKY LOW LOW & LORD LITTLEBROOK vs IVAN THE TERRIBLE & COWBOY BOB BRADLEY (1949; 00:09:43) WILD RED BERRY vs ANGELO MARTINELLI (1949; 00:06:57) ANTONINO ROCCA vs BENITO GARDINI (02/03/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:08:18) GENE STANLEE vs KOLA KWARIANI (02/03/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:07:57) JIM LONDOS vs PRIMO CARNERA (02/03/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:13:34) These matches were on a show at Chicago Stadium that drew the biggest gate of the year. 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