Tamio Takeshita

[KinchStalker]

Tamio Takeshita (竹下民夫)

Profession: Wrestler, Referee, Announcer
Real name: Tamio Takeshita
Professional names: Iwao Takeshita, Tamio Takeshita
Life: 12/29/1938-unknown
Born: Chiba, Japan
Career: 1960-1961, 1966-1976(?)
Height/Weight: 175cm/85kg (5’9”/187lbs.)
Promotions: Japan Wrestling Association, Tokyo Pro Wrestling, International Wrestling Enterprise

Puroresu’s first pro-baseball transplant, Tamio Takeshita had a far humbler career than the man he inspired to do the same.

After a sumo stint in the Futatsunoseki stable, Tamio Takeshita played baseball for the Dragonfly Unions and the JNR (now Yakult) Swallows before joining the Japan Wrestling Association in 1960. One day in March 1960, former Yomiuri Giants pitcher Shohei Baba visited the Japan Pro Wrestling Center in Nihonbashi, hoping to meet Rikidozan (who was overseas in Brazil at the time). It was Takeshita who suggested that Baba follow his example and pivot into pro wrestling, and Shohei would meet with Rikidozan the following month with intent on doing just that. Ironically, Takeshita left the company around eighteen months later, for reasons I do not know. In 1966, Tamio was invited back into the business by Toyonobori, and wrestled for Tokyo Pro Wrestling as Iwao Takeshita. When the company merged with the International Wrestling Enterprise, Takeshita reverted to his real name, and wrestled for Kokusai through late 1968, while pulling double duty as a referee. Tamio then became the IWE’s announcer as well as a salesman. During one tour in autumn 1974, Takeshita was so busy with sales that, on some dates, the sales representative in charge of the show had to fill in as announcer. I have confirmed that Takeshita was still announcing as late as March 1976, but he would be replaced with salesman Toshio Suzuki, then general employee Kazutoshi Iibashi. I do not know if Takeshita continued behind the scenes in sales work.