Historische Wrestling Stories/Artikel

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Tampa Tribune
Tampa, Florida
18 June 1972

Jim Selman

Fatherly Interference

it's going to become awfully tempting in the eddie and mike graham father-son relationship for one not to interfere in what the other is doing.

not even when one is locked in mortal combat and suffering excruiating pain can there be interference, except at the risk of defeat by disqualification.

forty-two year old eddie graham, a veteran of 25 years in professional wrestling, and 20 year old mike are about to launch a career as father-son tag team partners.

it will be a lifetime dream come true for eddie graham.

mike? well as a 3 year old toddler he began hanging around the gyms where his dad trained and wrestled and it was about all he ever knew. as impossible as it seemed, he, too, began to hope hemight someday team with his dad in the ring.

after all, not many men achieve such a relationship in sports or public life.

in the last 20 years, there have been only five father-son wrestling teams of note. of these, only two won sufficient fame to be generally recognized by the average sports fan.

that would be leo and gino garibaldi of california, who were fighting in the days when old channel 38 provided our first televised wrestling, and then dory funk sr., and his two boys, world heavyweight champion dory jr. and terry of texas.

lesser knowns are len and chip rossi of tennessee, buddy, ron, and robert fuller (buddy has succeeded eddie graham as the wrestling matchmaker in florida so graham can wrestle full-time again), and les, jack, and roy welch.

debuts in garden

mike graham is like a young bull. he won the state aau championship three times as well as the junior olympics title. a year ago last november in tallahassee he bench pressed 430 pounds to set a state record in his 198 pound weight class.

he has been wrestling professionally about a month, has become involved in one of those characteristic wrestling fueds with bobby shane and the first of july will make his debut in madison square garden.

eddie graham is not certain whether that appearance will be a tag team venture or whether mike will go as a siingle. in the latter case, eddie graham also will appear on the card as a single.

how do the grahams view this unusual relationship?

well, daddy graham is worried about the boy.

"with mike just starting, i hope he isn't overmatched and gets hurt or something," the veteran wrestler said.

"it's a strange thing, really. of course, i'm really proud that he has the desire to go along with the life i have lived. at the same time just because he weighs 220 pounds and is strong, he's still a little boy to me and i worry about him.

"when i was 19 i had my jaw broken. my leg was broken when i was 21.

"so, naturally, you kinda live in a little bit of terror that these things might happen. but i guess it is part of life. you gotta grow up sometime.

"i feel, too, like all parents, that he's over the hump as far as drugs and things are concerned. i'm sure he came in contact with that. but i am proud that he never fooled with it. i would like to think that it was our association, that he trusted us and thought enough of us to take our advice.

" there re so many pitfalls that young people get into today. they wreck their lives before they really get a chance."

almost blinded

wrestling has been good to edie graham, although it has severely crippled him and, for a while, almost blind.

in 1963, the great malenko salmmed him backwards across his knee and eddie suffered a rotation of the lumbar which sidelined him for a year.

some orthopedic people told him he was through wrestling. he was not.

in 1968, a heavy window in the fort hesterly dressing room somehow became unattached, fell and struck graham on the head as he was dressing for a match. he had to have about 100 stitches taken on his skull. worse than that, graham, who is blind in the left eye, almost lost the sight of his right eye as the retina was torn. he had to have surgery in houston to save it. again, he was told he was through as a wrestler.

but in september of 1970, eddie graham wrestled again in the gator bowl in acksonville.

he's held the southern heavyweight title five times and thre times was co-holder of the world tag team championship.

in 1964 he defeated freddie blassie in atlanta. blassie was recognized as heavyweight champion by several states, but not the national wrestling alliance. graham did not claim the title.

he did fight champions lou thesz and gene kiniski in 1 hour no decisions.

graham took over l & g promotions in tampa from cowboy luttrall, whose health was failing. promotions in the state by the two men have provided something like $50,000 in percentages for the florida sheriff's boys ranch in live oak and a special benefit show by the wrestlers in live oak turned over another $3,700 to the ranch. graham himself donated his entire purse of $1,013 from a fight with dick murdoch recently to the tampa boys' club. he once had a boys' camp in northwest hillsborough county and let many underprivileged kids get the feel of the good life there.

graham has been a god, philanthropic citizen. he's had many successes and big moments.

but to have his own kid team with him? that's something else.

"it's knd of a strange feeling," said the boy, mike. "when he's out there and i know the hold hurts, he hurts. but i gotta get used to it and can't interfere to the point where we get disqualified.

"it is inbelievable for me to team with him.

"but i would imagine it probably is even more so for him."

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Atlanta Constitution & Journal
Atlanta, Georgia
15 June 1974

Wrestler's Lib and now, a lady promoter

Ann Gunkel didn't expect the photographer. she excused herself to comb her hair and di a little primping.

"after all," she said, "i've got to stay ahead of paul jones."

she smiled an infectious smile.

ann gunkel is a rarity in the field of sports. a wrestling promoter. not only a promoter, but a lady promoter. not only a lady, but a lovely lady. somehow it seems incongruous, beauty among all the 'beasts.' oh, there was a aldy promoter in los angeles, but she sort of retired.

paul jones is the 'other' wrestling promoter in town. for years he had the professional sport to himself. the late ray gunkel, ann's husband, was part of thejones operation. but after gunkel died from a freakish injury in the ring, ann said jones "restructed the organization leaving me out" and she went into combat.

she set up a wrestling emporium on the other side of the street and landed 27 of the top grapplers. "only one wrestler stayed i the other outfit and he was a local gu," she said. "and today all 27 are still in our sanctioning body."

ann gunkel doesn't look like a fighter, but the facts prove otherwise.

"at first, she said, "the national wrestling alliance (nwa) frowned upon a woman in wrestling.

"a lot of people were against me. they said it was too tough for a woman. and now they're saying i'm too tough for the sport.
i told them that the nwa stood for 'no women allowed.' sure, at the beginning, the whole thing was completely new for me, and it was difficult. but i have it organized now and it is functioning well.

"we have our shows here, of course, but it is much more than that. our wrestlers are out every night of the week in surrounding towns.

"we have grossed more than $1 million in a year's time. the next week i am going to puerto rico to sign up that country's champion, carlos colon, and perhaps promote there."

sure, she said, there are raised eyebrows when wrestlers and promoters see the boss is a lady.

she laughed.

"but one promoter told me it was kind of nice not having to go to dinner with an old wrestler with cauliflower ears."

mrs. gunkel retains her perspective.

"oh, wrestling is not the only thing in my life," she said. "i have a step-son and two small children and ibelong to the pta and i am a room mother and i play tennis and love to have large tennis parties. and the other day when someone called on business, i told them they had to wait because i had a load in the washing machine.

"i don't see why a woman can't be in a competitive business and retain her femininity."

no problem there for ann gunkel.

there were those who said she couldn't fight the competitive battles.

"but, she said, "it's like the nfl. it never thought the world football league would pop up and compete and it did. then, when i was told it couldn't be done, i checked the tablets of moses and found there was nothing there that said i couldn't do it."

mrs. gunkel, a one-time drum majorette at west fulton, had some business experience. she worked in hotel management on the west coast, under the direction of actress doris day, and became accustomed to the pressure of meeting people.

she smiles.

"still," she said, "when i went on tv with ed capral for my first show i forgot the names of all the wrestlers. just drew a blank. but the situation has improved."

wrestlers accept her as the boss, the businesswoman, but a few among the general public can't get used to the idea.

such as the coach from tennessee who wrote he was "avaiable for wrestling and dating." and the voice on the phone recording from the guy obviously under the influence.

:the first time he called he said he wanted a picture of ann gunkel," she said with a smile. "the next time he wanted a bathing suit picture. then a shot of me in a bikini. i'm glad he didn't call again."

wrestlers are usually regarded as nomads who move from town to town without any local interest, but mrs. gunkel said that wasn't true.

"ernie ladd speaks with kids at the local schools and encourages them to continue their education," she said. "at 6-8, 350, he is one of our more popular wrestlers. and you should see him eat 12 barbecued ribs before he fights. thatis just an appetizer until the main meal later."

she grew serious for a monent.

"going into business was therapy for my grief," she said. "it kept me busy and i enjoy it. but i never want to get so involved that i get jaded."

she has proved one thing. there are not two worlds, one for women and one for men.

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Baltimore Sun
Baltimore, Maryland
20 June 1972

Alan Goldstein

ladd asks respect for pro wrestlers

it's time for the sports media and the general public to stop looking down their noses at professional wrestlers and regarding them as a bunch of feeble-mided refugees from the circus sideshow doing somersaults to the tune of a greedy promoter.

nothing could be further from the truth, claims ernie ladd, the 6-9, 345 pound amn mountain who earned $115,000 on the grunt and groan circuit last year.

ladd, the former celebrated tackle for the san diego chargers and houston oilers, was in town yesterday to help promote his championship match with titleholder pedro morales at the civic center tomorrow night.

it seems to the casual follower that every wrestling bout is for some championship or other and it always ends with the challenger being disqualified for tossing the champion into the lap of the pretty blonde in the third row.

but this is the typical cynicism of non-believer, says ladd, who supports his raguments with more tahn his formidable frame.

"everybody who doesn't know any better knocks wrestling," he said. "but there were 30 or 40 wrestlers last year who earned between $40,000-$50,000. only about four or five boxers make that kind of meney. you see a lot of old boxers shining shoes, but you don't see any old wrestlers, do you.

in reply to the old charges that wrestling matches are about as honest as the roller games and horse racing, if you believe "mr. byrne", ladd contends that you can only fool the public for so long.

a wise guy

"i remember the story or pimo carnera, the ex-heavyweight champion, who became a wrestler," said ladd. "cernera went on a wrestling tour of italy. the first time he visited each city, he drew terrific crowds because of his name. but they saw he didn't know the first thing about wrestling. he was a triple-threat --stumble, fumble, and fall. the next time primo came to town he couldn't draw flies."

ladd, who contends he signed a richer contract with the houston oilers (it reportedly extends through 1989) than joe namath received from the new york jets, also thought wrestling would be mere child's play compared to the violent world of pro football.

"i remember my first wrestling match," he said. "i was a real wise guy. a super football player. they put me in with some guy who weighed only 225. well, he turned me every which way, but loose. he rubbed my nose in the mat for 25 or 30 minutes."

it convinced the giant ladd that he needed more than his substantial bulk to survive on the mat circuit. he "took his lumps for three years," but now is considered one of the more skilled wrestlers on the tour and one of the top draws.

asked why he gave up his lucrative football career, ernie said, "football was good to me, but i paid my debt to football. i found out in football that i wasn't a complete man. i could't spend much time with my family, and there were other things in life.

"in football, a coach could call me up at four in the morning and i'd have to lsiten to him. but, in wrestling, i can call my own shots. i don't have to wrestle if i don't feel like it. i take three months off every year. for me, football was just a stepping stone."

but ladd will never knock his old profession.

greats don't knock

"if you check the record, the guys like dave meggyesy, who knocked football, never really amounted to much," he said. "jim brown never knocked it. neither did the greats like alan ameche and raymond berry."

someone asked ladd the age-old question of whether an outstanding boxer could beat a topnotch wrestler.

"no way," he said. " he'd have to knock him out with his first punch or it would be all over in a matter of minutes."

ladd believes he could have been a heavyweight contender if he had concentrated on boxing instead of wrestling.

he has an opportunity durng football days in san diego when he spent a lot of time in the company of former light-heavyweight king archie moore.

"he tried to get me to box, but i was happy just playing him billiards," ernie laughed, and the whole room shook.

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Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu, Hawaii
16 June 1982

high chief fanene leifi pita maivia, known locally as professional wrestler peter maivia died sunday (june 13, 1982) of canver. he was 45.

maivia was born in western samoa and raised in new zealand, where he began his wrestling career. he went to england as a professional wrestler and wassigned by the producers of the early james bond film "you only live twice" to do a fight scene with actor sean connery, who played bond.

maivia went on to wrestle professionally in europe, the far east, and the u. s. mainland. he started wrestling in hawaii in the early 1960s and eventually became the first polyneasian promoter of professional wrestling in the islands. he also established the peter maivia wrestling school here.

maivia promoted several wrestling events in american and western samoa, tonga, and other southenr pacific islands,a nd about three years ago he was the main event in what is said to have been the largest spectator event ever held in western samoa -- an outdoor wrestling match in which he was the headliner. about 10,000 spectators are said to have attended.

friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. friday at borthwick mortuary. services 1 p.m. friday. burial at diamond head memorial park.

he is survived by wife, ofelia fuataga; daughter, mrs. mataniu feagaimaleata johnson of florida; grandson tuifeai dwayne johnson of florida; mother, mrs. peka papali'i of auckland, new zealand; two brothers in samoa; and a cousin, papali'itele siva afi, a professional wrstler here known as siva afi.

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Toledo Blade
Toledo, Arkansas
3 July 1975
Penny Breniser

volatile and venomous poffo forsakes baseball for wrestling

in the big-time wrestling program, randy poffo is billed as "volatile and venomous." But the 6-1 california beach-boy type, says he is anything but that.

"they just needed something to write in a hurry," the newcomer to toledo said.

poffo, who is originally from downers grove, ill., has now settled in toledo on alexis road, with his family. His father, angelo, and his brother, lanny are also professional wrestlers.

poffo claims to be the only professional baseball player turned professional wrestler.

the transition has not been easy. he has had to go into an intensive retraining program, which includes strenuous, daily workouts -- changing his baseball arms to atlas arms.

poffo largely played the position of catcher, with farm teams of the st. louis cardinals, cincinnati reds, and the chicago white sox.

in the four years he played in the minor leagues, his determination kept him alive.

however, with a reduction in the minor league teams, he feels that his stint is up in the baseball world, and he should look to something else.

so he turned to wrestling, since it is a "relative thing."

poffo contends he does not fit the professional wrestler image.

"i showed up at my promoter's in cut-off jeans, and everybody else was wearing trunks. there I was just off the beaches of florida and they wanted me to wear wrestling trunks," poffo said, adding that "a need for a gimmick was stressed."

yet, poffo told his promoter, he could not be anything that he really wasn't, and his image remained intact.

"i guess if I have a gimmick, it's that I have no gimmick."

he takes his wrestling seriously as he has all his athletic endeavors. yet, he holds little or no contempt for the likes of the sheik who puts on a floor show for the fans.

but for poffo, who stresses a need to be himself, not much flashiness will be apparent when he plays at the sports arena on july 6.

"i work hard at the sport, it is a full-time job for me," he said.

and if his efforts work as they did in baseball, he may manage to tread water.

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Miami Herald
Miami, Florida
9 July 1975

Redskins sizing up 7-4 Giant

washington -- (upi) -- at a news conference worthy of paul bunyan and his great blue ox, babe, the Washington redskins suggested tuesday they were interested in signing a seven-foot four-inch, more than one-fifth of a ton professional wrestler, known as andre the giant, for defensive purposes.

in conjunction with a local wrestling promoter, tim temmerario, director of personnel of the redskins and joe theismann, a prospective starting quarterback replacement for sonny jurgenen, served as co-spokesman for the 425-pound behemoth.

temmerario, a veteran scout, acknowledged that andre (whose last name is roussimoff from grenoble, france) probably wouldn't be a contender for a defensive lineman's spot at carlisle, pa., when the redskins open their preseason camp sunday.

coughing a little, tim related that about four months ago redskin coach george allen told a staff meeting that he'd like to find something "unusual" for defensive purposes such as an agile seven-footer to create consternation in opposing ranks. temmerario said he got word of andre the giant and initiated possible free agent negotiations with promoter vince mc mahon.

"i wouldn't mind working him out," the redskin representative said of the 29 year-old andre who wears a 22-size shoe and has never attended a football game. he's certainly a hunk of material but he'd have to have more than size."

temmerario acknowledged that he had discussed the prospect off andre as an nfl player several times by phone and added that allen "talked to me this morning and encouraged me to come down to the news conference."

"we're interested in him," he said, "but there are problems such as his heavy wrestling schedule and the fact he makes so much money from it. however, nothing is impossible."

temmerario quickly added that the bushy-haired gigantic wrestler wasn't expected at carlisle. "I made the call to him" I'll admit that," he commented. "that's all I'll admit."

theismann, the former notre dame quarterback who played in the canadian pro league, told the news conference he had seen andre wrestle professionally on television. after firmly identifying himself as "only the mc," he commented: "with his size, I'll call andre 'sir'. I'd rather have him with me than against me"

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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California
10 June 1952

LEONE, TORRES TEAM TO FIGHT DAMAGE SUIT

"It can't be done!" Wrestlers Baron Michele Leone, 216 pounds, and Enrique Torres, 225 pounds, sang in duet yesterday when the Baron demonstrated he couldn't possibly have "thrown" Torres from the ring in the Ocean Park Arena last January 5.

Leone, Torres and Mike Hirsch, arena proprietor, appeared in Santa Monica Superior Court yesterday for trial of a $30,000 damage suit, brought against them by Ian H. Caldwell and his wife Mary of 11690 Gorham Place, West Los Angeles.

The Caldwells allege they were injured while occupying the seat where Torres landed from the asserted toss.

"If I could forward pass a man like Enrique," the Baron declared, "I'd quit wrestling and try for the SC football team."

Both athletes explained that wrestlers may fall out of a ring but they can't be tossed. Joe Varga, who was refereeing on the night in question, said that if either man had fallen, been tossed or even run out of the ring on the night in question, he, the referee, would surely have known about it.

At request of the attorneys, Judge Stanley Mosk placed the case off calendar until September when it will be reset by stipulation.

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Detroit Free Press
Detroit, Michigan
29 June 1960
Bob Pille

as of today ruby's wrestlers share the wealth

out where the michigan sky isn't blurred by tall buildings, the pied piper wears cauliflower ears.

in the kalamazoos and kingstons, the millingtons and muskegons, the cries trampled out of evil opponents in the wrestling ring are golden and alluring tones.

a small-town fair isn't complete these days without the muscle men.

leaping larry chene is replacing chili suppers as a fund-raiser for the volunteer fire department. instead of needlepoint and the annual bazaar, the p-t-a offers ali bey and make more money.

in the caro high school band the wrestlers have bought the tuba player's horn and put the uniform on his back.

they are building the scorebaord at oxford high, sending dexter's senior class on a trip to washington.

they are helping the blind at utica and financing uniforms for romulus policemen, baseballs for kids in belleville, and checkerboards for the oldsters whose recreation is looked after by the uaw in ypsilanti.

the center line roatry club, left in a financial hole last year by rubinoffand his violin, bailed out this spring with culture surrounded by ring ropes.

hovering over all on philosophic resignation -- part angel and part businessman -- is old grappler bert ruby.

his code is simple: "it's not a vrtue to make money but to enjoy it." ruby does both.

he deals from the floer garden behind his home and from his paneled basement amid a connoisseur's store of imported liqueurs.

arrangements are standard. ruby provides the ring, fills it with referee and trained livestock, forwards posters and publicity.

his son al, soon to be 15 and an "a" student and hopeful three-sport athlete at oak park high, does a professional job of ring announcing and pens the advances.

for this rubu takes 60 per cnet of the gate.

for the remaining 40 per cent, the local co-promoter gets up a site and date, signs for a guarantee, and presumably labors dilligently at selling tickets.

the results are sometimes spectacular.

kingston, a thumb hamlet of 450, last week featured its first homecoming with a midawy, rodeo, chicken over open charcoal pits, and a one-night stand by the ruby troupe.

the arena was the school athletic field with double-decked snow fence around it.

some of the bleachers were from the caro fairgrounds, and some had been used for graduation at marlette high only the night before.

the hero was chene, known everybody from the man in the enxt car at the stoplight in lapeer to all the kids in kingston.

he gave away pictures, signed autographs, strolled the midway trailed by youngsters, crowned the homecoming queen and kissed all her court, subdued a villanous foe named bulldog brower, and signed more autographs at a teen record hop in the school gym.

a fortyish native of detroit's east side, chene is back after seven years on other circuits.

his delight at being home with the family is sharpened by the $500-$800 he brings weekly out of the hinderlands in paychecks.

ruby calls chene "an artist who projects himself," and this si where is philosophic resignation enters.

an old scientific wrestlers, he now confesses to halfway agreement with the fellow promoter who told him "watching a scientific wrestler is about as exciting as wtaching the grass grow."

"i teach beauty," sighs ruby. "but a kick in the stomach is more appreciated than 20 fast wristlocks."

ruby consoles himself with the feeling of doing his bit for the folks pyschologically.

"wrestling gives people an object to hate harmlessly," he says.

he is reconciled to crdue questions on fakery. "we let people separate fancy from reality as they wish."

ruby also consoles himself with money.

add together all the one-shot caros and kingstons and all the regular winter shoes where he often promotes alone in some 15 towns from grand rapids to monroe to sarnia.

the operation has grossed in the last year, by conservative guess, over $700,000.

detroit in the same period led the big towns of the nation with $545,000.

all that green stuff in the open fields ain't hay.

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Sacramento Bee
Sacramento, California
4 April 1978

wrestler is down - match with health

olympic medalist chris taylor has wrestled most of his life. now, he's wrestling with his health.

the 6 foot 6, 470 pound taylor faces a year of tests and therapy in and out of the hospital to control his weight. chronic hepatitis and liver ailments have forced him to end -- at least temporarily --- his professional wrestling career and join the ranks of the unemployed.

taylor is 60 pounds heavier than he would like to be. he has gained 40 pounds in two months.

if he doesn't start losing it, doctors say his life may be on the line.

"i bloat up easy with liquids, " taylor said. "for some reason the liquids are not filtering out of me. the doctors know at i want to do. it's going to take from 10 to 12 months. it's going to be a year before i do anything else strenuous.."

taylor, the bronze medal winner in heavyweight wrestling at the 1972 munich olympics, said that although he doesn't have an enormous appetite, he has always had a problem controllong his weight. "i can walk by a mc donald's and gain three pounds."

he's a big man -- 60 inch chest, 20 inch biceps, and a 56 inch waist. he buys most of his triple extra large clothes through catalogs.

taylor was weel-known for his size before he won the medal in graco-roman wrestling in 1972. he had won two straight national collegiate athletic association titles while attending iowa state and seven consecutive amateur athletic union crowns. he was a big 8 conference athlete of the year in 1973.

the iowa state graduate tried pro wrestling with the like of gorilla monsoon and bruno sammartino. his contract called for him to receive about $400,000 over a five year period. "it was null and void if you didn't do the required work," he said. "the only thing i didn't like was the road," he said.

"a lot of times i'd wake up in the morning, thinking i had to catch a plane. then it hit me. i was already where i was supposed to be."

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United Press International
2 July 1979

Wrestling Star Chris Taylor dies

story city, iowa -- chris taylor, the two-time ncaa heavyweight wrestling champion and olympic bronze medalist from dowagiac, mich., who later became a professional wrestler, died at his home saturday night, he was 29.

the 395 pound wrestler had suffered from a variety of illnesses and retired from the professional ranks in 1977 for health reasons. he died of natural causes, the the exact cause of death was not immediately determined, said story county medical examiner donald w. powers.

a story city rescue unit was called to the taylor home butmedics were unable to revive him, powers said.

services were pending at stevens funeral home in ames. burial will be in dowagiac.

taylor had wrestled at iowa state university in ames for two years after transferring from muskegon mich. junior college.

while at isu, taylor wrestled at 400 pounds, compiling an 87-0 record -- 80 of the matches won by falls -- and winning the ncaa heavyweight wrestling title in 1972 and 1973.

in 1972, taylor won a bronze medal in the heavyweight freestyle competition at the olympics in muncih.

after competing at iowa state, taylor signed a five year professional wretsling contract for an estimated $100,000 a year.

dr. harold nichols, a veteran iowa state wrestling coach, said taylor recently underwent tests in iowa city. taylor had been hospitalized at the university of iowa hospitals seven weeks in the spring of 1978 while doctors treid to diagnose a liver ailment.

taylor is survived by his wife, lynn, and three year old daughter jennifer.

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Fresno Bee
Fresno, California
28 April 1944

SAN FRANCISCO. April 28—Round ring report! Being prejudiced, partial and biased in favor of the advantages of a circular ring for boxing over the traditional square "ring." Your reporter is a dead duck in the matter of reviewing the first showing of a round battle pit here the other night …We are in the predicament of a sailor shipwrecked on a raft—water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink …
The fact the wrestlers stole a march on boxing promoters and introduced the first circular ring may alter the case slightly in that the two professions are greatly different in footwork and other technique. The wrestlers could stage their performances knee deep in mud, as has been done and named Hindu style, or within a decagon, which is a 10 angled figure, and they would continue to produce their usual show, which pleases many patrons …

MEANT FOR BOXING
However, when we suggested the idea of a circular ring, we had boxing in mind, and a great many others now also are awaiting the mitt tossing program involving amateurs which will be put on in a round ring in May by the Marinship Athletic Club. Charley Hunter directing…
The amateur organization is causing to be constructed a circular ring which will be affixed to a round platform … It may come up as a three post affair, affording considerably more view to spectators than either the four poster or one with six posts, which has been considered …
After the wrestlers performed in their circular ring, supported by four posts, the general opinion was the device produced faster bouts by the very nature of its shape … Abe Kashey, a wrestler, said: “It forces you to keep hustling every minute. There are no corners to loaf in.”
Chief Inspector Don Shields of the state athletic commission said he thought that "for such a newfangled idea, the reaction was very favorable. The wrestlers who used it agreed it made them work faster .A number of improvements can be made. The ring certainly stood up under a severe test of heavy men banging into it. I would like to see it tried out for boxing.”

TRIAL IN BOXING
State athletic commission member Ed Pencevich said the circular ring inaugural was "very interesting. This type of ring promises to make contests much faster than before. I am looking forward to seeing boxing matches held in it." Oldest boxing publicist in California, in point of service, Leon Meyer, expressed the opinion the round ring held out “many interesting possibilities. All of the people I talked to want to see how it will work in boxing.” In conclusion we must print the comment of veteran Tim McGrath, who trained Sailor Tom Sharkcy in the 1890s: Sharkey never would have caught up with Jim Corbett in a round ring. (Grand old Sailor Tom was a slowfoot: Corbett possibly the fleetest in heavyweight ring history.)

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Dallas, Texas
Dallas Morning News
28 October 1954

‘Mixed Bouts’ Law Unconstitutional

Austin, Texas – Texas’ law against professional fights between whites and Negroes is unconstitutional, the Austin Court of Civil Appeals held Wednesday.

The case involved I.H. (Sporty) Harvey, San Antonio Negro boxer.

It is one of the first decisions by a state court favoring Negroes in a segregation dispute. Most previous defeats for state segregation laws have come in the United States Supreme Court.

M.B. Morgan, commissioner of labor, announced that an appeal will be made to the Texas Supreme Court. Morgan supervises professional boxing and wrestling.

Morgan said that every wrestling promoter he knows opposes mixed matches. Some boxing promoters favor letting white met fight Negroes.

Associate Justice Robert G. Hughes wrote that the Texas law clearly violates this portion of the fourteenth amendment, United States Constitution:

“No state shall make of enforee any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The case was returned for a new trial before Dist. Judge Jack Roberts of Austin. He had upheld the law.

Atty. Gen. John Ben Shepperd argued that professional boxing can be policed more closely by the state than can usual public activities.

The state contended that boxing might promote racial feelings which would cause riots.

“There was no finding that mixed fights would result in race riots or other disturbances of an unusual nature,” Judge Hughes reported.

[Nefercheperur]

Dallas, Texas
Dallas Morning News
25 April 1954

Fish Eating Prince, Big Game Hunter on Dallas Mat Programs

Antone Leone, a retired legislator from New York State, and Prince Maiava, a fish-eating member of the Samoan nobility, have one or two things in common. Both are proponents of the evil or no-holds-barred school of wrestling and both of them are highly emotional.

They will probably never meet in the ring, since Maiava performs his Samoan sword dance for Norman Clark, the Pappy’s Showland impressario, while Leone emotes for Ed McLemore at the Sportatorium. This is an unfortunate circumstance since the two of them might wreak havoc such as has seldom been seen outside of Elugelab.

Maiava is a temperamental, inarticulate savage with a penchant for stomping on bonfires and sharp nails and eating raw fish. Leone is a suave sophisticated man of the world who has a vast storehouse of words available on nearly any conceiveable subject. He has never stepped on so much as a match, although a time or two he has been victimized by other wrestlers via the hot foot. He hasn’t stepped on a sharp nail since his childhood in Oyster Bay, New York, and, except when he appears in the ring, he wears shoes. Maivia doesn’t wear shoes in or out of the ring.

Leone discovered Leone while attending Brown University and wrestling on the side. Maiava was discovered by a gentleman from Long Beach, Calif., named Coconut Willie, who heard of the prince via grapevine and journeyed all the way to Samoa to sign him to a wrestling conract.

Since Maiava’s English vocabulary is confined to three words – “eat, sleep, girls” – Coconut Willie must have used sign language to sign him. He directs Maiava in the ring via a Samoan war drum, beating a tattoo on it with his palms which means something to the prince and Willie but leaves their opponent bewitched, bothered and in the fierce clutches of Maiava.

On the few occasions when a mere human has triumphed over the untutored savage, it was because of foul play. The victors invariably deserted the ring to snatch the drum away from Willie and hide it. With no drum beat to advise him on the niceties of the strategy and tactics of the wrestling ring, Maiava was at the mercy of his ruthless foe and lost in a welter of confusion.

Since part of Maiava’s act is a sword dance performed either immediately preceding or following his engagement with another wrestler, ringside seats to his battles have become hard to sell. He performs the sword dance with two razor-sharp swords which he juggles with a rare insouciance and a perfect disregard for the customers. Once he adminstered a crew-cut to a row of seven customers with one fell swoop of a sword, but he has never injured a paying fan.

Maiava has an affinity for fresh fish as an item of diet. Recently, he journeyed with Coconut Willie to The Dallas News for an interview. While Willie went inside to locate a sports writer, Maiava remained in the car, dreaming of fresh fish. A wrestling fan began chivvying him – presumably via his own personal drum – producing a vast emotional upheaval in the savage breast. Although Maiava’s three-word vocabulary makes an interview simple, he became so upset he could not bring himself to face this writer and had to be shepherded to his hotel room by Coconut Willie. Three hours and several dozen fresh fish later, Willie called to say he had put out the fires and Maiava was calm enough to interview.

The interview was carried out in Maiava’s hotel room. The prince said, “Eat, sleep, girls,” stomped out a bonfire thoughtfully prepared by Willie on a slab of wood in the middle of the hotel room, and trod daintily on another slab of wod full of nails. It was an obvious effort for him to control his emotions.

Leone has never wrestled so savage a savage, although he once fought his way across the length and breadth of Africa. During this safari, he met and defeated Willie Liebenburg, the South African champion, and Gert Danhauser, champion of North Africa.

After these polar successes, he also met and defeated a leopard, which he first looked boldly in the eye, then shot. According to Antone, the lion is not really the king of beasts – he just has a good publicity man. The leopard, elephant and Cape buffalo are the most dangerous animals, not counting Samoan wrestlers or a chap named Jolly Midget Fisher.

Jolly Midget Fisher no longer wrestles, but his memory is green in the mind of Leone.

Fisher, according to Leone’s hospital records, is the roughest adversary he ever faced.

“He broke my left leg and subjected me to unimaginable tortures,” says Leone, simply. “He didn’t put me out of my misery fast enough.”

Leone’s brief tenure as a member of the New York State Legislature came as a strong protest against the governorship of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“I campaigned on an anti-Governor platforma nd was elected,” he says. “I made a ringing speech denouncing the Governor and his policies and resigned forthwith to return to wrestling.”

When he retires from the ring, Leone would like to run for Congress from Dallas. His platform is simple.

“I’m for McCarthy and against income tax,” he says. “I’m going to run as a representative of the Constitution party.”

TH: The sophistication of Leone is somewhat hard to believe, especially if you are privy to the letters written by Antone to Department of Justice officials and the Judge of the 1956 Antitrust case. In my opinion, the letters were written by a borderline psychotic - wishing death upon many people in the wrestling business. I guess he had a personal right to be angry and was fueled by the assumption of blacklisting, but he was WAY out there