'Used to be a time when people were happy to see three good fights. I remember three shows
at the old Oshawa Arena where Whipper Billy Watson and The Great Togo brought
in 10,000 people and boy was it hot in there...you couldn't breathe'
Pat Milosh 1985 reflecting on Oshawa wrestling history
In the summer of 1953 Whipper Watson & Great Togo start a feud that revitalizes the Oshawa wrestling scene. The two set attendance records helping to make it the most successful season in the towns rich wrestling history. The first bout set it on fire. The feud - not the arena. In fact the Oshawa Arena did burn down that season, right before the last card of the year a few months later. The feud may have had something to do with it.
WHIPPER WATSON GOES BERSERK, OSHAWA ARENA
Headline June 24 1953
Whipper was well into his long tenure as the British Empire champion while Togo had previously starred at MLG performing pre-bout exhibitions of strength and breaking bricks and planks with his bare hands.
The first bout set the tone with the often (though not always) rule-abiding Whipper going berserk and attacking Togo with a chair. This was after the two had upset the announcers table and brawled into the first rows of the crowd. The chair shot opens a huge cut on Togo's head that later requires stitches and it sets off a mini-riot. Amid the chaos the police, ushers, and even young promoter Pat Milosh battle to separate the two and to keep the fans away from Togo.
The following week saw Togo matched with Timothy Geohagen whom he dispatched quite easily sending Geohagen in for medical attention. That card drew 2,500. A week later the re-match for Whipper-Togo II has the eager fans lined up outside. 3,000 of them, a new record. The previous reported high had just been set earlier that month when Gorgeous George's visit drew 2,750 fans to see him take on local favorite Pat Flanagan.
Average attendance in those years was 500-1,300 a week with occasional spikes. It started picking up in 1952 and by the 1953 season 21 cards drew almost 50,000 fans. Don Leo Jonathon, Bobo Brazil, and a hot tag scene including Canadian champs Plummer & Raines and the Lords, Layton & Blears helped fill up the seats.
THIS TIME IT'LL BE MURDER: THE WHIPPER SEEKS REVENGE
The following week saw Togo matched with Timothy Geohagen whom he dispatched quite easily sending Geohagen in for medical attention. That card drew 2,500. A week later the re-match for Whipper-Togo II has the eager fans lined up outside. 3,000 of them, a new record. The previous reported high had just been set earlier that month when Gorgeous George's visit drew 2,750 fans to see him take on local favorite Pat Flanagan.
Average attendance in those years was 500-1,300 a week with occasional spikes. It started picking up in 1952 and by the 1953 season 21 cards drew almost 50,000 fans. Don Leo Jonathon, Bobo Brazil, and a hot tag scene including Canadian champs Plummer & Raines and the Lords, Layton & Blears helped fill up the seats.
THIS TIME IT'LL BE MURDER: THE WHIPPER SEEKS REVENGE
Headline July 6 1953
Whipper and Togo end their second bout much like the first one, with the fans on the verge of rioting. Whipper is disqualified after slugging ref Bert Maxwell and doesn't take the loss well. Either do the fans. This time Milosh had extra police in place and they, along with the ushers, Milosh, Bobo, and Geohagen, got it under control.
Ad for Aug 18 1953
For the third bout a week later they again break the attendance record, somehow cramming 3,300 fans into the Arena. That holds until 1956 when 4,600 packed the outdoor Kinsmen for Hardboiled Haggerty vs Yukon Eric. And that one wouldn't be broken until the WWF years in 1985 with 5,000 at the Civic to see Andre, Bravo, Hart/Neidhart, and Randy Savage.
Special referee Geohagen was assigned and the OAC (Ontario Athletic Commission) Commissioner Merv McKenzie was in attendance surely to monitor the proceedings. After a rough bout with each taking a fall they took the fight outside the ring where it ended, the winner unclear but the fans happy.
The red hot Togo tears it up all over the circuit with mains in many of the towns. A battle in Niagara Falls vs Ilio DiPaolo ended with the fans tossing chairs and the police again having to separate the wrestlers and keep the peace.
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| Milosh gets into the action |
Special referee Geohagen was assigned and the OAC (Ontario Athletic Commission) Commissioner Merv McKenzie was in attendance surely to monitor the proceedings. After a rough bout with each taking a fall they took the fight outside the ring where it ended, the winner unclear but the fans happy.
The red hot Togo tears it up all over the circuit with mains in many of the towns. A battle in Niagara Falls vs Ilio DiPaolo ended with the fans tossing chairs and the police again having to separate the wrestlers and keep the peace.
In Oshawa in the coming weeks he faced Geohagen again and then Don Leo Jonathon in a wild battle that had both on the arena floor fighting up the aisle as they were counted out. Togo pictured in the paper the next day with another huge cut in his head. Milosh ran another Watson-Togo series at the end of the summer again hitting the 3,000 mark.
OSHAWA ARENA GUTTED
Headline Sept 16 1953
The season had been one of the hottest since the first pro card in Oshawa in 1929. So it was somehow fitting that on the morning of the last card of the season, the Oshawa Arena burned to the ground. Promoter Milosh is relegated to start the 1954 season at the Bowmanville Arena just east of Oshawa, before moving the cards to the Kinsmen baseball stadium directly adjacent to the old Arena.
The season had been one of the hottest since the first pro card in Oshawa in 1929. So it was somehow fitting that on the morning of the last card of the season, the Oshawa Arena burned to the ground. Promoter Milosh is relegated to start the 1954 season at the Bowmanville Arena just east of Oshawa, before moving the cards to the Kinsmen baseball stadium directly adjacent to the old Arena.
Togo returns again that year too, soon with brother Tosh in tow. They team up vs Whipper & Flanagan and despite the rain on many of the outdoor nights, drew well again (1500+). The Togo's go on to have a good run on the main circuit in Ontario holding the tag titles and facing all sorts of teams including the rough Lisowski's and the strength of Claybourne & Lindsay.
-AC
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