Angelo Mosca in Toronto

Best of mapleleafwrestling.com 

Originally published 2005 revised 2021

MEAN & NASTY 

Angelo Mosca was already a well known star by the time he first appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1969. He was in the middle of his second go around with the Hamilton Tiger Cats and near the end of his Hall of Fame career in the Canadian Football League.

He had started wrestling in Ottawa and Montreal in 1960 on a part time basis while earning his reputation as 'Mean and Nasty' on -and off- the football field. He had been in some trouble while at University of Wyoming in 1958. They cancelled his athletic scholarship for 'scholastic deficiency and disciplinary reasons.' He had also been sent away from Notre Dame for similar infractions.

Just around the start of his wrestling career he was in Montreal playing for the Ottawa Shaffers in the Eastern Canada Senior Basketball playoffs (alongside some other CFL'ers earning extra money) when Mosca slugged the referee and was promptly suspended. He had taken a kicking and kneeing penalty earlier in the game and took it out on the ref with a right to the jaw. The coaches hauled Mosca off and convinced the ref not to call the game. Once the ref had visited the dressing room and returned he ordered Mosca to the showers. This time Mosca hit him with a left to the jaw. His own teammates now dragged him to the dressing room and Mosca left the arena while the ref threatened to charge him with assault. That was the end of the playoffs for Mosca who stuck to causing trouble on the field and in the ring.

When he finally made his Toronto wrestling debut years later it was the Sheik era in the city. Mosca got his chance vs Sheik in June 1971, his first main event at the Gardens.

MOSCA GIVES SHEIK TROUBLE

Angelo Mosca, evidently so unnerved at hearing Torontonians actually cheering for him, erred on a flying tackle, wrapped himself around a ring-post and ultimately, lost his wrestling assignment against the Sheik last night. In the autumn, Mosca is a 270 pound lineman with Hamilton Tiger-Cats and seems to rate the most verbal abuse when the Toronto Argonauts are hosting other Canadian Football League teams at CNE Stadium. He forgot however that a Maple Leaf Garden's wrestling crowd would throw roses to Adolph Hitler had he ever faced The Sheik. 

Allan Ryan Globe and Mail June 21 1971

Mosca gave The Sheik trouble but still notched another mark on Sheik's unbeaten streak, then at 49 wins 0 losses and 7 double dq/double countouts. That marked his last appearance at MLG for a time but he remained a regular around Ontario. He spent a few tours with Wildman Dave McKigney, as well as the crossover WWA (Indianapolis/Michigan) cards held around the southwestern portion of the province. He had a tough main event feud with Stomper Archie Gouldie over the Wildman's North American Heavyweight title in summer 1974. At the end of that summer Mosca got into an altercation with a man after leaving a restaurant in downtown Hamilton. The other guy filed charges for assault after he was left with a 'bump on the head and torn clothes after a scuffle' with big Ange. The following year he retired from the field and turned to wrestling full-time.

In late 1975 he returned to MLG, this time as a full out heel playing up his football reputation. In Dec 1976 he faced Andre the Giant in the semi final bout under a rare Sheik title loss (to Thunderbolt Patterson).

BIG ANGE RETURNS

Angelo Mosca weighed 285 pounds when he played defensive tackle for Ottawa and Hamilton. Now, as a pro wrestler, he goes 310. He's on the Boxing Day card at Maple Leaf Gardens Sunday evening up against Andre the Giant. 'I'd done a bit of wrestling when I was playing but I got very serious about it after we won the 1972 Grey Cup in Hamilton, and I retired from football.' says Mosca, who maintains a home in Mississauga, even while travelling all over the continent. 'It's certainly better financially. I'm getting up close to six figures a year.' Naturally Mosca in a villain, as he was in football. 'There's no dough in being a good guy.' he argues.

Jim Proudfoot Toronto Star 24 Dec 1976

When Frank Tunney turned to use the AWA stars in Fall 1977 the stage was set for the now 'King Kong' Mosca to return and this time he stayed. In the AWA he was a heel with the fans chanting 'Ping Pong' in deference to his new nickname. For his first card back Mosca arrived at MLG with AWA champ Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan and the night was memorable for another reason. There was no ramp. For the first time since 1948 the memorable ramp to the ring was absent. They ran rope where the ramp usually was, with regular steps up to the ring. It was never revealed why the ramp was out but as far as we know it never happened again.

THE MEANEST MAN SAYS HE IS -NOW

Now that he is the heavyweight wrestling champion of Georgia, Angelo would welcome the kind of disaffection which in football, was so completely undeserved. He worked Maple Leaf Gardens , on Frank Tunney's Sunday night show, and he confesses to having developed villainous impulses since he left the refining influences of the Tiger-Cats. 'Even in the Yamaha snowmobile commercials, you get the impression I'm a pretty tough character,' Mosca boasts. 'I am. Well let me tell you I haven't been uunder $65,000 a year since I left football. Best money I ever made in football was $23,000. That was in my last three seasons with the Ti-Cats.' The heavyweight champion is in heavy demand.

Milt Dunnell Toronto Star July 28 1978

He worked his way up the cards facing the top stars of the AWA & WWWF including Chief Peter Maivia and AWA British Empire champion Billy Robinson. For a May 1978 card Mosca was acknowledged as the Empire champ having beat Robinson in an AWA proper bout. That title different from the Empire title Whipper had held here back in the boom days. In July 1978 he made his first appearance as a fan favorite, facing champ Bockwinkel in the co-main alongside a Backlund vs Superstar Graham WWWF Title bout. Almost two months later he got a re-match with Bockwinkel, this time they were the main event over a title bout between Backlund and Gorilla Monsoon.

THE CANADIAN TITLE YEARS

On his next return here the Mid Atlantic era had begun. By early 1980 he was firmly seated to become the main local star on the scene. Previous local stars Dino Bravo and Dewey Robertson, had both finished their main event runs, Bravo had left in 1979 while Dewey was soon to go. With the launch of the new Canadian Heavyweight Title (back in Dec 1978)we had a local title that Mosca went on to hold through 5 reigns.

I'M NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE IN THE CROWD

Angelo Mosca said with mock solemnity at a lunchtime tete-a-tete yesterday. 'When I'm wrestling in the southern states, they bill me as King Kong Mosca. Up here in Canada, the promoters don't bill me as a villain. They are aware of the real me-gruff, rough, but lovable. What does the future hold? If you look after yourself, you can last for a long time in wrestling.' he says. 'But I'd like to become a wrestling promoter somewhere down the line. And I'd like to get back into doing television commercials.' 

Jim Coleman Toronto Sun July 23 1980

Around the time Mosca first won the Canadian title he was also a vicious heel in the WWF, appearing there regularly while holding the strap (he was photographed backstage with the belt but as far as we know never defended the title there). There was no mention of Toronto while on WWF TV, but the magazines ran stories on him where they had observed the personality change depending on the location he wrestled. Mosca replied with, 'I wrestle the same way everywhere. The fans can decide to cheer or boo.' He did and they would. He was back in the WWF gunning for Backlund’s crown and prone to some serious fits of violence. He was managed there by Lou Albano and appeared both on the WWF TV tapings and at the big shows around the Northeast.

This was a bit of a conundrum for the Maple Leaf fans as we got the WWF TV show here at midnight Saturdays on WUTV Buffalo. When he later looked to have killed Pat Patterson with a water pitcher it left many of us scratching our heads.

While Canadian champ, Mosca challenged NWA champ Harley Race. This card was moved to a rare 1:30pm afternoon start as the Maple Leafs were in a playoff series with the New York Islanders (we lost!). Both Mosca and Race were counted out after a tough brawl with very few wrestling holds.

His new-found popularity as the star of Toronto wrestling attracted some mainstream coverage which had been minimal in the recent past. All three Toronto dailies, the Globe, the Star, and the Sun featured full page articles on the wrestling revival, with more coverage than had been seen in many years. Big Ange was the star of several features both in and around Toronto and in other towns on the circuit. On the May 20 1981 episode of the Global Network’s That’s Life, one of the stories was a 'visit with Angelo Mosca.’ On one afternoon in London for a card, he appeared on CFPL radio’s Sports Call and people were calling in for 2 1/2 hours to talk to him. The Toronto Star also ran a full page feature looking at his wrestling and football careers with a photo from a recent MLG bout vs Ivan Koloff.

ANGIE STILL HEARS THE CHEERS

'I built this image,' says Mosca, his face a bloody mask after his bout with arch-rival Ivan Koloff, 'of a guy who loved to be hated and now it's different. All of a sudden, it changes. People Like me, really like me. That's the way it goes in this game. One night you're the good guy, the next you're the villain. It gets confusing. 

Kevin Boland Toronto Star June 18 1981

At the big 50th Anniversary card on Nov 15 Mosca faced Studd in front of 16,000 noisy fans. Our Canadian Title took 3rd semi behind Andre vs Kahn, and the main of Flair vs Race. There was two referees and they brawled their way to the floor where Studd had enough and fled to the dressing room. It left Mosca the winner but not the champ. Mosca eventually regained the title a few months later in a cage bout.

The memorable title win came in Jan 1982. After a bloody Johnny Weaver-Alfred Hayes cage bout they left the cage up for a Canadian Title bout Studd vs Mosca. The two faced down on the ramp as Mosca waited for Studd to climb the stairs. Mosca attacked and the bout was on. It ended with Studd pinning Mosca. It appeared that way anyways. Ref Terry Yorkston, inside the cage as was the case here, gets hit, and in a daze (Yorkston played the semi-buffoon type well) awarded the victory to Mosca. The fans went wild when Mosca grabbed the belt to celebrate but the celebration didn't last long with Studd viciously attacking the new champ. Weaver (bandaged up from his bloody cage bout) along with John Bonello returned to the cage to help Mosca. Both end up taking a beating from Studd before helping Mosca get the upper hand. A bloodied Studd emerged from the cage and took a lot of abuse from the fans on his way down the ramp. Mosca, bloody and beaten emerged from the cage as the new champ to begin his fourth reign with the title. 

In April 1982 the feud between Canadian champ Mosca and Studd continues with Studd announcing he was bringing a mystery opponent to 'permanently maim the champ.' Studd had hyped it for the two weeks previous to the show. Fans were talking and many names were being brought up as to who could be the mystery opponent set to meet Mosca on the Apr 4 1982 card. One of those names was Andre the Giant. Andre was still a few years away from his first heel turn in North America but at the time it seemed like a good idea. When the time came it wasn't such a big name. When Norm Kimber announced Tarzan Tyler, the crowd was disappointed to say the least. Tyler was a ways past his prime by this point and mostly unknown to the younger fans. He had appeared here sporadically from 1964-1978 and was a fine wrestler in his prime but... Special ref Sonny Fargo had been assigned to officiate and the bout was generally a letdown since it had been so highly touted. Mosca didn't have much trouble defending his title.

A big card two weeks later was a double world title night. Flair vs Race and Mosca vs Bockwinkel. The AWA champ was making his first appearance since 1979 and had a tough bout with Mosca. Big Ange battered the champ and looked to be on the verge of winning when John Studd charged the ring and attacked Mosca. He and Bockwinkel laid a beating on Mosca until he was able to fight back and chase them from the ring. Official decision was a dq win for Mosca.

A feud with Gene Kiniski in June 1982 was better than expected. Kiniski, who went way back here (debut 1956) was still as ornery as he was back then. Stomping and snarling, he was a good opponent for Mosca in a short run. Kiniski had held versions of a Canadian title in his career and they played up the mutual football backgrounds and ‘greatest Canadian’ bit.

At the big Night of Champions card in July 1983 Mosca faced One Man Gang in front of anywhere from 16-22,000 fans at the old Exhibition Stadium. At the follow up two weeks later in front of 10-14,000 Mosca lost the title to Sgt. Slaughter.

In early 1984 Mosca beat Sgt. Slaughter to regain the Canadian title and promptly disappeared. He was said to be upset with the low drawing cards in Toronto as the NWA days came to a close. He took the belt and went to Florida for an extended trip often managed by JJ Dillon. As per usual he was a vicious heel -and did defend the title a few times- while the fans up here were left scratching their heads, again.

BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER

'We (Sr&Jr) spend 1 1/2 or 2 hours in the gym together working out and in some mat training. Then we drive or fly to the town where we have our matches, then back home to Charlotte. We don't live together. Junior's not married yet, but I have a very understanding wife,' explains Sr. 'The best thing about wrestling is working with this guy right here,' says Junior, thumping his father on his hammy thigh.' 

Alison Gordon Toronto Star May 20 1984

His son Angelo Jr. debuted here in 1984 after Sr. had been stripped of the title for not appearing. 'Injury' was the wrestling reason and they held a tournament for the vacant title with Junior announced as an entrant. Jr. was a good athlete cut from the same cloth as his father. He had attended a Ti-Cat camp for high school players in 1977 (at 17) but in June 1981 he had been cut after trying out as a defensive guard at the BC Lions camp, effectively ending his pro football aspirations. He went on to earn a degree from Concordia University before trying out pro wrestling. After Jack Tunney had switched exclusively to WWF in July 1984 Sr. stayed on for a bit and also announced while Jr. got his brief run with the WWF here. When done, both father and son appeared on the Wildman's Big Bear circuit in and around Toronto.

MOSCA MANIA

By 1985 Sr. was planning to bring the NWA back to Ontario. In Feb 1986 he ran a show at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. While Hulkamania may had taken over Toronto, there were still a lot of fans from the NWA days. Sr., with a long history in Hamilton, announced the show to be dubbed 'Mosca Mania.' Jr. appeared in an opener. The card did well drawing 12,000 fans with a gate of $140,000 to see a main of NWA champ Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes. Mosca Jr. teamed with Vic Rossitani against the Kelly Twins.

At the time Mosca was 50 years old, mostly retired from the ring, and doing TV ads and running several different business ventures around town. A few days after the show in Hamilton he was in Toronto doing a TV commercial for Lite beer and said he made 25k in what was his 14th or 15th commercial since he had done the Schick Razor 'Tell it to my face' campaign some years before.

MEAN ANGELO MOSCA MEANS TO KEEP RAKING IN BIG BUCKS ON TV

It's not only amazing that Angelo Mosca is making a fortune doing TV commercials, but he's making them, period. Don't get me wrong: Mosca's good at them -he has charisma and style- but as the former villainous Mr. Mean of the Hamilton Tiger Cats and, more recently, the villainous King Kong of pro wrestling, Mosca's always held that butts were made for kicking, not kissing.'

Earl McRae Starweek June 15 1985

Angelo Sr. was a guest star on the popular Night Heat TV show, and in June of that year was elected to the CFL Hall Of Fame. In Nov 1986 he was alongside Whipper Watson when Whipper received an award from the Canadian Children's Foundation. Mosca accompanied Whip as he carried a child on his shoulders, as he had done at the many Easter Seals dinners.

Did you know.....The CFL Hall of Fame induction class of 1987 included another wrestler. 

Dick Huffman, a star with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Calgary Stampeders, had wrestled at MLG and around the area in 1956. Maple Leafs - Ti-Cats owner Harold Ballard also in that class.

A month prior to the first Mosca Mania card, he had met with CFL commissioner Doug Mitchell to discuss becoming a goodwill ambassador. The reports later said that the CFL missed the boat by not using him as he was a born promoter and 'mouthpiece.' Sr. teamed with former teammate Len Chandler to promote the show with corporate sponsor Amstel Brewery on Feb 2 1986. It was a huge success with over 12,000 fans and a gate of $140,000. A dollar from each ticket went to the Spinal Cord Society and the fans were treated to a great show.

The main event brought Toronto favorite Ric Flair back for the first time since May 1984 to defend his NWA Title against Dusty Rhodes. At that time Flair was a heel while Rhodes was a fan favorite but the fans didn't want any of it. Flair had long been beloved here and during the Flair-Rhodes bout the fans started cheering Flair. They reversed roles with Rhodes 'second' Baby Doll Roberts interfering. Flair took the win to a huge ovation and the card which also featured the Road Warriors, Jimmy Valiant (always hugely popular here), Abdullah The Butcher, Sgt. Slaughter and a host of local guys was declared a huge success. Longtime MLG ring announcer Norm Kimber, recently let go by the Toronto office, did the introductions for the night.

MOSCA MANIA A HIT

Every now and then the wrestling world has a brainstorm which produces a card that leaves audiences shouting for more. A classic example was yesterday's Mosca Mania, which attracted some 12,000 fans to the Copps Coliseum here. No One left the building disappointed. 

Sam Scrivo Toronto Sun Feb 3 1986

At the time Mosca had declared that he was seeking to become the exclusive promoter at Copps, similar to how the Tunney's had exclusive use of MLG. He also owned the syndicated TV rights for the TV show Pro Wrestling Canada which was produced by the great Milt Avruskin. They showed NWA bouts which were sometimes up to a year old and did voice-overs on the bouts. PWC ran from May 1986 to Oct 1986 on the CTV Kitchener affiliate channel 13 locally but that channel wasn't available to all in the Toronto area.


Mosca later told a reporter that he couldn't get the show on in Toronto and that's what killed it. Doug Bassett, head of the CTV had told him 'it wasn't family oriented television.' At that time they had WWF, International Wrestling from Montreal, and the Maple Leaf WWF shows on TV in Toronto. While the WWF was tame, the International show was a harder style, a throwback to the 70's with bloody bouts and great brawls. If Mosca had been able to last, the Montreal based stars may have appeared here. Bravo, Abdullah, etc. but he would have had to run the Gardens or the EX. MLG was still exclusive so it was limited venues outside of summer months.

EX VILLIAN CHARMS 

'He (Mosca) is president and promoter of Pro Wrestling Canada, with shows on 10 TV stations in the east and two in the west. He stages live shows in Kitchener, Ottawa and Toronto (Varsity Arena), when he is not busy lifting trucks in Chevy commercials.' 

Milt Dunnell Toronto Star Nov 30 1986

He never promoted any shows at Varsity Arena or Ottawa as far as I know. Outside of the Hamilton shows and one in Kitchener the only others of record were a TV Taping, and a card in Peterborough on Feb 17 with Tully Blanchard vs Barry Windham as the main 

The TV show later appeared on TSN as well as CTV and is a good show to seek out. Mosca not the greatest announcer (whole other article) but Avruskin one of the best. Sr. presented another card in Kitchener on Nov 23rd 1986 with a main of Nikita Koloff vs Wahoo McDaniel as Mosca Mania II. This one was a reverse of the first one, several no shows and most of the cast filled out with locals. Only 1.500 showed up, most of whom went to see the Road Warriors. Hawk never showed and was replaced by manager Paul Ellering. Jr. took on Siki and then it was back to the circuit for both Jr. and Siki. Despite the setback it was not to deter Mosca from staging another Hamilton show in Feb 1987.

Unfortunately he ran it on the same night as big WWF show at MLG featuring Roddy Piper vs Adrian Adonis in a 'retirement bout and Savage/Steamboat. Mosca in turn had  Flair vs Nikita Koloff but only drew 3,000 compared to the 17,000 at a packed MLG. On Mosca's show Blanchard battled Rhodes and they reversed roles too with the fans booing Dusty. A fan told me he had 'stickered' the MLG bathrooms prior with notice of the upcoming Hamilton card but it didn't seem to help much. There were rumors of bad payouts on shows (heard years later), and then he sold his interest in it and that was the end of Mosca's promotional tenure.

Both Moscas were featured on the popular CTV show Lifetime which ran the same night as a big WWF show at MLG. Sr. continued to show up in  TV commercials, and various ventures capitalizing on his name. Remember the Peach Pages?; a business directory he started with a partner in 1989. In recent years he had revisited his old Canadian title belt at tribute and fan events in the area, sometimes accompanied by a still fit (and very friendly to the fans) Junior. 

RIP to a true legend of the ring - and the field. 

-AC

From 2005 revised 2021

Photos, nostalgia,  mapleleafwrestling.com collection

Mosca Mania items from Eric Peddle collection

Pics from 1978 out of 'Alias King Kong Mosca' Canadian magazine

The Sheik Streak by Gary Will is at The Sheik's unbeaten streak: 1969-1974: Gary Will's TWH

Wildman, the OAC & Court

Best of mapleleafwrestling.com 2003-2023

Dave vs Sheik in '82

If you are a fan of Ontario wrestling you likely know about Dave McKigney's problems with the Ontario Athletic Commission. In the last years of his promotion he had issues with the Comission over licensing, insurance, using the wrestling bear (also Ontario Humane Society), and other issues. 

The OAC had been an issue for pro wrestling in years past for Frank Tunney and his predecessor Jack Corcoran. Tunney especially though kept the Commission close, and but for a few issues never really had major problems with them. They would impose fines (see Nanjo Singh and Gene Kiniski) and Tunney would iron them out. His esteemed spot within the Toronto and national sports scenes enabled him to work through issues that would later affect McKigney - though Frank did once lose his license to promote at East York Arena for a time -see link at end of article. 

In previous years the Wildman's troupe had toured around Ontario keeping busy through most summers (and some winters) with cards in the smaller towns around the province. He mostly worked on the outskirts of Frank Tunney's promotion and had often used Tunney stars. McKigney had also wrestled at MLG back to the 1950s and had a symbiotic attachment to the big circuit. 

By 1987 that was down to a few spot shows and Jack Tunney who had replaced Uncle Frank in 1983, and once promoted with McKigney, had not been as receptive to the arrangement. 

In that vein, anything from the later era is particularly interesting to come across. This, an OAC report from a card during McKigney's last days in Ontario before going on the fateful tour of the East coast the following year. 

 I asked Toronto wrestler/trainer/promoter and good guy Ron Hutchison if he could add some info re the OAC Report..

'We absolutely had to file these reports with OAC commissioner Ken Hayashi (and before Ken with  Clyde Gray) after the show.  He did expect his 2 per cent tax on the gate, no matter how minuscule that might have been. In addition to the the 2 per cent tax on the gate receipts the shows and the wrestlers working the shows had to be sanctioned by the commission.  

The sanctioning fee for the shows themselves depended on the population of the town you were running in.  If memory serves me correctly any town with a population of over 100,000 people the show cost $300 to be sanctioned and in order for the show to be sanctioned the promoter had to have a $1 million dollar public liability insurance policy as well.

 I remember at one time (when I was working) the licensing fee per wrestler was $5 yearly with the year ending at the end of March.  So, if you licensed yourself on April 1st of one particular year or March 1st of that same year the licensing fee to the commission would still be the same amount. If memory serves me correctly the yearly licensing fee for the boys did go from $5 to, I think $25 and then to $50 per year.'  

-Ron

It's too bad McKigney didn't fill in the payouts. It's not a bad card at 579 paid tickets, though back in the mid/late 1970's they were regularly pulling 1,000-1,500 fans. Tickets at 6-9$ which had steadily gone up since we paid 3-6$ in 1981-82.

The crew listed is mostly the same as the previous year. After Jack Tunney took over for Frank it ended the cross pollination that had occurred in previous years. Chris Colt had been a regular for Big Bear since 1981 while Sweet Daddy Siki, Jet Star, Wolfman Farkus were mainstays in the last years. Mosca Jr. and occasionally Mosca Sr would also join for some shows. As was standard on Wildman cards there was a little bit of everything. A hardcore bout, some ladies (Orser, Rose, Sheena), and the little people.

And what about the other usual presence on Wildman cards? A few years earlier in 1984 Gentle Ben (Dave's latest wrestling bear) had bitten off a piece of the fingers of two young men during an exhibition in PEI. When he returned to Ontario it started a firestorm of problems including Commissioner Clyde Gray banning the bear and making it a condition of the wrestling license.

The incident also brought back the tragic mauling of Dave's girlfriend Lynn Orser by previous bear Smokey at Dave's Aurora home back in the summer of 1978.

The following season (1985) when Gray noticed an ad for Scarboro Arena with the bear listed, he pulled the wrestling licenses putting Dave and the crew on the shelf. McKigney and his lawyer went to the Ontario Supreme Court which reinstated the license but with the same conditions - no bear - until it could make a ruling weeks later. In front of a full house of 1,500 Dave and Ben exchanged a few playful slaps before the cheers turned to boo's as he announced he wasn't allowed to wrestler the bear.

Ultimately the Supreme Court quashed the OAC's cancellation of his licenses. McKigney argued that without the bear he would be unable to attract enough fans to cover the costs of arenas and the 18 wrestlers in the show.

Gray responded that it was not in his jurisdiction to sanction promotions that involve animals and if so 'you might as well throw the athletics out the window,' Dave summed it up by calling Gray arrogant and that 'the Ontario government spends millions of dollars to create employment and I pour money into the economies of all the little towns we go to but they want to close us down.'

It was a small win but the war was soon to be lost. In 1988 due to all of the issues in Ontario Dave took his show back to the East coast - with the bear advertised - but it would be cut short with the tragic accident that killed him, Pat Kelly, and Adrian Adonis.

Mark Greer (l) 1982 and Dave and a wrestler that I can't recall  (r) 1985 with Gentle Ben 

Thanks to Roger Baker
Thanks to Ron Hutchison for his insight- for more on Ron's career get the excellent
Ron Hutchison - Pain Torture Agony - the Book!

-AC

Nostalgia & Photos mapleleafwrestling.com 

Lists: Titles in Toronto 1929-1984

Pro Wrestling was a myriad of titles with most every wrestler in the classic era holding a title somewhere sometime. Many used old or fictitious claims. Fred Atkins in his early days in Toronto was Australian champ, Carlos Rocha the Portuguese champ, Emile Dupree the Maritimes champ, and many, many more. For the purpose of this list I just listed those titles that were defended and officially recognized in Toronto from the start of the weekly cards in 1929 to the end of the NWA days in 1984.

Main pic AWA Title belt in front of the W in NWA at MLG 1982

I took that as Nick Bockwinkel made his last defense here in Apr 1982 vs Angelo Mosca

Toronto's own titles

• World Title (Toronto)  1938-1939
• British Empire Title (Toronto)  1941-1967
• Canadian Open Tag Team Titles (Toronto)  1952-1961
• International Tag Titles (Toronto)  1961-1977
• U.S. Title (Toronto)  1962-1973
• North American Title (Toronto) 1973
• U.S. Title (Toronto)  1974-1977
• Canadian Heavyweight Title (Toronto)  1978-1984
• Canadian TV Title (Toronto)  1982-1984
• North American Title (Toronto)  1982-1984

Others 

• Canadian Title  1929-1941 pre dates the start of the weekly cards in 1929
• World Title  1929- 1947  pre dates the start of the weekly cards in 1929
• NWA (Alliance) World Title  1950-1984
• Canadian Title (CCWA)  1950-1962
• Middleweight Title (CCWA) 1951-1961  
• WWWF/WWF Title  1964-1982
• Women's World Title  1971-1983
• NWA Junior Heavyweight Title  1972*
• North American Title (Big Bear circuit only)  1974-1983
• U.S. Title (Big Bear circuit only) 1974-1982** 
• AWA World Title  1977-1982
• AWA Tag Titles  1977-1979
• AWA British Empire Heavyweight Title  1978
• U.S. Title (Mid Atlantic)  1978-1983
• NWA Tag Titles  1979-1983
• NWA/Mid Atlantic TV Title  1979-1983
• International Tag Titles (Japan Stars Tour)  1980
• World Tag Titles (Detroit) 1980 
• Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title  1981-1983
• Mid Atlantic Tag Titles 1981-1982
• North American Tag Titles (Big Bear circuit only) 1983
• Intercontinental Title (WWF)  1983

*Danny Hodge was billed as NWA Jr champion in his one bout at MLG in 1972 but had lost it prior. He won it back the next night in Shreveport, LA.

**Sheik title, same lineage as Tunney/MLG for the most part. Sheik lost it at MLG twice.

There were others defended outside Toronto proper including Kasaboski's titles, the Labatt Tag Trophy, Ontario Tag Titles, and more but not included here. 

-AC and photo by...

Toronto Wrestling Books

 Toronto Wrestling Books
The Canadian Heavyweight Title: The Complete History 1978-1984
From Nanjo to The Sheik: Tales from Toronto wrestling
Quick Bits: The best (and rest) of Toronto Wrestling

All 3 books available at Amazon.ca or your local Amazon 

Doug Hepburn: Worlds Strongest Man

Best of mapleleafwrestling.com ...

Pro Wrestling has seen it's share of Football players and Strongmen over the years. In Toronto we saw our share of both dating back to the very early days of Pro Wrestling.

With the Red Cross ladies 1955

In the mid 1950's Doug Hepburn turned to the squared circle after taking the country by storm setting Weightlifting records and earning the title of 'World's Strongest Man.' He had won medals, set records in many of the lifts, and won the prestigious Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete in 1953. Some ads proclaimed him as 'the strongest man in history.'

He had overcome some serious physical issues to reach those heights and wrestling was to be his next challenge.

A Jim Vipond column in early 1955 claimed that he had signed a 5 year contract with Toronto prommoter Frank Tunney before Christmas and that he was in training under Whipper Watson at the Queensbury Athletic Club basement gymnasium (below Maple Leaf Gardens). He was enduring 3 hour workouts 4 days a week alongside another of Watsons proteges, football player for the Toronto Argo's -Gil Mains. Mains was said to be progressing faster as he had an amateur wrestling background. He debuted at MLG in May 1955.

Teacher Watson spoke highly of his charge saying he thought Hepburn to be 'a much stronger and more agile wrestler than Yukon Eric' and that he may soon pose a threat to all of the strongmen of wrestling. Hepburn weighed in at 295lbs with a 21 inch neck and 57 1/2 inch chest.

Another column spoke of Hepburn attempting to wrestle previously under San Francisco promoter Joe Malcewicz. After enduring endless elbow smashes and other forms of wrestling indoctrination Hepburn had left discouraged. Malcewicz had starred here in the 1930s, the 'Utica Panther,'

Hepburns first appearance in the ring at Maple Leaf Gardens came on Nov 11 1954 when he performed in front of 9,000 fans there to see Watson & Paul Baillargeon tag vs The Great Togo and Tosh Togo. Hepburn did a clean press with 320lbs, benched 450, and then crumpled a can of tomato juice with his bare hands.

With Whipper 1955

After training with Watson he returned on the Mar 10 1955 card to lift a a group of Red Cross ladies sitting on a table. Before the feat he tore a license plate in half and did the same with a pack of cards. He then tore the cards halves into halves again. Then came the big event.

The platform weighed 200 lbs and the girls were said to be 115 each. First they sat 8 girls and Hepburn stood under the beam it was rested on and lifted it off with his back. Then they added 4 more girls and after only getting three corners off was able to lift the whole platform up. He got quite a hand from the crowd and was said to have lifted about 1580lbs total. He had done similar stunts in the past including lifting 6 Vancouver Canuck hockey players the same way

In between he was pictured around town performing other strongman acts including carrying a field gun barrel weighing upwards of 600lbs at HMCS York after nine men had lifted it into the air to shoulder level. He got lots of press posing with local stars and in one photo with former wrestler and 'Big and Tall' founder George Richards, he tests one of Richards mohair jackets by pulling it apart (or failing to).

Photographer and writer Roger Baker observed Hepburn up close one day at the YMHA at Bloor and Spadina.

'I do remember seeing Hepburn wrestle at the Gardens back in the early fifties, also remember the hype that he received leading up to his match with Yukon Eric. One memory of Hepburn stands out in my mind very clearly, it happened in 1955 at The Y.M.H.A. The facility had a room devoted to bodybuilding, as well as weight lifting. There were perhaps twenty five of us young muscle heads who had gathered in the weight room to see the mighty Doug Hepburn honor us with what we hoped would be an exhibition of his incredible feats of strength.

Hepburn did not fail to treat his eager audience to an amazing thirty minutes of his prowess handling of the bar bells, and dumb bells. He had us all gasping as he did the overhead press, the bench press, the dead lift as well as barbell curls. Considering that Hepburn had a clubbed right leg since he was a child, made his exhibition of strength all that more impressive. Hepburn's visit to our weight lifting room at the YMHA. was talked about for months afterwards.' - Roger

His wrestling debut came a week after the Red Cross stunt against Frank Marconi. The bout was quick. 2 minutes and 39 seconds. Marconi was left a 'helpless heap of humanity' after Hepburn snapped a series of holds then grabbed Marconi in a reverse bear hug and 'squished a couple of times' and dropped him to the canvas. Marconi was carried out on a stretcher.

The debut was successful but the next night Hepburn was pulling out from Mutual onto Carlton St in front of a stopped eastbound streetcar and got hit by a westbound one which threw it against the stopped one. Damage to the 2 streetcars was estimated at 45$ while damage to Hepburn's car was about 700$. There was no word of damage to Hepburn.

He continued to appear on the weekly cards making short work of opener types including Mike Paidousis, Alan Garfield, Pete Manganoff, and stalwart Lee Henning.

By May he was moving up and faced Jan Gotch on the undercard of a Whipper-Pat Fraley main. Next up was Pat Flanagan whose haymaker was said to just bounce of Hepburn's midsection.

With Whipper and Miss Toronto 1955

He was the feature of Milt Dunnell's Star column in June and was described as starting to get a cauliflower ear from wrestling. Dunnell claimed Whipper and Tunney had offered to back Hepburn against Russia's 10 leading weightlifters, for each Russian to do his specialty and then Hepburn to do all 10 at the same time. Hepburn claimed his appetite had been exaggerated in the past and Whipper agreed saying he was not eating more at one time than Sky Hi Lee who once ate five steaks and three dozen eggs, and followed it up with a light bulb! Hepburn, Whipper claimed, had not eaten more than one steak and three dozen eggs, and the eggs were scrambled so it was really only a snack.

Another item a short time later had Hepburn issuing the challenge to the Russians. He mentioned that the Canadians should be doing more to help their homegrown athletes. 'Just one Alberta oil well would bring in enough dough to support, train, and feed Canada's top athletes. But do you see governments or associations or anyone in Canada going out of their wat to help our athletes? You sure don't.'

By June he was in the semi main event at MLG vs Karol Kalmikoff. Hepburn had Karol in his reverse upside down bearhug when 'brother' Ivan came out and got his partner disqualified. In the main Whipper faced Ivan and Joe Perlove remarked the next day that one would imagine Whip and Hepburn were likely be teamed the next week vs the brothers as 'yous guys don't know Frank Tunney.'

As predicted Hepburn teamed up with trainer Whipper to face the Kalmikoffs and return over the next few months to work with different partners in mostly tag bouts.

They also team Hepburn up with the high-flying Antonino Rocca for a pair of bouts vs the hated Russian team which resulted in a dq win and then a draw.

Hepburn appeared at the circuit cities as well and kept busy in Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Oshawa, and other towns often working in the main or teaming with Lord Layton, Ilio DiPaulo, and others. An Oshawa bout saw him take on both Kalmikoff's in a handicap bout. He won.

There were later other handicap bouts around the region with Hepburn beating two at a time including an MLG bout where he beat Firpo Zbyszko and Mickey Gold in a bout that 'had the fans in laughter' due to the antics of Zbyszko trying to match strength with Hepburn.

Another handicap bout vs Pat Flanagan and Tommy O'Toole was notable as Flanagan, who started off against Hepburn, got upset with O'Toole for coming in and attacking Hepburn from behind to break the holds. After Flanagan (a fair minded sportsman) told O'Toole three times to mind his own business, he grew disgusted with his partner and tagged him in to face the irate Hepburn. It was all over less than a minute later when Hepburn put his upside down bear hug on and finished it off.

His finisher which had previously been suggested as a 'Vancouver Vise', or a 'Squamish Squeeze' was now referred to a the 'Grizzly Crunch.'

He also sees some action in the West wrestling on some cards in Stu Hart's Stampede area as well as on cards in BC and Winnipeg.

At the October 6 card ring announcer Gerry Hiff read aloud a telegram said to be from Winnipeg where Hepburn was accepting Yukon Eric's challenge to a bout. A previous recap had referred to Hepburn as 'Canada's Yukon Eric' and they had been comparing the two since Hepburn had debuted.

The bout was held on Oct 27 got a lot of press with billing as the biggest attraction in years. They battle it out in front of 10,000 trading strength moves until Hepburn captured Eric in his reverse bearhug. Eric grabbed at the ropes and when ref Bunny Dunlop kicked at Eric's hands the two fell back with Eric on top and Dunlop counted him down. The crowd was said to have been pleased with the bout which saw Hepburn throw a couple of dropkicks and edge the barrel chested Yukon Eric in bodyslams.

He returned to the West for much of late 1955 and early 1956 wrestling regularly in his home area of Vancouver and area.

An item from Vancouver in Jan 1956 proclaimed 'Big Doug Hepburn gives up wrestling.' 'Wrestling is too tough for me' he said in an interview. He said he had made about 25k and netted 15k the first year while Tunney who holds his five year contract said he'd hit 50-60k next year, and 100 k in three years. 'Its a rough business and it's not for me, I just haven't the temperament for it. I've had my nose smashed, my leg hurt, and the boys have been just beginning to turn it on. Right now I'm going to sit tight for a while and maybe get together a touring show troupe featuring a strong man act.'

Frank Tunney responded by saying 'He's a slightly mixed up young man, a bit of a boy who acts first and thinks later.' Tunney says he missed bouts in Vancouver and that he fells he can straighten Hepburn out. Annis Stutjus the former BC Lions coach who had brought Hepburn to training camp for the inaugural season in 1954 remarked 'He came out and then he quit. And you know something? He could have been one of the best. But somebody made a crack to him one day and he never came back.' Tunney added 'Why, he's barely started. He has to build up a following and he's done well for the time he's been at it.'

March 1956 marked Hepburn's last Toronto bout, vs Seelie Samara. He continued to wrestle somewhat regularly in BC up to about 1960

He was said to have had personal troubles in the 1960s but by the end of the decade he had a new venture. An ad in the star in 1969 was looking for distributors for the Doug Hepburn exerciser, 'a portable gymnasium for home or office.'

He was never far from the Sports pages, for each year with the announcement of the Lou Marsh Trophy winner he got some print, and still does to this day.

By the late 1970's he was in the health food business.

As late as 1998 he made the Star in an 'After the Cheering' column. The column kicked off with 'Don't make us laugh, Hulk Hogan. Take a hike, Hercules. The worlds strongest man is a Canadian - and 72 years old.' There is just a bare mention of him having being 'disillusioned by the hokum when he tried professional wrestling.' It goes on to describe him as 225 pounds and having invented a coin operated arm wrestling machine which he hopes to market worldwide.

On Nov 30 2000 he earned a well placed obituary in the Star having passed on at the age of 74. It described him as having tried his hand at a variety of occupations including poet, inventor, dietitian, cabaret singer, and rambling storefront philosopher. There was no mention of his pro wrestling career.

-AC

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Flair vs Race: Science & Violence

During the Mid Atlantic era 1978 -1984 there were a few matchups that could pack the fans in at MLG. Ric Flair vs Harley Race surely ranks near the top. Their six bouts in Toronto, all over the NWA title, are long remembered by the fans for both their science- and violence. 

At the time of the first match-up in Nov 1980 Race was World champ and Flair was the most popular star in Toronto. He was coming off successful feuds against old tag partner Greg Valentine as well as Hossein the Arab/The Iron Sheik, whom he had just chased to the dressing room to end their latest bout. 

Flair won the NWA title from Dusty Rhodes in Oct 1981 and appeared here as champ for the 50th Anniversary card held in November. They pack 16.000 in for that one and the next time the two match-up was another special card. A double World title card featuring both the NWA and AWA titles. AWA champ Nick Bockwinkel defended against our Canadian champ Angelo Mosca while Flair and Race had another hard fought battle that was action from start to finish. 

The main photos were taken at that bout. In the sequence the battle rages from the ring to the ramp and Race catches Flair with a piledriver after turning the tables on champ Flair. The last pic of the sequence shows Flair being restrained by Ron Ritchie and Johnny Weaver from going down the ramp after Race.

In the summer of 1983 Jack Tunney had recently taken over for Uncle Frank and took a risk promoting two big shows at Exhibition Stadium. They were packed with title bouts and topped by Race vs Flair. Both cards. 

The last matchup takes place in early 1984, just months before Jack aligns with the WWF. That card stood as the last great turnout of the NWA days.

11/16/1980 NWA Title - Harley Race D/COR Ric Flair est 14,000 not reported
11/15/1981 NWA Title - Ric Flair W Harley Race Att: 16,000 
04/25/1982 NWA Title - Ric Flair D/COR Harley Race Att: 11,000 
07/10/1983 NWA Title - Harley Race W/DQ Ric Flair Att: 20,000 est
07/24/1983 NWA Title - Harley Race W/DQ Ric Flair Att: 14,000 est
02/12/1984 NWA Title - Ric Flair W Harley Race Att:17,700

More on the 50th Anniversary card at 50th Anniversary Card
The 83 Ex shows are covered a bit at Open Air Wrestling in Toronto

-AC and photos, nostalgia by...

*Results are from the paper where available, estimated in person, and bulletins of the day

In memory of Roger Baker

In memory of Roger Baker 

1936-2024

Smiling John: The forgotten Tunney: Gary Will's TWH

Frank Tunney was Toronto's greatest wrestling promoter and one of the most successful and respected promoters in the world.

But if it hadn't been for a fluke illness, he may never have had the chance to rise to that level. When Tunney took over the wrestling operations of the Queensbury Athletic Club -- the main Toronto booking office -- from Jack Corcoran in 1939, he was the junior member of the new promoting team. The head matchmaker was his older brother, John Tunney.

It isn't clear exactly when the Tunneys started to work for Corcoran. Frank would say in later interviews that he was working in the office as a teenager at the time of the first Maple Leaf Gardens show in 1931. A story in the Star at the time said the Tunneys became involved in 1933. But whatever the date was, John and Frank spent years helping Corcoran behind the scenes.

Corcoran was reported to have caught pneumonia in March 1939, and Toots Mondt -- who was or had been a partner in the Toronto office (more about that another time) -- came up to run the Gardens show on March 16, which featured a world title bout between Jim Londos and local star Vic Christie.

 The following week, it was announced that John Tunney had become the head matchmaker. Attendance through the rest of 1939 averaged 3,000-4,000 per show, and John brought in Wild Bill Longson (an immediate hit), Bronko Nagurski, Frank Sexton, and Lou Thesz for their Toronto debuts in the fall of that year.

According to the attendance figures in the Globe, John Tunney's biggest show was on Thursday January 12, 1940. The main event was Longson vs Jumping Joe Savoldi with Gus Sonnenberg on the undercard. It drew 6,000. It would also be John's final show at the Gardens.

He started feeling sick the next day, but -- against the advice of friends -- decided to work through what seemed to be a bad cold. On Monday, he made the drive to Ottawa to oversee a show there. "Upon his return, he was ordered to bed by the family physician and his condition was not considered even remotely serious," reported the Globe.

Tunney remained at home -- his house was near Danforth and Woodbine -- but things took a sharp turn for the worse on Thursdsay, the day of his next scheduled Gardens show. He died early that morning at age 32. The Star said it was influenza and the Globe added that he had suffered a heart attack. The Gardens show that night was cancelled.

"The entire sports community is prostrated by this blow which took away one of its youngest, most pleasant and most promising promoters," wrote the Star.

Tunney's wife had given birth two weeks earlier to their fourth child and was herself in the hospital suffering from complications. Among the couple's other three children was their oldest son, Jackie.

John Tunney was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. Frank immediately became Toronto's head promoter. John's son, Jack Tunney, would go on to work for his uncle Frank starting in the early 1950s and took over the business with Frank's son Eddie Tunney after Frank's death in 1983.

-by Gary Will

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Promoters, lists, venues, stars, builders, classic matchups, did you know? and more!

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Best of...1961 NWA Convention

Now Available

Roger ....

I remember first talking with Roger Baker about Pat Milosh the long time Oshawa Promoter while I was researching Oshawa. He sent me some pics of Pat he had taken and I started to ask questions about the earlier eras. Soon it was like Christmas every time Roger sent me photos and stories. .

I used to have a cover pic on the old style site that changed out every month or so and frequently paid tribute with Roger's photos. He always emailed me to tell me how happy he was to see them and some memories. When we sat at his table I would pepper him with questions and keep notes. When I decided to do a book or two and looking for a co-star it was a natural. Not the big glossy book that Roger deserved. But he was chuffed when he saw it. I promised him half but neither of us figured it would sell. When it first sold it did pretty good so I took up a small cheque to Roger for half. He was amazed. Many had promised him money but seldom came through. He said he didn't need it so I suggested he take Gloria out or spend it frivolously. I hope he did. 

Over the years he got a little slower but still could probably beat you in a fight. He left the weight set out and challenged me every time we were in the Wrestling Room. I was happy I impressed him and he told me stories of working out with the wrestlers. I always listened in awe as he talked about going in to Frank Tunney's office and chatting with Gene Kiniski, and Lord Layton, and Whipper and Dave. His memory always sharp, sometimes with a bit of prodding once I knew the names and happenings. Years later when I was given the MLG Film many of the stories were there, played out exactly as Roger had described them. 

I was very fortunate that Roger imparted some of his collection to me and I hope the rest of it is well cared for. And shared. His photos. Film. Stories. The history belongs to the fans. Thinking of Gloria and all the family and friends. Rest in peace Roger.

Rogers tags on the site

-AC

MLW Almanac

 The Almanac is a look at the events and angles taking place in Maple Leaf Wrestling and on the Big Bear circuit run by Dave McKigney. I wanted to do more notable years from the history but this is how far we got. They were done years back so lots of info could be updated or added, just a general look at the scene.

                                     

                     

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