Indie show with Terry Yorkston, 1972: Gary Will's TWH

This poster went up for sale on eBay in early 2003. If it hadn't been for Terry Yorkston's name in the opening match, I might not have given it a thought. Yorkston was a prelim wrestler for Frank Tunney in the 1970s who went on to be a referee for Maple Leaf Wrestling. He had been wrestling for years before coming to the Gardens, including a good mid-card run in Quebec. He had just come off a stint in the Maritimes before arriving in Toronto in 1972.

(A few years later, he also worked under a hood for George Cannon. Somewhere in taped-over video heaven is a Cannon TV show with a scrawny teenager in the fourth row yelling "Hey! Terry Yorkston!" all through one of his matches. It took a couple of minutes to solve the puzzle, but I recognized him as someone I knew as soon as he came to the ring.)

 I don't know much about the show on the poster, but I was able to track it down. It was held on August 30, 1972 at the York Centre Ballroom -- south of Eglinton and east of Dufferin -- just a couple of months after Yorkston had made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut for Tunney (as a sub for Chris Colt).

Pat McMahon would go on to become Shillelagh O'Sullivan, who got a brief push at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1973. Andy Martin, from the main event, would make his first Gardens appearance in December. Pat Scott made it to Carlton Street for two matches in 1973. Ernie Schwaab (name misspelled on the poster) had done a job for Killer Kowalski at the Gardens in December 1971. There was a Golden Boy Apollo who wrestled at the Gardens in 1974, but I don't know if it's the same guy. The other names don't ring any bells.

I couldn't find any other shows at the Ballroom advertised in the Star, which is where the ad above is from.

-by Gary Will

Hercules Angelo Mosca?, 1970: Gary Will's TWH

This column by Jim Proudfoot appeared in the Toronto Star on August 1, 1970. It's a nice story about the success Angelo Mosca was having as a pro wrestler -- particularly his work for Roy Shire in Northern California as Hercules.

The only problem with the piece is that I can't find any record of a wrestler named Hercules working for Shire at the time.

The late Ron Valim kept detailed records of Shire's shows in San Francisco and other cities in the territory, and there's no Hercules to be found.

So was he using a different ring name with Hercules as a nickname? I don't see any likely candidates in Valim's results. Other than a few prelim guys, the workers Shire was using at the time are all well-known wrestlers. I don't see anyone who could have been Mosca.

In Proudfoot's column, Mosca is quoted saying the shows could draw 30,000 people to the Cow Palace in San Francisco. That's about double the actual maximum (the annual battle royal in November 1969 drew 15,974 and that seems to be the biggest crowd of the year).

Was the whole thing made up?

-by Gary Will

Whipper Watson's fifth decade in wrestling, 1970: Gary Will's TWH

This Globe & Mail story ran on March 5, 1970 and is a look back at the career of Whipper Billy Watson, who had just started his fifth decade as a pro wrestler.

The story doesn't try to hide the unhideable -- that the 54-year-old Watson's career is winding down and he can no longer go more than once or twice a week. Even so, he would continue to wrestle for nearly two more years until an accident put an unwavering end to his career in the ring.

In the story, Watson says that when he returned to Toronto in 1940 after a lengthy stay in Britain, promoter Frank Tunney wasn't all that enthusiastic, although Tunney says he saw something in Watson right away. There's no question that Watson got the home town boy push from the start.

The writer of this story, Louis Cauz, went on to become a well-known figure in the Canadian horse racing world. He has been the managing director of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the archivist/historian for the Ontario Jockey Club. In 1978, he wrote a book on the Toronto Blue Jays called Baseball's Back in Town. He also wrote a book on the King's/Queen's Plate that was published in 1984.

-by Gary Will

Frank Tunney's 30th Anniversary, 1969: Gary Will's TWH

There were several anniversary shows at the Gardens in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Some were anniversaries of the first Gardens show in 1931. Others celebrated Frank Tunney's years as a promoter. Those were always tricky since there were three different years that could be used -- the year he started working for Jack Corcoran, the year Corcoran passed the promotion along to the Tunneys (1939), or the year John Tunney died, leaving Frank the main promoter (1940).

Tunney's 30th anniversary show was held on May 18, 1969 and featured a rematch between The Sheik and Whipper Billy Watson and the Toronto debut of NWA world champion Dory Funk Jr. The show drew 13,000 fans, making it the highest reported attendance at a Toronto card in years.

The writer of this retrospective piece from the Globe, Jim Vipond, went on to become Ontario Athletics Commissioner -- he's the unnamed guy in Jim Freedman's book DRAWING HEAT who's accused of being a friend of Tunney's and a thorn in the side of Dave McKigney.

-by Gary Will

CARTOON: Henri DeGlane by Chuck Templeton, April 12, 1934: Gary Will's TWH

This cartoon is more of interest for the artist than the subject. Chuck Templeton was still a teenager when he drew this cartoon featuring Henri Deglane. He had been been hired by the Globe as a sports cartoonist in 1932 -- his first job in media. He quit in 1936 to become a very successful evangelist, which ended when he became an agnostic. Templeton later became better known as Charles Templeton, one of Canada's leading journalists, broadcasters, and writers.

In his memoirs, Templeton wrote that Tommy Munns, who handled publicity for promoter Jack Corcoran, hired him to draw sketches of wrestlers for the programs sold at the events.

-by Gary Will

Grey Cup Preview: The 1952 Edmonton Eskimos: Gary Will's TWH

The Edmonton Eskimos played the Toronto Argonauts in the Grey Cup final in 1952. In its preview of the game, the Globe & Mail ran profiles of the Eskimos players, including three 23-year-olds who would go on to be pro wrestling stars:

The Argos won the game, 21-11. It would be their last Grey Cup victory for 31 years. Kiniski would make his Maple Leaf Gardens debut as a wrestler in 1956, Blanchard in 1957, and Snyder in 1958. Snyder and Blanchard didn't make many appearances in Toronto. The card at right, from March 6, 1958, is the only time they were on the same show. Kiniski went on to become one of Toronto wrestling's all-time greats.

One of their teammates was an all-time star player for the Eskimos, Ted Tully. Maybe that name stuck in Blanchard's head a couple of years later when his son was born.

There were reports in 1950 that Whipper Billy Watson was going to play for the Eskimos, but nothing ever came of it.

-by Gary Will

Tunney-Crockett partnership approved, 1980: Gary Will's TWH

Tunney-Crockett partnership approved, 1980

After Jack Tunney's death in 2004, there was some discussion of whether North Carolina-based promoter Jim Crockett was ever a partner in the Toronto office. Crockett and Frank Tunney worked together from 1978 to Tunney's death in 1983, and Jack and Eddie Tunney continued to work with Crockett for several more months until switching their allegiance to Vince McMahon and the WWF in 1984.

In Canada, during most of the 1970s and the early 1980s, there was a law called the Foreign Investment Review Act (FIRA) which regulated the foreign ownership of Canadian companies. In November 1980, the Canadian Press reported that the government had approved the creation of a new business called Frank Tunney Sports Promotion, which was co-owned by Frank Tunney Sports Ltd., Jim Crockett Promotions Inc., and 410430 Ontario Ltd., said to be based in Hamilton.

The owner of the numbered corporation wasn't identified (it would be a matter of public record, but you have to pay a service charge to access Ontario corporate records), but Hamilton native George Scott is thought to have been the third partner. He continued to own a part of the office after the affiliation with McMahon and is said to have received a large settlement after he was pushed out of that partnership

- Gary Will

The Panther vs the Lion: A Hand-Drawn Ad, 1933: Gary Will's TWH

This is the only fully hand-drawn ad that was ever used for a wrestling show in Toronto and looks completely unlike anything used before or after. Jack Corcoran's show at Maple Leaf Gardens on January 26, 1933 featured the Utica Panther and the Balkan Lion and the artist put the feline references to full effect.

Bulldog Cox would later be better known as King Kong Cox. Dick Shikat was a no-show and was replaced by Frank Speers.

RESULTS

Joe Malcewicz W Dan Koloff (2-1)                 31:51

Sammy Stein W Gentleman Jack Washburn    19:06

Frank Speers WDec Herb Freeman                 30:00

Ted Bulldog Cox W George Hagen                 19:38

Earl McCready W Mike Romano                    15:10

Jack Riley W Cy Williams                               11:26

-by Gary Will

Two Leafs wrestle, rival promoters combine for charity: 1932: Gary Will's TWH

A charity show in 1932 saw two teammates oppose each other and two rivals work together.

There were two big-time wrestling promoters in Toronto in 1932. There was Ivan Mickailoff, who brought weekly shows to Toronto in 1929 and promoted shows at Arena Gardens, and Jack Corcoran, who booked cards at Maple Leaf Gardens.

The two promoters came together to benefit the 50,000 Club Unemployment Relief Fund. Each promoter provided two matches -- one preliminary and one featured event -- to a combined show at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Mickailoff's main bout was between Count George Zarynoff and Pat McGill, who had both worked main events for him in the past. Corcoran's featured presentation saw Ray Steele take on Joe Cox, with a strong preliminary featuring Gino Garibaldi and John Katan -- past and future main-eventers, respectively.

Rounding out the card was a match between two notable members of the Toronto Maple Leafs: team captain Clarence "Happy" Day and penalty leader Reginald "Red" Horner -- both future hall-of-famers. It was the only time in Toronto history that members of the Leafs got involved in a wrestling show. When the match was announced, Montreal Maroons defenceman Lionel Conacher -- Canada's greatest all-round athlete -- offered to take on both Day and Horner simultaneously (two weeks later, Conacher made his pro wrestling debut with Mickailoff).

The show, held on Monday April 25, 1932, drew only 4,500 -- about half of what had been hoped (each promoter drew bigger crowds for his next show).

Apparently, Day and Horner were pro wrestling fans and were able to mimic moves popularized by real grapplers. About the match, the Globe reported that "It was expected that this would be a farcical bout, but the athletes crossed the guessers and made it an honest-to-goodness struggle, with nearly all the modern tactics on display."

William Hewitt at the Star (father of broadcasting legend Foster Hewitt) wrote, "This act was a knockout and the fans got a great kick out of it. ... The hockey players showed the fans a lot of new holds and contortions and displayed surprising speed and agility on the mat."

After the match, Leafs owner Conn Smythe said he'd never let his players risk injury like that again.

Results:
Ray Steele W Joe Cox                                    24:05
Count George Zarynoff W Pat McGill      26:50
Hap Day D Red Horner                                  10:00
Tony Catalana W Ali Hassan                         12:39
Gino Garibaldi W John Katan                        17:13

-by Gary Will

The First Weekly Show: May 4, 1929: Gary Will's TWH

Professional wrestling existed in Toronto long before 1929. Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, William Muldoon, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Yousouf the Terrible Turk, and B.F. Roller were among the big-name wrestlers who had previously appeared in the city. Local talent included Bob Harrison and Artie Edmunds.

But it wasn't until 1929 that a promoter was successful in bringing top-ranked professional wrestlers to town on a regular basis. The promoter was Ivan Mickailoff, a former wrestler (his name was spelled many ways, but he used this spelling in his own ads).

Others had tried before Mickailoff and failed. Toronto wasn't known as a wrestling town -- "wrestling has never been a popular sport in the Queen City," said the Globe -- and there was skepticism when he announced his plans to run weekly shows at the Arena Gardens on Mutual Street, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. But Mickailoff made it work and started Toronto on the path to becoming one of the world's dominant pro wrestling cities.

He ran his first show in front of a small crowd of 500 on Saturday May 4, 1929.

Headlining the show was Canadian champion Jack Taylor, who would wrestle on most of Mickailoff's shows until suffering what was reported to be a broken leg in a match in August.

Also appearing on the first show were former world title claimant Wladek Zbyszko -- the less-heralded younger brother of Stanislaus Zbyszko -- and Henri Deglane, who would claim the world title himself in another couple of years. Taylor, Zbyszko, and Deglane all won their bouts.

Lou Marsh of the Star -- who occasionally worked as a referee for wrestling matches -- found the show to be entertaining, but made sure his readers knew that these bouts were not legitimate contests.

After four shows, the Globe reported that Mickailoff was drawing bigger crowds every week and at the end of the month, it said wrestling was becoming increasingly popular in Toronto.

-by Gary Will

Artie Edmunds -- The Pocket Hercules: Gary Will's TWH

Artie Edmunds was one of the first stars of Toronto wrestling. He was often billed as the Canadian featherweight champion over a career that spanned at least from 1901-1919 and probably longer.

In 1901, Edmunds became the national amateur champion at 115 pounds by winning a tournament sanctioned by the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union (CAAU), held in Toronto at the Mutual Street Arena. The referee for the final was Bob Harrison, who was probably Toronto's most famous wrestler of the 19th century.

Not only did Edmunds repeat at the 1902 tournament in Ottawa, he also made it to the final in the boxing championship before losing. Edmunds would become a professional in both wrestling and boxing, and would be billed as the Canadian featherweight champion in both sports.

 Edmunds regularly wrestled at the Star Theatre in Toronto, a notorious burlesque house that would often book one wrestler for a week to take on all comers. St. Andrew's Hall, the Labor Temple, and the Riverdale Roller Rink were some other Toronto venues that hosted wrestling cards with Edmunds in the main event.

Because of his light weight, Edmunds frequently wrestled in handicap matches where his heavier opponent would have to defeat him two or more times within a set time period. If the opponent was unable to do so, it would be considered a victory for Edmunds.

In 1904, Edmunds was running a boxing and wrestling school on Queen Street West three days a week. Later that year, the Star printed an enthusiastic review of Edmunds's vaudeville act, described as "a combination of physical culture and bag punching."

 A month later, Edmunds was booked to face Major -- a 200-pound wrestling pony. "He may not know anything about strangle holds and full Nelsons, but he has a knack of landing on his feet like a cat," said the Star of Major. "Edmunds is risking a lot in the bout, for the pony has already killed a man." A film was supposed to be made of the match. The pony's owner pulled out at the last minute, and instead Edmunds fought a full-sized thoroughbred, who by all accounts was having his way with Edmunds when the police stepped in to stop the bout following a complaint of animal cruelty.

Before the year ended, Edmunds travelled to New York and spent much of 1905 and 1906 boxing there. By this point he was competing at 125 pounds . The Star said he was "much in demand" at the boxing clubs in New York. He was booked to wrestle Young Roeber -- billed as New York's featherweight champion -- in March 1906. He boxed Jack Britton, who would go on to become world welterweight champion, in New York in February 1908.

 Edmunds returned to Toronto and helped spark what the Star described as a "wave of interest in wrestling sweeping over Ontario." He announced his retirement at the end of 1908, but it didn't last long. He lost a match in March 1909 to Kid Batten at the Star Theatre, but won the rematch a few weeks later. He was also working as a referee at this time, overseeing the match between Yankee Rogers and Hassan Abdullah at the Star.

In 1910, Edmunds went an a tour of Australia and was thinking about going to England and France.

The following year, he worked as the referee for the two highest-profile matches that had ever been held in Toronto to that point: George Hackenschmidt vs Dr. B.F. Roller and Frank Gotch vs Giovanni (John) Perelli.

Edmunds and his younger brothers Fred and Jack -- who were also wrestlers and boxers, although not as successful -- were all reported to have enlisted to fight in WWI late in 1914. Art was discharged from the army because he had lost an eye while boxing in New York. Fred was injured at Vimy Ridge as was said to have had two fingers shot off.

Edmunds continued to be billed as Canadian featherweight champion, and after he lost in straight falls in 1919 against Jack Forbes -- later a prominent referee in Toronto -- Edmunds insisted his title wasn't at stake.

Along with being a wrestler and boxer, Edmunds was also known in the bodybuilding world, such as it was in those days.

Edmunds's wrestling and boxing career had already ended when he was run over by a streetcar at the intersection of Keele and Dundas in 1922. Both of his legs were crushed and one of his feet was nearly amputated.

An Eaton's ad in 1923 said that Edmunds would be at the main Toronto store for six hours to answer questions on gymnasium equipment. Later in the year, he placed an ad of his own in the Star for his services as a health, strength, and "physical perfection" consultant.

 In 1928, Edmunds tried to get a boxing license but was turned down by the Ontario Athletic Commission because of his age. He was reportedly 46 at the time, although there are some inconsistencies in his reported age and he may have shaved a couple of years off at some point. At the time, the Globe called him "one of the greatest small athletes ever developed in this country."

He was working as an instructor at a camp in Bowmanville in 1935 -- and known as Prof. Arthur Edmunds -- when he drowned off Symons Beach.

-by Gary Will

The Sheik's unbeaten streak: 1969-1974: Gary Will's TWH

When the Sheik returned to Toronto in 1969 after a four-year absence, he quickly established himself as a main event performer (after one undercard appearance) and began a hot period for Toronto wrestling of a kind it had never seen before and wouldn't see again until the rise of Hulkamania. 

Sheik didn't lose a match in Toronto from 1969 to 1974. He lost a tag match in March 1974, but the real end of his undefeated streak came at the hands of Andre the Giant on August 11, 1974.

By my count, Sheik's record through his streak going into that match was 100-0-27. That's 127 singles matches without a loss. That includes 14 matches against Lord Athol Layton and 10 against Bobo Brazil.

69/02/09	W	Bill Palmer	1-0-0
69/02/23	WCNC	Mighty Igor	2-0-0
69/03/16	W	Bulldog Brower	3-0-0
69/03/30	W	Mighty Igor [2]	4-0-0
69/04/13	WDQ	Whipper Billy Watson	5-0-0
69/05/18	WDQ	Whipper Billy Watson [2]	6-0-0
69/06/01	W	Mighty Igor [3]	7-0-0
69/06/29	W	Gene Kiniski	8-0-0
69/07/13	WDQ	Bruno Sammartino	9-0-0
69/07/27	WDQ	Gene Kiniski [2]	10-0-0
69/08/10	W	Dominic Denucci	11-0-0
69/08/24	W	Lou Thesz	12-0-0
69/09/07	W	Lou Thesz [2]	13-0-0
69/09/21	W	Edouard Carpentier	14-0-0
69/10/05	WCOR	Dominic Denucci [2]	15-0-0
69/10/19	WDQ	Bulldog Brower [2]	16-0-0
69/11/02	WCNC	Lord Athol Layton	17-0-0
69/11/17	W	Bulldog Brower [3]	18-0-0
69/11/30	W	Giant Saka (Seiji Sakaguchi)	19-0-0
69/12/14	W	Bobo Brazil	20-0-0
69/12/28	W	Bobo Brazil [2]	21-0-0
70/01/18	WDQ	Dewey Robertson	22-0-0
70/02/08	DDQ	Lord Athol Layton [2]	22-0-1
70/02/22	W	Lord Athol Layton [3]	23-0-1
70/03/08	WCOR	Whipper Billy Watson [3]	24-0-1
70/04/05	WCOR	Flying Fred Curry	25-0-1
70/04/12	WDQ	Wild Bull Curry	26-0-1
70/04/26	WDQ	Haystack Calhoun	27-0-1
70/05/10	W	Haystack Calhoun [2]	28-0-1
70/05/24	W	Flying Fred Curry [2]	29-0-1
70/06/14	DDQ	Lord Athol Layton [4]	29-0-2
70/06/21	WCOR	Lord Athol Layton [5]	30-0-2
70/07/12	W	Haystack Calhoun [3]	31-0-2
70/07/26	WDQ	Bobo Brazil [3]	32-0-2
70/08/16	WCOR	Bobo Brazil [4]	33-0-2
70/08/30	W	Mighty Igor [4]	34-0-2
70/09/13	W	Mighty Igor [5]	35-0-2
70/09/20	WDQ	Flying Fred Curry [3]	36-0-2
70/10/04	WCOR	Bobo Brazil [5]	37-0-2
70/10/18	WDQ	Whipper Billy Watson [4]	38-0-2
70/11/01	WDQ	Whipper Billy Watson [5]	39-0-2
70/11/15	WCOR	Whipper Billy Watson [6]	40-0-2
70/12/06	DCOR	Lord Athol Layton [6]	40-0-3
70/12/13	W	Haystack Calhoun [4]	41-0-3
70/12/27	W	Lord Athol Layton [7]	42-0-3
71/01/10	DCOR	Tex McKenzie	42-0-4
71/01/17	W	Tex McKenzie [2]	43-0-4
71/02/21	WDQ	Tiger Jeet Singh	44-0-4
71/03/14	DNC	Tiger Jeet Singh [2]	44-0-5
71/03/21	W	Tiger Jeet Singh [3]	45-0-5
71/04/04	W	Haystack Calhoun [5]	46-0-5
71/04/18	WDQ	Tex McKenzie [3]	47-0-5
71/05/02	DDQ	Lord Athol Layton [8]	47-0-6
71/05/09	W	Lord Athol Layton [9]	48-0-6
71/06/06	DCOR	Dory Funk Jr.	48-0-7
71/06/20	W	Angelo Mosca	49-0-7
71/07/11	W	Masked Assassin (Guy Mitchell)	50-0-7
71/07/25	WDQ	Bobo Brazil [6]	51-0-7
71/08/15	WCOR	Bobo Brazil [7]	52-0-7
71/08/29	DDQ	Big John Quinn	52-0-8
71/09/05	W	Big John Quinn [2]	53-0-8
71/09/12	WDQ	Mighty Igor [6]	54-0-8
71/09/26	DCOR	Tiger Jeet Singh [4]	54-0-9
71/10/17	DCOR	Tiger Jeet Singh [5]	54-0-10
71/10/31	W	Tiger Jeet Singh [6]	55-0-10
71/11/14	WDQ	Luis Martinez	56-0-10
71/11/28	W	Luis Martinez [2]	57-0-10
71/12/12	W	Luis Martinez [3]	58-0-10
71/12/26	DCOR	Lord Athol Layton [10]	58-0-11
72/01/02	W	Lord Athol Layton [11]	59-0-11
72/01/09	W	Bulldog Brower [3]	60-0-11
72/02/06	DCOR	Carlos Rocha	60-0-12
72/02/20	W	Carlos Rocha [2]	61-0-12
72/03/05	WDQ	Carlos Rocha [3]	62-0-12
72/03/19	WCOR	Pampero Firpo	63-0-12
72/04/02	WCOR	Pampero Firpo [2]	64-0-12
72/04/16	DCOR	Carlos Rocha [4]	64-0-13
72/04/30	W	Carlos Rocha [5]	65-0-13
72/05/14	W	Pampero Firpo [3]	66-0-13
72/06/11	DDQ	Lord Athol Layton [12]	66-0-14
72/06/25	W	Lord Athol Layton [13]	67-0-14
72/07/09	W	Ben Justice	68-0-14
72/07/23	WCOR	The Beast	69-0-14
72/08/13	WDQ	Tony Parisi	70-0-14
72/08/27	W	Magnificent Zulu	71-0-14
72/09/10	WDQ	Tony Parisi [2]	72-0-14
72/10/01	WDQ	Magnificent Zulu [2]	73-0-14
72/10/15	W	Magnificent Zulu [3]	74-0-14
72/10/29	WDQ	Sweet Daddy Siki	75-0-14
72/11/19	DDQ	Pampero Firpo [4]	75-0-15
72/12/03	W	Pampero Firpo [5]	76-0-15
72/12/17	DDQ	Johnny Valentine	76-0-16
72/12/28	DDQ	Tiger Jeet Singh [7]	76-0-17
73/01/14	DCOR	Tiger Jeet Singh [8]	76-0-18
73/02/04	W	Tiger Jeet Singh [9]	77-0-18
73/02/11	WCNC	Tony Marino	78-0-18
73/03/04	DDQ	Chief Jay Strongbow	78-0-19
73/03/18	DDQ	Chief Jay Strongbow [2]	78-0-20
73/04/01	WCNC	Chief Jay Strongbow [3]	79-0-20
73/04/08	W	Lord Athol Layton [14]	80-0-20
73/04/29	W	Chief Jay Strongbow [4]	81-0-20
73/05/13	D	Bobo Brazil [8]	81-0-21
73/05/27	DDQ	Bobo Brazil [9]	81-0-22
73/06/10	W	Bobo Brazil [10]	82-0-22
73/06/24	W	Eric the Animal	83-0-22
73/07/08	WCOR	Pampero Firpo [6]	84-0-22
73/07/22	WDQ	Johnny Valentine [2]	85-0-22
73/08/12	DCOR	Johnny Powers	85-0-23
73/09/23	W	Tony Marino [2]	86-0-23
73/10/14	W	Johnny Powers [2]	87-0-23
73/10/28	W	Johnny Powers [3]	88-0-23
73/11/11	WDQ	Bearcat Wright	89-0-23
73/11/25	DCOR	Dominic Denucci [3]	89-0-24
73/12/02	W	Dominic Denucci [4]	90-0-24
73/12/16	W	Billy Red Lyons	91-0-24
73/12/30	DCOR	Andre the Giant	91-0-25
74/02/10	DDQ	Andre the Giant [2]	91-0-26
74/02/17	W	Andre the Giant [3]	92-0-26
74/03/03	WDQ	Chief Jay Strongbow [5]	93-0-26
74/03/31	WCOR	Chief Jay Strongbow [6]	94-0-26
74/04/07	WCOR	The Crusader (Dewey Robertson) [2]	95-0-26
74/04/21	W	Crusader Robertson [3]	96-0-26
74/05/12	WDQ	Edouard Carpentier [2]	97-0-26
74/05/26	WCOR	Edouard Carpentier [3]	98-0-26
74/06/09	DDQ	Ernie Ladd	98-0-27
74/06/23	W	Ernie Ladd [2]	99-0-27
74/07/21	W	Edouard Carpentier [4]	100-0-27
74/08/11	LDQ	Andre the Giant [4]	100-1-27

-by Gary Will

Toots Mondt charged after fatal car crash near Collingwood, 1932; Gary Will's TWH

Joe "Toots" Mondt is one of the all-time legends of pro wrestling -- to the point where some people give him credit for inventing the whole enterprise as it came to be known through the 20th century.

He was one of the main figures in the 1937 book FALL GUYS by Marcus Griffin where he was portrayed as a dangerous shooter and a genius promoter and schemer. Lou Thesz, who got to re-write history in more ways than one, later called Mondt "a thief and a liar" but conceded that he was "a powerful and skilled wrestler" -- compliments Thesz didn't toss out readily.

What isn't so widely known about Mondt is that he was a partner in Jack Corcoran's Toronto office, and was even for a time the majority owner. He also became a resident of Ontario in 1932-33, although not by choice.

In the summer of 1932, Mondt and his brother, Ralph Mondt, along with a woman described as a local dancer, were driving on Highway 24 just east of Collingwood, a resort town about 70 miles north of Toronto off Georgian Bay.

Toots, who was in his late 30s at the time, was behind the wheel of a 16-cylinder Cadillac sports car. Just after midnight on August 21, after coming around a curve, he collided with a car driven by J. Edward Burnie of Toronto. Burnie's passenger, 21-year-old Theresa Luccioni, was killed instantly.

A coroner's inquest found that Mondt had been driving too quickly and on September 2, he was committed for trial on a charge of manslaughter.

Mondt -- who was injured in a second car accident in New York in September -- was represented by prominent Toronto lawyer D. Lally McCarthy, later the treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the son of one of the founders of the law firm that evolved into McCarthy Tétrault, now one of Canada's largest.

At the trial in November, held in Barrie, Collingwood constable Lorne Davidson testified that, while in the hospital, Mondt had offered him money from his pants pocket. In response, Mondt said he thought the constable wanted to buy some "cigarettes or sandwiches or something" and offered some money he had in a drawer.

Mondt testified that he was only driving at 35-40 miles an hour and that it was Burnie who swerved over the line and into his car.

The jury wasn't impressed. While the charge of manslaughter was dismissed, Mondt was found guilty of criminal negligence following a four-hour deliberation.

Mr. Justice Patrick Kerwin sentenced Mondt to one year in the Ontario reformatory in Guelph. According to the Star, Kerwin had suggested an acquittal in his charge to the jury.

The Star boasted that this showed the difference between Canadian and American justice. Gus Sonnenberg had just been tried for manslaughter in the U.S. after killing a police officer in an auto accident, but he got off without serving any significant jail time. The Star's boast would turn out to be premature.

McCarthy immediately filed an appeal. Mondt spent a night in jail in Barrie but was then released on $20,000 bail (almost $300,000 in today's dollars), half of which he put up himself and the rest of which was deposited by Corcoran and stockbroker Percy Gardiner (who may also have been a partner in the wrestling office -- he was Corcoran's brother-in-law; Gardiner signed Jumping Joe Savoldi to a three-year management contract a few months after the Mondt trial; he was also a part-owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens and the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team; his son brought Kentucky Fried Chicken to Canada).

Mondt was not allowed to leave Ontario and he spent about three months in the area, during which time he was spotted at at least one of the shows at the Gardens.

The appeal was heard late in January and early in February, the court ruled in Mondt's favour. The conviction was overturned (Chief Justice Francis R. Latchford dissented from the decision of the majority) and he was free to leave.

That wasn't the end of Mondt's problems, however, as the mother of the woman killed in the accident filed a $10,000 (about $150,000 today) suit against him that was heard in December.

A second action, heard at the same time, was brought by Ralph Mondt against his brother and Burnie, claiming $5,000 in damages for loss of earnings and suffering.

Supporting Mondt's version of events at the civil trial was his dancer passenger, who by an amazing coincidence had since moved from Collingwood to New York. Burnie testified that Mondt was driving across the centre line.

Judgment was reserved on December 15, and while I hate to leave a good story hanging, I haven't yet been able to find a report of the outcome.

In FALL GUYS, Griffin writes that Mondt spent about $300,000 defending himself in the criminal and civil proceedings. If true, that would be over $4 million in today's dollars.

 

-by Gary Will

Athletic commission halts Masked Marvel bout: September 22, 1938: Gary Will's TWH

In 1938, the Masked Marvel was the top heel at Maple Leaf Gardens. He wasn't the first masked wrestler in the area -- there had been another Masked Marvel in Toronto in 1932 -- but he was the first to become a main event star.

In June 1938, the Masked Marvel, accompanied by the Masked Manager, won the short-lived Toronto version of the world title (which will be the subject for another time). He defeated Vic Christie -- the city's top babyface at the time -- and then successfully defended the title against former world title claimants Yvon Robert, Ed Don George, and Dan O'Mahony.

After taking a break in the month of August (Maple Leaf Gardens was not a comfortable venue in the hot days of summer), promoter Jack Corcoran opened a new wrestling season in September with Marvel defeating Felix Miquet in the main event.

Headlining the next show was Masked Marvel defending his world title against Mayes McLain. Marvel must have been quite a heat machine, because Patrick Mulqueen, the chairman of the Ontario Athletic Commission, was so troubled by the near-riot that Marvel was enciting during the match against McLain that he jumped up and put a stop to the bout. A quick-acting Corcoran immediately got on the phone to OAC vice-chairman Lionel Conacher -- a former pro wrestler -- and after about 10 minutes, Conacher and another member of the commission overruled Mulqueen and told Corcoran to go ahead and finish the match.

There previously had been rumours that Mulqueen and Conacher didn't see eye-to-eye but I haven't come across what happened internally at the OAC to resove their issues.

In an interview with the Star, Mulqueen said that the Canadian public "have never been very strong for hooded stuff of any kind." If that was ever true, it would certainly no longer the case in Toronto, which would regularly feature masked wrestlers for years to come.

The Marvel was unmasked on the next Gardens show and revealed to be Ted Cox, who would remain a main eventer in Toronto without the hood. A third Masked Marvel (Lew Reynheer) would come to Toronto in 1947 and become a long-time main eventer in the city. A fourth (Lou Newman) started up in 1950 (with Mayes McLain working as his Masked Manager) and a fifth (Frank Valois) wrestled on top in 1952.

-by Gary Will

Jack Johnson vs George Hackenschmidt, 1910: Gary Will's TWH

No, it never happened. But it was talked about, and if it was going to happen anywhere, it would have been in Toronto.

World heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson was managed by Toronto sports mogul Tom Flanagan, who also managed marathon runner Tom Longboat, one of Canada's greatest athletes.


In 1910, Flanagan decided to get into the pro wrestling business. He set his sights high and made a bid for the definitive dream bout of the time -- a rematch between Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt.

Flanagan's efforts to land Gotch-Hackenschmidt II will be covered in a separate piece. He was successful in getting both wrestlers to come to Toronto, but not to face each other. The rematch ended up being held in September 1911 in Chicago -- the city that hosted the original match.

But late in 1910, Gotch was talking about being retired and Hack had a standing offer to wrestle in handicap matches where he would have to defeat more than one opponent within a certain time period. Three opponents in an hour was the usual offer.

Flanagan made arrangements to bring Hackenschmidt's handicap challenge to Toronto just before the end of the year. The question then became, who would be the opponents? Yankee Rogers of Buffalo, who had often wrestled in Toronto, was a natural choice for one of the spots. Then the Star got wind that Johnson was coming to town to see Flanagan -- was it to make arrangements to take on Hackenschmidt? Flanagan wouldn't rule it out. "While I have not named Johnson as one of the three, it wouldn't be out of the way," he told the Star.

This would have been a straight wrestling match, and no one was under any illusions about who was going to come out on top. Flanagan was hopeful that Johnson could last 15 minutes with Hackenschmidt (not that it would likely have been an actual contest had it happened).

Just a few days earlier, the Globe had reported that Johnson and Hackenschmidt were going to go on a world tour together in 1911.

As it turned out, neither of the rumoured pairings of Johnson and Hackenschmidt actually happened. Hack wrestled his handicap match in Toronto on December 29 -- he had to defeat four men within 105 minutes, and did so handily. Only Rogers lasted more than 15 minutes. Johnson was not one of the opponents. And Hack didn't tour with Johnson, but instead got his rematch with Gotch.

Flanagan got out of the wrestling business after bringing Gotch to Toronto in March 1911. Johnson continued to be recognized as world heavyweight boxing champion until April 1915.

 -by Gary Will