Friday, March 24, 2017

Early 1900s Pro Wrestling Weight Classes


About Weight Classes
     In the 1900s-1910s, wrestling was divided up into five classes:

featherweight (125 pounds)
lightweight (135 pounds)
welterweight (145 pounds)
middleweight (158 pounds)
heavyweight (anything above 158 pounds)

    As there was no governing body for the sport to officially recognize champions, it was not uncommon for several men to claim the same title across the country.  While the regional champions were usually recognized within their limited geography by various athletic clubs, newspapers and the National Police Gazette (which was sort of a cross between Esquire, True Detective, Playboy and Sports Illustrated), when two title claimants met, the winner was typically recognized as the more definitive champion.  The most accepted method for a claimant to be widely recognized was for him to simply arrange matches with all the other prominent claimants and defeat them decisively.

     However, in order for the title to change hands, both contestants were expected to make the appropriate weight for the title in question.  If a challenger could not make the 158 pounds to officially wrestle for the middleweight title, then even if he beat the champion, the title would not be at stake.  When this occurred, the match was often said to be wrestled "at catch weights".   An example of this was when Chris Jordan wrestled Eugene Tremblay in 1907.  At the time, Tremblay was the recognized as the world lightweight champion, but when they met, Jordan outweighed Tremblay by 11 pounds so Jordan's victory did not qualify him for the lightweight title.  Knowing that Jordan outweighed him, Tremblay didn't have to qualify at the 135 pound limit for this encounter, though there is nothing in the newspaper articles before or after the match to indicate whether or not he did.

     However, that never stopped newspaper writers or those advertising such an event as a "Championship Wrestling Bout" as was seen in this Columbia Theater ad in the Boston Journal.  After all, the goal was to make money.  In some cases this led to confusion as to who was legitimately the champion.   More to follow...

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Wrestling in Sheffield, Alabama in 1933

SHEFFIELD, ALABAMA 1933 (From the Florence Times)

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 05 January 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Jim Hesslyn beat George Harbin (2-1) ... Dale Haddock beat Freddie Knichel (48:00, 2-0) ... 3-Round Boxing Match: Buster Cox vs Putman Tilson

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 12 January 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Jim Hesslyn beat Joe Dillman (2-1) via dq ... Dale Haddock drew Joe Gunther (60:00) ... Referee: Ernest Kelly

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 19 January 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tiger Kelly beat George Harben (2-1) ... Tarzan the Ape Man drew Kid Lott (60:00, 1-1) ... all proceeds from the show went to Associated Charities of Sheffield ... Tarzan and Kid Lott substituted for Joe Gunther (who had injured his foot earlier in the week) and Jack Sherry

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 26 January 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tiger Kelly beat Eddie Pope (2-1) ... Jimmie Demos beat Walter Miller (15:00, 2-1) ... Miller substituted for Al Santell

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 02 February 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tarzan the Ape Man beat Eddie Pope (2-1) ... Kid Lott beat Dutch Green (37:00, 2-0)

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 09 February 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Eddie Elzea vs Joe Dillman ... Jimmie Demis vs Joe Turner

The microfilm archives of The Florence Times are missing issues from 8-22 February 1933.

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 23 February 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tarzan the Ape Man beat Pete Seajack (22:00, 2-0) ... Jack Sherry beat Joe Turner (2-1) ... Tarzan voluntarily unmasked, but did not announce his name ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 02 March 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Stanley Buersch beat Tiger Kelly (41:00, 2-1) ... Jimmie Demos beat Sammy Miller (32:30, 2-1) ... The "Gold Dust Twins" were scheduled to open the show with a boxing match, but forgot their gloves, so they wrestled instead ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 09 March 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Joe Dillman beat George Harben (2-0) ... Cowboy Boland beat Jack Sherry (2-1) ... The Gold Dust Twins remembered their gloves and boxed before the wrestling started

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 16 March 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Kid Lott beat Joe Dillman (43:50, 2-1) ... George Romanoff beat Rough House Hagen (40:00, 2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 23 March 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Jim Hesslyn beat George Harben (2-0) ... Eddie Elzea beat Dr. Fredericks (2-1) ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 30 March 1933
(Legion Hall) ... George Romanoff beat Eddie Elzea (2-1) ... Freddie Lassiter beat Jacques Moreau (23:00, 2-0) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 06 April 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tiger Kelly beat Jim Hesslyn (2-1) ... Rough House Hagen drew Roy Allen (60:00, 1-1) via time-limit draw ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 13 April 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Al Stecher beat Tiger Kelly (2-1) ... Roy Allen beat Jacques Moreau (2-1) via dq ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 20 April 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Al Stecher beat Rough House Hagen (2-1)... Kid Lott beat Freddie Lassiter (2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 27 April 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tiger Kelly beat Lon Chaney (2-0) ... Pete Demetroff beat Roy Allen (25:00, 2-0) ... Tiger Kelly substituted for Joe Dillman, who was injured in a match in Jasper earlier in the week ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 04 May 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Rained out ... scheduled card was Ernest Kelly vs Cliff McLeod ... Pete Demetroff vs Henry Clausen

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 11 May 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Rained out second consecutive week ... scheduled card was Francis Journee vs Cliff McLeod ... Rough House Hagen vs Pete Demetroff

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 18 May 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Stanley Buersch beat Kid Lott (2-1) ... Charlie Cure drew Tiger Kelly (60:00, 1-1) via time-limit draw ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 25 May 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Al Stecher beat George Harben (2-1) ... Ripper Reeves beat Lon Chaney (2-0) via dq ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 01 June 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Stanley Buersch beat Charlie Cure (2-1) ... Ripper Reeves beat Hunter O'Neal (2-0) ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 08 June 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Stenley Buersch beat Hans Wagner (2-1) ... Tiger Kelly beat Charlie Cure

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 15 June 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Joe Dillman vs Ripper Reeves ... Charlie Cure vs Stanley West

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 22 June 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Stanley Buersch beat Joe Dillman (2-1) ... Kid Lott beat Hans Wagner (29:30, 2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 29 June 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Kid Lott beat Ripper Reeves ... Walter Roxy beat Freddie Knichel ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dewey Robbins

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 06 July 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Joe Dillman beat Kid Lott ... Walter Roxy beat Bulldog Mallory ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Jack Freeman

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 13 July 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tuffy Cleet beat Fritz Crane (2-1) ... Vic Weber beat Al Westergard (26:00, 2-1) ... Referee: Ernest (Tiger) Kelly

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 20 July 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tuffy Cleet beat Walter Miller (27:00, 2-1) ... Pete Demetroff beat Mike London (2-0) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Bulldog Mallory

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 27 July 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Frank Buersch beat Gus Pappas (21:00, 2-1) ... Pete Demetroff beat Bulldog Mallory (2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Tuffy Cleet

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 03 August 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tuffy Cleet beat Pete Ramos (2-1) .. Bulldog Mallory drew Dale Haddock (60:00, 1-1) via time-limit draw ... Referees: Tuffy Cleet (preliminary), Bulldog Mallory (main event)

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 10 August 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tuffy Cleet beat Joe Dillman (2-1) ... Bulldog Mallory beat Jimmy Shaber (2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Mike London

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 17 August 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Dale Haddock beat Henry Kollen (2-1) ... Walter Miller beat Gus Pappas (40:00, 2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 24 August 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Joe Dillman beat Tommie Galbos (2-1) ... Pete Demetroff beat Eddie Baker (2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Jimmy Murphy

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 31 August 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Ernest (Tiger) Kelly beat Jack Purdin (2-1) via countout ... Dale Haddock beat Jimmy Murphy (2-0) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Strong

Sheffield, AL: Monday, 02 September 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Joe Dillman beat Blacksmith Pedigo (29:00, 2-0) ... John Felix beat Bill Hoskins (17:00) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Dillman officiated the preliminary while Hoskins and Felix shared referee duties in the main event. Tuffy Cleet was reportedly injured in an automobile accident and unable to work, resulting in the shuffled card.

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 07 September 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tom Galbos beat Tiger Kelly (20:30, 2-1) ... Blacksmith Pedigo beat Vic Weber (32:00, 2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Weber's loss was purportedly his first in 19 matches in the South

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 14 September 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tiger Kelly beat Mickey McGuire (2-1) ... Pete Demetroff beat Al Thompson (29:00, 2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Farmer Vance

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 21 September 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Roughhouse Sam Nelson beat Joe Dillman (2-1) ... Jimmy Murphy beat Gorilla Tucker (2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 28 September 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tuffy Cleet beat Walter Logan (26:00, 2-1) ... Lon Chaney beat Ace Judkins (35:00, 2-1)

Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 05 October 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Tuffy Cleet beat Tiger Kelly (33:00, 2-1) ... Stanley Vance beat Gorilla Tucker (22:00, 2-0) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches



Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 12 October 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Jack Spurgin beat Tuffy Cleet (12:00, 2-0) ... Gus Pappas drew Eddie Baker (60:00, 1-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches


Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 19 October 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Jack Spurgin beat Rough House Sam Nelson (30:00, 2-1) via disqualification ... Lon Chaney beat Eddie Baker (26:50, 2-1) ... A 3-round amateur boxing match preceded the wrestling matches ... Referee: Bob Knichel


Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 26 October 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Jack Spurgin beat John Fulton (25:00, 2-0) ... Joe Shimkus beat Floyd Tuck (2-0) ... (amateur match) Bobo Rand beat Mule Taylor (15:00, 1-0) ... Referee: John Fulton (preliminary), Hallon Box (amateur match)


Sheffield, AL: Thursday, 02 November 1933
(Legion Hall) ... Al Stecher beat Jack Spurgin (2-1) ... Pat McCarthy beat Tuffy Cleet (60:00, 1-0) ... Referee: Gus Pappas
 


I have to get back to Florence to get the rest of the year as Google News Archive doesn't have Nov-Dec 1933 online.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

[In-Progress] Pro Wrestling Profile: Chris Jordan


Real Name:  Christope Gregory Jordan (according to his death certificate and obituary) or Christopher Gregory Jordan (according to his headstone)

Nicknames/Aliases: Young Prokos


Birth: 17 January 1886, Constantinople, Turkey (his gravestone incorrectly shows 1896)

Death: 18 April 1940, Fairfield Heights, Jefferson County, Alabama

Chris Jordan @ FindAGrave.com

Earliest appearance (so far): 27 December 1906, vs. Joe Hantorhas at the Columbia Theater, Boston Massachusetts.  Billed as "Christie Jordan" on a card with James Prokos vs Wilfred Barrett.

Latest appearance (so far): 29 June 1931 at Broad Ripple Pool Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana

     All of the following is based purely on information from newspaper articles spanning Jordan's career, and as such, all of it should be taken with a grain of salt, down to his name.
 
      According to multiple newspaper accounts, Chris Jordan was born in Turkey, to Greek parents, and it was always his Greekness that was played up by promoters and sports writers.  Sources conflict on when Chris first took an interest in wrestling.  One write-up says he was a wrestler in Turkey and when old enough to be faced with the choice between having to go to university or get a job, Chris chose wrestling and left Turkey for America.  Another article suggests his first experience wrestling was after arriving in the U.S. and after being taken to watch a wrestling show in Boston, he was encouraged to take a stab at the sport due to his size, quickness and strength.

     In either case, after crossing Europe, he arrived in America in mid-1906 and settled in the Boston area.  After being denied entry into the U.S. Navy, Chris took jobs in a shoe factory and with an electric company.  Jordan didn't initially take to the catch-as-catch-can style of the sport, his first match (reportedly with Peter James), leaving him exhausted and sore after 30 minutes, he gave it another try a few months later, under the name "Young Prokos".  It was common practice at the time for new wrestlers to enter the sport using the name of a more prominent wrestler and simply prefacing it with "Young".  In Jordan's case, he was borrowing the moniker of James Prokos, a well-known light heavyweight of the time.  Once Chris Jordan was well established, his own brother, Steve, would wrestle for several years as "Young Jordan".By all accounts, his brother only wrestled for a few years and left the sport. 

     Jordan quickly began establishing a reputation in the greater Boston area as a serious welterweight grappler.  After effectively throwing everyone in his weight class in the area, he headed west, settling in Pittsburgh for the better part of 1909-1910.

    

     From there he would move on to Cleveland, Detroit, Salt Lake City, Lincoln, El Paso.


    Jordan's promotional career seems to have begun in the late 1920s, as he was wrestling and promoting shows in Macon, Georgia, in 1929.  Prior to his final southern migration, he promoted shows in Evansville, Indiana in early 1931.

     By 1931, Chris had settled in Jasper, Alabama.  In 1932, the American Legion fired their current light heavyweight wrestling promoter, and Jordan was drafted into the role.  He quickly established and expanded the light heavyweight circuit around Birmingham, promoting regular shows in Fairfield (where he ultimately settled), Homewood, Tarrant and Bessemer, with spot shows in Leeds.  By the end of 1932, he was making forays into larger towns like Tuscaloosa and Anniston, acting as the central booking office for light heavyweight talent across Alabama.  From middle Alabama, he expanded to south to Montgomery, Dothan and Mobile, and northward into Florence, Sheffield, Decatur and Huntsville.

    In 1938-39, Jordan became ill, and began grooming Joe Gunther to help out on the promotion side.  By late 1939, he was incapacitated to the point of being forced to retire from promoting and hand the whole enterprise off to Gunther, and in April of 1940, Chris Jordan died at his home in Fairfield Heights, Alabama.  According to his death certificate, he died of heart failure due to rheumatic heart disease and mitral stenosis, so apparently due to damage caused by rheumatic fever.