Death Of Fuji

Mr Fuji passed away this past week. He was in his 80s.

Though remembered by many as the manager for Yokozuna and others, Fuji was also an accomplished wrestler in his own right who had been around for years before going to managing due to age.. He teamed with Saito,m Mitsu Arakawa, Tanaka and several others in his long career. One of his finishing moves was the typical throwing of salt into the eyes of his opponents.

Like Mr Moto, Tor Kamata,  Toru Tanaka and others before him, Fuji was not really even Japanese. He  was Hawaiian.

Death Of Denny Kass

Denny Kass, who teamed with Al Sniw as part of The New Kangaroos tag team, died in his sleep this past week.

Details are not known as to how or why.

Bluegrass Brawlers

Bluegrass Brawlers, the creation of a book on Kentucky wrestling by John Cosper, the  man who also did the piece on Lord Carlton, may be of interest to southwestern fans due to the fact many who appear in this text also worked Arizona.

The book covers the early carnival days of Kentucky wrestling, the Gulas era, the Jarrett era, the WWE and the host of Independents who followed.

Worth a look.

Many fine photos that have never before seen, some from the collection of Jim Cornette, illustrate the text.

Meet Dale Pierce August 20th

Meet Dale Pierce at the SCW card at Poblanitas in Bremerton, Washington at 7 pm. Pierce will be signing  copies of his book, Wrestling in Akron (also available through Arcadia Publishing, on Amazon or order able in any books tore).

The book features many never befpore seen photos of Lord Carlton, Brian Pillman, Jerry Graham, Sheik, Chris Colt, Jebediah, Killer Brooks, Dory Funk, Golddust and many more.

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Lost Akron by Mark Price

Lost Akron from History Press, a division of Arcadia Publishing, might well be overlooked by wrestling fans in general, if nto lovers of history.

The book deals with  a  number of vanished places back in Akron, Ohio that have met witht he wrecking ball, including the old arena, the Akron Armory.

Oddly, the author places aim at the concerts and political rallies, as well as the boxing matches rather than the wrestling events here. Only a  paragraph or two is found devoted to wrestling.,

Still the book has high points for Armory lovers.

Many of the people who worked in Akron headed to Arizona in circuit days to escape the horrid Ohio winters, including Lou Thesz, Killer Brooks, Ben Justice, Argentina Rocca , Buddy Rogers, ,Mildred Burke and more.

Worth a look.

 

The Lord Carlton Book

Lord Caelron. Wrestler, Artist, Mt father by K.K.Fluegeman and John Cosper offers a great look at one of the finest villains form the 1950s in the form of Lord Carlton The book also offers many rare photos and  clippings that have never before been published in book form.

The book also deals with Carlton's Arizona run, with particular emphasis ona Tucson match facing Gorgeous George.

Naturally, the book does not deal with all of this master heel's Arizona feuds, as they were too numerous toi mention in an overall look at the man. Carlton also had a long and bloody feud with Phil Melby, where riots broke out in the aftermath on the Arizona circuit Since George was a far bigger name than Melba, focus on their Az. encounters seems more rational.

The book also deals with Carlton as an artist who made many sought after paintings during his lifetime.

This book is well commended as a captivating tale dealing with a man who was one of the greatest in hsi day, but is sadly mentioned less and less with the passing of time. His arrogance in the ring, his classic heel personality and his exploits are dealt with at length here.

Read the book.

Pampero Firpo

Though a major midwesyerrn draw and in California, the caveman-like Pampero Firpo has only one showing in Arizona ever.

The matchook place when The Sheik tried running in Phoenix. Firpo faced Tony Marino and the match ended with Killer Brooks doing a run in.

The event happened in 1973.

Firpo has a short haircut now and lives iN california, working for several years with the psot office upon leaving wrestling.

He wa sknown for belting out "Ohhhhh yahhhhhhh" long before randy Savahe and for the use of a claw hold to win his matches.

He was one of the most hated of heels before turning baby after being fireballed by the even more hated Sheik. 

Close Call For Shultz

For a time, Sgt. Schultz (Commando nazi in Mexico) thought he was going to have to join Bret Hart, The Time Traveler,  Zoltan, Phil Melby  and others as a fighter encountering prostate cancer, but tests revealed he did not have the illness, but only an enlarged prostate.

He had a close call.

 A friendly suggestion to all men over 50...get the annual blood test to look for this.

Hans Schnabel Bio From His Son

Here is my Dad's (wrestler Hans Schnabel) wrestling history in a nut shell. His name was Herbert Moeller and was born in Rye New York  in 1908. He was the son of immigrant parents who arrived in New York City (Ellis Island) from Germany in 1906. They brought their two sons Fritz and Otto with them. Shortly after my dad was born, his mother died due to the flu epidemic which struck NYC in 1910. Soon after, they moved to Conn. At age 8, he contracted Polio.The Disease weaken both legs, but efected his right leg more. It was a long recovery. His brothers would pull him in a cart for the first two yrs afterwards. During his recovery he slowly began to walk, but he was left with a club foot. He finally recovery fully from the disease and his right leg returned to a normal position (but he was always had concerns for his legs, that is the reason he always wore long sweats). As a teen he worked in a spring factory. Fritz and my Dad embarked on careers as mechanics. They opened a garage in Conn. and where successful, but my Father was interested wrestling and seeing the country. Professional wrestling started spreading through NY and Conn. Both Fritz and my Dad had the opportunity earning money in wrestling matches. They both decided to leave the mechanic shop for the more lucrative wrestling life. They decided to honor the mother and use her maiden name Schnabel. My dad used his nick-name Hans. He had a strong desire to become a great professional wrestler. Together or individually, The Schnabel Brothers moved through the professional wrestling world. during the early 30's they worked for promoter Jack Pfeiffer. Early on, they wrestled mainly in the New York area  and Ohio. In 1936, Hans had a shot at the World-Heavyweight Championship. He was signed for the title match, but shortly before the match, Hans became ill so   Dave Levin took his place and won the Title on a disqualification. Later that yr, Fritz and Hans left for South Africa. Fritz and Father continued wrestling through out the U.S. and they were joined by there older brother Otto. A partner of Otto's was a man from Denver, who wrestled under the name of George Schnabel, but he was no relationship.  1948, Hans and Fritz worked for promoter Fred Kohler and mainly wrestled on the west coast and in Chicago. 1949, Fritz then 45 yrs old didn’t have the desire my Dad did, so new partnerships were drawn up. In the early 50's he teamed up with his long time friend Lou Newman. They wrestled as the Iron Russians. He also worked with George Bollas (The Zebra Kid). The last match I have found was in May 1960. “Hans Schnabel” was now 52. His wrestling career spanned 26 yrs. He wrestled all across the United States, Hawaii, South Africa and Japan. From a young boy who had a very crippling disease  such as Polio, he  was able to overcome life's hard knocks and become one of Professional Wrestling's greatest Heels is a feet not often accomplished. He entered into the professional wrestling title record books several times through out his career.