Lou Thesz
Longtime pro wrestler Thesz dies at 86
By Ed Koch
LAS VEGAS SUNLou Thesz, who promoted pro wrestling locally 20 years ago and
in the 1950s drew a then-record 4,000 fans to watch him wrestle the legendary
Gorgeous George in Las Vegas, has died. He was 86.
Thesz, a pioneer wrestler who held the National Wrestling
Alliance version of the world title six times, including one reign that lasted
nearly eight years, died Sunday of heart failure in Orlando, Fla.During a career
that spanned 55 years, including matches on his 65th birthday in Mexico and
73rd birthday in Japan, Thesz was a popular performer, especially in the early
days of
television when pro wrestling was one of the medium's more popular shows.
The era often is called Wrestling's Golden Age.In the
early 1980s when Thesz and late wrestler Eddie Faye were promoting shows at
the Showboat hotel, now Castaways, Thesz was an advocate for changes, such as
offering health insurance and other benefits for wrestlers."I want to elevate
wrestling," Thesz said in a June 1981 interview, noting that the lack of
benefits, which
are available today on the major pro circuit, had to be resolved to maintain
a pool of talented athletes and resurrect the sport's popularity."There
hasn't been a real Golden Age since the Gorgeous George era of the late 1950s
... we are due again," Thesz said. Today wrestling enjoys broad fan support
with regular shows on TV and even a weekly reality-based cable show that
follows young prospects through training to become pro wrestlers.
Las Vegas wrestling promoter Buffalo Jim Barrier, a longtime
friend, said Thesz was so adept as a wrestler that he could keep in line mavericks
who refused to follow scripts."When wrestling organizations had trouble
with wrestlers, he was hired as what we call a 'pretzel-bender' -- a policeman
who kept the guys under control," Barrier said. "He kept order even
when he was in his 40s and had to deal with guys who were 22 and in their prime.
He could still bend them like a pretzel."Throughout his career, Thesz,
who stood 6 feet 2 inches, maintained a performing weight of 218 to 225 pounds.Thesz,
the son of a German-Hungarian immigrant shoemaker, started wrestling at age
8 and turned professional in the 1930s at 17.On Dec. 29, 1937, at 21, he won
the NWA world title from Everett Marshall and held it for eight months. He regained
the title and lost it in 1938 and again in 1947.For his fourth and longest reign,
Thesz beat Bill Longson for the world title on July 20, 1948, and held
it until March 15, 1956, losing it to Whipper Watson. Thesz's fifth world title
reign was in 1956 and 1957. He began his final reign in 1963, at age 47, and
lost the title in 1966, just before he turned 50.
Thesz's big matches often set attendance records. He
drew 103,000 for a match against Baron Michel Leone in Hollywood. His Jan. 24,
1963, title match against then-champ "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers at
Chicago's Wrigley Field drew 75,000.Of his
longevity in the sport and his longtime good health, Thesz once said, "I
don't know, maybe I just chose my ancestors carefully."He is survived by
his wife, Charlie Thesz, three sons and five grandchildren.
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