On this day in wrestling history 1/02

[Guest Sassquatch]

ON THIS DAY IN WRESTLING HISTORY 1/02

 

1897 - Probably the single biggest long-term drawing card in pro wrestling history before the advent of television, Jimmy Londos, was born Chris Theopelos in Greece. Londos was huge in the late 1920s and 1930s and still drew around the world well into the 1950s, holding attendance records at the time in various countries. A 1934 match in Chicago with Strangler Lewis which drew 35,000 fans to Wrigley Field in Chicago set a record $95,000 house which stood for 18 years until the Lou Thesz vs. Baron Leone match in Hollywood, CA.

 

1934 - This sounds so funny today. The New York State Athletic commission began an investigation into the practices of promoters Rudy Miller, Jack Curley, Toods Mondt and Tom Packs as well as wrestlers Jimmy Londos and Dick Shikat on the charges that they were fixing outcomes of pro wrestling matches. Pro wrestling had been 99% or more worked for at least 20 years, and contrary to what old-timers would like you to believe, that was hardly secretive knowledge as all the old newspaper stories pretty well were written tongue in cheek as it pertained to the legitimacy of the matches, although the big matches in that era were still covered as major sporting events.

 

1990 - Arn Anderson defeated the Great Muta at a TV taping in Gainesville, GA to win the WCW TV title.

 

1992 - On John Arezzi's "Pro Wrestling Spotlight" radio show in Long Island, NY, former wrestlers David Shults and Superstar Billy Graham talked openly about the subject of anabolic steroids in pro wrestling. Shults said that without steroids, neither he, Graham or Hulk Hogan would have achieved the success they had in wrestling, said that Hogan had used excessive amounts of steroids for many years, and that he had injected Hogan with steroids. Graham said that in 1987 when the WWF began testing wrestlers for cocaine, that some wrestlers would travel with clean urine in their luggage and would use it when a surprise test was called. Shults claimed at one time that he had purchased steroids from Hogan. Several weeks later, the floodgates were opened with media from the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union and New York Post in particular writing huge stories on the subject. There had already been pressure on the WWF dating back to the trial of Dr. George Zahorian the previous summer and they had just begun steroid testing of wrestlers, although at this point no wrestlers had been suspended even though there had been numerous test failures as WWF claimed they would punish people whose level of steroids didn't decrease. Eventually, by late February, Vince McMahon and Hogan agreed that Hogan should take some time off from wrestling to let the controversy die, and Hogan took about one year off, teasing his Wrestlemania match that year with Sid Vicious would be his retirement match.