It’s Still Real to Me – Part 1
Ed Lewis and the Gold Dust Trio – Part 2
The Height of the Gold Dust Trio – Part 3
The End of the Gold Dust Trio Era
This might be the part of the series that’s the hardest to trace. Before this era, the Gold Dust Trio controlled the business and Ed Lewis held the title. But like other eras, this era each territory goes into business for themselves and many different world titles floated around. To make matters worse, promoters created their own controversy which justified creating their own titles. With the Great Depression in its early stage, and fewer people are buying tickets. Promoters turned to a strategy used during the Great War to draw people in. The goal is to make sure your local champion was seen as the legitimate world champion.
To further this story, the great Gold Dust Trio broke up. “Toots” Mondt left the Gold Dust Trio and started to work with Jack Curley. This was the start of all the controversy, as this break caused many things to happen. Namely, Mondt and Curley telling the New York State Athletic Commission to strip Undisputed champion and Gold Dust Trio member Strangler Lewis of his title and award it to Hans Steinke! In the chaos of all of this, Gold Dust Trio associate promoter, Jack Pfefer, would expose the business as a work to newspapers across the nation in the early 1930s. So much here, as wrestling has to get through this chaos to move on to the next chaos.
Recap
Recap, over the course of the 1920’s, the Gold Dust Trio (Ed Lewis, “Toots” Mondt, and Billy Sandow) and Jack Curley’s group, which included Joe and Tony Stecher, battled over domination of the wrestling world. Eventually the two groups were able to work out an agreement to unify the disputed title. Ed Lewis and Joe Stecher wrestled for over an hour (I’m assuming it was mostly called in the ring and part shoot just because they are prideful men) when Lewis would finally beat Stecher in 2 out of 3 falls to become the undisputed champion.
As the Gold Dust Trio tried before with Wayne Munn, another promoter (more on him later) found a very popular football player named Gus Sonnenberg who they saw had a great look and innovative moves which, like Munn, combined football and wrestling. You see, no matter how far you go back, and we are at the beginning, promoters always seem to have a preference of who they push to the big title. Wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, the Rock, John Cena, and Roman Reigns are not new to the business. They are just the latest forms of Wayne Munn, Gus Sonnenberg and Jim Londos (who is Jim Londos? Oh you’ll find out). This promoter would sign Ed Lewis to a deal, which resulted in his new draw beating Lewis for the lineal title. Sonnenberg beating Lewis had a huge domino effect on the business.
The Gold Dust Trio Break Up Inside
The Gold Dust Trio was going through some financial infighting as the depression loomed. Sandow, the manager and main promoter, and “Toots” Mondt had a huge power struggle over the direction of were their promotion would go. In all of this, Sandow wanted Lewis to be in better shape, and put over younger wrestlers to rise a new generation. Out of spite, Lewis would leave the Trio and drop the title to Sonnenberg in the Boston territory. Then Mondt left the Gold Dust Trio and partnered with Curley to start a northeast territory promotion centered in New York. The Trio shattered. The only thing missing from the New York territory was its own title.
This was an era of very slow information speeds, so a champion losing his title unexpectedly was not the end of the world. And if a champion like Sonnenberg could draw more money, then it was worth the risk. But Curley was not trying to find a shoot wrestler to take the title off Sonnenberg this time. Instead Curley used his connections from being a boxing promoter to have a new title created. But he’d need some help.
The Fall Out and Foundation of the Original NWA Title
If you can’t have a title, you make one up instead. Mondt and Curley would go to the New York State Athletic Commission and complain that Sonnenberg was the champion based from fixed results. (It’s still real to the NYSAC I guess.) Curley was a boxing promoter, so he knew the NYSAC well, and this connection would allow Mondt and Curley to have a title to use in their promotion. After all, during this time the NYSAC was the most powerful sports commission in the United States, so who they recognize as champion is considered the champion to the rest of the nation.
Sandow would go on to manage other wrestlers, though not start up his own promotion, Lewis would go on to train and manage Lou Thesz, while also continuing his own wrestling career for another 20 years, and Mondt’s legacy of being a trainer and promoter was only just beginning. On the other side, the Stecher brothers would retire to Minnesota and eventually train some guy name Vern Gagne to headline their Upper Mid-West promotion, and Curley would work with Mondt to establish the New York territory. Now we have territories and people like Lewis would travel the territories and help draw in the crowds. With the territory system came disputes over who was the champion, and now each territory was fighing to be recognized as the number one place in the nation.
The American Wrestling Association (Boston) Title
Well prior to the establishment of the AWA in Minnesota, the original AWA title was made in 1929 when Ed Lewis took the undisputed title and drop the title to former football player Gus Sonnenberg. A promoter based out of Boston had paid Ed Lewis to lose the title to his top draw. On top of that, this promoter would declare his independence from the rest of the promoters across the nation and his AWA title would be the legitimate title.
The promoter was Paul Bowser, a former ally to the Gold Dust Trio and bitter rival to Jack Curley when they all were associate promoters. Curley ran shows in New York while Boswer ran shows in Boston. Both have long histories of paying hookers to take their territory titles from each other. When an older Joe Stecher saw a shoot fighter in the ring ready to go, he simply walked away and didn’t wrestle that match. Bowser was as ruthless of a promoter as they came in the 1920’s. Now entering the 1930’s, he was not going to fall victim to the Great Depression. Even when Ed Lewis screwed him over, Bowser found a way to keep control of the title and his influence…
The Original Montreal Screwjob
In 1929, Ed Lewis dropped the title to Gus Sonnenberg. Bowser still was looking for the “draw” to keep the money flowing. Sonnenberg would lose the title to Olympic wrestler Ed Don George in 1930. George would be Bowser’s big draw for the next five years. To characterize George, you might say he’s honest to a fault. I would not ever doubt George’s shoot wrestling skills. But Lewis outsmarted George anyways. Lewis went against the booked finished and pinned George to regain the AWA title. Just like that, Bowser had been screwed out of the title even though he had a legit hooker as champion. The veteran Ed Lewis went to business for himself and outsmarted Bowser and was now a traveling champion who only answered to himself.
Lewis held on to the title for only one month when Bowser got his revenge. In Montreal, knowing that Henri Deglane (gold medalist wrestler from France) could not beat Lewis in a shoot, Bowser had Deglane bite himself and claim that Lewis bit him. The plan worked. This caused a disqualification and Deglane winning back the AWA title. The controversy caused Lewis to still be recognized as world champion in California, Illinois, and the Ring magazine which, followed the linear title. Deglane would travel to Boston and lose the title back to George. The AWA would hold on to its own title for the next four years. From all of this mess, Lewis would go back to traveling as the Ring lineal champion, and he won and lose the title whenever he felt like it.
The New York State Athletic Commission and National Wrestling Association (NWA) Titles
Two titles were spawned out of Jack Curley and “Toots” Mondt going to the New York State Athletic Commission. The first title is the original NWA. To understand the original NWA, you have to know that it was an offshoot of the National Boxing Association, which at the time was the biggest sanctioning body of boxing in the United States. (The NBA would eventually become the WBA title we still see today, the oldest of the boxing titles.) Jack Curley was one of the biggest boxing promoters and he helped get the NWA started. With the NYSAC’s backing, Curley, Mondt and Ray Fabiani put their title on Dick Shikat. Shikat was a true shooter and the promoters felt like they needed to have the title on someone who wouldn’t lose it. Though Shikat did once lose the title as he accidentally left it in a taxi cab.
Shikat’s biggest role would be to lose the NWA to Jim Londos. What can I say about Jim Londos, Londos was Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino and John Cena all rolled into one. He was cut, muscles from head to toe, he was a bronzed god, someone who captured the imagination of the fans. Londos would become the biggest draw in all of the 1930’s, larger than Ed Lewis, larger than Sonnenberg. This was FINALLY the champion that all promoters were looking for. He was not a shooter; he wasn’t even that good in the ring. But he had the look. Unlike Lewis who was short and round, the average person could not look like Londos, even by working out. He might have been the most chiseled world champion since George Hackenschmidt himself.
Jim Londos as Champion
Curley struck gold with Londos. During the depression, people were looking for escapism. Ed Lewis was seen as fat and over the hill, other wrestlers did not have the build that Londos had. Due to his unreal physical appearance, crowds from all around came to watch him wrestle. His personal manager Ed White was also aware of how big a draw Londos was. From the beginning Londos was drawing 17,000 people as champion in Madison Squared Gardens (MSG). Former champion Joe Stecher drew 2,000 on one card, which showed just how bad the Great Depression was for everyone. Everyone except Londos. White seeing this opportunity, went to the New York State Athletic Commission and worked the paperwork to force out Curley and his group of promoters.
Mondt did not take this laying down, he went to the NYSAC and brought Ed Lewis with him. Gaining the rights to a new NYSAC World title, Mondt and Lewis held a title match in Madison Square Gardens Bowl (MSG Bowl) on Long Island, attracting 25,000 people. But the Lewis welcome back tour of New York didn’t last long. Lewis next defense only drew 5,000 fans at MSG. Fans complained Lewis was old and fat, which humiliated the proud champion. Lewis dropped the title (and his Ring title) to Jim Browning on his way out the territory, and Curley, Mondt and the rest of the promoters reconnected with Team Londos.
Wrapping up the NYSAC Title
NWA champion Jim Londos was by far the most popular champion of this era. Jack Curley and his group of “Toots” Mondt, Philadelphia’s Ray Fabiani, financial book keeper and talent scout Jack Pfefer, all wanted back in the Londos business. Curley was not about to be out of the top spot for long. He was pushed out of boxing, he wouldn’t let himself be pushed out of wrestling. Some time in 1933 Curley, Bowser, an
In 1934, Jim Browning and Jim Londos battled over the unified NWA/NYSAC World titles. Curley was the listed promoter through the NYSAC. Londos beats Browning, which keeps the plan moving. Curley and Bowser each have their own world champions, so it should be as simple as planning a match, right? NWA champion Jim Londos vs. AWA champion, Ed Don George. The Golden Greek vs. the All American wrestler, both with legitimate claims to the lineal title. Well, you see, someone was left out the new Trust. And he was a bit mad about it.
Jack Pfefer exposes the business
To me, Pfefer is the most like Vince McMahon of all the old promoters. He thought of wrestling as entertainment, an attraction which draws people to watch sports entertainment. In his opinion, it was best for wrestling to just expose itself and promote the show, not try to pass as a legit sport. And he did just that in 1934 shortly after the Londos/Browning match to the New York State Athletic Commission. Pfefer targeted Jim Londos, whom he said can’t wrestle. He blamed the Londos camp for forcing him out of the Trust. He then testified to the Commission that promoters fixed the sport since 1925. Jack Curley countered Pfefer’s testimony with a comedy route. I mean since 1925, Pfefer obviously had been kayfabed for a while now.
Maybe the best response was from The Ring magazine. They said: “Regardless of any pre-arrangement — and the boxing commission must be aware that such agreements are made in all championship and other exhibitions — there can be no kick by the fans because they know what to expect and get what they come to see — good entertainment. That’s all wrestling is, nowadays. Legitimate competition is gone. The days of real, honest-to-goodness wrestling matches are things of the past, and we all might just as well get accustomed to the other type, because it is the only kind we can see in these days of commercialized sport.”
The Depression Deepens
The entertainment starved people of the Great Depression were going to the movies in record numbers, escapism was at an all-time high. But would people go to a scripted sports event? People suspected all sports were fixed in this era, but would they know the level which wrestling was? It took Babe Ruth to pull baseball out of the Dead Ball era and erase the Black Sox memory. Would there be a star like that for wrestling? Jim Londos was drawing many people, but was he enough of a draw to overcome Pfefer’s explosive claims?
You couldn’t keep wrestling’s secret, a secret forever. But when was the right time to expose the business?