August 15th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Charlie Rentrop 1888
Tom Packs 1894
Lee Henning 1913
Lucky Sumunovich 1919
Happy Birthday:
(none)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Tank Morgan 8-15-1991 at the age of 58
John Bonica 8-15-1994 at the age of 77
Marva Scott 8-15-2003 at the age of 65
Eddie Marlin 8-15-2019 at the age of 89
Leon Baxter\The Wrestling Pro 8-15-2019 at the age of 81
81 Year Flashback
8-15-1944: Steve Casey defeated The French Angel (Maurice Tillet) to win the AWA Heavyweight Championship (Boston) at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California
"Crusher" Casey won back his title after losing it to Tillet, winning two straight falls from The French Angel, the Jack Pfefer-office talent. Casey had lost to Tillet two weeks ago on a DQ finish, won the first fall on a DQ in 20 minutes and 30 seconds and he pinned the Angel in the second fall in 7 minutes and 20 seconds.
Steve Casey was a popular Irish champion that Bowser loved to promote and use in his federation, particularly in the Boston metro area.
74 Year Flashback
8-15-1951: Dr. Bill Miller defeated Ruffy Silverstein (ch) by count out to win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Chicago) Title and the $2,400 put up by Silverstein at the Rainbo Arena in Chicago, Illinois
Pictured: Dr. Bill Miller, AWA World Champion
Miller was a huge and agile wrestler, standing 6 foot 5 inches tall and weighing in at 250 pounds. He was a former Big 10 amateur wrestling champion from Ohio State. Silverstein had been on a 14-match winning streak, had offered $1,000 at the start for anyone who could beat him within one 30-minute fall and the prize money going up $100 dollars each time he won a match. During the days before the National Wrestling Alliance rulings where the World Title couldn't change hands on a count out or a DQ, often World Titles did.
The American Wrestling Association World Title could change hands on either, and the count outside the ring was 20 in those days. Miller threw Silverstein out of the ring, and he couldn't recover by the 20 count and lost at the 28 minute and 28 second mark, giving Miller both the title and the prize money beating Silverstein in under the required 30-minute time frame.
40 Year Flashback:
8-15-1985 Gary Royal defeated Denny Brown (ch) to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.
In one of the various moves, Jim Crockett Promotions in conjunction with Harley Race, Bob Geigel and Pat O'Connor, trying to generate some interest in the dying Central States Territory, the booked this title change in Memorial Hall in Kansas City. I could be wrong about this, but I believe that Rip Rogers was the booker there at this time, which is why Royal was probably there.
In order to give some historical context, The Cobra (George Takano) had been the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion and that belt was controlled by New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Cobra had won the title from Hiro Saito on July 28th of 1985. New Japan Pro Wrestling made the decision to leave the NWA on August 1st of 1985 and Shohei Baba, who was Vice President of the Alliance at the time and also the owner of New Japan's competitor, All Japan Pro Wrestling declared the championship vacant and then, because of his working agreement with Jim Crockett Promotions, named Denny Brown the NWA World Junior Champion.
Pictured: “Gorgeous” Gary Royal, NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, August 1985
Royal defeating Brown was an angle to try stir up some interest in Kansas City and also to promote a television series for Crockett called the "Championship Challenge Series" on WTBS where head booker, Dusty Rhodes was booking championship matches every week on the Saturday night show, using the remaining titles from the various territories remaining in the crumbling NWA. The rematch for the title was scheduled for Saturday, September 21st, 1985, at the WTBS studios on Techwood Drive in Atlanta, Georgia with house shows matches booked in between.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
"Gorgeous" Gary Royal began wrestling in 1979. He was a member of The Convertible Blonds heel stable in the Poffo ICW Promotion in Kentucky with "Hustler" Rip Rogers and "Tricky" Ricky Starr. He held the NWA Central States TV Title in March of 1984.
Thank You for Reading
I'm Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
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Hi Tony. Regarding Gary Royal in ICW, I recall the Convertible Blondes being Pez Whitley and Rip Rogers. You mention Ricky Starr but I think he was a Convertible Blonde with Ray Gunkel in the 60s. Thanks for a great story on the Jr title change.