Written and Produced by Tony Richards
December 8th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
(none)
Happy Birthday:
Great Gama Singh (71)
Toshiaki Hawada (63)
Kenneth Johnson\Slick (67)
Chigusa Nagayo (61)
Michael Cole (57)
James Guffey\Jimmy Rave (40)
Eric Arndt\Enzo Amore (39)
Lillian Bridget\Billie Starkz (21)
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.
Gus Johnson 12-8-1954 at the age of 24
Vic Weber 12-8-1960 at the age of 55
Frank “Spaceman” Hickey 12-8-1993 at the age of 78
Jack Lanzo\Blackjack Lanza 12-8-2021 at the age of 86
70 Year Flashback
A Time Capsule Review of the Pro Wrestling Cards In the North American Wrestling Territories On This Day In Pro Wrestling History
As a regular Monday feature of The Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel’s Daily Chronicle, we crack open the Wrestling Time Capsule to do a survey of the cards, matches and performers of the decades of territory pro wrestling. This week we flashback to this Day in Pro Wrestling History, Thursday October 8th, 1955.
Tony Note: The NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Lou Thesz was off on this date
Championship Wrestling From Florida, Tampa, Florida Office
Main & Beaver Streets Arena in Jacksonville, Florida
Jim Coffield vs Jim LaRock ended in a 30 min time limit draw
Billy Raborn defeated Herb Larson by 2 falls to 1 fall
Ed Francis (ch) defeated Farmer Jones by 2 falls to 1 to retain the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
Pictured: Ed Francis
Jim Crockett Promotions, Charlotte, North Carolina Office
Municipal Auditorium in Norfolk, Virgina
Al & Harry Smith defeated Bill LeRoy & Danno O’Shocker & Doc Gallagher & John Smith in a 6-Man Battle Royal
Cathy Branch defeated Judy Glover by DQ
Danno O’Shocker defeated John Smith by DQ
Doc Gallagher defeated Bill LeRoy
Harry Smith defeated Al Smith
County Hall in Charleston, South Carolina
Cowboy Carlson defeated Leo Wallick
Angelo Martinelli defeated Mr. XX by DQ
George Becker & Jack Witzig (ch) defeated Mr. Moto & Karl Von Hess to retain the NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
The Armory in Durham, North Carolina
Andre Drapp defeated Jack Vansky
Little Beaver & Tito Infante defeated Tom Thumb & Fuzzy Cupid in 2 falls to 1
Hombre Montana defeated Pete Managoff 2 falls to 1
Georgia Championship Wrestling, Atlanta, Georgia Office
The Arena in Columbus, Georgia
Jackie Nichols defeated Eduardo Perez by 2 falls to 1
Don McIntyre & Tex Riley defeated Freddie Blassie & Billy Blassie by DQ by 2 falls to 1
Louisiana Wrestling Enterprises Office in New Orleans, Louisiana
Coliseum Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana
Pierre DeGlane defeated Stan Kowalski
Tony Cash defeated Frederick Von Stuck
Jack Curtis (ch) defeated Bernard Hodgmar to retain the NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Title
Fred Kohler Enterprises Office, Chicago, Illinois
Birth Side Gym in Elkhart, Indiana
Verne Gagne (ch) vs Hans Schmidt for the NWA United States Heavyweight Title
Pictured: Verne Gagne and Family
South Side Armory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Al Szasz vs Billy Goelz ended as a time limit draw
Seymour Koenig defeated Zack Malkov
Sheik of Araby defeated Art Bull
Terminal Athletic Club Office in Toledo, Ohio
Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio
Gino Angelo defeated Leon Cavalier
Betty Hawkins defeated Olga Zapata in 2 falls out of 3
Jim Bernard defeated Bull Montana in 2 falls out of 3
Lord Carlton bs Louie Klein ended as a DCO at 1 fall each
Gulf Athletic Club Office in Houston, Texas
Town Hall Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas
Gregory Jarque defeated Tony Borne
Wilbur Snyder defeated Danny Savitch
Larry Chene defeated Doug Donovan
Ray Gunkel defeated Duke Keomuka
Western States Sports Office in Amarillo, Texas
Sports Arena in Amarillo, Texas
Frankie Hill Murdoch defeated Jack O’Reilly
Gory Guerrero defeated Leo Newman by DQ
Art Nelson defeated Roy Heff by 2 falls to 1
Dory Funk defeated Dizzy Davis by 1 fall to 0
Heart of America Sports Attractions Office in St. Joseph, Missouri
Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas
Guy Brunetti defeated Harou Yamamoto
Mike DiBiase defeated Chet Wallick
Joe Tangaro & Guy Brunetti defeated Bob Brunetti & Harou Yamamoto by 2 falls to 1
Ike Eakins defeated Joe Dusek by 2 falls to 1
NWA Hollywood Office in Los Angeles, California
Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California
Hans Schnabel defeated Al Warshawski
Pee Wee James defeated Otto Baumann
Great Tomina vs Leo Garibaldi ended as a time limit draw
Prince Maiava defeated Wild Red Berry
Strelich Stadium in Bakersfield, California
Juan Hernandez vs Vic Christy ended as a time limit draw
The Great Togo defeated Joe Blanchard by 2 falls to 1
Cowboy Bradley defeated Ivan The Terrible by 2 falls to 0
Tom Rice defeated Rocky (Johnny) Valentine by 2 falls to 1
Joe Malcewicz Office in San Francisco, California
Memorial Civic Auditorium in Stockton, California
Clyde Steeves & Colin Whitehead defeated Abe Zvonkin & Ramon Cernandes by 2 falls to 1
Cyclone Anaya & Ronnie Etchison defeated Ben Sharpe in a 2 on 1 Handicap Match
Wrestling Promotions Office in Tucson, Arizona
Sports Center in Tucson, Arizona
Black Panther vs Johnny Demchuck ended as a time limit draw
Sandy Scott defeated Karil Davis
George Scott defeated Herb Parks
Antone Leone defeated Ricky Waldo
Don Owen Booking Office in Portland, Oregon
The Armory in Albany, Oregon
John Paul Hennig vs Kurt Von Poppenheim
Luigi Macera & Alex Perez vs Bill Savage & Buck Weaver (ch) for the NWA pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
Tony Santos Booking Office in Boston, Massachusetts
City Hall in Lewiston, Maine
Emile Dupre defeated Buddy Lee
Slave Girl Moolah defeated Jean Hogan
Don Eagle & Billy Two Rives defeated Bull Curry & Al Getz by DQ by 2 falls to 0
Eastern Sports Enterprises Booking Office in New Jersey
DuMont Telecaster Studio Five on the DuMont Network in New York City, New York
Hal Kanner defeated Chico Santos
Billy Darnell defeated Doc Doganiero
Lenny Momtana vs Rocky Lee ended as a time limit draw
Don Stevens (Fargo) vs John Swenski ended as a time limit draw
Buddy Rogers defeated Ray Stevens
Maple Leaf Wrestling Office in Toronto, Canada
Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada
Firpo Zbyszko vs Nick Roberts ended as a time limit draw
Bob Leipler vs Lionel Baillargeon ended as a time limit draw
Pat Flanagan defeated Gypsy Joe
Wee Willie Davis & Hard-Boiled Haggarty defeated Seelie Samara & Tommy O’Toole
Whipper Billy Watson & Yukon Eric defeated Karl Von Schober & Fritz Von Erich by DQ
North West Enterprises Office in North Bay, Ontario
Memorial Gardens Arena in North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Primo Carnera vs???
All Star Wrestling Office in Vancouver, British Columbia
Victoria Ballroom in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Joe Tomasso vs Leo Numa ended as a DDQ
Ken Kenneth defeated Al Mills
Bob Wagner defeated Mighty Ursus by DQ
Stampede Wrestling Office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Exhibition Auditorium in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Doug Hepburn vs Ski Hi Lee
George Drakw & John Foti defeated Lou Newman & Lou Plummer
George Gordienko vs Pat Fraley
Ivan Kameroff vs Vern Taft
The “On This Date” Cards Analysis Feature is a way for our readers to look back through the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel to see the way cards were constructed, the finishes, the number of cards that were presented and some idea of how many wrestlers were working in North America during the time period. In December of 1955, network television had overexposed pro wrestling to the North American continent and DuMont Network was on its last legs, now producing a studio wrestling show in New York City. Local promotions are starting to produce their own local shows through local television stations starting as early as 1953. As we go into next year, it will be interesting to look at the way cards would change in 1956. Next Monday, we will look at the cards OTD in pro wrestling history in 1965.
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!
Remember, paid subscribers get access to exclusive and special content such as some special issues including a multi-part deep dives on wrestling territories, wrestler bios and championship title histories, special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more available in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Premium Subscribers.