Good morning!
It’s been discovered that one of the most beloved characters in Pro Wrestling History who we've believed was the oldest living wrestler actually passed away six and a half years ago. This was discovered only in the past few days thanks to the diligent efforts of several dedicated historians, researchers and writers.
I will have my take on this coming up in today's issue of The Daily Chronicle, once we do our daily wrestler tributes.
July 14th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Charlie Laye 1924
Ruben Cruz\Hercules Ayala 1950
Happy Birthday:
Jeff Jarrett (58)
Mark LaMonaco\Bubba Ray Dudley (54)
Joseph Bonsignore\Joey Styles (54)
Charly Arnolt\Caruso (38)
Pricilla Zuniga\Diamante (34)
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.
Billy McGuire 7-14-1979 at the age pf 32
Brute Bernard 7-14-1984 at the age of 1984
Danny McShain 7-14-1992 at the age 79
Ray St Clair 7-14-2013 at the age of 85
Ramon Napoliatano\Tinker Todd 7-14-2013 at the age of 85
Masa Saito 7-14-2018 at the age of 76
Bill Melby 7-14-2019 at the age of 92
Robert Aebi\Count Drummer\The Mummy 7-14-2023 at the age of 74
The Passing of Cowboy Bob Ellis Discovered
First of all, thank you to reader and friend Allan Blackstock for alerting me to this story a few days ago. You can read Allan's work at https://substack.com/@allancheapshot and follow him on X @allan_cheapshot
As was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this past week in the July 15th, 2025, issue, we have now learned that Cowboy Bob Ellis has been dead for six and a half years.
For the last couple of years, all of us in the Pro Wrestling History Community, including journalists and Wikipedia and everyone that covers pro wrestling past and present had been touting Ellis as being wrestling’s oldest living wrestler. Little did we all know that he actually passed back in December of 2018.
Living here in Missouri for the last 32 years, just as I mentioned Rufus R Jones a few days ago, Cowboy Bob Ellis is still fondly remembered by even the most casual of wrestling fans of older generations. Also, through my own wrestling fan experience growing up in Kentucky, which at one time in the late 1950s, was part of Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle's wrestling territory, in towns like Indianapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati and as remembered by many of the people I was around, Louisville, Ellis was a huge star among fans of a generation before mine, but still well remembered around the wood & coal burning stove conversations I often mention of those wrestling fans when I was a small boy.
Ellis was utilized by Barnett and Doyle when they were helping to invade San Francisco's traditional NWA stronghold very successfully in 1961 mostly because of Cowboy Bob Ellis as Barnett & Doyle were backing young Roy Shire as Promoter against NWA incumbent Joe Maclewicz. The first show at the Cow Palace on March 4, 1961, drew a sellout of 16,553, at the time the largest crowd for pro wrestling ever in Northern California.
Ellis, who was inducted into the St Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010, was one of the earliest stars on the Wrestling at The Chase television program on KPLR-TV when it debuted in the city in 1959. His early programs that involved Gene Kiniski, Kinji Shibuya and an NWA World Title match against local favorite Pat O'Connor when he was the Champion made it hard for fans to choose who to root for at the time as both were over huge as babyfaces.
Pictured: Cowboy Bob Ellis
He also had a program in the Gateway City at the Kiel with Nickla Roberts' father from Lubbock, Texas, Nick Roberts, who ended up being the longtime promoter there for the Funk Family, when Roberts was working under a mask as the Red Scorpion. Ellis and Roberts worked a program and a match on March 4th, 1960, that drew a sellout of 11,501 which resulted in the Scorpion being unmasked.
Ellis' popularity even reaches into the. biggest city in the United States as he had a fabulous run in Madison Square Garden, selling out that building in his debut on January 22nd, 1962. On March 19th, 1962, Ellis lost an NWA World Title match with Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, as Rogers went over Ellis and they drew 18,777 and $58,889 in a match that lasted 33:42. When Ellis was one of the top babyfaces in the entire country from 1959 on into the mid-1970s, he was the favorite opponent of the top three heels in pro wrestling, Buddy Rogers, Ray Stevens and Dick the Bruiser and he drew big houses and money with all them from one end of the US to the other.
He retired from wrestling in 1979, just inside the leading edges of the videotape era, so there is existing footage of him that is available, but it is in the tail end of his career and while he was never a great worker, his work really seemed out of place on those late examples of his. Meltzer noted in his Observer write up that like a lot of wrestlers who cross over paradigm shifts in the business, Ellis was not a fan of what wrestling became. It what seemed to be a nice piece of ironic destiny, Ellis had his first match on June 7th, 1955, just over 70 years ago now, and his last match on October 9th, 1979 in the same city he was born in, San Angelo, Texas, which was part of the West Texas office in Amarillo under the careful eye of booker and owner, Doc Sarpolis and minority partner, Dory Funk, Sr.
Pictured: Cowboy Bob Ellis
Bob Ellis got over, being from West Texas, using a cowboy gimmick, had good size for pro wrestling at 6 foot 3 and working as a good guy babyface. He is credited with the creation, development and use of his finishing hold, the bulldog headlock. This maneuver is used when the wrestler grabs a headlock in one corner of the ring, runs across the middle still holding the opponent in the headlock and then making a "bulldog"-type move like cowboys do with young calves in the rodeo, pushing the opponents' head down in the last one-third of the canvas on the other diagonal side of the ring essentially knocking them senseless for the pinfall.
It was confirmed that Bob Ellis dies on December 21st, 2018, by one of his family members matched up with some other personal records. Thank you, Bob for all you gave to the wrestling business and to us, the fans. Rest in peace, Cowboy.
Again, thank you to Allan Blackstock, who contributed to the story in the Observer, Ethan Tyler, Matt Farmer and Dave Meltzer for running the amazing and comprehensive obituary on Ellis in the July 15th, 2025, issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter at www.f4wonline.com.
Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Presents: The Evolution of Pro Wrestling Series
I am very proud of the article I wrote and published this past weekend for all my paid subscribers entitled "The West Texas Masked Mystery of 1935" about a match taking place in Amarillo on July 11th, 1935, between two wrestlers both having worked as The Masked Marvel.
The West Texas Masked Mystery involved two wrestlers, one of whom was from Dutch Mantell's Amarillo wrestling camp and worked as The Masked Marvel for Salvador Lutteroth in Mexico City in his debut EMLL show creating a cultural revolution for wrestlers using masks in Lucha Libre. The other wrestler was also a Mantell disciple and who was being used as The Masked Marvel in West Texas, was built up in hype as having a two-year undefeated streak and eventually leading to a match with the original Marvel on July 11th, 1935.
I will take you through the whole story of "The West Texas Masked Mystery of 1935" available now to Paid Subscribers of the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel.
Annual Subscriptions are only $5.00 a month and save $10.00 annually if you get an annual subscription for just $50.00 at tonyrichards4@Substack.com
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
Cowboy Bob Ellis was popular in the southern territories as well as the Midwest, West and Northern Cities. He held the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, one of the biggest titles in Southern Wrestling in the Florida Territory for Cowboy Luttrell from March to June of 1964.
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 Vault of the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Paid Subscribers.
another day, another great time time tunnel - thanks for the shout out as well in the issue! Much appreciated.
Have a great week ahead Tony!