Good morning!
The Tragos-Thesz Hall of Fame Annual Weekend is now in the books, and I will recap the Friday night award honorees and inductees in today's issue but first let’s review our daily pro wrestler salutes.
July 20th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
George Hackenschmidt 1878
Farmer Brown 1917
Sonny "Roughhouse" Fargo 1928
David Shelton\Angel of Death 1953
Happy Birthday:
Arvil Hutto (69)
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.
Larry Hamilton\The Missouri Mauler 7-20-1996 at the age of 65
June Byers 7-20-1998 at the age of 76
David Sherwin\Goldie Rogers 7-20-2012 at the age of 62
Joaquin Rivera\El Olympico 7-20-2023 at the age of 87
7-19-25: George Tragos-Lou Thesz Hall of Fame Honorees
I wanted to give an update about the Hall of Fame 2025 Honorees at the dinner and banquet Friday night in Waterloo, Iowa.
Tim Hornbaker: Jim Melby Award
Given to the author-journalist-historian who has made a significant contribution to documenting wrestling history, I was originally very surprised Tim had never been given the award before due to his contributions since the early 2000s. There is no one from the historian/writer category who had supported me more in doing this. Tim has welcomed me with advice, support and encouragement since day one and without his support, I don't know if I would have had the courage to do this newsletter or any of the other activities I've been involved in. Tim is the real deal, and I am proud to call him my friend and I'm more than excited about his award.
Baron Von Raschke: Impact Award
You would be hard pressed to find someone who had made as many contributions as possible to wrestling after their career ended than Jim. He's an authentic and genuine guy who has given back way more than he received from the wrestling business. Congrats to the Baron.
Eric Bischoff: Jack Brisco Red Belt Award
Eric will forever be in pro wrestling history for his contributions with the Monday Night Wars in the mid-1990s. I enjoyed meeting him at the bar on Friday night. He is a personable fellow. If you are a regular reader of this publication, you know my admiration for Jack Brisco as an NWA World Champion, and this might be my favorite award that the Tragos-Thesz Hall of Fame bestows on recipients. I got a chance to hold and handle the title belt, and I can't imagine toting that belt from town to town all over the world for 2 and a half years, but what an amazing trophy to have in your home as a reminder of your wrestling accomplishments.
Tank Abbot: George Tragos Award
I saw Tank at breakfast this morning and I had a chance to tell him how much I enjoyed his Hall of Fame speech last night. The guy ran long, yes, and that was a bit of a running joke among everyone because he was told to wrap it up by the show producer, but the guy was just up there talking from the heart about his career, and I really appreciated that so much.
David Crockett: Gordon Solie Award
I had five objectives I wanted to accomplish while I was at this event. The second most important one was to meet David Crockett. I got a chance to congratulate him and tell him about my fandom in the 1980s, how much appreciation I had for his father and how much I wanted his family to at least hang in there on the national wrestling war from 1985 to 1988. I got to convey how sad I was when they. made the decision to sell the company in the Summer of 1988 to Turner Broadcasting. David was so gracious and appreciative, and I made another friend in the wrestling business. This one meant a lot to me, like being there for Tim's night, it was beyond business and very personal, so I'm glad to have done that. David, for his work as color commentator on the NWA Worldwide syndicated show and most famously, WTBS weekend programming, is well deserving of this award.
Jake Hager: Hall of Fame
I have a new appreciation for Jake Hager's career after listening to all of his accomplishments in high school in Perry, Oklahoma as a Maroon. The same hometown and school for the legendary Danny Hodge. Hager shared how the training room at his high school was so much of his motivation as they had every high school champion in Oklahoma history on the wall, and Hager, going there every day and training, only wanted that as a goal. His singular focus was to get his name on that wall and eventually he did. Great story. He went on to a successful career at Oklahoma University, and a successful pro career after that, being paired with Dutch Mantell in the WWF and later, AEW. Congrats to Jake Hager and also, it warmed my heart hearing him thank his mother and father for all their sacrifices while supporting him and raising him. They were in attendance to be witnesses to his induction as well, which I thought was amazing. I love it when the people in this business are not only honored while they are here to enjoy it, but also while loved ones like that are able to be there as well.
Ron Hutchinson: Verne Gagne Trainer Award
Inducted by one of his famous students, Adam Copeland, spoke with glowing terms about his mentoring under the watchful eye of Hutchinson. Located in Ontario, the Ron Hutchinson Wrestling Academy is one of the leading training school of professional wrestlers in the world with graduates such as Trish Stratus, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Christian Cage, Copeland and others. Hutchinson himself, while still in High School at 17 years old in 1981, trained with Johnny Powers and Sweet Daddy Siki to enter the business.
Madusa (Deborah Miceli): Lou Thesz Award
Can you imagine being presented an award at the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame that bears the name of Lou Thesz? At the risk of offending anyone I met this week, Madusa was probably my favorite. I just liked her. She carries herself in a way that lets you know she has fought some battles in her life experience that had nothing to do with professional wrestling, but by winning those engagements, she has the experience and seasoning that is well beyond her 62 years. I loved my conversations with her, she's about a month older than I am, so we have some of the same experiences in life at about the same times. Following Sherri Martel's run as champion in the AWA in the mid-1980s, Madusa really was one the catalysts providing the pivot in women's wrestling evolution.
Ron Simmons: Frank Gotch Award
There was nothing more emotionally touching and moving this week than hearing John Layfield talk about his friend, Ron Simmons. Layfield ran down Simmons' accomplishments in a way that was not just a laundry list of great things an athlete of Simmons' stature has reached, but it was done in a way that let you know how heartfelt it really was. I remember Simmons' debut match on WTBS with Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987. I had remembered Ron as a Florida State footballer and had heard all the glowing things Bobby Bowden had said about him and was thrilled at the time a football star the magnitude of Simmons was coming into our sport. I wanted him to be good, really good. I had already been through other football and other sports stars who had been on TBS earlier in the decade, that didn't quite work out, like Otis Sistrunk, Ernie Holmes and others. Ron did work out and I wish Doom had been booked better than they were. You know all about the APA and Ron's WWF/E career, but he really his impact really is what John Layfield called him, "Our Jackie Robinson". Spot on, JBL.
Saturday Morning Spiritual Session
When I saw the agenda for the event some time ago, I had already made the decision to attend the "church-type" session. I had been invited by one of my X followers who has been involved with it for many years and this year, Thunderbolt Patterson, who is about to turn 85 years old this July, led the 40-minute session. It was nothing heavy, no pressure on anyone, just a nice-sized group of believers in more of a fellowship session than a church service. Patterson is originally from Waterloo, so this was deeply personal and important to him in an event he called "coming full circle" in his life. I'm glad I did that.
Mr. 6:05
I didn't get a chance to meet or talk to this guy at the St Louis Hall of Fame weekend so, I'm glad we got a chance to talk several times this weekend plus getting the social media photo op, which is his brand deal. Reggie Harp is as great a guy as I thought he would be and that's nice. I appreciate you, Reggie, your photos and smile are bringing joy into people's lives, especially those who may never get a chance to come to an event like this, but they experience a piece of it through your social media feeds.
Closing Thoughts
I'm writing this before going over to the SICW wrestling show, which is closing out Saturday night, but I have been around and attended enough of Herb Simmons' events to know it will be a great show. I hate to start naming names of people I met because I will always leave someone out that I shouldn't have. I'll mention a couple, Brian Ferguson, writer of the Verne Gagne bio and his lovely wife are a joy to be around, and Brian has become a great friend. George Schire drove over from Minnesota and spending just a few minutes with him and his wife was enjoyable as well.
Gloria Lovell, James Beard, Chad Olson, John Layfield and Gerry Brisco, the board members of the Tragos\Thesz Hall of Fame, it was a pleasure attending this event and I am excited to attend again next year, I appreciate the hospitality each of you extended toward me and I am hopeful I can find a way to contribute in the years ahead.
If you are a subscriber to the Time Tunnel and we met this week, I am so thankful for you and your kind words. Everyone I met told me how much they liked my work, and your support is humbling. I'm full of gratitude for you and I hope you had as good a time as I did in Waterloo.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
Claude Thunderbolt Patterson was inducted into the 2019 class of the Tragos\Thesz Hall of Fame in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa
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, The Daily Chronicle History Newsletter is sent to you as a free subscriber. 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. Paid subs are only $5.00 per month and $50.00 per year.