Lou Thesz

[pwdennis]

It probably passed unnoticed by most but Lou Thesz, NWA Heavyweight Champ for most of the period between 1939 and 1965, passed away in Orlando recently. I am not especially a fan of professional wrestling but I saw Thesz several times as a lad and he had the skills of a tremendous amateur wrestler, along with the ability to put himself across as a showman. He may have been more popular than Musial in St Louis.

Thesz's autobiography HOOKER (a term meaning someone with the ability to force other wrestlers to follow the script) is fascinating. It is questionable that any of the athletes discussed in the NetShrine forums was a good an athlete as Thesz. Certainly, none stayed in great athletic shape as long as Thesz, who was past 70 when he wrestled his last match (about 13 years ago)

[Skip]

I must say I've never heard of him, but he and his life do sound interesting.

[sweaver]

I hadn't heard of him either, but there was a nice profile of him on National Public Radio after his passing. He was a wrestler back in the days when wrestling was real, and lasted into the "staged" days.

[pwdennis]

Actually, according to Thesz, it was only occasionally legit in the old days (dating back to Gotch in 1905) and ceased ever being legit by the 1950s

[johnny]

I found out about him a few years ago, because I knew the "Lou Thesz press" move that Austin uses :P

[pwdennis]

Many of Thesz's comments about wrestling promoters and state athletic commissions ring eerily true about the world of boxing. Once again a needless death in a boxing match which might have been caught by a mandatory post-fight physical examination