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St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
Professional wrestling hall of fame
Professional wrestling hall of fame
The St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame in St. Louis, United States. After several years of debating the idea of creating the Hall of Fame, former owner and promoter of the St. Louis Wrestling Club Larry Matysik opened it in 2007. He was joined in this effort by SBAC Member Tony Casta, sports journalist Keith Schildroth, collector Mitch Hartsey, and longtime fan Nick Ridenour. Although these directors oversee the selection process, the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is unique because it is the only wrestling hall of fame that allows fans to vote for potential inductees.
The Hall of Fame was created to honor the role St. Louis played in helping to establish professional wrestling in North America. Matysik also wanted to create a hall of fame that recognized wrestlers for their contributions to wrestling rather than their relationships with the owner of the promotion. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, inductees must have held a title belt or played an important role in or around the Missouri area between 1959 and 1983, when the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) had a strong presence in St. Louis.
For the initial group of inductions, the directors decided that Sam Muchnick, Lou Thesz, Bill Longson, Mickey Garagiola, Penny Banner, and Joe Schoenberger would be inducted by acclamation. Fans were asked to vote for seven more inductees from a list of twenty choices. At the induction ceremony, these thirteen were enshrined, along with Matysik, a surprise inductee. King Kong Brody was inducted later that year.
When the Hall of Fame opened in 2007, it was located in The Pro Wrestling Shirt Shop, a business in St. Louis' South County Mall. In 2008, the Hall was moved to the South Broadway Athletic Club. Each induction plaque is personalized with a description of the individual's contributions. For example, Thesz' plaque states that he is "the finest example of a true world champion". Six more people were inducted in 2008, bringing the total to twenty-one. The Hall's directors plan to add six more inductees each year. Fourteen men and one woman have been honored for their performance in the ring as wrestlers. The remaining six people have been inducted for their other contributions, including owning and promoting the St. Louis Wrestling Club, as well as performing duties as referees, ring announcers, and commentators.
Current board members are Herb Simmons and Nick Ridenour.
Inductees
| # | Year | Ring name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Birth name) | Inducted for | Notes | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (Mary Ann Kostecki) | Women's wrestling | Born in St. Louis and began wrestling career working for Muchnick's St. Louis Wrestling Club; won the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (Frank Donald Goodish) | Wrestling | url=http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/harry.htm | title=St Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame Part Two - Total Immersion | publisher=St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase | first=Harry | last=White | date=2007-09-20 | access-date=2009-05-14 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906114542/http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/harry.htm | archive-date=2008-09-06}} Won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) and NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) |
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (William Richard Afflis) | Wrestling | title=History of the Missouri State Championship | first=Roger | last=Deem | url=http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/mobelt.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408195415/http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/mobelt.htm | archive-date=2008-04-08 | publisher=St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase | access-date=2009-01-25}} | ||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (Richard Morgan Fliehr) | Wrestling | title=World Heavyweight Championship | publisher=National Wrestling Alliance | url=http://www.nwawrestling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=101 | access-date=2009-01-25 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123012146/http://nwawrestling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=101 | archive-date=2009-01-23}} | |||
| 2007 | Ring announcing and commentating | title=Hall of Fame | publisher=St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase | url=http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/halloffame.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514135222/http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/halloffame.htm | archive-date=2008-05-14 | access-date=2009-01-25}} | ||||
| 2007 | Wrestling | Held NWA World Heavyweight Championship for three years; won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (Willard Rowe Longson) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) and NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Commentating and Promoting | Owner, office worker, booker, announcer, and commentator for St. Louis Wrestling Club; wrote biography of Sam Muchnick | |||||||||
| 2007 | Promoting | Posthumous inductee; founded the NWA and served as president from 1950 to 1960 and 1963 to 1975; owner of St. Louis Wrestling Club | |||||||||
| 2007 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), and NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (2 times); co-owner and booker of St. Louis Wrestling Club | |||||||||
| 2007 | Wrestling | Won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (7 times) and NWA World Heavyweight Championship (8 times); co-owner of St. Louis Wrestling Club | |||||||||
| 2007 | Refereeing | Posthumous inductee; longtime referee for St. Louis Wrestling Club and community youth sports advocate | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (Aloysius Martiz Thesz) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (6 times) | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (John Theodore Wisniski) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| (Jack Barton Adkisson) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||
| (Fred Joe Brisco) | Wrestling | title=Hall of Fame: Jack Brisco | publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment | url=http://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/inductees/jackbrisco/ | access-date=2009-01-26}} | ||||||
| 2008 | Wrestling | Won NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) and NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Commentating | First commentator for St. Louis Wrestling Club's Wrestling at the Chase television program | |||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||
| (Wayde Douglas Bowles) | Wrestling | Competed in St. Louis from 1975 to 1986 and challenged for NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions | |||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||
| (Herman Gustav Rohde Jr. ) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Referee | Longtime referee for St. Louis Wrestling Club | |||||||||
| 2009 | Wrestling | Won numerous tag team titles, including NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) – with Maurice Vachon and NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 Time) – with Harley Race | |||||||||
| 2010 | manager | Managed various Tag Team Champions in AWA and WWE with The Heenan Family | |||||||||
| 2010 | Wrestling | Won numerous titles, including NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won various titles, including NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (2 times), NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Brown and NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (3 times) – with Dusty Rhodes (1) and Bob Sweetan (2) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Wrestling | ||||||||||
| 2014 | Wrestling | Multi-time holder of the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship and NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship among other titles in the NWA and WWE Tag Champion. | |||||||||
| 2014 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee | |||||||||
| 2014 | |||||||||||
| (Harvey Maurice Evers) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee | |||||||||
| 2015 | Wrestling | Two-time NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship title holder. | |||||||||
| 2015 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee: Former wrestler and referee | |||||||||
| 2015 | Wrestling | Former referee | |||||||||
| 2015 | Wrestling | Professional wrestling journalist | |||||||||
| 2016 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; NWA World Heavyweight Champion: 1984 | |||||||||
| 2016 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Missouri Heavyweight Champion: 1983–84 | |||||||||
| 2016 | Wrestling | Missouri Heavyweight Champion: 1979–80 | |||||||||
| 2016 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Former American Wrestling Association Champion | |||||||||
| 2016 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Very popular wrestler in the St. Louis area during the 60's | |||||||||
| 2016 | Referee | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Wrestling | Former World Wrestling Entertainment Champion: 1978–83, 1994 | |||||||||
| 2017 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; NWA World Heavyweight Champion: 1957 and WWA Heavyweight Champion (Los Angeles): 1957–61, 1963–64 | |||||||||
| 2018 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion: 1947, 1956 | |||||||||
| 2019 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Former Missouri Heavyweight Champion: 1954 | |||||||||
| 2019 | Wrestling | NWA Women's Champion: 1986–87, 1987–94, 1996 | |||||||||
| 2022 | Wrestling | Wrestled for Sam Muchnick several times during the 70's & early 80's | |||||||||
| 2023 | Wrestling | One half of the Brisco Brothers, long time WWE executive | |||||||||
| 2023 | Wrestling | Manager of The Four Horsemen | |||||||||
| 2024 | Wrestling | Commonly known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton during the 70's & 80's | |||||||||
| 2024 | Businessman | Posthumous inductee: St. Louis businessman | |||||||||
| 2024 | Ring announcing | Posthumous inductee: Announcer | |||||||||
| 2024 | Wrestling | Women wrestling star of the 80's, WWF Women's Champion (one time) | |||||||||
| 2024 | Wrestling | Women wrestling star of the 80's, WWF Women's Tag team Champion (one time) | |||||||||
| 2024 | Wrestling | Women wrestling star of the 80's, WWF Women's Champion (two times) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; NWA United States Heavyweight Champion (Detroit version) (one time) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; NWA Missouri Heavyweight Champion (two times) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; WWWF World Heavyweight Champion (one time) |
Notes
- – This is the name given to him by his adoptive parents.
References
;General
;Specific
References
- White, Harry. (2007-02-27). "St. Louis Hall of Fame opens". SLAM! Wrestling.
- Nolan, Kimberly. (2007-03-23). "Bell Clangs for Wrestling Fans". South Country Times.
- Matysik, Larry. "St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is on its Way". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase.
- "Rip "The Profile" Hawk Interview: Page One". Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
- "Ask Larry Archives Page 7". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase.
- Meltzer, Dave. "Thurs. Update: SmackDown MyNetwork Notes; ECW & Cable Ratings; Nash Talks Contract; Terry Funk; RVD". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online.
- Oliver, Greg. (2008-05-13). "Goodbye Penny Banner; I'll miss you". SLAM! Wrestling.
- "Penny Banner". [[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum]].
- Babinsack, Joe. (2007-08-28). "Wrestling Observer reviews Brody". [[ECW Press]].
- White, Harry. (2007-09-20). "St Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame Part Two - Total Immersion". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase.
- Slagle, Steve. ""King Kong" Bruiser Brody". Professional Wrestling Online Museum.
- Hornbaker, 238.
- Deem, Roger. "History of the Missouri State Championship". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase.
- Hornbaker, 333.
- "World Heavyweight Championship". National Wrestling Alliance.
- "Hall of Fame". St. Louis Wrestling from the Chase.
- Matysik, 71-74.
- "Bill Longson". [[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum]].
- Gallipoli, Thomas M.. (2008-03-11). "List of Deceased Wrestlers for 1999". Pro Wrestling Torch.
- Hornbaker, 59.
- Slagle, Steve. "Pat O'Connor". Professional Wrestling Online Museum.
- Litsky, Frank. (2002-05-08). "Lou Thesz, 86, Skilled Pro Wrestler, Dies". [[The New York Times]].
- Molinaro, John F.. (2001-04-24). "Johnny Valentine passes away". SLAM! Wrestling.
- "Fritz Von Erich". The Official Website of the Von Erich Family.
- Cappetta, Gary Michael. (2006). "Bodyslams!: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman". ECW Press.
- Hornbaker, 323.
- Matysik, 16.
- McCoag, Tom. (2005-07-16). "Rocky Johnson returns home". SLAM! Wrestling.
- Nevada, Vance. (2008-04-29). "Rocky "Soulman" Johnson". SLAM! Wrestling.
- Davies, Ross. (2001). "Buddy Rogers". Rosen Publishing Group.
- Matysik, 22.
- "Baron Von Raschke – St.Louis HOF Inductee". Cauliflower Alley Club.
- [http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/centralstates/nwa/cs-h.html NWA Central States Heavyweight Title history] At wrestling-titles.com
- [http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/centralstates/nwa/cs-t.html NWA Central States Tag Team Title history] At wrestling-titles.com
- [http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/centralstates/nwa/cs-na-t.html NWA North American Tag Team Title history] At wrestling-titles.com
- Oliver, Greg. (2007). "The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels". ECW Press.
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