Though professional wrestlers are usually ignored by sportswriters and entertainment reporters alike, the popularity of these gifted athletes and showbiz pros is undeniable. Few fans are concerned with whether the wrestling is "legitimate." From Ace Abbott to Buck Zumhofe, this is the second edition of the first-ever comprehensive compilation of biographical information on professional wrestlers past and present, including major promoters and managers. Each entry is listed under the wrestling name most often used, with cross references to real names and other ring names. The ring name is followed by the grappler's real name, hometown, height and weight, and birth and death dates when available. The biographical data provide the era in which the individual competed, wrestling associations, titles, tag team partners, major bouts and other highlights.
""A major contribution...recommended""--ARBA; ""absorbing...do yourself a favor and buy this most informative book. It belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in the history of professional wrestling""--Wrestling Then & Now; ""information otherwise all but impossible to find""--Rettig on Reference; ""approximately 2,000 male and female participants""--Choice; ""Lentz's book will take you back to misspent Saturdays watching TV wrestling with its beloved figures, especially the always more interesting villains""--Movie Collector's World; ""most informative""--Wrestling Then & Now. From Ace.
Wrestling as a legitimate contest is one of the oldest, if not the oldest form of sport. There are cave drawings depicting memorable matches in France, which are over 15,000 years old. Egyptian and Babylonian reliefs depict wrestling bouts where wrestlers are using most of the holds known to the modern-day sport. Wrestling was also a big part of ancient Greek literature and legend and historical records of sport indicate that wrestling under various sets of rules was contested at the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece. Today’s modern wrestling is a form of "sports entertainment" in which highly skilled athletes enact wrestling matches in such a way so that their opponents do not get hurt and the matches' endings are scripted (although the audience is not aware of the script). This Historical Dictionary of Wrestling covers the history of Wrestling through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important amateur and professional wrestling, wrestling personalities, announcers, managers and promoters from all eras, and wrestling organizations. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of Wrestling.
Legends of Pro Wrestling offers the first comprehensive look at the entire world of wrestling. With detailed biographies and never-before-seen statistics of some of the greatest athletes in the sport, you will be able to read about hundreds of wrestlers, dating back to the mid-1800s. As the first of its kind, this centralized reference book offers wrestling enthusiasts a range of information at their fingertips and stands alone as the ultimate wrestling resource. This book offers readers a link between what happened a century ago to what is currently happening today. An older fan of Bruno Sammartino or “The Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers can enjoy this book as much as someone who follows John Cena or The Undertaker today. This collection is a never-ending source of facts, figures, and other entertaining data. Professional wrestling is a world of accomplishment, legacy, and, most importantly, fate. Through injuries, sickness, and family tribulations, many wrestlers have given everything they have to give in the ring, and true fans of the sport love every single second of it. No matter your age, if you’re a fan of professional wrestling, Legends of Pro Wrestling is the book for you to own and cherish. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
This book provides readers with an abundance of information and historical perspective as well as entertaining and memorable anecdotes about professional wrestling. Readers will also learn unusual snippets of trivia that will enhance their comprehension of the sport. This authoritative work on the history and culture of professional wrestling features the biggest names in the wrestling world since the sport emerged on the American sporting landscape. It comprises short biographies of all of the key players in the sport's evolution and rise to popularity—from old-timers to barrier breakers to household names such as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Andre the Giant, and more—and includes not only men but also many women who have made a name in the sport. Surveying professional wrestling from its roots, dating centuries, to the modern era, pre–20th century and into the 21st century, the work tells the transformational stories of prominent wrestlers and the sport as a whole, in many cases bringing out the humor and outrageousness in the nature of an activity that has always straddled the line between show business and sport.
No-holds-barred, honest, and objective, this is a definitive look at the greatest pro wrestlers who ever stepped through the ropes. Blending the old and the new and delving into what made these 50 remarkable performers the best in their sport, this guide illustrates their contributions to the massively popular spectacle of the wrestling world. The antidote to the marketing-motivated claims made by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is provided here, sweeping aside the corporate profit motive of listing standouts who can sell DVDs and dolls and instead shooting from the hip, revealing who sincerely belongs among the cream of the crop. The complexity of choosingand rankingthe 50 finest ever from a strong group of talented candidates also spins a secondary tale about the evolution of pro wrestling and how this unique sport operates. Revealing these stars' compelling stories in detail, this collection adds up to an entertaining and enlightening description of a monumental business through the history of its legends.
Milwaukee-native Chris Multerer wrestled for more than a decade, starting in 1978, on professional circuits around the United States. As a “job man,” Multerer made the superstars of wrestling, such as Mad Dog Vachon and Hulk Hogan, shine. In cities around the country, thousands of screaming fans cheered when their favorite wrestlers pinned and punished Multerer in a variety of painful ways. In Job Man, Multerer, along with his friend Larry Widen, shows what life was like for wrestlers outside the spotlight. Long nights on the road, thoughtful takes on some the biggest personalities in the business, and, perhaps most of all, a love for the sport, are as much a part of Multerer’s revealing and remarkable story as his time in the ring.
