Brief History:
For a majority of the territory years, Columbus, a great wrestling city, was controlled by Albert C. Haft. Haft, a former grappler under the name "Young Gotch" and claimant to local Ohio middleweight championships back in the 1910s, was an astute booker, promoter, and teacher. His territory cultivated a legion of wrestling superstars and his legendary gymnasium was a place where many grapplers learned the tricks of the trade. Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and many smaller towns provided excellent matches on a regular basis thanks to Haft's booking agency, and excitement was not something the Ohio territory lacked. Haft appreciated wrestling fundamentals and wanted his athletes skilled, swift, and colorful. Adding the fact that it was also the headquarters of Billy Wolfe's women troupe, Columbus had a wide assortment of wrestling talent for shows all over the state of Ohio and into West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
Background:
On July 25, 1949, Haft sponsored a meeting in effort to broker peace between the National Wrestling Alliance and Lou Thesz, thus ending the war in St. Louis.
A wrestling tournament sponsored by WLW-TV and the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was an creative tool used to spark attendance figures and draw attention to the lively antics of the grapplers. "Supervised" by a tournament "committee," Haft, Paul Bowser, and Jack Dempsey, the events were taped at the WLW-D studios in Dayton beginning on December 30, 1950 and sent to WLW-C (Columbus) and WLW-T (Cincinnati). At it's height, the Saturday afternoon program was sent to 32 stations from coast-to-coast, giving Haft's product and wrestlers great exposure.
The tournament concluded on Saturday, July 14, 1951 at Dayton's University Fieldhouse with Ruffy Silverstein going over Frankie Talaber before more than 7,000 people to annex the "WLW-TV Heavyweight" Title, a gold championship belt, and the $5,000 prize. Silverstein was a true hero to fans throughout Ohio, and was billed as a leading candidate to succeed NWA champion Lou Thesz. Whether or not the actual NWA or Thesz would agree with that was another debate altogether.
The "TV" championship is frequently confused with the "AWA" title, which was also held by Silverstein in 1951 after an extended winning streak in Chicago, where Haft's grapplers were booked for a national TV show. There were some assumptions that Silverstein's tournament victory in Dayton may have, in fact, spawned recognition by the "AWA" as the heavyweight champion, but the facts are that Ruffy was acknowledged as the "AWA" champion in Chicago as early as May 1951.
The AWA, as some readers might know, was a purported sanctioning body originally started by Bowser, who was a close ally of Haft's, and booker of New England. Handing the fictional "AWA" championship to Silverstein as he wrestled almost weekly on Leonard Schwartz's semi-national ABC Network program from the Rainbo was an effort to give him credibility and a sense of importance. It worked. That gimmick paid off as promoters in cities across North America clamoured for Haft's superstar, as well as his other exploited grapplers. Haft booked wrestlers into New York City, Boston, Kansas City, and towns all over the map because of the broad exposure.
Silverstein won the second annual tournmanet in 1952, going over Buddy Rogers on February 9, 1952 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Columbus. On May 16, 1953, Rogers won the event, outshining a field of 70 competitors, and going over Talaber in the two-of-three-fall finals at the Cincinnati Gardens before a reported 15,000 fans. On the other side, Nell Stewart beat Ida May Martinez to win the ladies tourney, a gold belt, and $2,000.
Haft's gymnasium on the second floor of 261 South High Street was very well known within professional wrestling and all of the greats worked out there at one time or another. That is also were Billy Wolfe taught his stable of ladies the basics of the grappling business for a period of time. Haft expected his athletes to workout and train prior to making any dates in Columbus or elsewhere on his booking circuit, and kept a close eye on those wrestlers capable of handling themselves in a shoot. The gym was frequently occupied by the likes of Bill Miller and Ruffy Silverstein, two excellent amateurs, and Frankie Talaber, Haft's matchmaker and a pupil of his famed father Lou. Heavyweights such as Dick Hutton and even touring NWA champion Lou Thesz performed in "on the level" contests with sparring partners on Haft's mats, demonstrating their abilities and leaving behind a lasting reputation. The crew on hand were also available, at Al's request, to tutor a youthful newcomer.
National Wrestling Alliance Members:
Al Haft became a member of the NWA in September 1948. Frankie Talaber represented him at the first annual convention in Minneapolis. Despite not being present, Haft was named first vice president of the organization.
Television Milestones and Commentators:
Neal Van Ells
Born: August 27, 1924, Vincennes, Indiana
Real Name: Cornelius Anthony Burke Van Ells (Neal A. Van Ells)
College: Indiana State Teachers College
Career Span: 1943-’83
Various Career Notes: Van Ells was a wrestling commentator for WLW-TV in Ohio, consisting of stations in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus. He was the voice behind the annual television wrestling tournaments in Ohio during the early 1950s, and was heard throughout the country as tapes of the events circulated. Van Ells’ exciting blow-by-blow accounts expounded on the wild action in the squared circle and helped draw thousands of new fans into the realm of pro wrestling. Van Ells went on to work in Atlanta, Newark, Philadelphia, and was the announcer for Arthur Godfrey’s radio broadcasts from New York City during the 1950s. He worked at KNBC in Los Angeles, then returned to Ohio, working as the general manager at Cleveland’s WKYC-TV from 1969 to 1983.
Died: April 20, 2004, Jacksonville, Florida
Obituaries:
30 year old wrestler and promoter, Dan Morris died on July 17, 1937 in Sandusky, Ohio at Good Samartian Hospital after a short illness. Morris had suffered from trachoma, a well known eye disease affiliated with wrestling, and died from tubercular meningitiis.
Former promoter and wrestler Paul M. Vallis died on October 29, 1942 in Masslilon, Ohio. According to his obituary, Vallis claimed the middleweight championship from 1912 to 1922. He was 61 years of age.
Suffering a heart attack during a match in Youngstown, Ohio against Len Montana, Gordon McKinley was prounced dead upon arrival at a hospital on Saturday, January 18, 1958. He was 36 years old.
A short time after attending the 1961 National Wrestling Association annual convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Perry H. Smart of Mansfield, Ohio was burned over 85 percent of his body in a oil heater accident at a friend's home in Oil City, Pennsylvania. The accident occurred on September 12, 1961, and Smart passed away a short time later. Smart was a member of the Mansfield Boxing and Wrestling Commission.
Famed journeyman Clete Kauffman (Cletus C. Kauffman) died on Sunday, March 26, 1967 in Columbus at Mount Carmel Hospital at the age of 66. The former wrestler and promoter was survived by his wife and two daughters.
Stacy Hall, former wrestler, died on February 25, 1971 in South Miami at the age of 62. Hall was a Franklin County Sheriff since 1941 and on a vacation/business trip when he had a stroke in a restaurant on February 15 in Miami, according to the Van Wert Times Bulletin.
Albert C. Haft Sr. built a tremendous wrestling territory, one that generated a fortune, and gave hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fans exciting entertainment for a number of decades. Haft passed away at the age of 90 on November 10, 1976 in Columbus, Ohio. He was survived by his son.
Former amateur and professional champion George Bollas died on January 28, 1977 in Akron, Ohio. He was 53 years of age. Bollas was known throughout the wrestling world as the masked "Zebra Kid."
In June 1983, Albert C. Haft Jr. died. Haft was a ring announcer for professional wrestling in Ohio and assisted his famous father in the promotion and booking of his territory.
AWA World Champion for 1,791 days, Francis Paul "Frank" Sexton died on November 20, 1991 in Sedalia, Ohio. He was 81.
A longtime Columbus mainstay, Frankie Talaber (Frank L. Talaber) died on September 7, 1994 in Will County, Illinois. Frankie was the son of Lou Talaber, a former wrestling champion.
The famed Dr. Bill Miller passed away on March 24, 1997 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio at the age of 69. Miller was a Doctor of Veternary medicine, a graduate of Ohio State University, and a pro wrestler for several decades, having headlined across the country.
Vince Risko (Vincent Thomas Pelkowski), a promoter of boxing and wrestling in Canton, died in Stark County, Ohio on October 3, 2002. Risko was the brother of former middleweight boxing champion Babe Risko, and also matchmaker in Akron and Pittsburgh during the early 1960s. He was also involved with the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and in the management of the Canton and Philadelphia Bulldogs.
Ohio Wrestling Title Histories:
Ohio Wrestling Results:
Zanesville Wrestling Results - 1945
Zanesville Wrestling Results - 1946
