Des Moines Wrestling Results

Des Moines, Iowa: Monday, January 6, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Maurice Tillet b. Red Ryan (2-0) … Hans Steinke b. Ole Olsen … Pete Baltram
and Joe Esposito drew (30:00) … Frank Judson b. Charlie Monoogan … (promoter: Walter
Gettson) … (3,100 fans)
Notes: Tillet was billed as the “World’s Champion,” and Ryan was called the “Southern
Champion.” Tillet was managed by Karl Pojello. According to the Des Moines Register, Tillet “got
the ‘Angel’ name when he was a baby and his mother called him that.” Pojello said: “When he
started wrestling, he used the name again because he thought it would attraction attention.” The
paper said that the “Angel always gets 10 hours sleep a day and has to ‘because wrestling is so
hard and he must stay in condition.’” Pojello claimed that Tillet was a “clean wrestler,” but when
his opponent “gets dirty,” he will pay them back.

Des Moines, Iowa: Monday, January 27, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Maurice Tillet b. Frank Judson (2-0) … Gus Sonnenberg b. Tom Casey …
Lord Albert Mills and Charlie Monoogan drew (30:00) … Joe Esposito b. Hans Bauer …
(promoter: Walter Gettson) … (1,500 fans) … (benefit for the Polk County Infantile Paralysis
committee)
Notes: Judson was said to be the “Australian champion.” Kibbons was from Tulsa.

Des Moines, Iowa: Monday, February 17, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Steve Savage vs. Ray Stoll … Fred Ledebuhr (substitute for Gus Sonnenberg)
vs. Ole Olson … Charlie Monoogan vs. Hans Steinke … Amil Cortez vs. Jack Novak … (promoter:
Walter Gettson)
Notes: Sonnenberg was scheduled to be apart of the show, but had recently been injured in an
automobile accident. The newspaper said that “Ledebuhr is quite unusual, as wrestlers go. He
doesn’t seem to claim a single championship.” Savage was said to be from Australia.

Des Moines, Iowa: Monday, March 10, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Maurice Tillet b. Hans Steinke … Billy Bartush b. Charlie Monoogan … Dick
Stoll b. Jim Lerowicz … Jack Russell b. Jack Reeder … (promoter: Walter Gettson) … (900+ fans)
Note: At one point, Stanislaus Zbyszko was scheduled to referee the main event.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, March 26, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Earl Wampler b. Rudy LaDitzi (2-0) … Lou Thesz b. Jack Hader (13:00) …
Ralph Garibaldi wrestled Jack Russell to a draw (20:00) … Steve Brody b. Alf Johnson by decision
… (referee: Hans Steinke)
Note: Johnson was said to be from Minneapolis.

*There were no wrestling shows in Des Moines through May 6, 1941. Pinkie George promoted
boxing at the Coliseum.

Waterloo, Iowa: Sunday, May 11, 1941
(Electric Park) … Wladislaus Talun b. Jack Russell (14:00)

*The Friday, May 23, 1941 edition of the Des Moines Register stated wrestling would be staged at
the Riverview Park throughout the summer beginning on May 31.

Des Moines, Iowa: Saturday, May 31, 1941
(Riverview Park) … Rudy Strongberg b. Abe Kashey (2/3) (Strongberg was a substitute for Earl
Wampler, who failed to show) … Bill Lee b. Hillbilly Harben … Dick Raines and Rudy Strongberg
drew (30:00) … (500 fans)
Notes: Earl Wampler was from Scranton, Iowa and Kashey from Trenton, New Jersey.

Des Moines, Iowa: Saturday, June 7, 1941
(Riverview Park) … Bronko Nagurski b. Rudy Strongberg (1-0) (first fall by countout) (Strongberg
was unable to continue) … Earl Wampler b. Dick Raines … Joe Cox b. Bill Lee … (1,000 fans)
Notes: In one report, Nagurski was billed as the World’s Champion despite having lost his title to
Sandor Szabo on Thursday in St. Louis. Raines was from Eldorado, Texas. Lee was from
Montgomery, Alabama.

Des Moines, Iowa: Saturday, June 14, 1941
(Riverview Park) … Joe Cox vs. Earl Wampler (2/3) … Joe Dusek vs. Hans Kampfer … Jack Hader
vs. Rudy Strongberg

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, October 1, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Orville Brown and Earl Wampler drew (90:00) (1-1) … Jack Kennedy b. Joe
Dusek (DQ) … Ray Eckert b. Ronnie Etchison … (referee: Steve Brody)
Notes: The Des Moines Register stated that “Etchinson (sic) and Eckert are both former amateur
champions.” Brody was said to be from Boston. Etchison was called “Don Etchinson of St.
Joseph.”

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, October 8, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Panther Williams b. Frank Lynch by knockout in the 3rd round (boxing match)
… Earl Wampler b. Joe Dusek (2/3) … Orville Brown b. Alvin Britt … Rudy LaDitzi b. Johnny Seals
… (1,400 fans)

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, October 15, 1941
(The Coliseum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sandor Szabo b. Earl Wampler (2-0) …
Orville Brown b. Al Lovelock … Ronnie Etchison b. Private Bob Foster … (referee: Ralph Adams)
… (1,600 fans)
Notes: The Des Moines Register stated that Szabo was an “Olympic champion as an amateur,”
and Wampler had been wrestling for 21 years. This was reportedly his first shot at the title.
Foster was on furlough from Camp Bowie, Texas, and had been training with Wampler at the Des
Moines Athletic Club.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, October 29, 1941
(The Coliseum) … Orville Brown b. Joe Savoldi (2/3) … Lee Wyckoff b. Jack Kennedy (24:00) …
Benny Rosen b. Al Lafoon … (corporation: Sports Enterprises, Inc.)
Notes: Lafoon was from Oklahoma City and Kennedy from Boston. Rosen was from New York
City.

*There were no shows in Des Moines between November 1 and December 31, 1941.

Research by Tim Hornbaker
December 4, 2007

Des Moines Wrestling Results - 1941