Adam Weissmuller was born on May 18, 1899 in Austria-Hungary and came to the United States with his family in 1913, settling in Chicago.  By 1918, he was working for truck company, and developing his strength and conditioning, eventually becoming a 145-pound professional wrestler and boxer.  He even claimed the welterweight wrestling title at points, although any championship would have been heavily disputed by a number of other grapplers.  During the 1920s, he often worked for Al Haft in Ohio, developing a relationship that would be vitally important as he forged ahead as a promoter in Detroit, Michigan.

Notably, Adam was a cousin of the famous swimmer and actor Johnny Weissmuller (Peter John Weissmuller).  Occasionally in advertising, Adam was listed as Johnny's brother.

As boss of the Arena Gardens club, Weissmuller developed a system of promoting professional wrestling that was unlike others before him.  He had a focus not on the likes of heavyweights Dick Shikat or Gus Sonnenberg, but on lesser weight wrestlers, between 140 and 200 pounds.  Much like Haft in Columbus, who prided himself on featuring talented wrestlers, and not *just* showmen, Weissmuller put together his shows with scientific and speedy grapplers.  Although he wasn't breaking the bank with constant sell-outs, he was building a reputable and stable operation that wasn't always on the verge of collapse.  Many other promoters should have taken note.



In the years following Adam Weissmuller's death, the Detroit wrestling scene faced a bumpy road in terms of attendance, as did most cities.  There were, at times, no less than three promotional entities running in the area a week, and by 1939, there was a growing amateur scene as well.  Nick Londes retained ties to the big wigs of the sport, the men formerly associated with the "Trust," while Eddie Lewis and Louis Markowitz, and later Harry Light, ran a secondary circuit with mostly non-heavyweight talent.  The Lewis-Markowitz tribe were roped into the Midwest Wrestling Association, a sometimes disorganized unit, with a mobile headquarters in places like Columbus or Louisville.  Championships were often billed as having MWA backing, but there were two or three different lineages claiming that same singular recognition.

Obituaries:

Detroit wrestling promoter Adam Weissmuller died on March 8, 1937 at Henry Ford Hospital from a stomach disorder.  He had been sick for two months.  Weissmuller was 37 years of age.

36 year old Louis Papineau died following a 20-minute draw with Gino Brito in Garden City, Michigan on March 7, 1964.  Papineau went to the dressing room after the bout and sat down, appearing distressed.  He called promoter Burt Rubi, who called on doctors, but Papineau lapsed into unconsciousness and passed away.  More than a month earlier, Papineau was involved in an car accident, and had complained of neck pains.  Doctors thought that he may have suffered a cerebral hemmorrhage.

On Wednesday, September 1, 1965, at St. Joseph, Michigan hospital, James M. "Bingo" Brown, former National Boxing Association President, passed away.  He was 73.  Brown also served as the head of the Michigan Boxing Commission from 1928 until 1936.  He was survived by his wife and daughter.

On January 21, 1969, Celesta Savoldi, the mother of wrestlers Joe and Clem, died in Carmel Valley, California at the age of 87.  She was formerly a resident of Three Oaks, Michigan.

Often billed as an Australian, but really born sometime between 1901 and 1903 in Czechoslovakia, wrestler Stanley Buresh (Stanislav Buresh) died on January 31, 1972 in Richmond, Macomb County, Michigan.  He had previously lived in Cashmere, Washington and before that, on the family homestead in Nebraska.  Buresh (also Buresch) was a common name on Detroit shows.

Multi-sport athlete Joe Savoldi (Joseph A. Savoldi) died on January 24, 1974 in Cadiz, Kentucky at the age of 65.

Lou Klein, a Detroit wrestling mainstay for decades, died at the age of 63 on October 11, 1979 in Okeechobee, Florida.

A longtime referee for matches throughout the state of Michigan, Frank Scoma died on April 6, 1981 in Benton Harbor.  Scoma attained his license to officiate around 1956.

Capturing the attention of Detroit-area fans, and the wrestling world, in 1936, Ali Baba (Harry K. Ekizian) beat Dick Shikat for the World Heavyweight Title.  Baba had a long career on the mat, and despite being double-crossed out of the championship by Dave Levin, made his mark on wrestling history.  He died on Monday, November 16, 1981 in Arroyo Grande, California.  He was 80.  Baba was buried in the Smith Mountain Cemetery.

84 year old John Silvi (Giovana V. Silvi) passed away on Tuesday, February 26, 1991 in Livonia, Wayne County, Michigan.  Silvi was a journeyman wrestler in the 1930s and '40s.

On January 20, 1998, Bobo Brazil (Houston Harris Sr.) died in St. Joseph, Michigan at the age of 74.  Detroit was the scene of some of most memorable ring battles.

Clem Savoldi (Clem A. Savoldi), brother of former world champion Joe Savoldi, passed away on February 28, 1999 in Carmel Valley, California.  Clem was a welterweight wrestler during the 1930s.

The famous Sheik (Edward George Farhat Sr.) passed away on January 18, 2003 in Williamston, Michigan.

Wrestler Czaya Nandor passed away on August 30, 2005 in Saint Clair County, Michigan.  He was survived by his wife Beverly.

Detroit Wrestling Titles:

Detroit Wrestling Results:

Detroit Wrestling Results - 1939