Houston Wrestling Results

Houston, Texas: Friday, October 31, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Ted Cox b. Friederich William Otto Von Schacht (2/3) (Schacht was
unable to continue) … Bobby Managoff b. Ellis Bashara (2/3) … Don Evans and Juan
Humberto drew (20:00) … Sol Slagel b. Roy Graham (DQ) (10:00) … Private Karl Gray b.
Ray Clements (7:00) … (promoter: Morris Sigel) … (referees: Paul Jones, Dr. Karl
Sarpolis) … (physician: Dr. J.M. Mitchener) … (3,500 fans)
Notes: Managoff was billed as a “Pacific coast sensation.” Gray was of Camp Wallace.

Houston, Texas: Friday, November 7, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Bobby Managoff b. Ted Cox (2/3) (third fall by reverse decision)
(Lewis put his headlock on Cox) … Private Karl Gray and Juan Humberto drew (30:00)
(Humberto was a substitute for Ellis Bashara, who was injured) … Don Evans b. LaVerne
Baxter (4:26) … Paul Jones and Friederich William Otto Von Schacht drew (20:00) …
Ben Morgan b. Roy Graham (7:00) … Joe Hill b. Ray Clements (8:12) … (promoter:
Morris Sigel) … (referees: John Galiano, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, Dr. Karl Sarpolis) …
(4,000 fans)
Notes: This marked Hill’s local debut. The newspaper indicated that Lewis was “easily
the world’s greatest living authority on the sport.” Managoff was quoted in the Houston
Post as saying “The championship of the world has been my ambition since I was 15
years old. To me, gaining the championship is the most important thing in my whole life,
much more important than anything else.” He wanted a shot at Sandor Szabo. Morgan
was a native of Genoa “who is working at present at the Houston Shipbuilding
Corporation.”

Houston, Texas: Friday, November 14, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Ted Cox b. Paul Jones (2/3) (after the third fall ended in a double-
countout, both wrestlers wanted to continue) (Jones suffered a knee injury during the
third fall) … Friederich William Otto Von Schacht b. Don Evans (DQ) … Ellis Bashara and
Private Karl Gray drew (20:00) … Juan Humberto b. Joe Hill (15:20) … Sol Slagel b.
George “Red” Ryan (4:00) … (promoter: Morris Sigel) … (referees: Ray Clements, Dr.
Karl Sarpolis) … (3,700 fans)
Note: Jones used a dangerous “figure-four hook scissors” that once took a fall from Ed
Lewis in Houston.

Houston, Texas: Friday, November 21, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Private Karl Gray b. Ellis Bashara (2/3) (Gray won the first fall,
Bashara won the second, Gray won the third by DQ) … Juan Humberto and Bobby
Managoff drew (90:00) (1-1) (Managoff won the first fall, Humberto won the second) …
Don Evans and Friederich William Otto Von Schacht drew … Gorilla Macias b. Tom
Drennan … Otto Kuss b. Roy Graham (CO) … (promoter: Morris Sigel) … (referees:
Paul Jones, Dr. Karl Sarpolis) … (3,000 fans)
Note: Drennan was an East Texas High School teacher.

Houston, Texas: Friday, November 28, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Gorilla Macias b. Ted Cox (2-0) (first fall by DQ) (Macias was
accompanied by Alberto Campos, who helped him in the bout) (after being hated in
previous matches, Cox was cheered versus Macias) … Bobby Managoff b. Ray Duran (8:
21) … Don Evans b. Ivan Managoff (DQ) (12:00) … Ellis Bashara and Friederich William
Otto Von Schacht drew (20:00) … Private Karl Gray b. Alberto Campos … (promoter:
Morris Sigel) … (referee: Paul Jones, Dr. Karl Sarpolis) … (3,500 fans)
Notes: Campos was a Yaqui Indian and “manager of Macias’ Nueve Leon ranch.”

Houston, Texas: Friday, December 5, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Gorilla Macias b. Ted Cox (2/3) (referee Slagel stopped the bout due
to a bleeding wound on Cox’s head) … Louis Reynheer b. Friederich William Otto Von
Schacht (18:00) … Bobby Managoff b. Ivan Managoff (DQ) (15:05) … Don Evans b. Ellis
Bashara (13:20) … Juan Humberto and Paul Jones drew (30:00) … (promoter: Morris
Sigel) … (referees: Red Ryan, Sol Slagel) … (3,700 fans)
Note: Reynheer was the “Belgium mat champion.”

*On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, declaring war on the
United States. The U.S., in turn, declared war on Japan. The Houston Post printed a
normal newspaper that morning, before news of the attack came through the wires. It did
not run a paper on Monday.

Houston, Texas: Friday, December 12, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Ted Cox b. Gorilla Macias (2/3) (Cox was accompanied by Ellis
Bashara) (Macias was accompanied by John “Juan” Humberto) … Ivan Managoff b.
Friederich William Otto Von Schacht (4:05) … Bobby Managoff b. Roy Graham (7:07) …
Paul Jones and Otto Kuss drew (20:00) … Ray Duran and Private Karl Gray drew after
the latter fouled his opponent, but Duran refused to accept the win … (promoter: Morris
Sigel) … (referees: Dr. Karl Sarpolis, Sol Slagel) … (4,000 fans in attendance)
Notes: This wrestling show was the first sports event held in Houston since the United
States entered World War II. The National Anthem played before the show.

Houston, Texas: Friday, December 19, 1941
(City Auditorium) … Ellis Bashara and Ted Cox b. Juan Humberto and Gorilla Macias
(2/3) (team match) (Humberto and Macias were accompanied by Ray Duran) … Louis
Reynheer b. Bobby Managoff (18:00) … Don Evans b. Ivan Managoff (DQ) … Otto Kuss
b. Friederich William Otto Von Schacht (dec., 20:00) … Paul Jones b. Roy Graham (10:
16) … (promoter: Morris Sigel) … (referees: Dr. Karl Sarpolis, Sol Slagel) …
(timekeeper: Ben S. Davidson) … (capacity crowd)
Notes: The main event was said to be Houston’s first team match of 1941. Last show of
the year.

Research by Tim Hornbaker
December 27, 2007

Houston Wrestling Results - 1941