Kansas City Wrestling Results

Kansas City, : Thursday, January 10, 1929
( ) ... Joe Stecher b. Charles Hanson (dec., 2-hours) (no falls) ... Marin Plestina and Hans
Steinke drew (60:00) ... (referee: Walter Bates)

Kansas City, Missouri: Monday, January 28, 1929
( ) ... World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg b. Harry Hanson (2-0) (42:05, 14
seconds)
Note: "Harry" Hanson was likely a misspell for Charles Hanson.

Kansas City, Missouri: Monday, May 20, 1929
( ) ... Ed "Strangler" Lewis b. Matros Kirilenko (2/3) (during the third fall, Kirilenko sailed
from the ring after Lewis dodged what may have been a flying tackle attempt) (Kirilenko
was unable to continue)
Notes: Kirilenko was taken to a local hospital with a dislocated right shoulder and a brain
concussion.

Kansas City, Missouri: Thursday, July 25, 1929
(Fairmount Park) … Dave Adkins vs. Robert Dover
Notes: This match was apart of the 27th annual picnic of the Kansas City Kansas Retail
Grocers. It was sponsored by the Wonder Baking company.

*On Saturday, July 27, 1929, a “list of rules to govern professional wrestling in Missouri
was adopted at a meeting … of the Missouri athletic commission at the Hotel President,
Kansas City, Mo. Provisions that physicans must examine all grapplers after the bouts,
as well as before, were among the features. Other sections of the rules tend to clarify
some points which had been in doubt previously,” according to a report in the Sunday,
July 28, 1929 Kansas City Kansan.

*In an article, printed in the Monday, August 26, 1929 edition of the Kansas City Kansan,
it was reported that the wrestling season would open sometime in early September, and
promoter Gabe Kaufman planned to bring World Heavyweight Champin Gus Sonnenberg
and Middleweight Champion Charles Fischer. The paper stated that “Maxwell Baumann,
pilot for fischer, recently laid claim to the light heavyweight title in behalf of his charge.
Baumann comes forth with the claim and is willing to back Fischer against any grappler in
the world up to 175 pounds on a winner take all basis.” Lee Wykoff was said to have
“shown steady improvement for the past two years.” He was “remembered as the entry
from the Missouri Pacific Athletic Club, and it is this organization that is backing him.”

*The Sunday, September 1, 1929 edition of the Kansas City Kansan stated “The law
legalizing wrestling went into effect last week,” and that the September 10 program would
be “the first contests under the Missouri state athletic commission.”

Kansas City, Missouri: Tuesday, September 10, 1929
(Convention Hall) … World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg b. Stanley Stasiak
(2-0) (flying tackles) … Joe Malcewicz and Dr. Karl Sarpolis drew (45:00) … World
Middleweight Champion Charles Fischer b. Joe Wisack (29:30) … Lee Wykoff b. Billy
Wray (8:45) … (promoter: Gabe Kaufman) … (referee: Walter Bates) … (6,000 fans)
Notes: This was said to be the “first wrestling season in Kansas City, Mo., under the
governing hand of the Missouri Athletic commission.” The “state commission already has
appointed a committee to draft a set of professional wrestling rules for the conduct of the
sport in Missouri. Harry Sharpe, veteran St. Louis referee, and Charlie Fisher, wrestling
coach at Missouri university will receive suggestions from various sources and together
will draft the grappling rule to prevail,” according to the Kansas City Kansan. Sarpolis
was a “former University of Illinois athlete and winner of the amateur heavyweight
wrestling tournament at the last Olympic games.” He had “recently turned professional
and to date has won all his matches in his brief professional career. Sarpolis is a
graduate M.D., having practiced his profession in his home city, Cincinnati, and in
addition has won some fame and fortune as a radio singer and orchastra leader in the
Ohio metropolis.” He was also a violin player. Wykoff and Wray were “wrestling idols of
the local railroad shops.” Wykoff represented the Missouri Pacific and Wray represented
the Santa Fe railroad shops. Their bout was for the “championship of the railroad shop.”
The Missouri Athletic Commission planned to watch the main event and review
Sonnenberg’s use of the flying tackle, which was approved on a temporary basis. One
report in the Kansan stated that Sonnenberg “dumped Strangler Lewis two falls out of
three in Boston two years ago and annexed the world’s title.” Stasiak was called the
biggest wrestler in the game today. Moving pictures of the Sonnenberg-Stasiak
championship match were going to be taken, with sound accompaniment, based on the
success of the Lewis-Sonnenberg match, which was presented in theaters across the
country.

Kansas City, Missouri: Monday, September 30, 1929
(Convention Hall) … Joe Malcewicz and Dr. Karl Sarpolis drew (1-1) (two hours)
(Malcewicz won the first fall in 1:13:10, Sarpolis took the second in 25:12) (winner to meet
Ed Lewis) … World Middleweight Champion Charles Fischer b. Lou Talaber (29:08) …
Firpo Wilcox and Lee Wykoff drew (30:00) … (promoter: Gabe Kaufman) … (referee:
Walter Bates)
Notes: Firpo Wilcox was said to be “long the bad boy of the wrestling fraternity,” and had
been “laying off by request o fthe promoters for the past two years.” He was from
Oklahoma. After knocking out Pat McGill, promoter Gabe Kaufman refused to promote
him on his shows. Wilcox “promised to be good,” and would be on probation. Another
report stated that Wilcox was barred from wrestling locally for a year. Wykoff was
“champion of the railroad shops.” The Kansas City Kansan (9/27/29) stated that “Many of
Wycoff’s husky machinest admirers have talked to Kaufman about the match and have
hinted that it will be pretty tough on Wild Man Firpo if he starts any foul stuff with the
popular Lee.” The newspaper said “Charlie Fischer, middleweight champion, will attempt
to get revenge on Lou Talaber, former champion, for many unkind remarks and sarcastic
defies which Talaber has been hurling at the dwarf-like Chicago boy for months. Talaber
asserts his recently recovered health will enable him to give Fischer a few wrestling
lessons. Fischer won the middleweight title from Talaber several years ago.” Kaufman
saw “championship possibilities” in Sarpolis, and he would get a bout with Ed Lewis if he
beat Malcewicz. Wykoff was the “pride of the railroad shops,” and was “pretty rough in his
own right.” Sarpolis was said to be from Cincinnati. The Fischer-Talaber bout was said to
be “one of the fastest exhibitions seen in Convention Hall in years.” The Kansas City
Kansan stated that “Altho the Sarpolis-Malcewicz contest went the two-hour limit with
each gaining a fall, the opinion of the majority of fans and also of referee Walter Bates
was tha the Cincinnati sensation was entitled to the victory.”

Kansas City, Missouri: Thursday, October 17, 1929
(Convention Hall) … World Heavyweight Champion Gus Sonnenberg b. Dr. Karl Sarpolis
(2-0) … Nick Lutze b. Firpo Wilcox (14:10) … World Middleweight Champion Charles
Fischer and Billy Edwards drew (60:00) … Lee Wykoff b. “Torpedo” Thompson (9:12) …
(promoter: Gabe Kaufman) … (referee: Walter Bates) … (announcers: pitcher Pea
Ridge Day, Hughie Henry) … (in attendance: Kansas City Mayor Beach, City Manager
McElroy, Kansas City Blues baseball team members, manager Dutch Zwilling) … (“largest
crowd of the season”)
Notes: Sarpolis, reportedly, refused to wrestle anyone but Gus Sonnenberg. Promoter
Kaufman had booked him against Ed Lewis on this show. He told the press that he
thought he could beat Sonnenberg, but “I don’t believe I can throw Lewis.” He also stated
that he couldn’t be the champion, he would retire from wrestling to his medical practice in
Cincinnati. Sonnenberg agreed to come to Kansas City for the bout, and a booking in
Milwaukee was replaced with Ed Lewis, according to the local paper. The Kansas City
Kansan stated in its October 13, 1929 newspaper: “If the Cincinnati doctor should be
successful in his titular quest, he would have the distinction of becoming a world’s
champion in shorter time than any other aspirant has ever before reached the throne.
The Ohio medico has been wrestling professionally only two years and has participated
in a total of only twenty-eight matches to date. He has held the world’s amateur
heavyweight title, which he voluntarily relinquished when he entered the mat game in a
serious way.” Edwards was called the “Argentine Butcher Boy.” He has been “wrestling in
Dallas and in old Mexico with much success.” Wilcox was called the “toughest boy on
Bennie Owens’ Oklahoma University team for two seasons.” The Mayor of Berlin,
Germany was expected to be in attendance for this show. Walter Logan “wrestles under
the name of Torpedo Thompson, the Montana Mountain,” according to the newspaper.
Day was given a watch, and Zwilling was presented a “chest of silver.”

Searched the Kansas City Kansan between July 23, 1929 – October 17, 1929

Kansas City, Missouri: Tuesday, November 19, 1929
(Convention Hall) ... Ed "Strangler" Lewis b. Joe Stecher (2/3)

Research by Tim Hornbaker
October 21, 2010

Kansas City Wrestling Results - 1929