Louisville Wrestling Results

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, January 5, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion Bobby
Managoff Jr. b. Ray Eckert (2/3) … Herb Welch b. Red Roberts (2-0) (Roberts was a
substitute for Bill Caney) … Private Harold “Irish” McGee b. Mike Molley (12:25) (Molley
was a substitute for Stock Neilson) … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by:
Allen Athletic Club)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, January 12, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Al Massey b. Rudy Strongberg (2/3) (Massey won the third fall by
countout) (Massey earned a match with Bill Longson) … Herb Welch b. John L. “Flash”
Clifford (2/3) … Cecil “Blacksmith” Pedigo and Harold “Irish” McGee drew … (promoter:
Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)
Notes: John L. Clifford passed his U.S. Army physical on Monday. Herb Welch was a
claimant to the Southern Heavyweight Title.

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, January 19, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Bill Longson b. Al Massey (2/3) … Roy Welch b. Stock Neilson (2/3)
… Jacques DeVault and Mike Sullivan drew … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) …
(sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)
Note: Roy Welch was billed as the Junior Heavyweight champion.

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, January 26, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Sheik Emir Badui b. Ralph Garibaldi (2/3) … Roy Welch b. Charley
Keen (2/3) … Nick Elitch b. Charley Lay (DQ) (22:14) … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.)
… (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)
Note: The Sheik was managed by Nick Elitch.

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, February 2, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Bill Longson b. Joe Dusek (2/3) … Cecil Pedigo b. Harold “Irish”
McGee (39:41) … Roy Welch b. Cowboy Jack Purdin (20:02) … (promoter: Heywood
Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club) … (benefit for the Infantile Paralysis
Fund to cure Polio) … ($1,000 was raised)
Notes: Harold McGee was of Fort Knox and was said to be a “fighter-wrestler who took
on Mickey Walker, Jim Londos and many other topnotchers before going into the service.”

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, February 9, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Emereer Badui b. Rolland Kirchmeyer (2/3) (third by DQ) (Badui
earned a match with World Champion Bobby Managoff) … Ralph Garibaldi and Dorve
Roche drew (1-1) … Charley Lay b. Bobby Godfrey (18:07) … (promoter: Heywood Allen
Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, February 16, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Managoff b. Sheik Emereer
Badui (2/3) … Ralph Garibaldi b. Al Massey (2-0) … Charley Lay b. Private Harold “Irish”
McGee (22:47) … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

*On Friday, February 19, 1943, Bill Longson beat Bobby Managoff Jr. in St. Louis to
capture the undisputed World Heavyweight Title. Longson won the one-fall match in 19:
41 at the Municipal Auditorium.

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, February 23, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … The Welch Brothers (Herb and Roy Welch) b. Nick Carter and
Charley Keene (2/3) … Dorve Roche b. Ralph Garibaldi (2/3) … (promoter: Heywood
Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

*The Louisville Courier Journal reported the following on Tuesday, February 23, 1943:
“Kentuckiana gets its first introduction to the newest rage in rasslin’ – an Australian tag
team match, for four men in one bout – tonight at the Columbia Gymnasium.”

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, March 2, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … World Heavyweight Champion Bill Longson b. Rolland Kirchmeyer
(2/3) … Roy Welch b. Moody Palmer (2/3) … Cecil “Blacksmith” Pedigo b. Charley Keene
(DQ) (27:42) … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)
Note: The club asked fans to bring a garment or bundle of clothes for the Russians.

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, March 9, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … World Heavyweight Champion Bill Longson b. Dorve Roche (2/3)
(Longson won the second and then the third when Roche could not continue) … Ike
Chacoma b. Roy Welch to capture the World Junior Heavyweight Title (2/3) … Cecil
“Blacksmith” Pedigo b. George Bennett (19:38) … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) …
(sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club) … (2,200 fans)
Note: The newspaper stated that Welch was defending the junior heavyweight title
against “the man from whom he won the title, Indian Ike Chacoma."

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, March 16, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Herb Welch b. Ike Chacoma to capture the World Junior Heavyweight
Title (2/3) (Welch was also the Southern Heavyweight Champion) … George Pavich b.
Boom Boom Lee (2/3) … Rudy Strongberg b. Sailor Dick Lever (19:10) … (promoter:
Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)
Notes: Herb Welch was said to be the Southern Heavyweight champion. Herb had “33
triumphs in local rings.”

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, March 23, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Elvirey Snodgrass b. Gladys Ryan (2/3) … Charley Lay and Roy
Welch b. The Green Shadow and Count Von Zuppi (2/3) … (promoter: Heywood Allen
Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club) … (2,580 fans)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, March 30, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … World Junior Heavyweight and Southern Heavyweight Champion Herb
Welch b. M. Georges Pavich (2/3) (Pavich was billed as the Canadian Heavyweight
Champion) (all three-titles were on the line) (Pavich won the first fall, Welch won the
second and then the latter won the third by disqualification) … Charley Lay b. Nick Carter
(2/3) … Sailor Watkins and Count Von Zuppi drew … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) …
(sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, April 6, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Dorve Roche b. Bobby Managoff (2/3) … Ronnie Etchison b. Bad Boy
Brown (2-0) … Jack Bloomfield b. Nick Carter (Carter was a substitute for Al Mason) …
(promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, April 13, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … World Heavyweight Champion Bill Longson b. Dorve Roche (2/3)
(Roche was counted out in the third fall) … Lord Albert Mills b. Rudy Strongberg (2/3) …
Cecil “Blacksmith” Pedigo and Sailor Watkins drew (30:00) … (promoter: Heywood Allen
Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club) … (2,300 fans

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, April 20, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … The Welch Brothers (Roy and Herb Welch) b. Eddie “Green Shadow”
Malone and Count Von Zuppi (2/3) (“Australia team tag match”) … Ronnie Etchison b.
Lord Albert Mills (2/3) (Etchison won the first fall, Mills won the second, Etchison won the
third by DQ) … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, April 27, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … World Heavyweight Champion Bill Longson b. Lord Albert Mills (2/3)
… Ronnie Etchison b. Sheik Emereer Badui (2/3) … Bill Caney b. Sailor Watkins (13:25)
… (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club) … (Derby Week
Show)

Louisville, Kentucky: Tuesday, May 4, 1943
(Columbia Gym) … Orville Brown vs. Dorve Roche … Ronnie Etchison vs. M. Georges
Pavich … (promoter: Heywood Allen Sr.) … (sponsored by: Allen Athletic Club)

Research by Tim Hornbaker

Louisville Wrestling Results - 1943