Manhattan, New York: Tuesday, February 22, 1949 (Madison Square Garden) ... Gorgeous George b. Ernie Dusek (26:57) ... The Golden Superman b. Angelo Savoldi (10:42) ... (promoter: Bill Johnston) ... (referee: Joe Boyle) ... (4,197 fans) ... (gate: $13,957) Notes: This was the first wrestling show at the Garden since the late 1930s. The New York Times incorrectly stated (1/20/49) that the last match at the Garden was Shikat-O'Mahoney, which occurred in 1936. On January 19th, an announcement about the return of grappling to the Garden took place at the Hotel Astor by promoter Bill Johnston. Johnston was affiliated with Joe "Toots" Mondt. It was said that Mondt was "now" in South America "scouting talent." Johnston said he was confident that he could sell out the Garden for wrestling with the maximum ticket price being $7.50. No matches were announced that day. The New York Times reported that Johnston "requested United States authorities to investigate Hans Schwarz, German champion, who will be permitted to wrestle here if cleared by the authorities." On February 23, 1949, in the Times, James P. Dawson wrote that promoter Johnston "put on a circus with modern variations." He called Gorgeous George "wrestling's character actor." Johnston was said to have lost $1,500 on this show. Research by Tim Hornbaker February 21, 2011 |
| New York City Wrestling Results - 1949 |
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