New Orleans Wrestling Results

Arabi, Louisiana: Saturday, February 4, 1961
(SBARD Arena) … Adrian Baillargeon and Ken Cooper vs. Black Panther and Carlos
Mendoza … (matchmaker: Joe Gunther)
Note: The arena was at 801 Community Street in Arabi.

Arabi, Louisiana: Saturday, February 18, 1961
(SBARD Arena) … Ken Cooper and Johnny King vs. Prince Omar and Tuffy Truesdale …
two preliminaries … (matchmaker: Joe Gunther)

Arabi, Louisiana: Saturday, March 4, 1961
(SBARD Arena) … Adrian Baillargeon and Johnny King vs. Black Panther and Prince
Omar … (matchmaker: Joe Gunther)
Note: Baillargeon was billed as the Southern Heavyweight champion.

Gretna, Louisiana: Thursday, May 25, 1961
(VFW Hall) … Gene Bowman vs. Jimmy Quinn … Black Panther vs. Marco Polo …
(matchmaker: Joe Gunther) … (sponsored by: Veterans of Foreign Wars)
Notes: Inaugural show for the VFW in Gretna. Bowman’s last name was spelled
“Baumann,” and he was said to be from Texas.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, June 22, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge b.
Nelson Royal (2/3) … Baby Blimp and The Great Bolo b. Oni Wiki Wiki and Tiny Smith …
Tiny Smith b. The Blimp … The Great Bolo b. Oni Wiki Wiki … (promoter: Andy
Tsimpides) … (matchmaker: Joe Gunther)
Notes: Inaugural show for the Tsimpides-Gunther operation. The Hodge-Royal match
was said to be sanctioned by the National Wrestling Association and the National
Wrestling Alliance. Royal, of Ohio, was undefeated.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, June 29, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Mike Clancy and Oni Wiki Wiki b. The Great Bolo and Mighty
Bolo (2/3) … Bob Boyer b. Al Galento (2/3) … Mike Clancy b. Great Bolo … Oni Wiki Wiki
b. Mighty Bolo (DQ) … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides) … (1,540 fans)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, July 6, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Oni Wiki Wiki b. The Great Bolo … Mike Clancy b. Baby Blimp
… Hassan Bey b. Bob Boyer … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, July 13, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Mike Clancy and The Great Bolo wrestled to a no contest (1-1)
… Darlene Dagmar and Judy Grable b. Baby Cheryl and Fabulous Moolah … (promoter:
Andy Tsimpides) … (referee: Jack Gott) … (1,800 fans)
Note: Moolah was “recognized as world’s champion of women wrestlers by the NWA.”

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, July 20, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Mike Clancy b. Great Bolo (2/3) … Oni Wiki Wiki b. Baby Blimp
… Jack Curtis Jr. b. Hassan Bey … Bob Boyer and Nelson Royal drew … (promoter:
Andy Tsimpides)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, July 27, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … The Great Bolo and Mighty Bolo b. Mike Clancy and Jack Curtis
Jr. … Bob Boyer b. Hassan Bey … Red McKim b. Nelson Royal (DQ) … Jack Curtis Jr.
and Mighty Bolo drew … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides) … (referee: Eustis Adams)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, August 3, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Mike Clancy and Danny Hodge b. The Great Bolo and Mighty
Bolo (2/3) … Jack Curtis Jr. b. Bruiser Collins … Corsica Joe b. Bob Boyer … Mike
Clancy and Mighty Bolo drew (15:00) … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, August 10, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge b. The
Great Bolo (DQ) … Oni Wiki Wiki b. Mighty Bolo … Bob Boyer b. Bruiser Collins …
Corsica Joe and Joey Costello drew … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, August 17, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Joey Costello b. Mighty Bolo in finals of an eight-man wrestle
royal … Happy Humphrey b. The Great Bolo (DQ) (Mighty Bolo interfered) … Bob Boyer
and Joe McCarthy drew … Oni Wiki Wiki b. Hassan Bey … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)
… (referee: Harvey Cole) … (near capacity crowd)
Note: McCarthy was making his local debut.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Wednesday, August 23, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Mike Clancy and Happy Humphrey b. Great Bolo and Mighty
Bolo (DQ) … Jack Curtis Jr. b. Nelson Royal … Joey Costello b. Tony Neopolitan …
(promoter: Andy Tsimpides)
Note: Next week’s show to be held on Tuesday due to a prior booking at the Auditorium.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Tuesday, August 29, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge b.
Corsica Joe (2/3) … The Fargo Brothers (Donnie and Ronnie Fargo) b. The Scufflin’
Hillbillies (Rip Collins and Chuck Conley) … Ken Boyer b. Tony Neopolitan (DQ) … Rip
Collins and Don Fargo drew … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides) … (1,500 fans)
Notes: Boyer was a substitute for Red McKim, who was said to be a protégé of Danny
Hodge. Neopolitan wrestled in the “Dick the Bruiser” style. The show scheduled for next
Tuesday was shifted to Thursday, September 14.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, September 14, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Danny Hodge and Red McKim b. Tony Martin and “Masked
Bolo Jr.” … The Great Antonio b. Corsica Joe and Pancho Villa … Tony Neopolitan b.
Jerry London … Tony Martin and Red McKim drew … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)
Notes: Hodge was originally booked to team with Mike Clancy against the Fargo
Brothers. Antonio was making his local debut. Last Tuesday, Antonio demonstrated his
strength in front of the Auditorium before a few hundred spectators by pulling three
buses. Next show on Wednesday due to a prior booking at the Auditorium.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Wednesday, October 4, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … The Great Bolo and Mighty Bolo b. Bing Ki Lee and Red McKim
(2/3) … Tuffy Truesdale b. Seven Foot Aligator … Silento Rodriguez b. Tony Neopolitan
… Ming Ki Lee and Mighty Bolo drew … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, October 12, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Torbellino Blanco, Tiny Smith and Oni Wiki Wiki b. Mighty Bolo,
Tony Neopolitan and Russian Angel … Jerry London b. Jimmy Quinn … Torbellino
Blanco and Tony Neopolitan drew … Russian Angel and Oni Wiki Wiki drew … Tiny Smith
b. Mighty Bolo … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides) … (referee: Al Massey)

Harvey, Louisiana: Thursday, October 19, 1961
(Westside Sports Center) … Judy Grable and Torbellino Blanco b. Peggy Allen and
Russian Angel (DQ) (mixed tag team match) … Peggy Allen and Judy Grable drew …
Torbellino Blanco and Russian Angel drew … (promoter: Vince Arnona) … (800 fans)
Notes: This was Vince Arnona’s first show at the Westside Sports Center, which was
booked after Tsimpides was unable to secure a date at the Auditorium this week. The
facility was at 3806 Fourth Street in Harvey.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, October 26, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Russian Angel b. Torbellino Blanco (2/3) … Jimmy Quinn b.
Carlos Mendoza … Oni Wiki Wiki b. Ray Durand … Johnny Demchuck b. Bing Ki Lee …
(promoter: Andy Tsimpides) … (referee: Tony Neopolitan)
Notes: Angel earned a match with Danny Hodge next week. Tsimpides announced that
the St. Peter Street side of the Auditorium would be used Thursday.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, November 2, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Hodge b. The
Russian Angel (2-0) … A wrestling bear b. Corsica Joe … Tiny Smith b. Tony Neopolitan
… Oni Wiki Wiki b. Carlos Mendoza … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides)
Notes: This was said to be Hodge’s 16th straight title defense. Next week, wrestling was
going to be moved to the Westside Sports Center in Harvey on Thursday.

Harvey, Louisiana: Thursday, November 9, 1961
(Westside Sports Center) … Carlos Mendoza and Tony Neopolitan b. Judo Jackson and
Billy Marshall (2/3) … Billy Marshall and Tony Neopolitan drew … Judo Jackson b. Carlos
Mendoza (DQ) … (promoter: Vince Arnona) … (referee: Al Massey)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, November 16, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Ray Andrews and Tony Neopolitan drew (60:00) … Ann Regan
and Chris Clark b. Adrienne Ames and Pat Lyda … Otto Von Bismarck b. John Paul
Jones (Otto received some outside help from his brother Kurt) … (promoter: Andy
Tsimpides) … (referee: Fouts Clements)

Harvey, Louisiana: Thursday, November 23, 1961
(Westside Sports Center) … Adrienne Ames and Pat Lyda b. Chris Clark and Ann Regan
to become the undisputed women’s tag team champions … John Paul Jones b. Otto Von
Bismarck (Kurt Von Bismarck interfered) … Ann Regan b. Pat Lyda … (promoter: Vince
Arnona) … (referee: Carlos Mendoza) … (near capacity crowd)
Notes: Going into this show, Regan and Clark were called the co-holders of the Southern
Women’s Tag Team championship, and Lyda and Ames were said to be the “NWA
titlists.” The promoter, the newspaper reported, said that Joe Gunther received special
sanction from the National Wrestling Association to name the winners of this tag team
match the “undisputed” women’s tag team champions. Regan and Clark were from
Jackson, Mississippi.

Harvey, Louisiana: Thursday, November 30, 1961
(Westside Sports Arena) … John Paul Jones b. Otto Von Bismarck … Chris Clark b.
Adrienne Ames … Pat Lyda b. Ann Regan … (promoter: Vince Arnona)
Note: It was announced that next week, a new enterprise was going to be launched at
the Municipal Auditorium with promoter Andy Tsimpides, matchmaker Joe Gunther, and
Jack Pfefer working together.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, December 7, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … Chief Lone Eagle b. Tony Neopolitan … Maurice Carpentier b.
Nick the Bruiser … The Red Devil b. Ann Regan (Regan was a substitute for the Lady
Blimp) … Bob Bellis and Armand Rocca drew … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides) …
(matchmakers: Jack Pfefer, Joe Gunther)
Notes: In the advertising, which was completely changed with the arrival of Jack Pfefer, it
was claimed that Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden superstars were going to
appear in New Orleans. This was the inaugural show of the Pfefer-New Orleans set-up.
The newspaper spelled his last name, “Pheffer.” Chief Lone Eagle was said to be one of
the conquerors of Buddy Rogers. The show was billed as a “new talent wrestling”
program.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, December 14, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … World Heavyweight Champion Jack Fargo b. Young Carnera …
Women’s World Champion Bambi Ball and Fifi DePare wrestled to a no decision (2/3) …
Chief Lone Eagle b. Nick the Bruiser … Maurice Carpentier b. Tony Neopolitan …
Pancho Perez b. Armand Rocca … (promoter: Andy Tsimpides) … (matchmakers: Jack
Pfefer, Joe Gunther)
Notes: In publicity it was claimed that “two NWA World Title” matches would be featured
on this show. Jack Fargo was risking his newly won diamond stuffed belt, which was won
earlier in the year at Boston. He also has a record of five consecutive attendance
records at the Garden in New York City. The promoter claimed it was the first time two
major world titles were on the line at the same show at the Auditorium. Fargo was said to
have retained his NWA title. DePare was from France. Eagle earned a match with Fargo
with his victory.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Thursday, December 21, 1961
(Municipal Auditorium) … World Heavyweight Champion Jack Fargo b. Young Carnera
(2/3) … Fifi DePare, Tina Myra and Ann Regan b. Bambi Ball, Candy Carroll, and
Masked Red Devil (DQ) … Matador Escudaro b. Carlos Mendoza … (promoter: Andy
Tsimpides) … (matchmakers: Jack Pfefer, Joe Gunther)
Notes: Special Christmas show. Pfefer claimed that Young Carnera was the “nephew” of
Primo Carnera, and that he predicted that he’d eventually win the NWA title. Carnera
was introduced previously to fans in Boston and New York City. Ball was called an “NWA”
champion. Next show on Thursday, January 4, 1962.

Research by Tim Hornbaker
September 23, 2010

New Orleans Wrestling Results - 1961