St. Joseph MO: September 14, 1945 (Friday)
(City Aud, att. 3,200) ... Orville Brown beat Ben Morgan (2-1) ... Ken Fenelon drew Abe
Yourist (45:00, 1-1) ... Jerry Meeker beat Sonny Myers (23:00, dq) ... Calvin Rees (of St.
Joseph MO) beat Chico Salzar (12:00) ... Referee: Billy Atkins ... NOTE: Brown is a
"heavyweight title claimant" in this win over the 330-pound Morgan

St. Joseph MO: September 21, 1945
(City Aud, att. 3,000) ... Orville Brown beat Ben Morgan (330, of Rogers AR) (2-1) ... Ken
Fenelon beat Saint Stanley (230, of Benton Harbor MI) (2-1) ... Sonny Myers beat Otto
Schnabel (of Los Angeles CA) (22:00) ... Danny Fenelon (220, of Dubuque IA) drew Larry
Tillman ... Referee: Calvin Rees ... Promoter: Gust Karras ... NOTE: "Saint Stanley" was
bearded and billed as a "House of David representative" ... Danny Fenelon said to have
been a Marine; Rees recently was discharged from the Army.

Wichita KS: September 22, 1945
(Forum) ... Orville Brown beat Jerry Meeker

St. Joseph MO: September 28, 1945
(City Aud) ... Cowboy Roy Graham beat Ken Fenelon (2-1, cor) ... Referee: Marshall Esteppe
... Jerry Meeker beat Sonny Myers (45:00, 1-0, only fall) ... Emir Badui beat Bill Bartush (16:
00) ... Abe Yourist drew Cal Rees (15:00)

St. Joseph MO: October 5, 1945
(City Aud) ... Ken Fenelon beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1, dq) ... Referees: Orville Brown,
Chico Salzar ... Dan O'Connor drew Ralph Garibaldi (45:00, 1-1) ... Ben Morgan beat Cliff
Olson (8:00) ... Sonny Myers drew Cal Rees ... NOTE: Brown, who began the evening as a
spectator, was pressed into service when a Fenelon drop kick accidentally drilled Salzar,
knocking him out of the ring and for a loop early in the third fall ... After Graham clobbered
Brown, the disqualification was an easy call.

St. Joseph MO: October 12, 1945 (Friday)
(City Aud, att. 3,700) ... Orville Brown beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-0) ... Referee: Harold
(Sonny) Myers ... Ken Fenelon beat Jerry Meeker (2-0) ... Ralph Garibaldi beat Cherry
Vallina (14:00) ... Cal Rees beat Dick Lever (dq) ... NOTE: The Gazette refers to the diadem
at stake as "Brown's local title."

St. Joseph MO: October 19, 1945
(City Aud) ... Vic Holbrook beat Ben Morgan (2-1) ... Referee: Sonny Myers ... Ralph
Garibaldi beat Pete Schuh (2-0, dq) ... Dan O'Connor beat Dick Lever (12:00) ... Jimmy
Parker (sub for Nanjo Singh) drew Cliff Olson (15:00) ... George Lippold drew Albert Patrick
(of St. Joseph MO) (10:00)

Wichita KS: October 20, 1945
(Forum) ... Orville Brown beat Ben Morgan

St. Joseph MO: October 26, 1945 (Friday)
(City Aud, att. 3,500) ... Cowboy Roy Graham beat Vic Holbrook (2-1) ... Referee: Jimmy
Parker ... Marshall Esteppe (of Sturgeon MO) drew Ralph Garibaldi (45:00, 0-0) ... Dan
O'Connor beat Pete Schuh (14:30) ... Cal Rees beat Otto Schnabel (8:00) ... Promoter: Gust
Karras ... NOTE: "In the final fall Holbrook immediately tried his abdominal stretch, but
Graham fell on the ropes to force Holbrook to break the hold. Graham resorted to rugged
tactics by beating Holbrook's hand over the turn buckle in the corner. Immediately following
this, Graham had Vic's left arm over the ropes when a young spectator provided an incident
that amused the crowd and startled Graham. The young man vaulted between the ropes and
raced across the ring and slugged Graham under the chin once and then beat a lightning
retreat and disappeared. Cowboy looked for the aggressor, but he was out of sight. The
match went on with Graham punishing Holbrook with a series of hammerlocks. After about
seven minutes this forced Holbrook to give up. He lost the fall after 13 minutes." – St. Joseph
MO Gazette, Oct. 27, 1945

St. Joseph MO: November 2, 1945
(City Aud, att. 4,000) ... Orville Brown beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1) ... Referee: Jimmy
Parker ... Dan O'Connor beat Ben Morgan (2-1) ... Vic Holbrook drew Rube Wright (30:00) ...
Elmer Estep (400, of Pine Bluff AR) beat Jack Hader (10:00) ... NOTE: "Champion Orville
Brown's crown" was said to be at stake in the main event ... Estep, a "powerful, tattooed
hillbilly," was nicknamed "Baby Blimp"

St. Joseph MO: November 9, 1945
(City Aud, att. 5,000) ... Orville Brown beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1) ... Referee: Jimmy
Parker ... Vic Holbrook beat Dan O'Connor (45:00, 1-0, only fall) ... Ken Fenelon beat Elmer
Estep (18:00) ... Sonny Myers drew Jack Hader (15:00) ... NOTE: "Orville Brown retained his
claim to the heavyweight mat title last night when he floored his aggressive opponent,
Cowboy Roy Graham, with a folding chair as the latter returned to the ring. Brown fell on the
shaken Texan with a body press to win the deciding fall in 10 minutes after losing the first fall
and taking the second." – St. Joseph MO Gazette, Nov. 10, 1945 ... The crowd was said to be
a record for Gust Karras' 12-year-old promotion here.

St. Joseph MO: November 16, 1945
(City Aud, att. 3,200) ... Vic Holbrook & Dan O'Connor beat Ben Morgan & Cowboy Roy
Graham (2-1) ... Referee: Bill Black ... Ken Fenelon beat Rube Wrigth (2-1, dq) ... Ralph
Garibaldi drew Ace Abbott (30:00) ... George Lippold beat Jimmy Merritt (12:00) ... NOTE:
Rube Wright was hit by a piece of metal thrown from the crowd, causing a gash to open over
one eye ... Jimmy Merritt was a Negro wrestler from St. Joseph MO.

St. Joseph MO: November 23, 1945
(City Aud) ... Vic Holbrook beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1) ... Referee: Jimmy Parker ...
LaVerne Baxter drew Dan O'Connor (45:00, 1-1) ... Rube Wright beat Ace Abbott (16:00) ...
Sonny Myers beat Wild Bill Black (6:00) ... NOTE: "The wild finish to the main event was
highlighted with a personal ringside clash between Cowboy Roy (Graham) and Orville Brown,
claimant to the championship, who was seated near thme press table at ringside. Graham
kicked Brown and punched him following one phase of the match that found him beyond the
ropes after he was hurled out by the former (USC) Trojan grid player." – St. Joseph MO
Gazette, Nov. 24, 1945

Hutchinson KS: November 26, 1945
(Convention Hall) ... Rube Wright vs LaVerne Baxter ... Bobby Bruns vs Jack Hader ... Ray
Steele vs Hillbilly Elmer Estep ... NOTE: Bruns is billed as "U.S. Navy Champion – Both Fleets"

Council Bluffs IA: November 28, 1945 (Wednesday)
(Auditorium, att. 600) ... Dan O'Connor beat Ralph Garibaldi (2-1) ... Bobby Bruns beat
Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1, dq) ... Capt. Danny Fenelon beat LaVerne Baxter (of Portland
OR) (22:00) ... Referee: Harry Cadell (of Des Moines IA) ... Promoter: Ralph Hayes ... NOTE:
This was Hayes' inaugural show; he plans regular weekly Tuesday night presentations
hereafter ... Fenelon, said to be a cousin of Ken Fenelon (of Dubuque IA), is home on leave
from the U.S. Navy, expecting to be discharged soon ... Ken Fenelon reportedly is recovering
from a knee injury.

St. Joseph MO: November 30, 1945
(City Aud) ... Orville Brown beat Vic Holbrook (2-1) ... Referee: Jimmy Parker ... Bobby Bruns
beat Cowboy Roy Graham (45:00, 1-0, only fall) ... Rube Wright drew Dan O'Connor (30:00)
... Jay Steele beat Ace Abbott (14:00) ... NOTE: Bruns reportedly was recently discharged
from the U.S. Navy ... Brown made another successful defense of his "title claim."

Council Bluffs IA: December 4, 1945 (Tuesday)
(Auditorium) ... Cowboy Roy Graham beat Dan O'Connor  ... Ralph Garibaldi vs Danny
Fenelon ... Jack Hader vs Ace Abbott

St. Joseph MO: December 7, 1945 (Friday)
(City Aud) ... (MWA Title) Orville Brown* beat Bobby Bruns (2-1) ... Referee: Jimmy Parker,
Danny Fenelon ... Ralph Garibaldi beat LaVerne Baxter (2-1) ... Jimmy Parker (sub for
Marshall Esteppe) beat Jay Steele (dq) ... Ace Abbott drew Danny Fenelon (15:00) ... NOTE:
This is one of the few times in St. Joe where Brown's title was specifically identified as
belonging to the "M.W.A." ... As it develops, the two collide, head-on, in the third fall, and
Brown's body – luckily, for him – falls groggily atop Bruns' prostrate form long enough for a
three-count.

Council Bluffs IA: December 11, 1945 (Tuesday)
(Auditorium) ... Cowboy Roy Graham beat Dan O'Connor (2-0)

St. Joseph MO: December 14, 1945
(City Aud) ... Bobby Bruns beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1, cor) ... Referee: Jimmy Parker ...
Vic Holbrook beat Rube Wright (35:00, utc) ... Ben Morgan beat LaVerne Baxter (22:00) ...
Danny Fenelon beat Jay Steele (of Centerville IA) (1:00, dq) ... NOTE: "For the first time this
season the match was awarded [by Parker] to Fenelon for the failure to break [a hold while
against the ropes]."

Hutchinson KS: December 17, 1945
(Convention Hall) ... Orville Brown beat Ben Morgan (sub for Rube Wright) (2-0) ... Cowboy
Roy Graham beat Bobby Bruns (dq) ... Jack Hader drew Dan O'Connor (30:00) ... Promoter:
Orval McCain ... NOTE: Bruns went berserk after being tossed from the ring by Graham ...
Four men "carried him to the dressing room, apparently still out of his head." – Hutchinson
KS News-Herald, Dec. 18, 1945

Council Bluffs IA: December 18, 1945 (Tuesday)
(Auditorium) ... Orville Brown (of Wallace KS) beat Bobby Bruns (sub for Cowboy Roy
Graham) ... Bobby Bruns vs Jack Hader ... Dan O'Connor vs Mike Burnell (of Tulsa OK) ...
NOTE: "Brown took the first fall in 19:10 with a headlock, Bruns the second in 23:20 with a leg
split. The gladiators (then) collided head-on after trying 21 minutes for the deciding fall. [see
St. Joseph MO finish from Dec. 7 for how it turned out]" – Council Bluffs IA Nonpareil, Dec.
19, 1945 ... The main event set-to is billed as a "world heavyweight championship wrestling
match." ... Brown and Bruns were the only wrestlers to defy adverse weather and reach the
show; might they have been traveling together even that far back? ... After canceling the
other two scheduled mat matches, promoter Ralph Hayes filled the evening with a trio of
three-round boxing matches featuring local pugilists.

Kansas City KS:  December 20, 1945
(Memorial Hall) ... Bobby Bruns beat Cowboy Roy Graham (2-1) ... Dan O'Connor beat Jerry
Meeker (2-1, dq) ... Vic Holbrook beat Jack Hader ... Dick Hatcher beat Elmer Estep (as
Hillbilly Elmer)

St. Joseph MO: December 21, 1945 (Friday)
(City Aud) ... Vic Holbrook & Bobby Bruns beat Orville Brown & Cowboy Roy Graham (240, of
Corsicana TX) (2-1) ... Dan O'Connor beat Lt. Mike Burnell (230, of Des Moines IA) (2-1) ...
Jerry Meeker (230, of Milwaukee WI) beat Danny Fenelon ... Referee: Jimmy Parker (of St.
Joseph MO)

Wichita KS: December 22, 1945
(Forum) ... (MWA Title) Orville Brown* beat Cowboy Roy Graham ... Vic Holbrook beat Jerry
Meeker ... Bobby Bruns beat Jack Hader ... Jay Steele beat Elmer (Zeke) Estep

Kansas City KS:  December 27, 1945
(Memorial Hall) ... Bobby Bruns beat Jerry Meeker (2-1) ... Vic Holbrook beat Ralph Garibaldi
(2-0) ... Marshall Esteppe drew Jay Steele ... Jack Hader beat Emir Badui ... NOTE: Esteppe
was a claimant to the junior heavyweight championship.

St. Joseph MO: December 28, 1945
(City Aud) ... Orville Brown beat Bobby Bruns (2-1, dq) ... Vic Holbrook beat Jerry Meeker ...
Ralph Garibaldi beat Emir Badui ... Jack Hader beat Jay Steele (dq) ... NOTE: Bruns stopped
Brown with a pile driver to apparently win the deciding fall, only to learn that the hold had
been declared illegal in Missouri during the time he was away serving the Navy in the Pacific
war, so he was disqualified ... The main event entailed a $500 side bet from the competitors,
reportedly "the first side bet made for a St. Joseph match in recent years."

Wichita KS: December 31, 1945
(Forum) ... Ede Virag beat Jim Coffield ... Roy Dunn beat Jack Suzek ... Roy Dunn beat Paul
Nelson ... Buck Fanning drew Bad Boy Brown


Research by J Michael Kenyon
St. Joseph Wrestling Results - 1945
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