St. Louis, Missouri:  Friday, January 8, 1937
(The Auditorium) … Dick Shikat vs. Ray Steele (one-fall) … Ali Baba vs. Babe Zaharias …
Warren Bockwinkel vs. Lou Thesz … Ernie “Dutch” Hefner vs. Frank Sexton … Eddie
Newman vs. Lou Plummer … (promoter:  Tom Packs)
Notes:  The Steele-Shikat bout was the first move of Tom Packs “to eliminate challengers
and bring a semblance of order to the chaotic [heavyweight title] situation.” Londos was
reportedly in South Africa and was going to “return to the United States within two months.”
Shikat has recently come back to the U.S. after a “four-month stay in Germany.  He has
done little wrestling recently but says he has trained seriously for this match with Steele.”
Robert Morrison of the St. Louis Post Dispatch also stated that “it seems unlikely [Steele] is
headed for a championship.  His chief trouble, some say, is that he doesn’t take rasslin’
seriously.  At that, his sense of humor wouldn’t have to be over-developed.” The
Bockwinkel-Thesz match was billed as being for the “city title.” This show was postponed
until Saturday night because of bad weather.

St. Louis, Missouri:  Saturday, January 9, 1937
(The Auditorium) … Dick Shikat b. Ray Steele (25:25) … Ali Baba b. Babe Zaharias (2:09)
… Louis Thesz b. Warren Bockwinkel to capture the St. Louis wrestling championship (12:
15) … Frank Sexton b. Dutch Hefner (19:08) … Lou Plummer b. Eddie Newman (10:10) …
(promoter:  Tom Packs) … (referee:  Fred Voepel) … (2,843 fans) … (gate:  $2,454.85)
Notes:  Robert Morrison of the St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote that Thesz “could have
beaten Warren Bockwinkle with his eyes closed but preferred to keep them open, just for
appearances.” Plummer and Newman were “two playful palookas.”

St. Louis, Missouri:  Wednesday, January 13, 1937
(The Coliseum) … Charles “Midget” Fischer b. Tuffy Cleet (41:55) … Joe Banaski b. Jackie
Steele (15:35) … Jim Logas b. Babe Rodriguez (6:25) … Jack Spurgin b. Joe “Red” Vitale
(5:22) … Ernie Klein b. Ben Cenatiemp (13:17) … (promoter:  Bill Schwabe) … (referee:  
Fred Voepel) … (1,229 fans) … (gate:  $644.50)
Notes:  Leroy McGuirk challenged the winer of the Fischer-Cleet bout.  According to the St.
Louis Post Dispatch, “McGuirk is recognized as the 175-pound champion in California,
while Wisconsin recognizes Fisher, whose home is there, as the light-heavyweight king.”
Spurgin was from Houston.  Cleet and Steele were from Detroit.  Rodrigez, Vitale, Klein
and Cenatiempo were all said to be from St. Louis.

St. Louis, Missouri:  Friday, January 22, 1937
(The Coliseum) … George Sauer b. Chris Zaharias when the latter failed to beat him twice
in 60:00 (Zaharias won one fall at 39:30) (after the match, police and officials had to halt a
potential riot in the making, led by Zaharias) … Joe Banaski b. Tuffy Cleet (33:25) … Jim
Logas b. Walter McMillan (15:31) … Manny Margulis and Mileo Occhi drew (30:00) …
(1,025 fans) … (gate:  $490.75)

St. Louis, Missouri:  Wednesday, January 27, 1937
(The Auditorium) … Ray Steele b. Lee Wykoff (47:16) … Ali Baba b. Paul Shikat
(countout) (2:06) … Bill Lee b. Lou Plummer (13:47) … Orville Brown b. Eddie Newman (6:
16) … Lou Thesz b. Billy Bartush (8:25) … (promoter:  Tom Packs) … (4,654 fans) …
(gate:  $4,255.90)
Notes:  Wykoff claimed a leg injury after his match.  Either Baba or Steele were going to
wrestle Dean Detton or Everette Marshall on February 10 at the Auditorium.

Alton, Illinois:  Friday, January 29, 1937
(Alton Arena) … Eddie Newman vs. Lou Plummer … Louis Thesz vs. Chris Zaharias …
Mike Anton vs. Warren Bockwinkel … Cherry Vallina vs. Red Vitale

St. Louis, Missouri:  February 10, 1937
(The Auditorium) ... Everette Marshall b. Ali Baba (DQ) ... Lou Thesz b. Hans Steinke ...
Chief Sanooke b. Tommy O'Toole ... Paul Shikat b. George Hagen ... Bill Lee b. Karl Davis
... (promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (8,500 fans)

St. Louis, Missouri:  February 24, 1937
(The Auditorium) ... Ali Baba b. Ray Steele ... George Zaharias b. Dorv Roche ... Lou
Thesz b. Whitey Hewitt ... Orville Brown b. Cowboy Luttrall ... Cherry Vallina b. Chris
Zaharias (DQ) ... (promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (7,000 fans)

St. Louis, Missouri:  March 18, 1937
(The Auditorium) ... Ali Baba b. George Zaharias ... Lou Thesz b. Juan Humberto ... Chief
Saunooke b. Lou Plummer ... Lee Wykoff b. John Grandovich ... Warren Bockwinkel b.
Homer Wright ... (promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (8,200 fans)

St. Louis, Missouri:  March 30, 1937
(The Auditorium) ... Ali Baba b. Chief Saunooke ... George Zaharias b. Juan Humberto ...
Bill Lee b. Roy Graham ... Killer Shikima b. Al Getz ... Otto Brexler b. Cherry Vallina ...
(promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (8,697 fans)

St. Louis, Missouri:  April 15, 1937
(The Arena) ... Everette Marshall b. Ali Baba ... Jim Henry b. Chief Saunooke (DQ) ... Juan
Humberto b. George "Red" Ryan ... Lou Thesz b. Karl Sarpolis ... Don Evans and Lou
Plummer drew ... (promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (12,687 fans)

St. Louis, Missouri:  April 29, 1937
(The Auditorium) ... Ali Baba b. Gus Sonnenberg ... Lou Thesz b. Chief Saunooke ... Bill
Lee and George Zaharias drew ... Killer Shikuma b. Chief Chewacki ... George Mansor b.
Lou Plummer ... (promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (6,300 fans)

St. Louis, Missouri:  May 12, 1937
(The Auditorium) ... Everette Marshall b. Lou Thesz ... Killer Shikima b. George Zaharias ...
Juan Humberto b. Otto Kuss ... Nanjo Singh b. Dick Lever ... Walter Podolak b. Chris
Zaharias ... (promoter:  Tom Packs) ... (6,800 fans)









St. Louis, Missouri:  Wednesday, December 15, 1937
(The Arena) … Jim Londos b. Johannes van der Walt (49:56) (airplane spin) (the
newspaper stated that Londos was still recognized as champion by the British Empire) …
Ali Baba b. Hardy Kruskamp (8:29) … Lou Thesz b. Pat McClary (8:15) … Rudy Dusek and
Young Gotch drew … Ernie Dusek b. Pete Peterson (15:04) … Ray Eckert and Ray Villmer
drew (15:00) … (promoter:  Tom Packs) … (6,835 fans) … (gate:  $6,947.30)
Notes:  van der Walt was from South Africa.

St. Louis, Missouri:  Wednesday, December 29, 1937
(The Auditorium) … Lou Thesz b. Everette Marshall to capture the World Heavyweight Title
(53:48) (Marshall was counted out while in the aisle on the west side of the ring) (Thesz,
according to the newspaper, won the “AWA” belt) (Thesz was accompanied by his father
Martin Thesz and Marshall was accompanied by his manager Billy Sandow) … Danno O’
Mahoney b. Paul Jones (9:56) … Ernie Dusek and Ivan Managoff drew (30:00) … Bill Lee
b. Jules Strongbow (10:52) … Joe Cox and Hardy Kruskamp drew (20:00) … (promoter:  
Tom Packs) … (referees:  Joe Sanderson, Lou Spandle, Fred Voepel) … (in attendance:  
Missouri Athletic Commission member Russell Murphy) … (7,534 fans) … (gate:  
$7,712.70)
Notes:  The newspaper reported that the Missouri State Athletic Commission vacated Dean
Detton’s claim to the championship last spring.  It was said that Martin Thesz owned a
southside shoe repair shop.  A $10,000 championship belt was awarded to Thesz after the
match.  The belt consisted of 176 rubies, 144 sapphires, and 456 diamonds.  Images of
wrestlers were mounted on every individual link.  It was said to be a replica of the "British
crown."


Research by J Michael Kenyon, Tim Hornbaker
October 7, 2010
St. Louis Wrestling Results - 1937