Wichita Wrestling Results

Wichita, Kansas: Wednesday, January 1, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Everette Marshall (30:58) … Roy Dunn b. Lou
Newman (26:41) … Jack Suzek b. Walter Sirois … Mayes McLain and Jim Parker drew
(20:00) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (sponsored by:
Wichita Athletic Club) … (3,200 fans)
Notes: Newman was a protege of Jack Dempsey. He was 24 years old.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, January 13, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Joe Dusek (2-0) … Lou Newman b. Emil Dusek (25:
44) … Ali Su Tamen b. Jim Parker (8:46) … Johnny Atkins b. Les Grimes (9:21) …
(promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (sponsored by: Wichita
Athletic Club)

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, January 20, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Everette Marshall (68:47) … Lou Newman b. Mayes
McLain (9:36) … Ali Tu-Tamen b. Walter Sirois (12:47) … Jack Suzek b. Pete Sherman
(14:31) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (sponsored by:
Wichita Athletic Club) … (4,000 fans)
Notes: There was a $1,000 side bet between Wright and Marshall. Wright was said to be
the "Pacific Coast champion."

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, January 27, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Lou Newman (1:25:
37) … Everette Marshall b. Jack Suzek (24:18) … Ali Tu-Tamen b. Walter Sirois (Sirois
was a substitute for Seelie Samara) … Dr. Kappa b. Jim Parker (12:44) … (promoter:
Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (sponsored by: Wichita Athletic Club) …
(4,500 fans)

Wichita, Kansas: Tuesday, February 4, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Ali Tu-Tamen (29:
57) … Rube Wright b. Rex Ogba (2:55) … “Strangler” Ed White b. Mayes McLain (19:14)
… Cal Reese b. Dr. Kappa (11:58) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou
Spandle) … (sponsored by: Wichita Athletic Club)

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, February 10, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Ed “Strangler”
Tarzan White (28:51) … Rube Wright b. Lou Newman (match was held under new rules
and a point-by-point round system) (Wright won the first round, Newman won the second,
third, fourth and fifth on points, and then took the sixth by disqualification, Wright took a
fall in the seventh in 1:56 and won the match) (judges for the match were selected from
the audience) … Ali Tu-Tamen b. Pat Riley (15:32) … Johnny Atkins b. Cal Reese (12:
41) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (announcer: Liptrap
… (sponsored by: Wichita Athletic Club)

*The new system of scoring was not officially accepted by the National Wrestling Alliance.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, February 24, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Everette Marshall b. Rube Wright (decision) (Wichita point system
match) (judges were selected from the crowd) (Wright won the first three rounds,
Marshall won the fourth through eighth rounds straight and won the nineth by
disqualification, Wright won the final round) (Marshall won six rounds to four) … Jack
Suzek b. Ali Tu-Tamen (23:40) … Lou Newman b. Walter Sirois (18:37) … Johnny Atkins
b. Jim Parker (14:55) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) …
(sponsored by: Wichita Athletic Club) … (in attendance: Kansas State Boxing and
Wrestling Commissioner Frank Gilleece (Topeka)) … (4,100 fans)

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, March 3, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Everette Marshall (1-
0) (56:04) (Rube Wright was involved in the match) … Hans Schnabel b. Lou Newman …
Rube Wright b. Swede Olson (9:59) … Gene Bowman b. Jack Suzek (8:58) … (promoter:
Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle)
Note: Bowman was called a “former K.U. athlete.”

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, March 10, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Everette Marshall (31:27) (Texas rules) … Hans
Schnabel b. Prince Seelie Samara (seventh round) (Schnabel had lost five of the first six
rounds, then ended the bout with a fall) … Gene Bowman b. Swede Olson (14:09) …
Ossie Sanouke b. Walter Sirois (11:14) (Sanouke was a substiute for Johnny Atkins)
… (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (timekeeper: Liptrap) …
(capacity crowd)
Notes: Johnny Atkins was said to be from Independence, Missouri and Rube Wright from
Tucson, Arizona. Gene Bowman was billed as being from Lawrence, Kansas. Around
this time, Wright had taken Billy Sandow as his manager.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, March 17, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Hans Schnabel (36:00) … Seelie Samara b. Al
TuTamen (20:44) … Ossie Sanouke b. Mayes McLain (14:12) … Gene Bowman b.
Johnny Atkins (13:57) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) …
(timekeeper: Liptrap)

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, March 24, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Prince Seelie
Samara (2-0) (Dunn won the first fall in 34:29 and the second in 5:36) … Rube Wright b.
Ossie Saunooke (DQ) (12:16) … Gene Bowman and Hans Schnabel drew (30:00) …
Buzz Burnell b. Mayse (Mayes) McLain (11:44) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) …
(referee: Lou Spandle) … (timekeeper: Liptrap) … (3,400 fans)
Notes: The National Wrestling Alliance diamond studded belt, representative of the world
heavyweight championship, was going to be on display at the Harley Robinson Jewelry
company in the Bitting building in the days leading up to the show. Buzz Burnell was from
Yale, Oklahoma. He turned professional “three seasons ago” in Wichita after leaving
college. He trained under Coach Gallagher, where he “won both the national
intercollegiate and AAU wrestling titles. Stanislaus Zbyszko saw his third match here and
immediately signed him and has been coaching him ever since. He is considered
unbeatable around New York City.” Burnell was looking for a match with Dunn for the
title. It was said that Seelie Samara “recently” pinned John Pesek’s shoulers to the mat in
Omaha, “being the first man to do that in 10 years.”

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, March 31, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Ossie Saunooke (2-0) … Everette Marshall and Hans
Schnabel drew (45:00) … Gene Bowman b. Walter Sirois (19:12) … Buzz Burnell b. Jack
Suzek (16:21) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle)
Notes: The April 1, 1941 edition of the Wichita Eagle stated that “Billy Sandow, who as
Ed “Strangler” Lewis’ manager, invented what was thought to be a dastardly hold back
around 1915, the headlock.” Every match on the show was held under Texas rules. Prior
to the main event, Sandow entered the ring and protested the rules for 15 minutes, but
was booed.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, April 7, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Buzz Burnell (2-0)
(called a “clean, scientific match”) … Rube Wright b. Gene Bowman (28:15) … Hans
Schnabel b. Seelie Samara (20:31) … Lou Newman and Babe Zaharias drew (30:00)
(Zaharias was a substitute for Jack Suzek) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (3,500
fans) … (in attenadnce: members of the Boston Bees and St. Louis Browns, umpire
Ziggy Sears, Secretary DeWitt – about 35 celebrities in total)
Notes: In promotion for the building Dunn-Wright feud, it was said that “Chicago
promoters hold an option on the bout for the time being. They want to stage it in the
stadium or in the Sox ball park in May.” Dunn was said to prefer wrestling “in this part of
the country, where he is familiar with the referees and also the rules, which are somewhat
different in each state, according to the April 2, 1941 edition of the Wichita Eagle. First,
Dunn was going to have to wrestle Buzz Burnell. “Starting out in high school, [Burnell]
was a sensation and he went four years of high school and three years of college without
losing a single match. Since turning pro, he has kept his slate clean for nearly three
years, although his manager and coach, Stanley Zbyszko has advanced him slowly. This
season he opened up however and he was defeated the beat the East has to offer. In an
article written for a national magazine shortly before he died, the famous Coach E.C.
Gallagher named Burnell as the greatest wrestler he had ever coached. He said that he
advised very few of his pupils to go into the pro game, but that Burnell had such
wonderful prospects he thought he would be passing up fame and fortune not to do so.
Gallagher claimed that Burnell had a combination of speed, science and grit that he had
never seen in any wrestler either amateur or professional,” printed in the Saturday, April
5, 1941 edition of the Wichita Eagle. No show until April 21.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, April 21, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Roy Dunn b. Rube Wright (2/3) (Wright won the first fall in 45:03,
Dunn won the second in 24:55 and third in 22:28) (Dunn was given an ovation from the
crowd) … Everete Marshall b. Chris Zaharias (13:18) … Hans Schnabel b. Walter Sirois
(17:43) … Gene Bowman and Ed “Strangler” White drew (30:00) … (promoter: Norris B.
Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle) … (3,500 fans)
Notes: Jill Turk was in charge “seat sale for all the leading sports attractions here.” The
Wichita Athletic reportedly had to beat offers for the Dunn-Wright match from Chicago
and Phoenix. Dunn was said to be the underdog in the match, weighing 225 to Wright’s
252. It was reported that Sandow had trained Wright hard for the two weeks leading to
this match. The crowd was disappointing, as officials expected 5,000. Everette Marshall
challenged the winner of the main event.

*Billy Sandow was quoted as saying that he wasn’t through with trying to make Rube
Wright a champion. “Wright was spoiled over in Australia wrestling Greco-Roman style,
where they push each other around the ring. I have tried to work him for more and more
speed but he didn’t have time to get it. We’ll start in now, get off at least 15 more
pounds, and then perhaps Rube can show the stuff he has in him,” Sandow said in the
April 22, 1941 edition of the Wichita Eagle.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, April 28, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Hans Steinke (23:28) … NWA World Heavyweight
Champion Roy Dunn b. Chief Little Wolf (DQ) (15:28) (Dunn was a substitute for Everette
Marshall) … Al Lafoon b. Rex Sampson (14:16) (match was a substitute for the Buzz
Burnell-Ali Tu-Tamen contest) … Gene Bowman b. Chris Zaharias (20:26) … (promoter:
Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou Spandle)
Notes: It was reported that Marshall got his dates mixed up and was in Omaha on
Monday. Dunn was contacted at his home in Gate, Oklahoma, and rushed to Wichita.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, May 5, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … Rube Wright b. Chief Little Wolf (2-0) (Texas rules) … Everette
Marshall b. Jack Suzek (25:18) … Gene Bowman b. Ed “Strangler” White (14:11) … Chris
Zaharias b. Al Lafoon (16:08) … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer) … (referee: Lou
Spandle) … (timekeeper: Liptrap)
Notes: Ed “Strangler” White was said to be from Auburn, Alabama and Al Lafoon from
Des Moines.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, May 12, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn b. Gene Bowman (2-0)
… John Pesek b. Fred Peterson (13:41) … Jack Suzek b. Ali Tu-Tamen (22:06) … Rube
Wright b. Chris Zaharias (18:44) (Wright was cheered in this match) … (promoter: Norris
B. Stauffer) … (2,500 fans)
Notes: Pesek employed “old fashioned wrestling,” and the Wichita Eagle said that the
“1940 edition of wrestling fan couldn’t understand what it was all about as neither [Pesek
or Peterson] took a poke at the other the entire way. They simply wrestled. It looked like
a college match with post-graduate profs during the tussling.” Also that the match was
“more than a bit tame to the blood-thirsty crowd.” Next show on May 26.

Wichita, Kansas: Monday, May 26, 1941
(Wichita Forum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Roy Dunn vs. Rube Wright …
Everette Marshall vs. John Pesek … (promoter: Norris B. Stauffer)
Notes: To prepare for the Dunn match, Rube Wright worked out with Buddy Reynolds,
director of the Downtown gymnasium. Billy Sandow was reportedly in New York. Dunn
and Wright also trained at “Sandy Beach.” Pesek was said to have disputed the one-fall
time-limit rules for his bout with Marshall.

*May 24, 1941 was the last date on the microfilm reel.

Research by Tim Hornbaker
September 19, 2007

Wichita Wrestling Results - 1941