Des Moines Wrestling Results

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, January 3, 1945
(The Coliseum) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown b. Ken Fenelon (2-0) (Brown
won the first fall in 27:22 and the second by default after 26-minutes) … Lord Albert Mills b. Karl
Davis by disqualification in the 3rd fall (2/3) (Mills won the first fall in 11:15, Davis won the second
in 4:27, Mills won by disqualification) … Mike “Red” Ryan b. Count Von Zuppi (18:49) … (promoter:
Paul “Pinkie” George) … (referee: Joe Krejci)
Notes: Fenelon was the junior heavyweight champion. Ryan was said to be from Tulsa.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, January 10, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Joe Dusek b. Karl Davis (2/3) (Davis won the first fall in 12:08, Dusek won the
second and third) … Lord Albert Mills b. Jim Parker (2-0) … Joe Cox b. Fritz Schnabel (21:35) …
(promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) … (referee: Red Ryan)
Notes: Parker weighed 235 pounds and was from Nashville. Mills was said to be from London.
Fritz Schnabel was 225 from San Diego.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, January 17, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Lord Albert Mills b. Joe Dusek (2/3) (Mills won the first fall in 12:25, Dusek won
the second in 10:20, Mills won the third by disqualification) (Dusek initial won the third fall, but was
disqualified after he continued to punish his opponent) … Joe Cox b. Jerry Meeker (2-0) (Cox won
the first fall in 25-minutes, Cox won when Meeker could not continue) … Jack League b. Red Ryan
(20:07) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) … (referee: Joe Krejci)
Note: League was 215 pounds from Newton, Iowa.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, January 24, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Joe Cox and Joe Dusek drew (1-1) (Dusek won the first fall in 14:10, Cox won
the second in 7:05, referee stopped the match and declared the bout a draw after 18-minutes)
(match was stopped due to excessive blood loss during the third fall) (policemen finally halted the
brawl) … Hans Kaempfer b. Jack League (2/3) (League won the first fall in 7:24, Kaempfer won the
second in 20-minutes, Kaempfer won the third in 1:48) … Bill Kuusisto b. Red Ryan (13:45) …
(promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) … (referee: Joe Krejci)

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, January 31, 1945
(The Coliseum) … World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown b. Lord Albert Mills (2/3) … Joe Cox
b. Jerry Meeker (2-0) … Al Caddell b. Red Ryan (11:50) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” Goerge) …
(referee: Jack League)
Notes: Caddell was a policeman from Des Moines. Ryan was said to be a former Tulsan, and now
living in Des Moines. Meeker was from Milwaukee.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, February 7, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Joe Cox b. Joe Dusek won by default (29:54) (Dusek suffered a serious cut over
his left eye, and the referee stopped the match during the first fall; he was unable to continue) …
Bill Kuusisto and Jerry Meeker drew … Red Ryan and Kurt Von Zuppi drew (30:00) (Ryan was a
substitute for Jim Parker, who was stuck in St. Joseph) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) …
(referee: Jack League)

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, February 14, 1945
(The Coliseum) … World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown b. World Junior Heavyweight
Champion Ken Fenelon (2/3) … Bill Kuusisto b. Jerry Meeker (2/3) … Kurt Von Zuppi b. Jim Lefkis
(1:25) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George)
Notes: Von Zuppi was from New York and Lefkis from Los Angeles.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, February 21, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Joe Cox b. Vic Holbrook when the latter was unable to continue after the first fall
… Sonny Myers b. Jerry Meeker (16:12) … Al Caddell b. Larry Tillman (15:09) … (promoter: Paul
“Pinkie” George) … (referee: Jack League)
Note: Tillman was said to be from Little Rock.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, February 28, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Joe Cox b. Joe Dusek (2/3) … Ken Fenelon b. Al Szasz (2/3) … Kola Kwariani
and Jack League drew (30:00) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George)
Note: There was no show for the next two weeks.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, March 21, 1945
(The Coliseum) … World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown b. Kola Kwariani (2/3) … Chief Little
Wolf b. Jack Kennedy (one fall in 45-minutes) (Wolf won the only fall in 39:04 with his Indian Death
Lock) … Al Caddell b. Count Von Zuppi (DQ) (11:25) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) …
(referee: Jack League)
Notes: Wolf was said to have just been discharged from the Army. He was from San Diego, but
another report said Phoenix.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, April 4, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Earl Wampler b. Ken Fenelon to capture the Iowa State Heavyweight Title (2-0
(Wampler won the first fall in 12:45 and the second in 20:35) (Fenelon was also the World Junior
Heavyweight Champion) … Chief Little Wolf b. Jack Kennedy (2-0) … Vic Holbrook and Lord Albert
Mills drew (30:00) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) … (referee: Jack League) … (3,000+ fans)

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, April 11, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Chief Little Wolf b. Earl Wampler by disqualification in the third fall of an even
match … Elvira Snodgrass b. Ann LaVerne (2-0) (Snodgrass was billed as Elvira Duvall of
Smokemount, Tennessee) … Lord Albert Mills b. Ray Eckert by decision … (promoter: Paul
“Pinkie” George) … (referee: Jack League) … (3,500 fans)
Note: Pinkie George gave away a $50 war bond to Albert Buettner to help start the Seventh War
Loan.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, April 18, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Iowa State Heavyweight Champion Earl Wampler and Ken Fenelon drew in 90-
minutes, tied 1-1 (after the second fall, Al Caddell, a Des Moines policemen, began fighting with a
ringside fan. Caddell had been outside the dressing room to help the wrestlers after the fall)
(referee Jack League also got involved in a fight with several audience members, as people began
to brawl throughout the Coliseum) (fans littered the ring with items) … Chief Little Wolf b. Jim
Parker (2/3) … Vic Holbrook b. Al Galento (6:58) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George) … (referee:
Jack League) … (3,500+ fans)

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, April 25, 1945
(The Coliseum) … World Heavyweight Champion Orville Brown b. Iowa State Heavyweight
Champion Earl Wampler (2/3) … Ray Eckert and Vic Holbrook drew (1-1) … Jim Parker b. Billy
Dusen (13:35) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George)
Notes: Parker was said to be from St. Joseph. Dusen was from Ottawa, Kansas. Wampler was
from Scranton, Iowa.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesady, May 2, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Chief Little Wolf b. Ken Fenelon (2/3) … Al Szasz b. Jim Parker (2/3) … Al
Caddell b. Bill Dusen (8:11) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George)
Note: “Dynamite” Joe Cox was originally scheduled to wrestle in the main event, but fell ill in
Kansas City. Cox died in August.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, May 9, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Ken Fenelon b. Chief Little Wolf (2-0) … Al Szasz b. Joe Szabo (2/3) … Bill
Bartush and Vic Holbrook drew (30:00) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George)

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, May 16, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Vic Holbrook b. Bill Bartush (2/3) … Ray Eckert b. Bill Middlekauf (2-0) … Al
Szasz b. Al Galento (14:15) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie” George)
Note: Eckert was from California, Missouri.

Des Moines, Iowa: Wednesday, May 23, 1945
(The Coliseum) … Vic Holbrook b. Ray Eckert (2/3) … Lord Albert Mills b. Jim Parker when the
latter was unable to continue … Al Szasz b. Patrick O’Dowdy (18:55) … (promoter: Paul “Pinkie”
George)

Research by Tim Hornbaker
March 11, 2010

Des Moines Wrestling Results - 1945