THIS WEEK IN CANADIAN WRESTLING HISTORY
By Vance Nevada on 3/29/2010 10:12 PM
TIME CAPSULE: This week in western Canadian wrestling history
March 29 to April 4
By Vance Nevada
March 29, 1944: Vancouver, BC
Joe Demellen defeats Cliff Parker in a “Bounty match†on a card for promoter
Jack Whelan. Four years later, Parker would succeed Whelan as Vancouver’s
premiere wrestling promoter, operating cards in Vancouver for 20 years (1949 to
1968).
March 30, 1978: Teulon, MB
Puppy Dog Peloquin defeats Tony Condello by disqualification in a main event
battle in this rural Manitoba farming community. Peloquin, who was also known
as the French Mad Dog during his career was a featured preliminary wrestler on
televised AWA bouts during this era and was among one of the featured wrestlers
for promoter Condello for more than 20 years from 1973 into the 1990’s.
March 31, 1953: Winnipeg, MB
The first war between bickering Winnipeg promoters begins when star wrestler
Steve Kozak breaks away from the established Alex Turk promotion and attempts to
mount opposition. Kozak, dubbed “The Little Giant†rose to acclaim in the 1940s
as a feature attraction in the River City. While his legacy as a promoter was
relatively short-lived, the animosity between promoters operating wrestling in
Winnipeg exists to this day.
April 1, 1969: Edmonton, AB
Bob & Fred Sweetan defeat Bud & Ray Osborne to win the Stampede International
tag team titles. The Osborne brothers were a pair of Edmonton wrestlers who
would later split from Stu Hart and endeavour to set up shop on their own in the
Alberta capital. Rare television footage slated to launch their promotion will
be on display at the Provincial Archives of Alberta’s annual Film Night on
Friday, April 16th at the Metro Cinema in downtown Edmonton.
April 2, 1931: Winnipeg, MB
Ernie Arthur defeats Harry McDonald to win the Canadian middleweight title.
Arthur, who is regarded as a “hometown hero†in both Trail, BC and Ottawa, ON
held this championship until his retirement from the ring. In recent years,
this original championship was available and sold on E-Bay.
April 3, 1959: Calgary, AB
Spectator Gunther Abel was fined $20 and costs or 30 days in jail after being
convicted of assaulting Maurice Vachon after a tag team match. Following the
bout, Abel approached Vachon and began hitting him in the face, knocking him
into a row of spectators.
April 4, 1987: Cloverdale, BC
Billy Two Eagles defeats J.R. Bundy by disqualification in a rugged main event
battle. Bundy is still gracing rings in Manitoba under the name Sgt. Tom Steele
and can be seen in action regularly for Steeltown Pro Wrestling. The Alice
MacKay building in Cloverdale is still the site of intense wrestling action and
will be hosting a top notch wrestling card this weekend when Tim Flowers, who
bested Rick Davis on that 1987 card, presents International Championship
Wrestling at 8 pm on Saturday, April 3, 2010.
*For more great stories, trivia, and details on the history of professional
wrestling in western Canada, check out Vance’s book WRESTLING IN THE CANADIAN
WEST, on sale now!
www.vancenevada.ca
