Lou Thesz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lou Thesz |
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Thesz in 1953
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| Birth name | Aloysius Martin Thesz |
| Born | April 24, 1916 Banat, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | April 28, 2002 (aged 86) Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Health complications after surgery |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Lou Thesz |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Billed from | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Trained by | Ad Santel Ed Lewis George Tragos Ray Steele |
| Debut | 1932 |
| Retired | 1990 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |
United States Army |
| Years of service | 1944–1946 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
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Lou Thesz
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| 3rd President of the Cauliflower Alley Club | |
| In office 1992–2000 |
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| Preceded by | Archie Moore |
| Succeeded by | Red Bastien |
Aloysius Martin Thesz (born April 24, 1916 – died April 28, 2002), known as Lou Thesz, was a famous American professional wrestler. Many people think he was one of the greatest wrestlers and world champions ever. He was known as a "shooter," meaning he was a truly skilled wrestler who could handle real fights if needed. People called him a "polished warrior" who was incredibly strong.
Lou Thesz was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion three times. He held this title for over ten years, which is longer than anyone else in history! In Japan, fans called him the "God of Wrestling" and "Tetsujin," meaning "Ironman." This was because of his amazing speed, fitness, and skill in catch wrestling. Along with other wrestling legends, Thesz helped train young Japanese wrestlers and mixed martial artists in catch wrestling.
Thesz was also a great amateur wrestler when he was young. Later in life, he strongly supported the sport. He helped create the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame honors professional wrestlers who also had strong amateur wrestling backgrounds. He is also a member of many other wrestling halls of fame, including the WCW, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Professional Wrestling, and WWE's Legacy Wing.
Contents
Early Life
Aloysius Martin Thesz was born in Banat, Michigan on April 24, 1916. His father, Martin, was a shoemaker from Hungary and Germany. His mother, Katherine, was also of German descent.
When Lou was a young boy, his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Lou and his three sisters grew up speaking German at home. He didn't start learning English until he went to kindergarten at age five. He was fluent in both German and English.
Wrestling Career
Becoming an Amateur Wrestler
Lou's father was a national champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in Hungary. He taught Lou the sport when Lou was just eight years old. This early training gave Lou a strong foundation for his future success.
He trained in Greco-Roman wrestling for several years. Then, in high school, he switched to folkstyle wrestling and became a successful team member. He also trained in boxing as a teenager. At 14, Thesz left high school to work at his father's shoe repair shop. He also began training in freestyle wrestling at Cleveland High School.
Lou quickly became a skilled freestyle wrestler. He competed in city-wide and regional tournaments. At 16, he trained further with John Zastro, who helped him improve even more. Thesz won several amateur titles and became one of the best freestyle wrestlers in his area. This caught the eye of Tom Packs, a professional wrestling promoter in St. Louis. Packs asked Thesz if he wanted to wrestle professionally, and Thesz agreed.
Training with the Pros
Tom Packs sent Lou to George Tragos for more coaching. Tragos was a respected Greek Olympic freestyle wrestler and catch wrestler. He liked Thesz's dedication and hard work. Thesz trained with Tragos for almost four years at the National Gym in St. Louis.
Tragos taught Thesz submission wrestling and how to wrestle from the bottom. Thesz remembered Tragos saying, "any fool can start on top. If you start at the bottom, you learn to wrestle." Ray Steele also helped coach and guide Thesz during this time.
Thesz also learned from Ad Santel, a German-born catch wrestler. Thesz trained with Santel up to five days a week during a six-month stay in California. He called it the "most intensive training period of my life." This training helped make Thesz one of the most dangerous grapplers in the world.
Later, Thesz met the famous former champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis in St. Louis. Lewis was impressed by Thesz's skills and became his manager and trainer. Lewis taught Thesz very painful submission holds. These moves helped Thesz when facing opponents who refused to lose.
Starting His Professional Career
Thesz made his professional wrestling debut at age 17. He wrestled in smaller matches around St. Louis while still working at his father's shoe shop. He spent much of his early career improving his skills with George Tragos and Ad Santel.
When he wasn't wrestling, Tragos arranged competitive workouts for Thesz with top college wrestlers. Thesz then worked in areas like Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and California. He continued to wrestle in smaller matches and learn more on the road. He also trained with top amateur wrestlers and older carnival wrestlers.
Becoming a World Champion
By 1937, Thesz was a big star in St. Louis. On December 29, he defeated Everett Marshall for the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship. This was a very long, three-hour match. Thesz became the youngest world heavyweight champion ever at just 21 years old.
He later won the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship in 1939, again defeating Marshall. He won it a second time in 1948, beating Bill Longson.
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)
In 1948, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) was created. Its goal was to have one world champion for all the different wrestling areas in North America. Orville Brown was named the first NWA champion.
Lou Thesz held the National Wrestling Association's World Heavyweight Championship at the time. Brown and Thesz were supposed to have a match to combine their titles. But Brown was in a car accident that ended his career. The NWA then gave the title to Thesz, who was considered the top contender. Thesz was chosen because he was a true wrestler who would stick to the plan for the match.
NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Dominance
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From 1949 to 1956, Thesz worked to combine all the existing world titles into the National Wrestling Alliance Worlds Heavyweight Championship. In 1952, he won the California World Heavyweight title. This made him the closest any wrestler had been to being the undisputed world heavyweight champion since 1936.
Thesz finally lost the NWA title to Whipper Billy Watson in 1956. He took several months off to heal from an ankle injury. He won the title back from Watson seven months later.
1957 was an important year for Thesz. On June 14, he had a match with Edouard Carpentier. The match was tied when Thesz claimed a real back injury and gave up the last round. Carpentier was declared the winner. However, the NWA decided that a championship couldn't change hands due to injury. So, they didn't recognize Carpentier as the new champion.
That same year, Thesz became the first wrestler to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Japan. He wrestled Rikidōzan in a series of long, 60-minute draws. Their first match started as a real contest because Rikidōzan thought he was a much better wrestler. Thesz quickly showed his skill and won the first round easily. Rikidōzan accepted defeat, and they worked together for the rest of the match. Their matches made professional wrestling very popular in Japan.
Thesz wanted to defend his title more often in Japan, but the NWA promoters said no. So, Thesz asked to lose the title to Dick Hutton, his chosen champion, instead of Buddy Rogers, who was more popular. Thesz then went on a tour of Europe and Japan. He called himself the NWA International Heavyweight Champion. This title is still recognized as part of All Japan Pro Wrestling's Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
Final NWA World Championship Run
In 1963, Thesz came out of semi-retirement to win his sixth world heavyweight championship. He defeated Buddy Rogers at the age of 46. In 1964, he faced Kintarō Ōki. This match turned into a real fight. Ōki tried to fight Thesz for real in the first round. Thesz quickly injured him so badly that Ōki had to be carried out.
Thesz held the NWA title until 1966. At 50 years old, he lost it to Gene Kiniski. On May 29, 1968, in Bombay, Dara Singh defeated Lou Thesz to win the World Championship. Thesz said Singh was a "true wrestler" and in great shape. Because of this, Thesz was fine with losing to him.
Later Career
Thesz wrestled part-time for the next 13 years. He won his last major title in 1978 in Mexico. He became the first Universal Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion at 62 years old. He lost the championship to El Canek a year later.
Thesz wrestled a match with Luke Graham in 1979, which was announced as his retirement match. He considered himself retired after this. However, he still wrestled exhibition matches sometimes through the 1980s. His very last public match was on December 26, 1990, in Hamamatsu, Japan. He was 74 years old and wrestled his student, Masahiro Chono. This makes him one of the few male professional wrestlers to wrestle in seven different decades.
Later Life
After retiring, Thesz stayed involved in wrestling. He became a special guest referee, promoter, and trainer. He was also a commissioner and occasional trainer for a wrestling company called Union of Professional Wrestling Forces International (UWFi). He even lent them one of his old NWA championship belts, which they used as their world title.
Thesz spent one week every month in Japan teaching wrestlers catch wrestling techniques. However, by 1993, he became less interested in UWFi. The company started focusing less on real wrestling and more on showmanship. He soon left the company and took his old championship belt back.
Thesz was very critical of modern professional wrestling. He called it "choreographed tumbling" because he felt it lacked real wrestling skills. He liked mixed martial arts (MMA) because it reminded him of his early days as a competitive catch wrestler.
He remained active as a wrestling coach, holding training sessions in Virginia and Florida. One of his famous students, Kiyoshi Tamura, was one of the first people to beat a member of the Gracie family in over fifty years in an MMA fight. Thesz was often seen at NCAA wrestling events and always supported amateur wrestling.
In 1992, Thesz became the president of the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC). This group helps and supports retired wrestlers, boxers, and actors. He was president until 2000. In 1999, he helped create the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame is inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's Dan Gable Museum. It honors professional wrestlers with strong amateur wrestling backgrounds. Thesz was one of the first people inducted, along with George Tragos, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, and Frank Gotch.
Personal Life
Thesz was married three times. He served in the army from 1944 to 1946 during World War II. Because of his wrestling background, he taught hand-to-hand combat defense to medics.
He wrote an autobiography called Hooker: An Authentic Wrestler's Adventures Inside the Bizarre World of Professional Wrestling. Thesz stayed healthy for most of his older years. However, after having surgery on April 9, 2002, he died due to complications on April 28, just four days after his 86th birthday.
Legacy
Many people believe Thesz was the greatest professional wrestler of the 20th century. He is known for inventing several wrestling moves and holds. These include the belly-to-back waistlock suplex (now known as the German suplex), the Lou Thesz press, the stepover toehold facelock (STF), and the original powerbomb.
Thesz was the first wrestler to hold the NWA International Heavyweight Championship. This title is now part of the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was also the first UWA World Heavyweight Champion in Mexico. He won that title in 1976. Thesz was also the first TWWA World Heavyweight Champion.
In 1999, the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame was named after him and one of his trainers. It is located in Waterloo, Iowa. In October 1997, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) honored Thesz. They recognized him as both the youngest and oldest world heavyweight champion at ages 21 and 50.
In 1999, many wrestling experts named Thesz the most important NWA World Heavyweight Champion ever. In 2002, a magazine article called him the second greatest professional wrestler of all time, after Ric Flair.
Thesz is a founding member of several professional wrestling halls of fame. These include the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, NWA Hall of Fame, WCW Hall of Fame, and the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. On April 2, 2016, Thesz was added to the WWE Hall of Fame as an original member of the "Legacy" wing.
Championships and Accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association (Boston)
- AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Iron Mike Mazurki Award (1998)
- George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 1999
- International Championship Wrestling
- ICW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- International Wrestling Enterprise
- TWWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2021
- Japan Wrestling Association
- NWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Joint Promotions
- World Heavyweight Championship (Great Britain version) (1 time)
- Midwest Wrestling Association (Ohio)
- MWA World Heavyweight Championship (Ohio version) (1 time)
- Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
- Class of 2002
- Montreal Athletic Commission
- MAC World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)1
- NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) – with The Outlaw
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) – with Jackie Fargo
- National Wrestling Association
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)2
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- Greatest 18 Club inductee
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Stanley Weston Award (1982)
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Pioneer Era (class of 2002)
- Southwest Sports, Inc.
- Texas Heavyweight Championship (4 times)3
- Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
- St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2007
- Universal Wrestling Association
- UWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1993)
- Worldwide Wrestling Associates
- WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sailor Art Thomas
- WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation/WWE
- Legends Battle Royal winner (1987)
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
- Other titles
- World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (2 times)4
- World Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version) (2 times)
- World Heavyweight Championship (Pacific Northwest version) (1 time)
