Red-Letter Day—Chapter 3: Founding of the PWHS…On this Thanksgiving Day November 27 in the year of 2014 I ask for a little latitude in writing this article. My former 2 chapters under this heading were a) the first $100,000 gate in Pro Wrestling and b) The founding of the National Wrestling Alliance. In recognized prejudice I believe the founding of the Pro Wrestling Historical Society will prove to be a Red-Letter Day in decades to come in having preserved a hefty percentage of what we call the history of Pro Wrestling’s golden years. In May 2013 one man did what so many others had thought needed to be done for a long time. So many modern top wrestlers were passing away on a seemingly monthly basis. Many classic golden greats were passing away with treasures of memories that were never written down or put into a biographical sketch. Countless, nameless, faceless wrestlers that had toiled and entertained everyday people were being lost with every passing day. So, in May 2013 Greg Skelley decided to step out in faith with a plan to preserve Pro Wrestling History as never before. He contacted an unknown wrestling historian extraordinaire, Jimmy Wheeler, who shared his vision, and the first step was initiated in starting a Facebook group page. Growth was slow as PWHS was a rare entity that was interested in discovering and then sharing Pro Wrestling’s rich history. It was not to ask: a) who was your favorite wrestler or manager or tag team or ref or territory, b) if John Cena was worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Lou Thesz or Ric Flair or Bruno Sammartino, c) what the latest gossip was for TNA wrestling or the WWE, d) who would win between 10’s of singles and tag teams in imaginary tournaments (that actually does not take talent into consideration usually but becomes a popularity contest like voting in our school days). On Thanksgiving 2013 PWHS had between 500-750 members. It was exciting to read articles, but it was mainly being shared by a few ex-Pro Wrestlers, territory historians, and the hard core (not as in blood) fan that understood the vision and celebrated they had found the unique Wrestling Group. It was different and actually educated instead of just entertaining. Little by little the word about PWHS and how it was unique was spreading through the pages of Facebook. Here was a group that was talking about the territorial days, the actual history from the 1800’s and even sooner. Ex-Pro Wrestlers started to discover how PWHS respected all wrestlers; they supported the real Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, and also respected each individual wrestler and the part they played in writing Pro Wrestling’s novel. The former wrestler could have been a true Hall of Famer, or maybe never advanced beyond being an enhancement wrestler for territories. It did not matter as they were all worthy of our respect as they put their bodies on the line to entertain us during the harshness that life could bring. Here was a Group Page that captured our childhood memories and beyond. January 2014 saw a proverbial snowball begin to increase in size and roll downhill gaining in size quicker and quicker. Around this time PipeBomb Radio began to carry a PWHS radio show every other week or so, and the influence circle grew and grew. Interviews with Wrestling stars (Ivan Koloff), wrestling families (Hercules Hernandez’ wife), historians ( George Schire, Barry Rose, Mark James, Scott Teal, Tom Burke, Ronald Großpietsch ), and even filmmakers (Michael Elliott) who was capturing history via film were interviewed on a usually 2 hour informative, entertaining show that could spontaneously talk about different territories or personalities with any free minutes that presented itself. By March 2014, 10 months after its birth, PWHS began to multiply overnight. Over a 1000 new members weekly became the norm. Harry Grover, Jay Boutwell, and Barry Rose were added as administrators to join the already excellent staff of Terry Kent, H.k. Schwarz and Mike Steele to keep things running smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Respect to every member and wrestling employee is followed as mandatory and guidelines strictly enforced. Tonight, 11/27/2014, we have 27,846 members and growing. We have had our 1st radio show and recently launched a PWHS website that helps continue to spread the worthwhile facts of where “we” came from. There is so much to be thankful for. 1. Thanks to Greg Skelley for just going out and doing what so many had wished they had done: start a place to preserve the golden treasures of Pro Wrestling History. 2. Thanks to Jimmy Wheeler for being the complimentary partner to Greg and using your talents to make this Group and Website like none other. Thanks additionally for being the BEST pre-1950 historian and the desire you have to share your personal treasures with the world and make a difference. 3. Thanks to the great Administrators which keep the highest guidelines to preserve the vision of the Group. 4. Thanks especially to the former Pro Wrestlers that help make this Group the best. Your insight is so important. You know we value your viewpoint over those who like to just say anything and have never spent 1 second on the mat looking across at another opponent. 5. Thanks especially to all the great territorial historians who share invaluable knowledge with us on a daily basis. 6. And a special THANK YOU to every fan that comes here on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. We are thankful you can come to our sites and relive your greatest memories and forget the pressures of life for a few minutes or hours. There is sooo much more to come. Some of it I know, some of it none of us know. There are some great things coming around the corner. Please continue to tell your wrestling family of friends about us and help us improve on a monthly basis and get a more complete picture of our wrestling past. Finally, may I take this moment to say how grateful I am to have found this “home”. I must thank Greg and jimmy first of all. They have accepted me with open arms and been very receptive to any and all my ideas. It has been such a joy to have shared the radio waves with 2 guys I feel like I have known for decades. My only Christmas wish would be all your goals for this Group could be realized by the end of 2015. Secondly, thanks for all the new friends I have gained in the past 13 months I have been here. Some have become very special friends; like lifelong friends. People like Carroll Hall , Dan Thomas, Barry Rose, Scott Teal, Mark James, George Schire, Mike Elliot, Felix Olmedo, Austin Porche, Curtis Chordologist Tompkins. Please forgive me if I overlooked you. It is fun to learn from one another as no one knows it all. HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 03:10:07 +0000
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