I wrote yesterday about a play I saw here in Dallas called The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity and mentioned that, although I feel nothing of it, there was some wrestling in my blood. These posters and clippings are of my eponymous grandfather.
They speak for themselves – however I’d like to point out a couple interesting phrases from the posters, due to the lack of attention span on the internet.
“Winner Takes All The Gate Receipts” (If you lost, you didn’t eat)
“Hooch is Strictly Barred” (1924 was right in the middle of prohibition)
From the article, the wrestling match lasted 38 seconds short of an hour. That’s a long time to wrestle.
The admission ranged from 55 cents up to a dollar for a ringside seat – which was a lot of money in 1920’s Western Kansas. However, ladies were admitted free.
(Click for a larger version on Flickr)
Great stuff – I really like this sort of memorabilia. 55 minutes sounds like a long time! When I was young wrestling was on TV every Saturday afternoon on ‘World of Sport’ and each, best of three falls or a ko, fight lasted about 15 minutes. My grandparents used to scream and shout at the tv – there was usually a bad guy and a good guy in each fight. Sadly wrestling was spoilt in the 1990s when showbiz glamour replaced the ‘grunt and groans’!
I have never been a wrestling fan, but I’m begining to understand.
Thanks for the comment.