Lou Thesz

Lou Thesz was the stage name of Aloysius Martin Thesz, (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) who was a champion wrestler for 58 years.

Career

Born in Banat, Michigan, Thesz moved to St. Louis when he was a young boy. It was in St. Louis where Thesz started wrestling. His parents, immigrants, hailed from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Related Topics:
Michigan - St. Louis - Austro-Hungarian Empire

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A well-known catch wrestler or "hooker", Thesz wrestled professionally from 1932 to 1990. During the 1940s and 1950s, it was not uncommon for Thesz to put on 250 exhibitions a year, and while the outcome of most pro wrestling matches were "fixed" even then, Lou Thesz was the "real deal", a supremely talented freestyle wrestler with tremendous "legit" talent who could handle himself in a real contest (and did on several occasions). Lou Thesz was by far the greatest wrestler of the 40s and 50s, and it appears that he was never beaten in a legitimate contest from 1936 onward. His arsenal of "hooks" (or submission holds) could literally cripple a man in seconds, and his autobiography, Hooker, is perhaps one of the best books written on the subject of professional wrestling. (Privately published, the book is currently out-of-print.)

Related Topics:
Catch wrestler - 1932 - 1990 - 1940s - 1950s - Legit - 1936 - Autobiography

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Thesz was also a champion, winning various world titles seven times and remaining rarely beaten from 1948 to 1956. He was also recognized, by a ceremony at a WWE pay-per-view, as being the youngest and oldest World Heavyweight Champion at ages 21 and 50 (Vince McMahon would later win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on September 14, 1999 at the age of 54). He finished his career in 1990 at the age of 73, wrestling a special match against his protege, Masahiro Chono, in Japan.

Related Topics:
1948 - 1956 - Vince McMahon - WWF World Heavyweight Championship - September 14 - 1999 - 1990 - Masahiro Chono - Japan

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Thesz died on April 28, 2002 in Orlando.

Related Topics:
April 28 - 2002 - Orlando

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