Shining a Spotlight 11.19.09: Wrestling at the Chase

Posted by Michael Weyer on 11.19.2009

A look at a book that showcases the golden years of St. Louis wrestling and how it stood out in its time.

　


It's always good to find a volume on wrestling history that is often overlooked. It is fascinating to look back at a time period where the business was pretty different although you can see plenty of similarities to today as well. It's best when the writer of the book is able to put aside personal feelings of today in order to present a good view of the past.

A bit back, I did a review of Drawing Heat the Hard Way, a terrific look at the business by Larry Matysik. It got me thinking on a book he'd written a few years before, one that wonderfully highlighted what was once the hottest spot of wrestling in the country. Wrestling at the Chase: The Inside Story of Sam Muchnick and the Legends of Professional Wrestling (ECW Press, $18.95) is a terrific read that goes in-depth to the glory days of St. Louis wrestling. It showcases, in expert detail, what made this territory so great and how Muchnick made it all work. Matysik is able to do so with personal experience as he started to work for Muchnick at the age of sixteen and stayed with the promotion until its end. Through his eyes, we get a look at a much different wrestling landscape, yet one that kept what makes the sport so unique.






Beginnings

Matysik begins the book talking about how he became hooked on wrestling at the age of seven, watching Lou Thesz and Gorgeous George on television. He became more and more a fan, writing letters to various wrestling papers and even one to Sam Muchnick himself, who replied. It's clear how much Matysik revered Muchnick, born in Russia in 1905 before he moved to the St. Louis area as a toddler. By 1926, he was working as a sportswriter for the local newspaper where he became friends with Ray Steele and promoter Tom Packs, who offered Much nick a job at his promotion. After nine years, Munchnick decided to break off on his own and while WWII stalled some of his plans, he was able to carry on, helping to form the National Wrestling Alliance.

As far as the St. Louis public was concerned, Muchnick ran one promotion while Martin Thesz (Lou's father) ran the other. In truth, Muchnick had a 50% stake in both and was running them together. Muchnick was able to keep things going well, thanks to his connections with local politicians, including Illinois Congressman Mel Price. It was still tough going, however, with the U.S. government threatening the NWA under anti-trust laws and the business seeing a shift downward.

However, on a plane trip, Muchnick met up with Harold Koplar, the owner of both the Chase-Park Hotel and station KPLR. Muchnick forged a deal that would be any promoter's envy: The station paid Muchnick's newly formed St. Louis Wrestling Club $1500 per day in exchange for 5% of the net receipts from each Kiel Auditorium card. The station also covered production expenses and advertising revenues with no money changing hands until the end of the year. Muchnick felt it was important for the stations to pay for the product instead of the other way around, and enjoyed the way the deal worked.

Joe Garagiola was the show's first announcer, a former big-league ballplayer, he was a hometown favorite doing broadcasts for Cardinals games in addition to other tv jobs which included hosting The Tonight Show a few times. Thanks to him, the show became a huge instant hit, pulling in fans of all ages and both genders, the appeal watching these men go at it with the unique sight of seeing these men go at it in a fancy ballroom. It was Muchnick who kept it all together, however, as he would lay out plans for who'd go over and the bookers would just fill in the details. Muchnick helped plan out a big Buddy Rogers-Bob Ellis match, only to be outraged when a real backstage fight with Rogers battered by Bill Miller and Karl Gotch forced Rogers out. Sam got Lou Thesz to come back to beat Ellis and the heat of the match led to a Thesz-Rogers title bout. While Thesz won the belt, Vince McMahon Sr. refused to acknowledge that title change, allowing Rogers to be named the first WWWF champion. Yet, Muchnick and Vince remained on friendly terms.

Muchnick was respected far and wide for being a truly great guy in a mostly rotten business. He'd always pay the talent no matter what. Once, when a show had to be canceled due to a union dispute, Sam was going to pay the talent back but they all decided it wasn't his fault and refused to accept any money. Even the referees got great treatment as Muchnick made it clear to his workers that the refs were hands-off. Booker Pat O'Connor made the mistake of allowing Terry Funk to use a chair in a match against Johnny Valentine in front of the ref and Muchnick hit the ceiling, trying to arrange a rematch but Valentine got ill so he had to get Gene Kiniski to sub. Kinski paid back the loyalty when he got caught in a snowstorm before a match. Muchnick put it off as long as he could before forcing a substitute in. Twenty minutes into the bout, Kiniski managed to come to the ring in street clothes to finish the match. That loyalty was a key reason why Sam's promotion worked so well as everyone was willing to give it their all.
　



Sam personally
　
As President of the NWA for 21 years, Sam did his best but was eventually worn down by the constant bickering between promoters and corners cut around the place. Sam respected the territory boundaries, never tried to raid for talent and his seemingly quiet demeanor made him that much more likeable to people. As Matysik says "Sam earned respect and affection because he gave so much of it himself."

Matysik devotes quite a lot to talking of his own experiences with Muchnick. Starting to work reporting on the wrestling cards in 1963, the author quickly got into the swing of things and it's clear how much his memories are strong within him. Matysik saw first-hand how big in St. Louis Muchnick was, such as when he sprained an ankle and Sam sent him to the Cardinals' clubhouse to get it fixed up. Muchnick was different from pretty much every promoter in how he ingratiated himself to the St. Louis community, always helping others and that connection allowed his promotion to truly thrive. Matysik became more and more involved with the business, soon taking part in some booking in the St. Louis office. Matysik discusses many of the lesson he learned from Muchnick such as how "today's enemy may be tomorrow's partner" and it's thus best not to burn any bridges if you can avoid it. Muchnick had great stuff like tins of photos and cards detailing the full history of his organization and various articles in tight pamphlets. Sadly, those tremendous archives were lost when the organization eventually folded.

Muchnick's booking style came from the fact that he never went for the classic "mark" or "smart" labels, feeling fans should be respected, not treated as cons to be fleeced. He hated overbooking like ref bumps or false advertising matches, preferring stuff that was logical and legitimate rather than over think programs. Sam never expected constant sellouts, feeling consistency was key and thus when something unexpected did occur, it was a huge deal. Muchnick was also a lot more forward thinking than most promoters, planning stuff out months in advance in order to make it all work out. He maintained that protecting the World title was paramount and gave everyone a fair crack at earning their money while also avoiding "flipping" guys between heels and faces. There's a big story on Dory Funk dealing with injury while NWA champion but many in the NWA doubting it was real and actually a political play, leading to a situation ending with Harley Race winning his first NWA title.. Muchnick could play politics with the rest but preferred being as upfront as possible. Through all this, Matysik continued to work with the company, even becoming a commentator and ring announcer along with the promotions' telephone hotline number.

Matysik shares stories of Andre the Giant and Race, who made the Missouri State Championship a meaningful trophy. Muchnick would actually keep that belt in his own office for safekeeping. Matysik rightly points out how, no matter how much talent or charisma a man has, it's the fans who make stars. He brings up the problems Pat O'Connor had as booker and Race breaking away to back his own group in Kansas City along with Sam's dealings with Verne Gagne and the AWA. There's interesting stuff on how Matysik visited New York to meet both Vince Sr. and Jr. and how Sam ended up getting Bob Backlund to the WWF. Muchnick was flawed, of course such as his decision to allow Giant Baba to win the NWA title, a move he later regretted as it paved the way for the "quickie" title changes that eroded the title over the years. But Muchnick was smart enough to see how Ric Flair would be a sensation in St. Louis. But the death of his beloved wife, Helen, in 1981, rocked Muchnick as he would decide to retire soon after. There's an interesting bit where Sam wonders if he hadn't retired, would Vince have tried to take over St. Louis and Matysik replies Vince would have respected Sam enough to try to work out a deal but in truth suspects Vince would have gone after Sam as hard as everyone else.


A Weekend in St. Louis

A trio of chapters have Matysik showing just how the cards worked. He goes into real depth, making you feel how that Auditorium was with how it smelled, its power and more. Bets would be made for how much the gate of the night would be in a "Dollar pool." The rooms were a level up from the actual venue floor at the Kiel while the Arena had four dressing rooms in a team style. Muchnick was always in the corner office, where every wrestler could come to see him, often hearing the tale of how Ali Baba knocked himself unconscious running into a wall. Because workers traveled from other territories, there were no "cliques" and little real animosity behind the scenes, including the infamous ribs. Guys like Wilbur Snyder, Moose Cholak, Edward Cholak and more are discussed and why they meant so much to the St. Louis fans. One guy who doesn't come off well is "Superstar" Billy Graham who, after a few matches, blew off a match against Bobo Brazil and Muchnick told Matysik that as far as he was concerned "Graham just died in St. Louis." It's fun hearing how wrestlers planned things out in a loose format and how the old-styled guys reacted to female wrestler like Wendi Richter, not to mention how sometimes the Kiel could have a wrestling card, an opera and a car show all on the same night. The ring was a hard one, according to many, but not as hard as the sturdy table next to it and Matysik mentions getting beaned by a bottle during a brawl outside the ring. The author mentions how a finish that works in one town may not in another as when the Sheik brought his wild style to a town not ready for it. Matysik even discusses the refs and how they brought professionalism to things with Sam declaring them hands-off to all the wrestlers.

Saturdays had Matysik working on the St. Louis Wrestling Club newsletter. Muchnick had the philosophy of "it hasn't happened until it happens" so they had to wait until matches were truly over to start writing about them. Matysik had obvious pride in what he did, doing his best to keep it not too sensationalist but still snazzy enough to grab fans while working with the old-styled printing of the 1970's. We get excerpts from several articles that showed the great gift Matysik had for writing. There's mention of challenges like being the first to put together a list of NWA champions and giving it a flair for the close to 5000 subscribers, not to mention thousands more copies for the arena.

Sunday was for "Wrestling at the Chase," an institution in St. Louis from 1959 to 1983. Ironically, it was only at the Chase hotel for eight years before moving to the KPLR studio for cost reasons. It was a true hit, with 100,000 viewers each weekend, only the local news and Cardinals games getting higher. The schedule was to tape three shows each Sunday, a hardship on the workers, who only got paid about a hundred dollars for the entire day since the Kiel shows were the real money-makers. Admission was free, although tickets had to be ordered through the station with a waiting list over four months long. Interestingly, one of the early directors was none other than future WCW boss Jim Herd, proving he did indeed have some wrestling experience. There's talk of editing tapes from other territories of title changes, music videos and working promos. Matysik uses his experiences as commentator on the program to illustrate how a wrestling voice guy should be, not "on" all the time but still selling the action well. It may have been hard putting it together but when it worked, the show was a true gem.


Colorful Characters

Throughout the book, Matysik will devote chapters to some of the most famous figures to go through the St. Louis area in its prime. David Von Erich is discussed doing a charity basketball game and how his experience in St. Louis helped David prepare more for World Class and how he showed himself to be a great heel in Florida. "Wild Bill" Longson was a huge draw with constant sell-out crowds, a former boxing champ who had terrific skills as a fighter. Joe Millich was a good wrestler but also a great trainer, one of his students Bobby Shane, a great athlete just reaching stardom when he was killed in a plane crash in 1975. There's a nice spotlight on the Jack Brisco-Dory Funk Jr. feud and Rocky Johnson. The rambunctious Dick Murdoch is discussed in detail such as when he taught Kevin Von Erich a lesson during a hard match and even managing to throw down fans who tried to get involved in the matches. The man was a brilliant performer and Matysik even argues he should have been NWA champion. Randy Savage is discussed in his early St. Louis run and Dick the Bruiser is talked about as a guy who scared the hell out of everyone.




But Matysik saves his biggest words for Bruiser Brody or "King Kong" as he was known in St. Louis due to Dick the Bruiser being around. Matysik always had a soft spot for the legendary brawler who had a sharp and funny mind (when he discusses Vince Jr, he asks how the business would be different if his father had let the guy be a wrestler). While a wild man, Brody was still box office gold for St. Louis such as a battle against Flair in 1982. The chapter on Brody also discusses the rise of Dave Meltzer and the "cheat sheets" with the author suggesting Muchnick may not have minded their existence but would have hated the idea of suggesting his workers as anything less than professional. It's true this gets away a lot from St. Louis and more on Brody's life (not surprisingly, Matysik also co-wrote a biography of the man published a few years later) but still has fun stuff like how Brody and Crusher Bagwell both resisted working for WWF since they hated the idea of "punching a clock." But it's still nice reading of how this legendary guy was really down to Earth and makes his early death all the sadder.


Downfall


The last chapters do discuss the downfall of the promotion as Vince McMahon began his expansion in 1983. Ironically, Matysik had expected trouble from some of Sam's ex partners in Kansas City when Muchnick retired in 1981. Sam had said he wanted to get out the backbiting arguments that the NWA was being filled with and allowed Fritz Von Erich to take over presidency of the company. Matysik stayed on as general manager in St. Louis but Bob Geigel and Harley Race began pulling booking moves that jarred him like a 1982 Flair-Dick the Bruiser matchup that had a ref bump and a near riot from fans. Matysik threatened to quit, with Muchnick creating a settlement to give him a bit more power but Matysik still faced challenges such as pressure to "open up" like Kansas City. Matysik acknowledges that he had the same philosophy as Verne Gagne, which was "if it ain't' broke, don't fix it." That philosophy would, of course, be a key reason why Vince was able to roll over all those territories. These new partners didn't share the same booking styles as Muchnick and Matysik takes a shot at how Race would always be protecting himself with finishes.

But Matysik does acknowledge how his vision may be a bit clouded since this was the system he grew up with, that outsiders would have a different viewpoint on how "perfect" this was. While many, like Dave Meltzer, say this was one of the best promotions ever, it was also one that folks used to other styles had trouble wrapping their heads around. When Matysik eventually resigned, it pretty much paved the way for Vince to move in. Matysik tried to stick to the business, even planning a move to Dallas for World Class and finding himself in conflict with Race when the latter tried to prevent Blackjack Mulligan from showing up at a card. Matysik found success in Texas, his show doing well while "Wrestling at the Chase" faltered in the ratings. The St. Louis club wanted him back but before Matysik could agree, Vince bought them out. Matysik was one of the first to truly realize Vince's overall goal and tried to warn Fritz Von Erich, who refused to believe it. Despite pleas from workers over how he could win, Matysik saw the writing on the wall and in 1983, gave up. It's interesting how Matysik says the exact same thing Vince often has: That the NWA never had real competition before and were not ready for how Vince was going to come after them. Matysik spent the next decade working for Vince before moving to WCW where he tried to "smarten up" Herd but was let go in the political chaos of the land.


Summation

The last chapter brings it together as Matysik talks of working for WWF, even convincing Vince to do a tournament in Sam Muchnick's name with Race winning. While he runs down Vince for turning the St. Louis crowds off via cable TV, bad finishes and gimmicks, Matysik acknowledges that if it wasn't Vince, it would have been someone else. He thinks the difference is that Vince identified himself as a television producer who does wrestling and Matysik was a promoter who did television. He finally left in 1993, working briefly for WCW but their internal politics undid any of his attempts to help. Matysik acknowledges Muchnick as a true honorable man in a rotten business who put logic above all else when it came to booking. While Vince's charisma is smooth, Sam's was a bit more straight-laced as he believed perception was reality and insisted on always wearing a suit at the arena. He used his power with grace while Vince has a sledgehammer approach. Matysik acknowledges how times and audience tastes have changed but still thinks Muchnick's approach can work today.

It's true the book can be a bit too reverent of Muchnick and St. Louis in that time and ignore some of the problems that caused it too fall. But it's still a fascinating portrait of a much different time in the wrestling world, one where men did business in a different way. You can argue with some of his feelings but you can't deny the absolute passion Matysik writes of this time and through him, you get pulled into it. For a great showcase of the best the business can be, the book is a true gem and a worthwhile read for any fan.


That's all for now. For this week, the spotlight is off.