McGuirk Wrestling Territory: June 1972

Here's a look at the McGuirk wrestling territory in June 1972: Two rookies with interesting football backgrounds debut, a new babyface team forms to challenge Hart & Parente, Vivian Vachon comes to the area with a film crew & more!
Here are the SPOT Ratings for the month.


COMINGS AND GOINGS

Newcomers to the territory this month are babyfaces Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols, Bob Boyer and Leo Seitz and heels Bob Demon, Doctor X, Duke Myers, the Mongol and Siegfried Stanke.

Conley and Nichols were the latest incarnation of the Scufflin’ Hillbillies tag team. They had been working for Gulas and for Billy Golden before coming here. Boyer (also known as Bobby Bold Eagle) returned here after a tour of New Japan. Seitz was a rookie, having started his wrestling career in April in East Texas. He played football for the San Antonio Toros of the Continental Football League from 1968-1971. After his wrestling career ended, Seitz became a football strength coach and personal trainer; one of his clients was 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer.

Looking at the heels, well, if your name is Bob Demon, there aren’t many career paths available to you, so I guess it’s no surprise that young Mr. Demon ended up in this crazy sport. I don’t have much in the way of information on him, and this appears to be his first stint anywhere of note in wrestling. Doctor X (Jim Osborne) returned after a couple of months. He had dropped the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title back to Danny Hodge earlier in the year and also dropped his mask in many towns (mostly but not always to Hodge) on the way out. It looks like he just rested at home for a couple of months and then came back fresh (and with the mask back on).

Duke Myers came in from Amarillo. He had been in the area previously a little over a year earlier. This version of the Mongol is believed to be a wrestler also known as Ed Sullivan in Canada, who also worked as Jim Slade in Florida. It definitely was not Mark Starr (Joe Kono), who was working for All-Star in Nebraska at the time. Siegfried Stanke (real name William Lehman) was another football player turned wrestler, getting his start in East Texas earlier in the year similar to Leo Seitz. Like Seitz, he had a notable coaching career post-wrestling, coaching football and both men’s and women’s tennis at Texas Lutheran University.

Leaving the territory during the month were babyfaces Pancho Lopez, the Pascagoula Plowboy and Red McKim and heels Guillotine Gordon and the Stomper.

The Plowboy (Stan Frazier aka Uncle Elmer) went to All-Star in British Columbia after his brief stint here, which saw him used more as a special attraction a la Haystack Calhoun or Andre the Giant. McKim was a full-time member of the Tulsa Fire Department who wrestled as often as he could, using vacation time or working close to home. Over the years he wrestled here regularly but sporadically. Gordon (aka Evil Eye Gordon and Enforcer Luciano) went to Montreal, while the Stomper (John Quinn) went to British Columbia.

Other wrestlers not listed in the SPOT Ratings: Bill Cody, Chuck Bowman, Dingo the Sundowner, Ernie Ladd, Gene Lewis, Great Mephisto, Joe Hosey, Jim Garvin (primarily working as Terry Garvin’s manager), Karl Von Hess, Kurt Von Hess, Sal Domingues, the Scorpion, the Spoiler and women wrestlers Bonnie Watson, Debbie Johnson, Fifi Laverne, Kay Noble, Vicki Williams and Vivian Vachon.

Ladd worked in Shreveport and Monroe early in the month, defeating Guillotine Gordon and winning a battle royal on June 5th and defeating the Stomper on June 6th. Mephisto (Frankie Cain) had just finished up a run in Florida and was on his way to northern California; he worked several shows here likely as a way to break up that long road trip into two not-as-long ones. The Spoiler (Don Jardine) came in for three shows in the middle of the month, working against Ivan Putski, Danny Hodge and Dale Lewis. He was full-time in East Texas and it looks like he just came here for three shots, then went back.

The women wrestlers were all in for the filming of a movie, Wrestling Queen, which starred Vivian Vachon. It was originally conceived as a documentary about wrestling in general, with other members of the Vachon wrestling family featured along with Killer Kowalski and Blackjack Mulligan among others. According to Paul (Butcher) Vachon, the filmmakers decided to focus more on Vivan as they were filming, as they felt she was “the most commercial thing in there”. Vivian wrestled here five nights, facing a different opponent each time. The film was released the following year.

CH-CH-CHANGES

Role Changes: Tom Jones and Ken Mantell started to team up occasionally in June. Both are still working as singles, but without any regular babyface teams to face US Tag Team titlists Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente the two were put together a few times later in the month.

Title Changes: Bill Watts remained North American champ throughout the month, Hart & Parente held on to the US Tag Team belts, and Danny Hodge continued his reign as NWA World Junior Heavyweight champ. The Brass Knucks title/trophy, which was not always a regular title in the area, appears to have changed hands on June 12th in Tulsa. The Stomper had been billed as champion, with some reports saying he won the trophy from Bill Watts early in his run here and some saying he won it from Watts “in Denver” before coming here. Stomper was advertised for a title defense in Tulsa against Sweetan, with Sweetan winning the bout after knocking him out. With Stomper finishing up here, it seems likely that this was a title switch.

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Here are the FEUD Scores for the month.


ANATOMY OF A FEUD

This month we'll look at the feud between Dale Lewis and Grizzly Smith, looking at all of the known matches between them during the month, with results and stipulations noted where available. 

Keep in mind that some newspapers didn't list details, so just because a match isn't specified as a title match we don't necessarily know for a fact that it was non-title and the same can apply for stipulation bouts. Also, "Wrestler A defeated Wrestler B" doesn't necessarily mean it was by pinfall or submission.

June 5 Shreveport LA Grizzly Smith defeated Dale Lewis by disqualification (Lewis was disqualified for “using karate”)
June 13 Alexandria LA Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith
June 15 Chalmette LA Dale Lewis defeated Grizzly Smith by disqualification
June 20 Alexandria LA Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith in a no-disqualification match
June 22 Chalmette LA Dale Lewis defeated Grizzly Smith

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Here is the calendar of known house shows.


HOUSE SHOW LINEUPS
(unless stated otherwise, these lineups are from my own personal research)
Stipulations listed when known; keep in mind that some matches not specified as title matches may have actually been title bouts and the same can apply for stipulation matches.

5/29/72 Shreveport LA
-North American title: Bill Watts vs Dale Lewis
-Bobby Hart vs Tom Jones
-Bob Sweetan vs Ken Mantell
-Don Duffy vs George Strickland
-Alex Perez vs Jack Evans

5/29/72 Tulsa OK
-Lumberjack match: Ivan Putski vs Stomper
-Battle royal featuring Pascagoula Plowboy
-Dennis Stamp vs Guillotine Gordon
-Bob Sweetan vs Silento Rodriguez
-Bob Demon vs Joe Hosey

5/29/72 Westwego LA
-Jim Garvin & Terry Garvin vs Johnny Eagles & Terry Lathan
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Steve Hagen

5/30/72 Alexandria LA
-Battle royal featuring Bobby Hart, Dennis Stamp, George Strickland, Grizzly Smith, Gypsy Joe Rosario, Jim Garvin, Pascagoula Plowboy and Terry Garvin
-George Strickland vs Terry Garvin
-Bobby Hart vs Grizzly Smith
-Dennis Stamp vs Pascgoula Plowboy

5/30/72 Monroe LA
-Bob Sweetan vs Danny Hodge
-Bill Watts & Ken Mantell vs Dale Lewis & Stomper
-Don Duffy vs Johnny Eagles
-Dennis Stamp vs Jack Evans

5/31/72 Baton Rouge LA
-Bill Watts vs Dale Lewis
-Bob Sweetan vs Ken Mantell
-Jack Evans vs Johnny Eagles
-Don Duffy vs George Strickland

5/31/72 Jackson MS
-Lumberjack match: Ivan Putski vs Stomper
-Danny Hodge vs Terry Garvin (if Hodge beats Terry within 20 minutes, he gets Jim Garvin in the ring for 3 minutes; if he doesn’t beat both men within the time limit he will forfeit $500)
-Handicap match: Guillotine Gordon & Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Pascagoula Plowboy
-Dennis Stamp vs Great Mephisto

6/1/72 Chalmette LA
-Handcuff match (Garvins cuffed together): Ivan Putski vs Jim Garvin & Terry Garvin
-Bill Watts & Grizzly Smith vs Guillotine Gordon & Stomper
-Great Mephisto vs Johnny Eagles
-Don Duffy vs Steve Hagen

6/1/72 Greenville MS
-Battle royal featuring Pascagoula Plowboy
-Dale Lewis vs Ken Mantell
-Bob Sweetan vs George Strickland
-Dennis Stamp vs Jack Evans

6/1/72 Wichita Falls TX
-Winner take all, Parente to be searched before the match, Bobby Hart barred from ringside: Danny Hodge vs Lorenzo Parente
-Bobby Hart vs Tom Jones
-Alex Perez vs Silento Rodriguez
-Bill Cody vs Duke Myers

6/2/72 Lafayette LA
-North American title: Bill Watts vs Bob Sweetan
-Grizzly Smith & Johnny Eagles vs mystery partner & Terry Garvin (based on who is and isn’t booked elsewhere, my best guess would be Great Mephisto for the mystery partner)
-Dennis Stamp vs Don Duffy
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/2/72 Oklahoma City OK
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Danny Hodge & Tom Jones
-Ivan Putski vs Stomper
-Alex Perez vs Duke Myers
-Bob Demon vs Silento Rodriguez

6/3/72 Greenwood MS
-No disqualification: Dale Lewis vs Tom Jones
-Dennis Stamp & Pascagoula Plowboy vs Great Mephisto & Guillotine Gordon
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/3/72 Loranger LA
-English rules (8 five minute rounds): Bob Sweetan vs Johnny Eagles
-Don Duffy & Steve Hagen vs George Strickland & Terry Lathan
-Plus two other bouts, likely singles matches involving participants from the tag bout

6/4/72 Houma LA
-Handcuff match (Garvins cuffed together): Jim Garvin & Terry Garvin vs Johnny Eagles
-Don Duffy & Jack Evans vs George Strickland & Terry Lathan
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/5/72 Shreveport LA
-Battle royal featuring Pascagoula Plowboy
-Ernie Ladd vs Guillotine Gordon
-Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith
-Dennis Stamp vs Great Mephisto
-Bobby Hart vs Jack Evans

6/5/72 Tulsa OK
-Texas Rules (aka Texas death match): Bill Watts & Ivan Putski vs Bob Sweetan & Stomper
-Danny Hodge vs Tom Jones
-Alex Perez vs Ken Mantell
-Bob Demon vs Silento Rodriguez

6/6/72 Alexandria LA
-Grizzly Smith & Johnny Eagles vs Jim Garvin & Terry Garvin
-Dale Lewis vs Jack Evans
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Terry Lathan
-10 minute special challenge: Jim Garvin vs Johnny Eagles

6/6/72 Little Rock AR
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Pascagoula Plowboy & Tom Jones
-Guillotine Gordon vs Ivan Putski
-Alex Perez vs Silento Rodriguez

6/6/72 Monroe LA
-Ernie Ladd vs Stomper
-Great Mephisto vs Ken Mantell
-Bob Sweetan vs Dennis Stamp
-Don Duffy vs Steve Hagen
-Bob Demon vs George Strickland

6/7/72 Baton Rouge LA
-Grizzly Smith vs Stomper
-Guillotine Gordon & Terry Garvin vs Johnny Eagles & Ken Mantell
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Steve Hagen
-Johnny Eagles vs Terry Garvin

6/7/72 Vicksburg MS
-Bob Sweetan & Dale Lewis vs Pascagoula Plowboy & Tom Jones
-Jack Evans vs Silento Rodriguez
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/8/72 Chalmette LA
-North American title: Bill Watts vs Stomper
-Grizzly Smith & Ken Mantell vs Guillotine Gordon & Terry Garvin
-Jack Evans vs Johnny Eagles
-Bob Demon vs George Strickland

6/8/72 Greenville MS
-Bob Sweetan & Dale Lewis vs Pascagoula Plowboy & Tom Jones
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Silento Rodriguez
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/8/72 Wichita Falls TX
-Texas rules: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Danny Hodge & Ivan Putski
-Alex Perez vs Bill Cody
-Dennis Stamp vs Duke Myers

6/9/72 Lafayette LA
-North American title, no disqualification: Bill Watts vs Bob Sweetan
-Bob Boyer & Johnny Eagles vs Guillotine Gordon & Gypsy Joe Rosario
-Don Duffy vs Steve Hagen
-Bob Boyer vs Guillotine Gordon

6/9/72 Oklahoma City OK
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Danny Hodge & Tom Jones
-Ivan Putski vs Terry Garvin
-Alex Perez vs Dennis Stamp
-Chuck Bowman vs Silento Rodriguez

6/10/72 Greenwood MS
-North American title: Bill Watts vs Stomper
-Bob Boyer & Ken Mantell vs Dale Lewis & Guillotine Gordon
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/10/72 Loranger LA
-Bob Sweetan & Don Duffy vs George Strickland & Johnny Eagles
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Terry Lathan
-Plus two other bouts, likely singles matches involving participants from the tag bout

6/11/72 Houma LA
-Bob Sweetan vs Grizzly Smith
-Don Duffy & Gypsy Joe Rosario vs George Strickland & Johnny Eagles
-Plus two other bouts, likely singles matches involving participants from the tag bout

6/12/72 Shreveport LA
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Ken Mantell & Tom Jones
-Dale Lewis vs Ivan Putski
-Vicki Williams vs Vivian Vachon
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Johnny Eagles
-Don Duffy vs George Strickland

6/12/72 Tulsa OK
-Brass Knucks title: Bob Sweetan vs Stomper
-Danny Hodge vs Terry Garvin
-Alex Perez & Jack Evans vs Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols
-Dennis Stamp vs Silento Rodriguez

6/13/72 Alexandria LA
-Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith
-Don Duffy & Gypsy Joe Rosario vs George Strickland & Terry Lathan
-Bob Boyer vs Scorpion
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/13/72 Little Rock AR
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Ivan Putski & Tom Jones
-Dennis Stamp vs Terry Garvin
-Alex Perez vs Silento Rodriguez

6/13/72 Monroe LA
-Bob Sweetan vs Danny Hodge
-Bonnie Watson vs Vivian Vachon
-Handicap match (Stomper must pin Mantell twice within 20 minutes): Ken Mantell vs Stomper
-Bob Demon & Jack Evans vs Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols
-Chuck Conley vs Jack Evans

6/14/72 Baton Rouge LA
-US Tag Team titles, no time limit: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Grizzly Smith & Tom Jones
-Bob Sweetan vs Ken Mantell
-Bob Boyer vs Jack Evans

6/14/72 Jackson MS
-Bill Watts & Ivan Putski vs Dale Lewis & Stomper
-Danny Hodge vs Terry Garvin (if Hodge beats Terry within 20 minutes, he gets Jim Garvin in the ring for 3 minutes; if he doesn’t beat both men within the time limit he will forfeit $500. Also, Jim Garvin will be handcuffed to another wrestler during the initial 20 minute bout)
-Kay Noble vs Vivian Vachon
-George Strickland vs Johnny Eagles
-Dennis Stamp vs Don Duffy

6/15/72 Chalmette LA
-Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Ken Mantell & Tom Jones
-Fifi Laverne vs Vivian Vachon
-Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith
-Don Duffy vs Silento Rodriguez
-Jack Evans vs Steve Hagen

6/15/72 Greenville MS
-Bill Watts & Ivan Putski vs Bob Sweetan & Stomper
-Dennis Stamp vs Terry Garvin
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/15/72 Wichita Falls TX
-Alex Perez vs Danny Hodge (Perez agrees to win 2 straight falls or will toss 100 $1 bills to fans)
-Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols vs Duke Myers & Gypsy Joe Rosario
-Bob Demon vs Sal Dominguez

6/16/72 Lafayette LA
-Non-title match: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Grizzly Smith & Johnny Eagles
-Debbie Johnson vs Vivian Vachon
-Don Duffy vs Tom Jones
-Kurt Von Hess vs Silento Rodriguez

6/16/72 Oklahoma City OK
-Handicap match: Ivan Putski vs Jim Garvin & Terry Garvin
-Bill Watts vs Duke Myers
-Alex Perez & Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols
-Bob Demon vs Sal Dominguez

6/17/72 Greenwood MS
-Lumberjack match: Dale Lewis vs Tom Jones
-Bobby Hart vs Ken Mantell
-Lorenzo Parente vs Silento Rodriguez

6/17/72 Loranger LA
-No disqualification, winners take all: Bob Sweetan & Don Duffy vs George Strickland & Johnny Eagles
-Bob Boyer vs Terry Lathan
-Plus two other bouts, likely singles matches involving participants from the tag bout

6/18/72 Baton Rouge LA
-Battle royal featuring Bob Boyer, Bob Sweetan, Bobby Hart, Dale Lewis, Dennis Stamp, Grizzly Smith, Ken Mantell, Lorenzo Parente, Scorpion and Tom Jones
-Bob Boyer vs Bob Sweetan
-Dale Lewis vs Dennis Stamp
-Bobby Hart vs Tom Jones
-Ken Mantell vs Lorenzo Parente
-Grizzly Smith vs Scorpion

6/18/72 Houma LA
-No disqualification: Bob Sweetan vs Grizzly Smith
-Don Duffy vs Johnny Eagles
-George Strickland vs Terry Lathan

6/19/72 Shreveport LA
-Ivan Putski vs Spoiler
-Non-title, no disqualification: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Ken Mantell & Tom Jones
-Dale Lewis vs Dennis Stamp
-Don Duffy vs Johnny Eagles
-Bob Demon vs George Strickland

6/19/72 Tulsa OK
-Bob Sweetan vs Danny Hodge
-Bob Boyer vs Doctor X
-Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols vs Gypsy Joe Rosario & Mongol
-Alex Perez vs Silento Rodriguez

6/20/72 Alexandria LA
-No disqualification: Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith
-Bob Demon vs Johnny Eagles
-Scorpion vs Terry Lathan
-Gene Lewis vs Steve Hagen

6/20/72 Little Rock AR
-US Tag Team titles, lumberjack match: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Ivan Putski & Tom Jones
-Alex Perez & Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols
-Bob Boyer vs Mongol

6/20/72 Monroe LA
-Danny Hodge vs Spoiler
-Bob Sweetan vs Ken Mantell
-Don Duffy vs Silento Rodriguez
-Dennis Stamp vs George Strickland

6/21/72 Jackson MS
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Ken Mantell & Tom Jones
-Dale Lewis vs Spoiler
-George Strickland vs Gypsy Joe Rosario
-Johnny Eagles vs Silento Rodriguez

6/22/72 Chalmette LA
-Dale Lewis vs Grizzly Smith
-Ken Mantell vs Lorenzo Parente
-Bobby Hart vs Tom Jones
-Jack Evans vs Johnny Eagles
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Silento Rodriguez

6/22/72 Greenville MS
-Grudge match: Bob Sweetan vs Ivan Putski
-Bob Demon & Don Duffy vs Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols
-Plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout

6/22/72 Wichita Falls TX
-Alex Perez vs Danny Hodge (Hodge agrees to win 2 straight falls or will toss 100 $1 bills to fans)
-Bob Boyer vs Duke Myers
-Dennis Stamp vs Mongol
-Dingo the Sundowner vs Steve Hagen

6/23/72 Lafayette LA
-US Tag Team titles: Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente vs Grizzly Smith & Johnny Eagles
-Don Duffy vs George Strickland
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Leo Seitz
-Karl Von Hess vs Terry Lathan

6/23/72 Oklahoma City OK
-Bill Watts vs Doctor X
-Alex Perez & Mongol vs Chuck Conley & Vic Nichols
-Dennis Stamp vs Duke Myers
-Bob Boyer vs Steve Hagen

6/24/72 Greenwood MS
-Two referees, all falls must be won with the sleeper hold (Lewis) or the head butt (Jones): Dale Lewis vs Tom Jones
-Bob Sweetan vs Ken Mantell
-Bob Demon vs Silento Rodriguez

6/24/72 Loranger LA
-Don Duffy vs Johnny Eagles
-George Strickland vs Gypsy Joe Rosario
-Leo Seitz vs Siegfried Stanke

6/25/72 Alexandria LA
-Battle royal featuring Bob Sweetan, Dale Lewis, Gene Lewis, Grizzly Smith, Johnny Eagles, Leo Seitz, Siegfried Stanke and Silento Rodriguez
-Grizzly Smith vs Siegfried Stanke
-Gene Lewis vs Johnny Eagles
-Bob Sweetan vs Silento Rodriguez
-Dale Lewis vs Leo Seitz

6/25/72 Houma LA
-Lumberjack match: Bob Sweetan vs Grizzly Smith
-Don Duffy vs Terry Lathan
-Gypsy Joe Rosario vs Leo Seitz

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