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Showing posts with the label Podcast

Charting the Territories Oct '22: Everything Zen(da) and a Boobie Hi Ball

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On the latest episode of the Charting the Territories podcast, Al Getz and Jon Boucher cover the 4th quarter of 1966 in LeRoy McGuirk's wrestling territory. They discuss one wrestler who tried to launch a career in country music, and another who had a prolific post-wrestling career in the hot rod industry and was also killed (onscreen) by Michael Myers.

Charting the Territories Sep '22: Cooking Up Some Action in 1978

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On the latest episode of the Charting the Territories podcast, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1978 in LeRoy McGuirk's OK/LA territory. Ernie Ladd and Ray Candy main event the Superdome, but how many people saw it? They also look at Eric the Red and Jerry Stubbs, plus Jon sent Al a rather unique cookbook!

Charting the Territories Aug '22: A Jailed Hot Dog and an Accidental Car Thief

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On the latest episode of the Charting the Territories podcast, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1974 in LeRoy McGuirk's OK/LA wrestling territory. They discuss the big feud between Ken Mantell and Buck Robley, run down the rest of the roster, dive into the early lives of Robley and Stan Hansen, and tons more!

Charting the Territories Jul '22: Save a Horse (Indict a Cowboy)

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On the latest episode of the Charting the Territories podcast, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1966 in the McGuirk OK/LA territory. We cover the little-known story of Cowboy Bob Ellis' involvement in a horse-racing scandal that led to a federal indictment, including new info never before shared. Plus we learned more about Battleship Johnson from a former martial arts student of his. We also discuss Don Kent, Hodge vs Brisco and tons more!

Charting the Territories Jun '22: The Texas Three

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On the latest episode of the Charting the Territories podcast, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1978 in LeRoy McGuirk's Oklahoma/Louisiana territory. The top wrestlers, the big feuds, plus a look at three newcomers all of whom had strong ties to Texas wrestling. They also look at Bobby Shane's Gulf Coast run in '71. Plus tons more!

Charting the Territories May '22: Young Frank and Get The "L" Out

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1974 in Leroy McGuirk's wrestling territory. They discuss the early life of Frank Goodish (Bruiser Brody) and reveal some information about the life of Bulldog Drummer (aka Count Drummer) that has never been part of wrestling's "historical record" until now. Plus tons more!

Charting the Territories Apr '22: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Battleship Johnson?

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1966 in the Oklahoma/Louisiana wrestling territory. Danny Hodge, the Assassins, plus newcomers including Krusher Kowalski, Tor Kamata, and a man for whom little is known about, Battleship Johnson. Plus, Al quizzes Jon with questions from Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia!

Stats 101: The SPOTted Amarillo

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On the latest episode of Stats 101, wrestling historian Al Getz looks at the Amarillo territory in the first half of the 1970s and discusses a new application of the SPOT Rating, the statistic which measures a wrestlers' average position on house show lineups.

Charting the Territories Mar '22: Brute and Ernie

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 1st quarter of 1978 in the Oklahoma/Louisiana wrestling territory. They discuss Ernie Ladd, Reggie Parks, and Skip Young among others. Along the way they take some interesting detours such as the scent of Kevin Nash and the Norwegian glam rock scene. As a special bonus, Al interviews the Brute (Buggsy McGraw)!

Wrestling History Mysteries: Mister Montez

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On the latest episode of Wrestling History Mysteries, rogue wrestling historian Al Getz attempts to use research and logic to clear up a slightly confusing situation involving a wrestler (or is it wrestlers?) in Florida in the fall of 1972. It's another example of the challenges wrestling historians face when trying to verify 50-year old info.

Charting the Territories Feb '22: Shoot(ing)s and Ladders

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 1st quarter of 1974 in the Oklahoma/Louisiana wrestling territory. They discuss the inventor of the ladder match and the first such matches held in the U.S. From there, it's a look at a wrestler who once claimed the Olympic Auditorium discriminated against Black wrestlers. Plus Homer O'Dell liked guns. Like, a lot.

Stats 101: Will you be Johnny's Valentine?

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On the latest episode of Stats 101, wrestling historian Al Getz looks at the three biggest feuds of Johnny Valentine's Mid-Atlantic run in the mid-1970s using the new FLW (Feud Length in Weeks) stat.

The Curious Case of Mr. Szabo: Epilogue

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In 2021, I spent a significant number of man-hours confirming the identity of a masked wrestler who worked for Leroy McGuirk in 1963 and disappeared suddenly after suffering an injury during a match with Lou Thesz. Shocking new details about that match *may* have been uncovered!

Charting the Territories Jan '22: Irish pizza, an Alaskan cowboy, and peaceful vigilantes

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 1st quarter of 1966 in the McGuirk wrestling territory, looking at how a real-life car accident may have impacted the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title history and how another car accident unwittingly unmasked the Assassins. From there, they go walking in Memphis and look at 11 straight weeks of Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee.

Stats 101: The new FLW (Feud Length in Weeks) stat

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On the latest episode of Stats 101, wrestling historian Al Getz discusses a new stat he created to measure feuds in pro wrestling in the territorial era. Along with explaining the development of the stat, he gives numerous examples of it in action, spanning multiple territories and decades.

Charting the Territories Dec '21: Moondog eats glass, the family Bass, Ty Cobb kicks a fan's ass

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 4th quarters of 1973 and 1965 in Leroy McGuirk's territory, discussing the Bass family, Bob Backlund, and Lorenzo Parente among others. They then head west, but not before they open their Christmas presents for one another "live". Plus Al has an intern!

The Curious Case of Mr. Szabo (transcript of podcast episodes)

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The following is a transcript of all four episodes of my "Wrestling History Mysteries" podcast. They are taken from the 'scripts' I prepared for each episode. I have also included numerous original-source materials where relevant to provide documentation.

Charting the Territories Nov '21: Thankful for Wrestling

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On the latest episode of Charting the Territories, Thunderbolt Patterson was thankful he got into pro wrestling ... Don Jardine was thankful that Gary Hart was a comic book fan ... Swede Hanson was thankful George Scott always kept him in mind ... and we are thankful for all of our listeners! Tune in as Al Getz and Jon Boucher talk turkey regarding pro wrestling in the territorial era.

Wrestling History Mysteries Case #3: The Curious Case of Mr Szabo (Part III)

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The latest episode of Wrestling History Mysteries is Part III of "The Curious Case of Mr. Szabo", a multi-part series in which I attempt to uncover the identity of a masked wrestler who worked for Leroy McGuirk in February & March, 1963.

Charting the Territories Oct '21: Jack and Bobby

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  The latest episode of the Charting the Territories podcast is here!