"No one who was here will ever forget this weekend, not ever!"
It was indeed a remarkable inductions weekend on June 27-28, as history was made in a number of ways at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo. For instance
- It was the 10th induction, marking a decade of existence for the hall;
- For the first time ever, a female wrestler was honored;
- There were inductees from four different countries;
- It was the first time the inductions were not held in the museum itself;
- It was the first time one of the honorees walked out before the event was complete;
- And there was, of course, the historic flood to deal with
Planning for the event, the museum's largest fundraiser of the year, was cruising along ahead of schedule – until the first week of June. That's when thunderstorms began to pour into Iowa, and massive flooding overwhelmed the area. The museum was dealt a devastating blow when storm sewer waters backed up into the building at the very same time floodwaters surrounded it from outside.
The museum suffered tremendous damage in what was called the worst flood of the past hundred years, a truly historic storm. There was considerable talk about canceling the Pro Hall of Fame Celebrity golf tournament, but the staff decided to move ahead and send a strong message to the world that is was down but not out.
“It was a courageous decision by the staff, and everyone worked long, tough days to pull it off,” said Mike Chapman, executive director. “With lots of help from board members Bob Buckley, Jay Roberts and Bill Murdock, and friends of the museum, we pulled off a very successful weekend.”
IT ALL BEGAN with the Celebrity Golf Tournament on Friday, June 17, at Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course. A total of 124 golfers showed up and were greeted by sunny skies (after a gloomy forecast).
“I think it was a wonderful event. Everyone had a great time and we showed we could come back from a disaster and fight through it,” said Jay Roberts. “I was proud of the staff and happy for everyone involved.”
“Considering the circumstances, I think it was very successful,” said Andy Devine, the golf pro at Irv Warren. “Several tournaments were cancelled due to the flooding and all, but this one was a big success.”
A pro wrestling show followed on Friday night. It was held at Young Arena, just two blocks from the wrestling museum. Young Arena had also been hit by the flood, but nowhere near as badly damaged as was the museum.
Over 500 fans showed up for the show put on by legendary wrestler Harley Race and World League Wrestling. It was called “Night of Legends II,” and the highlight was the appearance of pro wrestling superstars Bret “Hitman” Hart and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Both were in town for the inductions, Roddy being a member of the Class of 2008 and Bret accepting on behalf of his father, Stu Hart.
Halfway through the show, the wrestlers made their appearance. They sat at a table on the main floor and signed hundreds of autographs. Also signing were hall of famers Dan Hodge, Baron Von Raschke, Bob Roop, Abe Jacobs, and Harley Race.
“It was a tremendous success, at every level,” said Kyle Klingman, associate director of the museum. “All of the fans had a terrific time and we made some money for the museum's recovery.”
Bret Hart charged $10 for an autograph, and after more than an hour of non-stop signing, he donated all the money to the museum.
“It was an extremely generous move by Bret,” said Kyle. “It totaled over $1,200. It took us all by surprise and was greatly appreciated. That shows you how much Bret thinks of the museum and its goal to preserve the sport's history. He really cares.”
Harley Race and his wife, B.J., were just as supportive. They announced the next day that they were turning over the show's proceeds to the museum. One of the prized items was a pair of wrestling boots that Harley wore during his long pro career. The boots fetched $750.
Between the pro card and silent auction, the Races donated nearly $5,000 to the museum to help in its restoration.
ON SATURDAY, the official inductions were held at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. It was the first time in 10 years the inductions were not held in the museum itself, so fans could tour the facility before and after the inductions.
Some 400 devoted fans came to the inductions. They heard moving acceptance speeches for the deceased inductees from Pam Gunkel (Ray's daughter), Bret Hart (Stu's son), and Wendi Weaver (daughter of Penny Banner, the Frank Gotch Award winner). Then Abe Jacobs, Masa Saito (with his wife, Michi, helping in the translation), and Roddy Piper accepting their plaques.
Also honored were Father Jason Sanderson with the Lou Thesz Championship Award for his philanthropic work around the world, and Steve Johnson and Greg Oliver, who shared the Jim Melby Journalist of the Year Award.
The fan festival followed for two hours, with another long autograph session for the stars.
All was set for the final event of the weekend – which was the inductions banquet. It began with a ten-minute talk by Mike Chapman, executive director, about the status of the museum's future in light of the severe damage it had suffered. He told the group that somewhere around $450,000 would be needed to put the museum back in operation, and that it would take four to six months to get the doors open again.
Karl Lauer, representing the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC), a national group of former boxers and wrestlers, came to the stage and presented the museum with a $2,000 donation. He then challenged the crowd to come to donate, laying down a $100 bill himself. Within minutes, another $1700 had been collected.
Tom Drake, a board member of both the CAC and the Gable Museum, and his wife Chris, made a donation of $1000. It was the tenth straight year the Drakes had made the donation to the museum. Jay Roberts also made a large donation.
Wendi Weaver and Mike Chapman
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper speaking
The inductions began with a introduction of the Thesz and Melby Award winners, and then Wendi Weaver brought everyone to tears with her wonderful tribute to her mother, Penny Banner, the first-ever AWA world champion. Penny was the first woman ever honored by the museum, and Wendi said her mother was looking forward to coming to Waterloo so much that she canceled all her other trips to have energy to attend and receive the Frank Gotch Award. But she lost her battle with cancer and died in May.
“She was so honored to receive this award and wanted to be here so much,” said Wendi. “But she is here with us now.”
Deceased honorees Ray Gunkel and Leo Nomelinni were recognized, and then Bret Hart came to the podium to accept his father's award. He began by saying how much he respected the hall of famers in attendance, and such legends as Frank Gotch and Lou Thesz. He then told the audience that he did not respect the works of Greg Oliver (who was sharing the Jim Melby Award with Steve Johnson), and asked Oliver to leave the banquet, saying that he would leave if Oliver did not.
A stunned audience watched as Steve Johnson and his wife left, then Bret issued again his challenge to Greg Oliver, who did not leave. Bret then walked off the stage and left the room as several members of the audience stood and applauded him, in a show of support.
Mike Chapman took the podium, then turned to Abe Jacobs and said, “Well, Abe, I guess you're next.” Abe shook his head, saying, “How does anyone follow that?”
Abe then stepped to the podium and delighted the audience with a very funny story about wrestling Dan Hodge decades ago.
“It was the perfect story at the perfect time,” said Bill Murdock. “It was hilarious and everyone began to loosen up.”
A former national amateur champion in his native New Zealand, Abe came to America in the 1950s and was a pro star for nearly 25 years.
Masa Saito and his charming wife were next in order. A former amateur champion and Olympic wrestler in his native Japan, Masa was a huge star in the pro ranks for nearly 20 years. He does no speak much English and his wife translated his remarks. He also got a huge laugh when he closed by saying, “I am sorry if I hurt any American wrestlers when I was wrestling.”
Roddy Piper closed the show with a talk that included both great sensitivity and tremendous humor. He told how his amateur background had prepared him for the battles of pro wrestling and life in general, including a fight with cancer. Now an actor, Roddy had the audience roaring with laughter several times.
It was truly a historic weekend, from several different perspectives. It will not be forgotten by those who were there.
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