A native of New Zealand , where he was a rugby player and amateur mat champion, O'Connor came to America in the early 1950s and wrestled out of the Minnesota territory. Due to his rugged good looks and flashy ring style, he became one of the most popular wrestlers of his era.

Pat defeated Dick Hutton on January 9, 1959 , to become NWA world heavyweight champion. He held the title for nearly two years before losing it to Buddy Rogers, in front of a crowd of 41,000 Chicago .

He went on to win the AWA world tag-team title with Wilbur Snyder and was also American heavyweight champion for a period. He continued to wrestle well into the 1980s and had over 4000 matches to his credit. He was also a trainer and booker out of the Kansas City office, working with hall of famer Bob Geigel.

Pat died August 15, 1990 . He is fondly remembered as one of the top stars of the 1950s-60s era.

A native of Oklahoma , LeRoy McGuirk was a two-time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University ), winning the NCAA title at 155 pounds in 1931. After graduation, he embarked upon a very long and successful professional career. He defeated Hugh Nichols for the light heavyweight championship in Tulsa on March 5, 1934 . Five years later, he won the junior heavyweight title from John Swenski in Hollywood .

McGuirk was the first wrestler to ever win both the NWA light heavyweight championship and the junior heavyweight championship, and his reign brought prestige to both crowns.

Speed and technical skill were his forte, and he was known as both a tough shooter and good worker. LeRoy was one of the biggest stars in the game when an automobile accident in 1950 left him blind and ended his career. He turned to promoting and became one of the most successful promoters of the 1950s and '60s, bringing in top college stars like Dan Hodge and Jack Brisco.

LeRoy died on September 9, 1988 , at the age of 78, in Claremont , Oklahoma .