Lou Thesz
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Lou Thesz was the stage name of Aloysius Martin Thesz, (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) who was a champion wrestler for 58 years.
Career
Born in Banat, Michigan, Thesz moved to St. Louis when he was a young boy. It was in St. Louis where Thesz started wrestling. His parents, immigrants, hailed from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
A well-known catch wrestler or "hooker", Thesz wrestled professionally from 1932 to 1990. During the 1940s and 1950s, it was not uncommon for Thesz to put on 250 exhibitions a year, and while the outcome of most pro wrestling matches were "fixed" even then, Lou Thesz was the "real deal", a supremely talented freestyle wrestler with tremendous "legit" talent who could handle himself in a real contest (and did on several occasions). Lou Thesz was by far the greatest wrestler of the 40s and 50s, and it appears that he was never beaten in a legitimate contest from 1936 onward. His arsenal of "hooks" (or submission holds) could literaly cripple a man in seconds, and his autobiography, Hooker, is perhaps one of the best books written on the subject of professional wrestling.
Thesz was also a champion, winning various world titles seven times and remaining unbeaten from 1948 to 1956. He finished his career in 1990 at the age of 73, wrestling a special match against his protege, Masahiro Chono, in Japan.
Thesz died on April 28, 2002 in Orlando.
Championships/Accomplishments
- 6-Time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA International Champion
- 1-Time UWA Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time WWA World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time Pacific Coast Tag Team Champion (with Dory Funk)
- Member of WCW Hall of Fame (inducted in 1993)