Steve Stanlee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve Zygowicz
Statistics
Ring name(s) Steve Stanlee
Paul Stanlee
Billed weight 232 lb (105 kg)
Born February 29, 1920 (1920-02-29) (age 88)?
Chicago, Illinois
Debut 1947?
Retired 1969?

Steve Zygowicz[1] (born February 29, 1920?), better known by his ring name of Steve Stanlee, is a former American professional wrestler from the late 1940s through the 1960s. He is the younger brother of the more famous professional wrestler Gene Stanlee.[2]

Contents

[edit] Career

Steve served with Gene in the U.S. Navy during World War II and entered the professional wrestling circuit after the war, using the name Paul Stanlee until sometime in 1949. Also like Gene, Steve took the nickname Mr. America for his chiseled physique, bleached his hair blond, and wore dazzling sequined jackets to the ring. [3] Gene and Steve did train together and had a couple of runs as a tag team, but the two generally stayed on separate career paths.[2] Notably, Steve wrestled Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on October 27, 1950,[4] two full years before his brother faced Thesz.[5] From 1947 to 1948, Steve Stanlee wrestled under the ring name Paul Stanlee for Georgia Championship Wrestling.[6] He competed against such wrestlers as Tom Mahoney and Bobby Roberts, winning the majority of these matches.[6]

After his stint in Georgia, Stanlee competed in Toronto, Ontario. He worked as a jobber, putting over other wrestlers, such as Al Korman and Pat Flanagan.[7] In the early 1950s, Stanlee wrestled in the Northeastern United States. Wrestling in New York and New Jersey, he received occasional pushes, challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions.[8][9]

Stanlee then traveled to California, where he wrestled in the mid-1950s.[10][11] He later returned to wrestle for Capitol Wrestling in the New York area in the late 1950s.[12][13][14]

Steve didn't catch on with the public in the same way as Gene did, and as a result never attained the same level of fame. However, he did have a longer career in the ring and may in fact be the better known brother among fans of 1960s wrestling. While Gene was out of wrestling by the early '60s, Steve remained active. He wrestled both as a singles competitor and as part of a tag team, The Stanlee Steamers, with a kayfabe third "brother", Bob Stanlee (played by Bob Merrill).[2] Unfortunately, Steve won few high-profile matches either way and is generally regarded to have been a "jobber to the stars" for much of his career. He did, however, win the National Wrestling Alliance's Ohio Heavyweight Championship on July 1, 1961 by defeating Frankie Talaber.[15] He dropped the belt back to Talaber in a rematch later that year.[15] Stanlee also helped train Buddy Bison, who wrestled for Georgia Championship Wrestling for several years.[16]

From 1964 to 1966, Stanlee wrestled for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). He lost the majority of his matches, but he did get victories over Arnold Skaaland and "Baron" Mikel Scicluna in 1965.[17][18][19] After leaving the WWWF, Stanlee wrestled in Hawaii, competing in both singles matches and in a tag team with Jim Hady.[10][20] He then returned to Georgia Championship Wrestling. He was used as a jobber in his matches in Georgia, putting over the promotion's other talent.[6]

Recently, Steve Stanlee appeared in an interview in the Icons Of Wrestling documentary series.[2]

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wrestler Profiles: Steve Stanlee. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  2. ^ a b c d Oliver, Greg. "Mr. America" Stanlee a showboating pioneer. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  3. ^ Kelly, David. Children's Books: I Was a Teenage Professional Wrestler. New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  4. ^ Steel Belt Wrestling - Buffalo - 1950. Steel Belt Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  5. ^ Wrestler Profiles: Gene Stanlee. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  6. ^ a b c Who's Who: Paul Stanlee. Georgia Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  7. ^ 1949 Results. Toronto Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  8. ^ Records of NWA World Heavyweight Championship Matches: 1950-51. Wrestling Titles. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  9. ^ Records of NWA World Heavyweight Championship Matches: 1952-53. Wrestling Titles. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  10. ^ a b Wrestler Profiles: Johnny Barend. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  11. ^ Wrestler Results Archive: Sandor Kovacs. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  12. ^ Results: 1958. NY Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  13. ^ Results: 1959. NY Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  14. ^ Capitol-NWA 1959. Superstar Billy Graham Record Book. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  15. ^ a b c Ohio Heavyweight Title. Wrestling Titles. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  16. ^ Wrestler Profiles: Buddy Bison. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  17. ^ Ring Results: 1964. The History of WWE. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  18. ^ Ring Results: 1965. The History of WWE. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  19. ^ Ring Results: 1966. The History of WWE. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
  20. ^ Wrestling Results (1966). 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.

[edit] External links

Professional wrestling
Portal