This card took place at the Coliseum, a fairly new venue in the Bronx, having opened in 1928. Wrestling in New York was buzzing in 1932, thanks in no small part to the impressive box office appeal of Jim Londos, heavyweight champion and to this day, one of the biggest draws in the sport’s history.
By the time of this card, Londos had split from the New York promoters, after a falling out over pay — and namely the sheer amount of his pay going to “chiselers” — men who claimed a percentage of a fighter’s purse, despite no, or minimal, work. Chief amongst these ne’er-do-wells was Toots Mondt, but Jack Pfefer certainly made the list.
To combat the threat of an independent Londos, New York City wrestling kingpin Jack Curley formed a formidable collection of promoters and bookers, including Mondt, Pfefer, Ray Fabiani, Paul Bowser, and others. This card is an excellent example of the impressive firepower available to the combination, even at a second-tier venue.
What really caught my eye on this card was the volume of Jewish wrestling superstars.
Here’s the card from December 6, 1932:
Paul Boesch beat Ivan Podubny
Herbie Freeman vs. Tiny Roebuck (30-minute draw)
Leo Pinetzki defeated Ivan Vakturoff
Irving Halpern vs. Wong Bock Cheung (30-minute draw)
Sid Westrich defeated Andy Zaharoff
Sammy Stein defeated Luigi Bacigalupi
This card represents a great chance to talk about the great ethnic champions of the 1930s, with the Jewish championship enjoying particular popularity in New York, thanks to its large immigrant population. (A newspaper ad in December 1931 touted “Herbie Freeman and Sammy Stein in a finish bout for the Jewish championship of the world.”)
Perhaps no name sticks out more on this card than that of Paul Boesch. Boesch, later a long-time promoter in Houston, Texas, got his start in wrestling only about two months earlier, having been discovered as a heroic lifeguard on a Long Island beach. Pfefer quickly scooped up the Brooklyn-born grappler and helped make him one of the top Jewish wrestlers in the country. This was partly due to his expert use of the flying tackle, a popular finish at the time. He would eventually capture the Jewish Heavyweight Championship, contesting with other notable competitors (also on this card), Sammy Stein and Herb Freeman.
There was just one issue with Boesch as Jewish champion: he wasn’t Jewish.
Pfefer saddled the grappler with the German-Hebrew gimmick to appeal to the local immigrant population — something common at the time. The only problem was that having granted an interview to the Jewish Daily Forward, Boesch showered while waiting for the reporter.
Not knowing Boesch’s whereabouts, the reporter entered the locker room, where Boesch was now standing, unclothed… and noticeably un-Jewish.
Paul Boesch’s opponent for the evening was Ivan Puddubny, but not that one. Pfefer had brought the real Puddubny, a multi-time world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1926, packing houses across the country. It was Pfefer’s big break and helped land him a chair at the top table on eastern grappling.
This Puddubny, however, was John Puddubny, possibly the earliest example of a Pfefer knock-off.
The semi-final involved “Tiny” Roebuck, a 285-pound All-American football star from the Haskell Indian Institute. Roebuck, born Theodore Roebuck, was a popular attraction and would make the jump to the big screen, having small roles in Man About Town, Robinson Crusoe, and several other films.
The previously mentioned Herb Freeman, for his part, was considered one of the best grapplers in the area, and a constant title contender.
Another Pfefer name on the card is Leo Pinetzki, a Polish wrestler with freakishly long arms. He had made his US debut the previous year and was still a popular addition to any card thanks to his 81 wingspan. Pinetzki’s opponent for the evening was Ivan Vakturoff