SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Ed, Gerry & Joe Tardi

  Winnipeg's Tardi brothers wrestled throughout the 1950s and into the early 60s.

They were never really big stars outside the province.

Gerry -- the youngest of the Tardis, was actually the first to start wrestling. He was a tremendous amateur wrestler, competing in the 1952 Olympic trials. Born April 3, 1932, Gerry debuted in early 1952. He was the president of the Olympia Wrestling Club with Al Tomko 1950-1951. Following the closure of the Olympia, Tardi was instrumental in contacting Gordon Mackie, manager of the Madison Boxing Club, about adding wrestling to their programming. Tardi would become the first matchmaker for the group.

The 5'10", 180-pound Gerry recalled to Vern May that many boxing and wrestling cards were presented with the boxers in the undercard, then wrestlers getting boxing rosen in their eyes from the ropes during their matches.

In 1959, Gerry became a part of the Manitoba wrestling commission under Jimmy Trifunov. He left the sport around the same time when back problems caught up with him.

On July 1, 1952, Joe Tardi made his wrestling debut, after training with his brother Gerry.

Born in November 1931, the 5'10", 175-pound Joe debuted for the Crescent club, and would become a headliner for that club and the Madison Club simultaneously. He's currently retired from wrestling, and lives in White Rock, B.C.

Edward, born in 1927, followed his brothers into the mat game. At 5'5" and 240 pounds, he made his pro debut July 3, 1956 against Bobby Jones. In 1957, he held the Madison Tag-Team title with Frenchy Champagne.

This bio was written by central Canada's leading wrestling expert, Vern May of Canadian Wrestle-Media. To learn more about wrestlers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Vern encourages you to email him.