Review of Wrestling: A Pictorial History
Pictures aren't always perfect
WRESTLING: A PICTORIAL HISTORY
By David Hofstede
ECW Press
$19.95 Cdn, $17.95 USD
150 pages, paper
ISBN: 1-55022-445-X
By J MICHAEL KENYON -- For SLAM! Wrestling
A book worthy of close examination has arrived from ECW Press in Toronto.
No, the remnants of Extreme Championship Wrestling have not gone into the
publishing dodge. These ECW types (the acronym derives from an old literary
journal, Essays on Canadian Writing) have a fine reputation for publishing
scholarly books, biographies, fiction and poetry, in addition to an
occasional book about sports.
The entry at hand is among the first Sports/Entertainment titles they have
produced. And, of all the professional wrestling books I've ever seen, going
back to turn-of-the-20th Century biographies of Frank Gotch and Martin
(Farmer) Burns, this one rates high in terms of lush content.
The title is "Wrestling: A Pictorial History" and the man responsible for
this quality 150-pager is David Hofstede.
Not that all of it's high quality, in all shades of that phrase's meaning.
The occasional factual errors are disconcerting - but those, for the most
part, are pet peeves to me and others who know better; the average fan,
especially the younger set, will barely notice . . . Although some might
wonder why
Wahoo McDaniel is identified as a five-time NWA heavyweight
champion. I think the author meant to include "Mid-Atlantic" in there
somewhere.
Likewise, readers could wonder about inconsistencies in the captions, or why
it is assumed
Ox Baker will be recognizable when identified only as "Ox" and
why a picture of Gorgeous George Grant, circa 1975, is dropped, erroneously,
into a section devoted to George Wagner, the original "Gorgeous George."
(Oh, and some of the more grizzled ringsiders will be amazed to see Gino
Garibaldi identified as
'Killer' Kowalski , they will wonder who the "Man
Mountain Dean" pictured is - it is NOT Dean - and they'll be confused about
the description under a Hard Boiled Haggerty photo - the description fits
the last of three well-known HB Haggertys, Don Stansauk - but it is not
Stansauk who is pictured.)
Again, whether I am mostly niggling, or whether the reader will be upset at
the many erroneous captions, well, that's likely to be an individual
decision. Believe me, though, that the majority of the photographs -
reproduced in black and white on slick paper - are the price of admission
here. From the cover alone (a young Jumping Joe Savoldi, circa early '30s,
astraddle a pretzeled, unidentified foe) one can be sure that this is a book
for wrestling (okay, and "sports entertainment") buffs.
Hofstede, in fact, insists that his pictorial collection connects "the past
and present in professional wrestling." And he goes out of his way to remind
today's fans that there was a "Nature Boy" before
Ric Flair. (Alas, the
legion of Buddy Rogers fans will be stung, perhaps even irate, when they see
their "original" Nature Boy's presence reduced to one, hardly inspiring
image. Hardly the sort of treatment a true wrestling icon deserves.)
Still, Hofstede may rightly claim that the book is "a celebration of what
has gone before, what's happening now, and what will surely be more exciting
in times to come."
To help us sort out the principals in the hippodrome game's history, the
contents are divided into chapters like THE CHAMPIONS, THE HEELS, THE
PIONEERS, THE TAG TEAMS, THE COWBOYS, THE INDIANS, THE LADIES, THE REAL
DEALS, THE IMMORTALS (
Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan
are accorded this billing, each with his own section), THE LOUDMOUTHS, THE
HEROES, THE MASKED MEN, THE BRAWLERS, THE BODYBUILDERS, THE JOURNEYMEN, THE
INVADERS, THE HEARTTHROBS, THE SUPERHEAVYWEIGHTS, THE COUPLES, THE TWO-SPORT
STARS, THE ODDITIES, THE GREAT MATCHES, THE FANCY DRESSERS, THE HIGH FLIERS
and THE GLAMOR GIRLS.
But for one called THE MIDGETS, all the bases would be covered.
For those who are old enough to remember the first-named of the following
pairs, the juxtaposition of photographs, side by side on facing pages, is
fascinating: Mildred Burke ... and
Rena Mero; Primo Carnera ... and Kane; (the
ersatz) Man Mountain Dean ... and
Andre the Giant; Sandor Szabo ... and Dennis
Rodman; Earl Caddock ... and
The Rock;
Bobo Brazil ... and
Chyna, etc.
Mike Chapman's International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Newton, Iowa,
lent some vintage shots of Frank Gotch to the effort, and upwards of 25
other images of the "oldtimers," including the startlingly handsome image of
Savoldi for the cover. The remainder come mostly from stock photo
archivists, such as Globe Photos, PhotoFest, etc.
Hofstede, true to the current image of the game, has inserted a fair
sampling of raw cheesecake (scantily clad femmes like the former Mrs. Dustin
Runnels; the former Mrs. Randy Poffo -- this is Miss Elizabeth at a time
when she would have prompted a bulldog to break his chain -- and yet
another Randy Savage girlfriend, also not to be confused with the original
Gorgeous George).
Notable ring battles are represented by
Ali vs. Inoki, Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, Stanislaus Zbyszko vs. Strangler Lewis and Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt.
And, although their pictures reside under the chapter heading LADIES, little
known female wrestlers of the early '50s like Ella Phillips, Jean Kennedy
and Ann Stanley would be better categorized as FEMALE JOBBERS. If I could
ask Hofstede one question, it would be as to why their pictures are included
in a book almost completely dominated by wrestling main eventers.
This is an attempt at a serious pix book and, until one is distracted by the
careless errors (no editor is listed), it can be said to succeed. Hofstede,
a couple of years ago, churned out "Slammin': Wrestling's Greatest Heroes
and Villains," also from ECW Press, but which was a straightforward
collection of biographical pieces devoted to present-day ring stars. A
potpourri of lists and title histories rounded out that effort, which easily
could be construed as an updated version of the 1984 "Wrestling: The Good,
The Bad and The Ugly," authored by the hyper-prolific Bert Randolph Sugar
and George Napolitano. Okay, but decidedly a long way below the historical
stature of Hofstede's latest.
On balance, one would dearly like to give Hofstede a passing mark. The idea
was good, though the execution might have involved someone with a passing
knowledge of wrestling history. If one limits the critique to the quality of
the photos, alone, Hofstede acquits himself as a man with a good eye for
composition.
If only he had not tried to write the captions, too.
EDITOR'S NOTE: J Michael Kenyon is one of the most respected wrestling historians around, and emailer of The New WAWLI Papers. He is also the webmaster for the Cauliflower Alley Club and is on their board of directors. Visit the site at www.caulifloweralleyclub.org and find out how to join.
