Garfield , Debut , Snippets and Tours

My guess would be that our best bet of finding Alan Garfield on any US TV shows would be to concentrate on the main regions he was based in, while overseas, and see if they had a TV contract, for example, Roy Shire's California promotion, "Big Time Wrestling", which had a TV show in the 1960's. Alan Garfield spent most of 1962 and some of 1963 in California, and wrestled in Oakland, the city where Roy Shire televised his weekly show, but they only taped (I think) on Friday night in that city, so it could be that Garfield missed the TV, but I would have thought that him being such a great character, they wouldn't miss that trick and would try to include him.

He wrestled all around their loop in 1962 (San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Bakersfield, etc.), so surely having him on TV, cheating and antagonizing the crowd, would have guaranteed bums-on-seats for the next few weeks as Alan went from town to town.

He also wrestled at the Los Angeles Auditorium, so that is another place he could possibly have been on TV.

I don't think Canada had weekly wrestling on TV in the early 1950's, so I am not sure we would find anything of his travels there.

As far as I know, the vast majority of US TV wrestling broadcast/tapes are owned by Vince McMahon.

Yes it's great Anglo and it all gets built on Snippets. He did one hell of a tour , I think he finally finished this tour , back in Ontario , in the spring of 1955.

He does seem to have had many tag partners and it may be that concentrating on footage of them , that we might yet get a view of Garfield.

Great research, Ron. So we now have a speciality submission for Alan Garfield: the bridging backbreaker.

When Garfield went to North America in 1953 he spent his early time in Quebec and Ontario and it was to be April 1954 when he made his USA Debut.

Opponent was Don Lewin. A ridiculous report stated that Garfield had fought Lord James Blears for the British Title five years previously. What Tosh.

Back to so called Rival Lu Kim it turns out on this bill Garfield and Kim were traveling to the arena together by car and burned out a wheel bearing.

The show started and stalled with a long first bout while Garfield phoned through to say they were two hours off.

The fans were offered a revised card or their money back. They elected for the money and the show was cancelled.

I have a presentation here for you of how Garfield was viewed.

As copyright is Fair Use and we are a historical site , I thank the paper and the archive. Take note of the Lu Kim Kayfabe about getting his hands on Garfield. I have another anecdote for later.

Thanks gents.

As far as I can tell, one of the problems with American wrestling seems to be they just collect results but don't record comments on performance.

We've got sell-outs, return bouts ... even Garfield turning on his tag partner to oppose him at the same Tacoma Armory venue a fortnight later.

Garfield clearly generated great heat and filled halls. I wonder if there were any write-ups of any of these shows that could describe the antics he deployed?

So the theory that Starr was very closely linked to Garfield remains perfectly possible.

I have been analysing the stats today and within what is known the wrestler he fought the most on tour was Johnny Kostas. Garfield dropped 11 matches to him and won 4. Real name Constantine Kostorias. I found an extra bill and stuck it in the gallery.

Next on the list is Dick Garza 3 wins 2 draws and six defeats.

And another bill found and added.

Earlier in the same year, Alan/Allen is in the Pacific North West.

Tacoma WA: April 11, 1962 Tacoma Armory

Gene Kiniski & Hard Boiled Haggerety* beat Roy & Don McClarty- Pacific Coast Tag Team Titles

Oliver Winrush beat Tommy O’Toole (2-1)

Lord Alan Garfield beat Tony Nero

Johnny Demchuck beat Cal Roberts

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

Tacoma WA: April 18, 1962 Tacoma Armory

Don McClarty beat Gene Kiniski (2-1 via dq)

Oliver Winrush & Lord Alan Garfield beat Tommy O’Toole & Hard Boiled Haggertey

Roy McClarty beat Johnny Demchuck

Tommy O’Toole drew Lord Alan Garfield

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

Tacoma WA: April 25, 1962 Tacoma Armory att: 1,200

Gene Kiniski & Hard Boiled Haggerety* beat Roy & Don McClarty (1-2 dq)- Pacific Coast Tag Team Titles

Oliver Winrush beat Tommy O’Toole (2-0)

Johnny Como beat Tony Nero

Lord Alan Garfield beat Johnny Demchuck

{Promoter: Cliff Olson/ Ring Announcer: Stan Naccarento}

Tacoma WA: May 2, 1962 Tacoma Armory

Don McClairty beat Gene Kiniski (2-1 dq)

Hard Boiled Haggerty beat Oliver Winrush

Roy McClarity beat Johnny Demchuck

Johnny Como & Lord Allen Garfield beat Tony Nero & Tommy O’Toole

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

Tacoma WA: May 16, 1962 Tacoma Armory

Gene Kiniski, Hardboiled Haggerty beat Roy & Don McClarty (2-1) Pacific Coast Tag Title Match

Tona Tomah beat Kathy Starr (2-1)- Ladies Match

Oliver Winrush beat Johnny Demchuck

Johnny Como beat Lord Allen Garfield

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

{Ed. Note: Winner of the ladies match is set to challenge Womens Champion June Beyers May 29th.}

Tacoma WA: May 29, 1962 Tacoma Armory

June Beyers beat Tona Tomah (2-1)- Womens World Title

Gene Kiniski beat Oliver Winrush (2-1)

Johnny Como beat Pierre LaChapelle

Lord Allen Garfield beat Johnny Demchuck

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

{Ed. Note: Special Tuesday night card.}

Tacoma WA: June 20, 1962 Tacoma Armory

Gene Kiniski beat Don McClarty- Texas Death Match

Oliver Winrush & Lord Allen Garfield beat Hard Boiled Haggerty & Vince Montana (2-1)

Roy McClarty beat Johnny Como

Pierre La Chappelle drew Cal Roberts

{Promoter: Cliff Olson/Referee: Johnny Buff}

Tacoma WA: June 27, 1962 Tacoma Armory

Gene Kiniski beat Mr.Clean (2-1)

Hard Boiled Haggerty beat Roy McClarty (2-1)

Don McClarty beat Vince Montana

Johnny Como & Oliver Winrush beat Lord Allen Garfield & Pierre La Chappelle

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

Tacoma WA: July 4, 1962 Tacoma Armory att: 1,800

Bearcat Wright beat Hard Boilded Haggerty (2-1)

Roy & Don McClarty beat Gene Kiniski & Vince Montana

Danno McDonald beat Lord Allen Garfield

Oliver Winrush beat Johnny Como

{Promoter: Cliff Olson}

TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE: Sunday July 8, 1962; WRIGHT, KINISKI TAGLE AT ARENA WEDNESDAY- Bearcat Wright and Gene Kiniski, two giant grapplers will meet in the professional wrestling main event at Tacoma Sports Arena Wednesday night. This will be the initial wrestling show at the Arena (Old Ice Arena) at 38th and South Tacoma Way. Wright is 6-6 and weighs 280lbs while Kiniski is 6-5 and 277lbs.

Tacoma WA: July 11, 1962 Tacoma Sports Arena

Bearcat Wright beat Gene Kiniski (2-1)

Hard Boiled Haggert beat Danno McDonald (2-1)

Roy McClarty beat Vince Montana

Don McClarty beat Lord Allen Garfield

Johnny Como beat Pierre LaChappelle

{Promoter: Cliff Olson/ Referee: John Buff}

Apologies if we have already listed these matches (we probably did, on the original thread from the old web site).

Alan now known as "Sir Allen", not sure if this is how it was portrayed on the posters, or if it is just a mistake from whoever recorded the results?

It includes the Starr match in Bakersfield.

*) AUG. 2, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

(WWA WORLD TITLE)

1) THE DESTROYER LOST TO DICK GARZA 2/3 FALLS (60 MINS) VIA

WOF

2) ERIC ROMMEL OVER OX ANDERSON 2/3 FALLS (2 ST) VIA DQ

3) SIR ALAN GARFIELD OVER BLACK BART

4) MIKE SHARPE DREW JOHNNY WALKER

(GARZA WON THE ONLY FALL BEFORE THE HOUR TIME LIMIT RAN OUT. TITLE DIDN’T CHANGE.)

*) AUG. 9, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

(WWA WORLD TITLE)

1) THE DESTROYER OVER DICK GARZA 2/3 FALLS (NO TIME LIMIT) VIA

COR

2) ERIC ROMMEL OVER THE GREAT TOGO 2/3 FALLS

3) SIR ALLEN GARFIELD OVER TOM ZINK

4) MIKE SHARPE DREW ALDO BOGNI

*) AUG. 16, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

(INT TV TAG TITLE)

1) ERIC ROMMEL & DICK GARZA OVER THE DESTROYER &

GREAT TOGO 2/3 FALLS

2) DANNY HODGES DREW SIR ALLEN GARFIELD 2/3 FALLS (45 MINS)

3) KARL VON SCHOBER OVER ALDO BOGNI 2/3 FALLS

*) AUG. 23, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

(WWA WORLD TITLE)

1) THE DESTROYER OVER ERIC ROMMEL 2/3 FALLS

2) COWBOY DICK HUTTON OVER MIKE SHARPE 2/3 FALLS

3) DICK GARZA OVER SIR ALLEN GARFIELD VIA DQ

4) OMAR ROJO DREW KARL VON SCHOBER

*) AUG. 30, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

1) THE DESTROYER & KARL VON SCHOBER & ALLEN GARFIELD

OVER

DICK HUTTON & ERIC ROMMEL & DICK GARZA

2) RICKI STARR OVER HANS HERMAN 2/3 FALLS (2 ST) VIA DQ

3) THE DESTROYER DREW DICK HUTTON

4) ERIC ROMMEL DREW SIR ALLEN GARFIELD

*) SEPT. 6, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

1) LITTLE BEAVER & TINY TIM OVER SKY LOW LOW & BILLY THE

KID 2/3 FALLS

2) COWBOY DICK HUTTON OVER SIR ALLEN GARFIELD 2/3 FALLS

(2 ST) VIA DQ

3) OMAR ROJO OVER TRD CHRISTY 2/3 FALLS

*) SEPT. 13, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

1) LITTLE BEAVER & TINY TIM OVER SKY LOW LOW & BILLY THE

KID 2/3 FALLS

2) THE DESTROYER OVER OMAR ROJO 2/3 FALLS (2 ST)

3) DICK HUTTON OVER KARL VON SCHOBER 2/3 FALLS (2 ST) VIA

COR

*) SEPT. 20, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

1) THE DESTROYER DREW DICK HUTTON 2/3 FALLS (60 MINS)

2) RICKI STARR OVER SIR ALLEN GARFIELD 2/3 FALLS (2 ST) VIA DQ

3) KARL VON SCHOBER OVER YOSHIMO SATO VIA DQ

4) DICK GARZA OVER JESUS ORTEGA VIA DQ

(SOTO SUBED FOR ROMMEL)

*) SEPT. 27, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

1) LITTLE BEAVER & TINY TIM OVER SKY LOW LOW & BILLY THE

KID 2/3 FALLS (2 ST)

2) COWBOY DICH HUTTON DREW KARL VON SCHOBER 2/3 FALLS

3) THE PREACHER OVER ERIC ROMMEL 2/3 FALLS

*) OCT. 4, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM (PROMOTER STEVE STRELICH)

1) DICK HUTTON & DICK GARZA VS THE DESTROYER & KARL

VON SCHOBER 2/3 FALLS

2) JESUS ORTEGA VS THE PREACHER 2/3 FALLS

3) JOHN PAUL HENNING VS SIR ALLEN GARFIELD

*) OCT. 11, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

(WWA WORLD TITLE)

1) THE DESTROYER OVER COWBOY DICK HUTTON 2/3 FALLS

2) KARL VON SCHOBER OVER DICK GARZA 2/3 FALLS

3) JOHN PAUL HENNING OVER THE PREACHER VIA DQ

4) JESUS ORTEGA OVER VIC CHRISTY

*) OCT. 17, 1967—PRIMO CARNERA LOST TO JESUS ORTEGA AT THE OLYMPIC IN LOS ANGELES

*) OCT. 18, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

1) PRIMO CARNERA & JESUS ORTEGA & JOHN PAUL HENNING

VS

THE DESTROYER & KARL VON SCHOBER & THE PREACHER

2) ROCKY HUNTER VS SIR ALLEN GARFIELD 2/3 FALLS

3) THE PREACHER VS JESUS ORTEGA

4) JOHN PAUL HENNING VS KARL VON SCHOBER

*) OCT. 25, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM

(WWA WORLD TITLE)

1) THE DESTROYER DREW JOHN PAUL HENNING 2/3 FALLS VIA

DKO

2) COWBOY DICK HUTTON OVER SIR ALLEN GARFIELD 2/3 FALLS

(2 ST)

3) KARL VON SCHOBER OVER JESUS ORTEGA VIA DQ

4) ROCKY HUNTER OVER TED CHRISTY VIA DQ

(PRIMO CARNERA NO SHOWED THIS MATCH WITH THE DESTROYER DUE TO A INJURY. IT’S BELIEVED THAT HE NEVER WRESTLED AGAIN. PRIMO’S LAST MATCH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ON OCT. 18, IF HE WRESTLED. THE NEWSPAPER CLAIMED CARNERA WAS INJURED ON TUESDAY OCT. 23, BUT HE WASN’T AT THE WWA CARD IN LONG BEACH.)

*) NOV. 1, 1962-- BAKERSFIELD STRELICH STADIUM (ATT: SELLOUT)

(NEW PROMOTERS = JERRY HILL & BILL GRIFFITHS)

1) HAYSTACK CALHOUN OVER KARL VON SCHOBER & JACK

TERRY (HANDICAP MATCH)

2) THE DESTROYER DREW COWBOY DICK HUTTON 2/3 FALLS (60

MINS)

3) ABE JACOBS OVER SIR ALLEN GARFIELD

4) JESES ORTEGA OVER ROCKY HUNTER

(THE DESTROYER SUBED FOR DON MANOUKIAN.)

Here he is enjoying the California sunshine in January 1963

1/19/63 Fresno, CA @ Memorial Auditorium

US Champion Pepper Gomez beat Ciclon Negro 2/3

World Tag Team Champions Wilbur Snyder & Nick Bockwinkel beat Don Jardine & Larry Hennig

Joe Brunetti beat Ed Miller

Red Bastien beat Allan Garfield

Luis Martinez beat Jack Allen

Anglo , Garfield v Starr in 1962.

Listed on WD.COM six times and all defeats.

29th August Los Angeles Grand Auratorium.

12th September Los Angeles Grand Auratorium

20th September in Bakersfield.

22nd September in San Bernadino

26th December San Jose

29th December Cow Palace San Francisco.

Thanks for the reminder, Ron, I just went back into Saxonwolf's list.

At the start of Heritage we called Garfield the Turbulent Trailblazer and promoted the idea that he had brought back ideas and talent from his early 1950's tour. Noticing now opponents like Ski Hi Lee and Peter Maivia just reinforces that idea now. I bet any money that he wrestled Ricki Starr somewhere in the USA, probably on his 1962 tour, and was directly responsible for Starr coming to Britian. And I could imagine that Garfield's much-mentioned Brighton victory over invincible Starr was Payback.

Intriguingly, the route after the 1962 tour seems to have been into Paul Lincoln bills (Starr, midgets) yet Garfield seemed on the surface to be a Dale Martin man (remember McManus was the only wrestlers at his funeral.)

The Garfield/Lincoln relationship is therefore also interesting.

So many of them bobbed and weaved between the rival promoters. Garfield seemingly too, somehow.

Most Canadian research is seemingly grandfathered in and curated by wrestler Vance Nevada. For this card his file just says "Calgary, AB: June 1, 1962 – No wrestling" . The Stampede Corral was where they had their big shows, so you have peaked my curiosity. But I can't find nothing on Newspapers.com, sadly.

Outside of someone from Alabama we are mostly Europeans, so we use the usual online resources.

About seven years ago we were discussing what we knew of Garfield and SaxonWolf put an excellent list on of some of his results.

https://www.wrestlingheritage.co.uk/apps/forums/topics/show/12569481

A great site and project that reveals much is wrestlingdata.com and over the two tours they list about 260 matches in North America. It's a big team and I don't know how they access all the newspapers needed as I just can't find most of their stuff but I do find odd extra's.

One such stray is 30thMay 1962 , Garfield does a time limit draw with John Foti in Saskatoon on a Wednesday night. That is a single match in Stampede.

Question is , did he do the Loop for Stu Hart.

Sure enough I checked The Calgary Herald for the Friday night and got what I was after.

It is likely that on the Thursday he would have been on at Regina or possibly Swift Current.

As he did no further Friday night shows I suspect he possibly did one week on the Loop , but getting the right papers across two states has always proved difficult.

But yes my point is Garfield did some shows for Stu Hart.

Ortega has become Ursus again because it's Stampede.

Kovacs is following the same path as Garfield.

The wrestler with the shaved head in the newspaper cutting, helping carry the stretcher looks like Swedish/American wrestler (and actor) Tor Johnson, who wrestled as the Swedish Angel and King Kong, among other names.

The wrestlers in the film look different to me. That's Ali the Wicked with the Prayer Mat.

The 1947 Harringay tournament was well publicised with photos in magazines & newspapers and a newsreel filmed:

The only other time I find Jesse James in England was here with Assirati a few months later.

Strange that Garfield should start his career in such a high profile match.

The Harringay show was a bit of a con. Where was Assirati.

Thanks Ron.

Just noticing in there how Garfield was sharing bills with the likes of The Great Togo and the midgets in 1962. Just makes you wonder how directly he was involved in bringing them over to England. In which case, he was responsible for finding one of the great Bond villains in Goldfinger.