Sam Muchnick

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Sam Muchnick (August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri.

He is often described as wrestling's equivalent to Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commissioner who revolutionized the league), and he was instrumental in the establishment of the National Wrestling Alliance, the industry's top governing body, in 1948.

Muchnick served as the NWA's president from 1950 to 1960 and then from 1965 to 1975.

He was the founder of the St. Louis Wrestling Club, one of the NWA's key members based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Early life

Muchnick was born in Ukraine to a Jewish family on August 22, 1905, but he migrated to the United States in 1911. He grew up in St. Louis and his name was changed to Samuel after his father decided that Jeshua (Jesus or Joshua) was an inappropriate name for a Jewish child. While attending college, he worked various jobs to help out his family before obtaining his high school degree (though he postponed his graduation to attend a live wrestling show at the Odeon Theatre, where he watched the legendary Wladek Zbyszko in action). He began working for the United States Post Office in 1924, and in 1926, he joined the St. Louis Times newspaper, where he covered the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team while acquiring numerous influential friends (including Babe Ruth, Al Capone, and others). Muchnick also covered pro wrestling, where he met Tom Packs, the Midwest's best sports promoter, who was also involved in professional wrestling. The Times joined with the St. Louis Star in 1932, and Muchnick resigned from the paper as a Packs' publicist, where he oversaw public relations, finances, and even booking positions.

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Promoting career

Muchnick spent nine years as Tom Packs' righthand man, while still learning the ropes under one of the country's most influential promoters. Muchnick was mocked by Packs after the pair's triumphant promotion of the Joe Louis vs. Tony Musto heavyweight championship bout in April 1941 (which earned the duo's $14,000 profit). Muchnick decided to abandon his mentor after Longtime wrestling champion Jim Londos (who was also on the outside lookings for Packs) told him to start his own company. Despite mounting resistance from Packs (who had a lot of political clout with the State Athletic Commission), Muchnick performed his first shows in May 1942 before enlisting in the Air Force during World War II. Muchnick's first show at the renowned Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, 1945, became a victim of Packs as he returned from work; nonetheless, he filed several court injunctions to advertise his first performance. Muchnick attracted 3,771 fans to the arena, with veteran wrestlers including Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Roy Dunn, and others. Many thanks to maverick Ohio promoter Jack Pfefer (who sent Sam several wrestlers to help him get off), as well as veteran wrestling stars such as Sam Bennett (who brought Sam many wrestlers to help him get off), as well as others.

Muchnick was often forced to use old-timers past their primes as Packs employed the majority of the top talent (including reigning World Champion Lou Thesz). Muchnick was approached by Iowa's Pinky George and Minnesota's Tony Stecher in mid-1948 about starting a new wrestling union. All pro wrestling rules had originated from the National Wrestling Association, which was made up of various athletic commissions up to this point. Their proposal was to form a consortium of promoters who would later trade the World Champion and top wrestlers' bookings while also splitting the gate draws. As a result, Muchnick met with fellow promoters Pinky George, Wally Karbo (representing Tony Stecher), Orville Brown, Max Clayton, and Al Haft at the President Hotel in Waterloo, Iowa, on July 19, 1948, to form what was known as the National Wrestling Alliance. Pinky George was named the organization's first President, while Orville Brown was named the first NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Muchnick was the beneficiary of talent swaps with various countries that joined the NWA shortly after. As a result, he was able to find the services of an innovative young heel named "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, who had been wrestling in Jack Pfefer's Toledo, Ohio territory. Rogers' outspoken persona and charismatic demeanor helped him outdraw even Lou Thesz (who had taken over a large portion of Tom Packs' operation) while still giving Muchnick's firm more credibility. The two St. Louis groups will combine eventually, with the introduction of a war strategy; Muchnick retained a main concern in the territory by retaining two percentage points more than Thesz. Since Brown was hospitalized in a car accident prior to their scheduled match, the National Wrestling Association and the National Wrestling Alliance World Championships were unified in the National Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Alliance World Championships on November 27, 1949.

Sam Muchnick was elected the new president of the NWA in 1950, a position in which he was re-elected for the next nine years due to the deep trust he inspired among the various members of the group. With Muchnick as the head of pro wrestling, the NWA became the country's top governing body, as almost every major wrestling territory joined the Alliance in order to gain access to the NWA's riches chest, which was universally regarded as the sport's best governing body. The NWA will also contribute thousands of dollars to support the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team under Muchnick's leadership. Sam Muchnick, a late 1950s, founded the St. Louis Wrestling Club while constructing a new television show titled Wrestling at the Chase, which ran from May 23, 1959 to Sept. 10, 1983. During this period, there were approximately 1,100 episodes produced. The show will be one of the most well-known local productions in St. Louis television history, as it transformed pro wrestling into a nationally recognized sport while still bringing the NWA's many stars into the homes of its followers.

Sam Muchnick stepped down as NWA president in 1960, so that the group could profit from new innovations. He served as executive secretary under Frank Tunney, Fred Kohler, and Karl "Doc" Sarpolis. In turn, Muchnick was unanimously reinstated as the NWA president in 1963 and served as the industry's most influential promoter for 25 years. Muchnick's second stint as the NWA's top champion, although he also displayed an uncanny eye for scouting future talent as his St. Louis territories coached such as Johnny Valentine, Gene Kiniski, Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., and many others. In addition, he expanded the NWA globally by concluding deals with territories in Mexico, the Far East, Europe, and the Caribbean.

Muchnick unveiled his last card on January 1, 1982, which was later designated "Sam Muchnick Day" in St. Louis by Mayor Vincent Schoemehl. Bob Geigel, Pat O'Connor, and Harley Race purchased the St. Louis Wrestling Club shortly afterward. Larry Matysik, Muchnick's former announcer and general manager, established his own competing promotion in St. Louis around the same time. The WWF struck an agreement with Matysik in St. Louis, which brought them into St. Louis and gave them the former TV timeslot of "Wrestling at the Chase" for a year. In 1985, the St. Louis Wrestling Club was sold to Jim Crockett Jr. and integrated into World Championship Wrestling. During the World Wrestling Federation's Badd Blood: In Your House pay-per-view, he was honoured as a St. Louis legend in 1997.

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