Episode 2: Jim Londos

June 13, 2022 Ken Zimmerman Jr. Podcast

In this episode, I will be talking about biggest box office attraction in wrestling history. When he took a working vacation back to his home country of Greece, he filled up 100,000 stadiums. He was the first wrestler to draw 30,000 fans since the second Frank Gotch-George Hackenschmidt match in 1911.

Update

Why I Do not Think Frank Gotch Paid Ad Santel $5,000.00 to Injure Georg Hackenschmidt

Book Project Update

Newspaper article about John Contos’ St. Louis Wrestling Card in 1923 (Public Domain)

Main Content

The topic for this month came from a question. Someone researching Jim Londos asked when he started working matches and how he learned to work?

Jim Londos from the November 16, 1920 edition of Idaho Statesman (Public Domain)

Before we discuss the question, I thought it would be the ideal time to talk about several terms which will often come up in the podcast: work, shoot, performer, shooter, hooker, and hook. I explain each term.

Jim Londos born Christos Theofilou on January 2, 1894, started out as a circus strongman. Londos developed a bodybuilder’s physique without steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. The carnival wrestlers taught Londos how to shoot and hook but he never was on the level of Ed “Strangler’ Lewis, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Joe Stecher or John “Tigerman” Pesek.

He was more of a performer although not a pure performer like Wayne “Big Munn”, Gus Sonnenberg or Danno O’Mahony. George Tragos did not want a young Lou Thesz to wrestle Londos. Tragos told Thesz that Londos knew Thesz would become a big star. To slow his progress, Londos would hurt Thesz on purpose.

He became a big star in St. Louis wrestling for Nick Contos and Tom Packs. Poor reputation. Fear of Lewis.

Londos and Ed “Strangler’ Lewis wrestled at Wrigley Field in 1934 in front of 35,275 fans for a gate of 96,302. This record stood until 1952.

To end this week’s show, I discuss Sam Muchnick’s retirement card on New Years Day 1982. Sam Muchnick’s retirement card drew over 19,000 fans to the Checkerdome, a record at the time. My sister Vicky and I attended this card as we did almost every card during 1981 to about 1984.

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