Londos Wrestles yn Theatr Odeon

Jim Londos developed into professional wrestling’s biggest box office star during the 1930s. Londos wrestled main events against Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Jim Browning at baseball stadiums. These matches drew crowds of more than 30,000 fans for the first time since the second Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt in 1911. When Londos wrestled in Greece, Londos drew crowds estimated to be at or more than 100,00 fans.

At the start of the 1920s, fans across the United States knew Londos as a talented wrestler. Fodd bynnag,, Lewis, Joe Stecher, John Pesek, and other top wresters always defeated Londos. Londos began experiencing more success when Londos started wrestling out of St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1920s.

St. Louis organizers hosted infrequent professional wrestling matches as early as the 1870s. Fodd bynnag,, St. Louis did not boast a local promoter until John Contos set up his wrestling promotion in 1922. Two years later, Contos left St. Louis to manage the career of Dan Kolov. Contos turned over his promotion to his nephew, Tom Packs.

Packs built the promotion becoming a promoter with national power on the same level as Jack Curley in New York or Paul Bowser in Boston. Londos remained aligned with Packs throughout his career.

Ar Ragfyr 21, 1921, local promoters in tandem with the Chicago promotional office promoted an event at the Odeon Theater. The Odeon Theater, at N. Grand Boulevard and Finney Avenue, yn St. Louis, hosted both live performances and films. The organizers placed mats on the stage for the event.

Less than 400 fans attended the three-match card. Four years later, 17,000 fans crowded St. Louis University Field to watch Joe Stecher wrestle Stanislaus Zbyszko for the world championship.

Promoters billed Londos as “the Greek wrestling champion”, an honorific not actual title. Londos wrestled Joe Mantell in a worked match. Londos won the first fall in forty-four minutes with a head chancery and clutch. Londos escaped three toeholds right before applying the winning combination for the first fall.

Londos made Mantell look good enough in the first fall. Londos only wrestled fourteen more minutes to take the second fall in 14 minutes with a flying mare. Londos won his first main event in St. Louis in two straight falls.

By mid-1922, John Contos took over the fledgling promotion. Contos continued to feature Londos as did his nephew Tom Packs. Londos was so popular that a group of St. Louis’ Greek businesspeople offered to help him start his own gym business.

Contos moved the promotion out of the Odeon Theater and into the Coliseum. Contos also used a ring instead of mats. The Odeon Theater continued to host entertainment events until the early morning hours of Friday, Awst 2, 1935. A fire swept through the theater burning it to the ground.

From humble beginnings rose two of the most successful wrestling promotions in the United States. Londos helped lay the foundation for these promotions.

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Sources: St. Louis Star and Times (St. Louis, MO) Rhagfyr 22, 1921, p. 21

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