Joe Savoldi

Savoldi was born two months premature in Castano Primo (Italy). He spent his childhood in Castano Primo and Bergamo (Milan, Italy) and was raised by his grandmother and an aunt before finally joining his family in Three Oaks, Michigan at age twelve. Giuseppe Savoldi anglicized his first name to "Joe" and became an athlete in high school, excelling in football, basketball, baseball, and track.

During the All-Star game, he caught the eye of two famous spectators—wrestling promoter Billy Sandow and former world champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Savoldi agreed to meet Lewis and Sandow the following day at a local gym, and after an informal tryout in which Strangler Lewis proclaimed Savoldi the strongest man he had ever wrestled, Sandow eventually signed Savoldi to a contract in May 1931.[12] Savoldi's debut match took place in February 1931, wrestling under the management of Puss Halbritter, and before formalizing his contract with Sandow, he appeared in a final charity football game in Kezar Stadium with the Savoldi all-stars.

As a wrestler, Savoldi became known for his finishing move, the flying dropkick (the pro wrestling move known today as simply the "dropkick"). From the early 1930s through the end of his career in 1950, Savoldi was credited as having originated the move but today that attribution is disputed between him and Abe Coleman.[13]

Interpromotional wars were raging at the time, and on April 7, 1933 at Chicago Stadium, Savoldi was involved in a double cross on heavyweight champion Jim Londos. After a tangle by the ropes, referee Bob Managoff declared Savoldi the winner by pinfall and awarded him the title. Vigorous arguments were waged over whether Savoldi had truly won the match, and whether Londos' title had even been on the line. As a result, Savoldi and Managoff were suspended in some territories and the title change was not universally recognized. Londos continued to bill himself as world champion, while Savoldi went to the New York area claiming the same, until he was defeated by Jim Browning on June 12 at Yankee Stadium. After peace was made between rival promotions, a Londos/Savoldi rematch was held at Chicago Stadium on January 31, 1934. Londos won the contest.

Savoldi continued his wrestling career throughout the decade, touring New Zealand in 1936, appearing in Hawaii and Australia in 1937, and spending a lengthy time in Europe shortly before World War II.

Joe Savoldi
Espionage activity
Country	United States
Agency	Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
Service years	1942–1945
Codename	Sampson
Operations	McGregor Project[14]

Savoldi was approached by the U.S. government in 1942 about joining the war effort in an espionage role. He was chosen due to his fluency in multiple dialects of Italian, his expertise in hand-to-hand combat, and his deep knowledge of the Italian geography—including the interior of Benito Mussolini's compound.[2] [15] Savoldi was assigned to the Special Operations branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), with the code name "Sampson". He took part in missions in North Africa, Italy, and France during 1943–1945.

As a member the 2677th Regiment APO 512, Savoldi took part in multiple missions behind enemy lines. His service in Special Operations included at least three successful, high-visibility missions, all within the McGregor Project under the assumed identity of Giuseppe DeLeo. The real Giuseppe DeLeo was a captain in the Italian Army who had been captured in North Africa. The McGregor Project used Savoldi and other Italian and Italian-American contacts to expedite the Italian surrender to the Allies in 1943.

Savoldi's first operation (July–December 1943) was with Lt. Mike Burke, Lt. John Ringling North, and Peter Tompkins. Their mission was to escort Italian-American film producer Marcello Girosi (whose brother Massimo was commander of the Italian Navy) around the Mediterranean theater. Savoldi may have provided security for OSS chief "Wild Bill" Donovan, when he met with General George S. Patton in Palermo on 10 July 1943.

Savoldi's second operation as part of the ongoing McGregor Project was to extract Italian scientist Carlo Calosi from the German-occupied part of Italy. Calosi was the inventor of the highly effective magnetic trigger used in the Silvrifici Italiano Calosi (SIC) torpedo, which the Germans used extensively. Savoldi and colleagues Donald Downes and Andre Pacatte located Calosi in Rome. They moved him, his commander Admiral Minisini, their wives, several technicians, and secret documents on the SIC to the Amalfi Coast, where they were picked up by US forces. Calosi's party went to the US and developed countermeasures against the SIC for the Allies.

During his third major mission, Savoldi worked undercover in Naples, where he infiltrated the local Camorra and helped break up one of the largest black market operations in all of Italy. While undercover, Savoldi again assumed the identity of Giuseppe De Leo, but he worked in civilian clothing, posing as a rogue operator. Savoldi spoke Italian in several dialects as well as French, Spanish, and some German, and his dangerous work behind enemy lines was highly regarded according to several, now declassified, documents.

The 1946 book Cloak and Dagger by Alastair MacBain and Corey Ford includes an entire chapter titled "The Saga of Jumping Joe", recounting Savoldi's participation in the McGregor Project.[16][17] The book was later adapted to film under the same title, Cloak and Dagger starring Gary Cooper. Savoldi's friend, former OSS agent, E. Michael Burke acted as technical advisor. A 1950 NBC radio show of the same title based on Ford and MacBain's book lasted 26 episodes.

Savoldi resumed his wrestling career before war's end, but his ability to move around in the ring would begin to diminish due to the onset of arthritis. He tried promoting in the Chicago area for a while between 1946 and 1948, and is credited with nicknaming and training the first African-American pro wrestling champion Bobo Brazil.[18] Savoldi returned to the ring for a couple more years, wrestling his final match in 1950. He then went back to university to work towards earning his qualifications for a teacher's degree, and eventually started a program to mentor hard-to-reach kids before becoming a full-time science teacher at Henderson County High School in Henderson, Kentucky. Savoldi died in 1974 at the age of 65, and is buried in Henderson.

In October 1931, Savoldi signed a motion picture contract with Hollywood and committed to appear in football and wrestling pictures.[19]

In 1941, he brought a new energy drink to market, called Dropkick, The Drink For "All Americans". Despite excellent pre-sales, including a contract with the University of Notre Dame to feature the drink in their stadium during the 1942 season, the business venture fizzled when the United States entered the war, and the ensuing sugar rationing eliminated his ability to mass-produce the drink.[20]

• Montreal Athletic Commission
  • World Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (1 time)[21]
• National Wrestling Association
  • European Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[22]
• Other titles
  • Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[23]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Savoldi.

• Joe Savoldi at Find a Grave
• Image of wrestling match between Joseph “Jumping Joe” Savoldi and Mayes McLain, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, 1935. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.