Larry Tillman

Larry Tillman was an American professional wrestler and promoter. He competed throughout the United States and Canada primarily within the National Wrestling Alliance and captured the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on January 1, 1946. At the fourth NWA member's convention in September 1951, Tillman was approved as a promoter within the National Wrestling Alliance for the Calgary territory.[3] He would later sell this territory to Stu Hart,[4] which would eventually become Stampede Wrestling.

Larry Tillman
Spouse(s)Leota Byrd[1]
Children5[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Larry Tillman, El Relámpago[2]
Billed fromGreat Falls, Montana
Debut1934

Professional wrestling career

Tillman was one of the first prominent wrestlers within the National Wrestling Alliance, competing from at least 1934 until 1950. During his in-ring career, he had memorable feuds with wrestlers including Freddie Blassie, Sonny Myers, Stu Hart, Ken Fenelon, Dan O'Connor and Marshall Esteppe,[5] from whom he captured the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on January 1, 1946 in Des Moines, Iowa.

During his career, Tillman also promoted wrestling bouts and events. At the fourth National Wrestling Alliance convention in September 1951, Tillman was granted NWA membership as a promoter[3] for a territory spanning the U.S. Pacific Northwest to Western Canada.[6] Canadian wrestler Stu Hart was one of the mainstays of Tillman's territory and would eventually work as a booker. In 1948, Stu had created Klondike Wrestling in Calgary and in 1951 Tillman sold his territory to Hart for $50,000[7] allowing him to take over NWA membership for Calgary. Hart would later rename the territory Big Time Wrestling, Wildcat Wrestling and eventually Stampede Wrestling.[8]

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. "Leota TILLMAN's Obituary on Calgary Herald". Calgary Herald.
  2. Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com.
  3. Hornbaker, Tim (November 10, 2017). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 9781554902743 – via Google Books.
  4. Hornbaker, Tim (January 3, 2017). Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Headlocks, Body Slams, and Piledrivers. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781613218754 – via Google Books.
  5. Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com.
  6. McCoy, Heath (December 14, 2010). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, Revised Edition. ECW Press. ISBN 9781554902996 – via Google Books.
  7. Meltzer, Dave (November 10, 2017). Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 9781582618173 – via Google Books.
  8. Taras, David; Waddell, Christopher (March 15, 2016). How Canadians Communicate V: Sports. Athabasca University Press. ISBN 9781771990073 – via Google Books.
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