Edmund R. Quinn (May 22, 1906 – December 14, 1965) was an American

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

promoter in Canada and the United States. He grew up in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and organized

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and wrestling events in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and such cities as

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Bringing gimmicks and showmanship back to professional wrestling in Montreal, he helped restimulate local interest in the sport. Quinn died of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

in 1965.

Early years

Quinn was born in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

and got involved in boxing as a youth. He later took a job as a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

driver in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

. In the 1930s, Quinn began promoting professional wrestling shows in Massachusetts, where he had a business relationship with fellow wrestling promoter Paul Bowser.

Montreal

Quinn's big break came on July 27, 1939, when the Montreal Athletic Commission granted him rights to promote wrestling events in the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum () is a historic building located facing Cabot Square, Montreal, Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the home o ...

. He chose to avoid the “scientific wrestling” favored by Jack Ganson, the previous promoter at the Forum. Instead of what he called “pink wrestling”, Quinn pushed gimmickry, storylines, and bloody brawls. Quinn's shows began on August 8, 1939, with Yvon Robert as his central attraction. Other stars of his promotion included

Édouard Carpentier Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz (July 17, 1926 – October 30, 2010) was a French and Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, gymnast, and member of the French Resistance during World War II, known by his ring name, Édouard Carpent ...

, Yukon Eric, and

Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...

. At one point, Gorgeous George was brought in for a series of matches against Yvon Robert. Another famous match featured boxer

Jersey Joe Walcott Arnold Raymond Cream (January 31, 1914 – February 25, 1994), best known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), National Boxing Associa ...

facing wrestler Buddy Rogers, which Rogers won in the third round.

Other territories

Over time, Quinn also expanded his territory, organizing events throughout Quebec and New England. In 1959, he began promoting wrestling events in Chicago. The following year, he stated that he controlled most of the wrestling events in Canada and Boston as well as substantial portions of Chicago and St. Louis. Having made professional wrestling more popular in Quebec than any sport aside from hockey, Quinn earned up to $250,000. He ran into trouble in 1961, when a boxing match between Archie Moore and Bob Cleroux failed to attract as many ticket purchases as hoped. Quinn decided to cancel the event and was stripped of his boxing and wrestling promoter's licenses as a result. His wrestling license was reinstated several weeks later. Aside from the storylines in his promotions, Quinn also ensured success through television exposure and connections with influential people. He pointed to the massive increases in ticket sales that occurred after his featured wrestlers gained notoriety through televised shows in Chicago. He also held a television contract with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

. Quinn befriended Elmer Ferguson, a Montreal sportswriter, in a relationship that was advantageous to Quinn's wrestling organization. He also promoted events for charity and donated money to powerful political figures. When decisions were made regarding professional wrestling, Quinn's acquaintances sided with him. Quinn had a negative relationship with promoter Jack Pfefer, who Quinn described in a letter published in the ''New York Daily Mirror'' as “the Cancer of the Wrestling Business”. He also had a disagreement with Sam Muchnick in 1957 about control of Carpentier, who Quinn had begun managing. Quinn promised to involve the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

if the matter was not resolved quickly. In 1960, Quinn allowed Bob Langevin to become the public face of his promotion, while Quinn dealt more with the financial aspects. In 1964, Quinn retired from the wrestling business and purchased the Hobb Nursing Home in North Hampton, New Hampshire. In 1965, Quinn suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died in the nursing home he had purchased on December 14.

Awards

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

(Class of 2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Eddie 1906 births 1965 deaths Professional wrestling promoters American taxi drivers People from Waltham, Massachusetts American expatriates in Canada

Early years

Montreal

Other territories

Awards

See also

References