Houston Wrestling/Gulf Athletic Club was a

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- ...

promotion that ran from 1925 through 1987. Originally run by the Sigel family, it reached its greatest popularity under Paul Boesch.

History

Houston's wrestling legacy began shortly before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, with shows being held at irregular intervals from 1915–1923. Inspired by this, promoter Julius Sigel started Houston's City Auditorium (which has long since been torn down). Following the creation of this historic building, wrestlers began showing up in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

on a regular basis to perform in weekly Friday night shows. In 1929, Sigel left to promote shows in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, leaving the promotion to his brother, Morris Sigel. Morris was not well versed in the wrestling business, but guided the promotion through strong business sense and surrounding himself with people capable of running wrestling shows without his help. During this time, a wrestler from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

named Paul Boesch was on the wrestling scene, who would ultimately be one of Morris Sigel's main men.

Paul Boesch era

In 1947, Boesch was in a serious car accident that forced him to retire from performing. Sigel hired him as a backstage aid and radio announcer. As television became popular in Houston around 1949, Boesch became Houston Wrestling's first television commentator. After several years of jumping channels, Houston Wrestling ended up on Houston

independent station An independent station is a broadcast station, usually a television station, not affiliated with a larger broadcast television network, network. As such, it only broadcasts broadcast syndication, syndicated programs it has purchased; brokered pr ...

KHTV (now KIAH), at which point it became a national phenomenon for over 30 years. Morris Sigel died on December 26, 1966. In early 1967, Boesch bought the Gulf Athletic Club from Sigel's widow, realizing that he was ultimately in the best position to carry on the Houston Wrestling legacy. Boesch noted that he had been training for this position for over two decades without realizing it, and was ready to practice his own ideas and run the company himself. Under his control, Houston Wrestling expanded its legacy, becoming one of the most popular promotions in the nation, rivaling even Dallas' popular

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

promotion. Wrestlers such as

Billy Red Lyons Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked fo ...

and

Gary Hart (wrestler) Gary Richard Williams (January 24, 1942 – March 16, 2008) was an American professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart. Hart was one of the pivotal driving forc ...

acknowledged Houston Wrestling as one of the best in the nation, and also praised Boesch as an honest man and a great promoter who almost always drew sell-outs for his cards. Boesch spent 21 years promoting in the Houston region out of the

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

, and affiliated himself with rival promotions (e.g.,

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

; Southwest Sports; World Class Championship Wrestling; Southwest Championship Wrestling; Mid-South Wrestling/Universal Wrestling Federation) to bring the best wrestlers and matches to his fanbase. In the 1980s, amid the rise of

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

and rival territories' war to become the U.S.' sole national promotion, Houston Wrestling slid into decline. As some of its partner-promotions (e.g., Mid-South Wrestling/ Universal Wrestling Federation) sold-out to larger rivals like

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

, Boesch chose to work with

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

's even larger

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(later renamed

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

), instead. After a four-month partnership with the WWF, Boesch ended his career by promoting a retirement show on August 28, 1987. The show had a sell-out crowd of 12,000 fans, and effectively ended the Houston Wrestling promotion/territory. During the show, then-

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

honored Boesch via

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

. Boesch died two years later.

Roster

Houston Wrestling maintained a very fluid roster due to its reliance on other promotions to provide talent for its shows. The following wrestlers were at shows working for Houston Wrestling: *

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...

* Kamala the Ugandan Giant * Jake the Snake Roberts *

King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 4, 2019) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he ...

* Wahoo McDaniel *

Nick Kozak Nick may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nick (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Désirée Nick, German actress and writer Places * Nick, Hungary, a village * Nick, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, a v ...

Bull Curry Fred Thomas Koury Sr. (May 2, 1913 – March 8, 1985), best known under his ring name "Wild Bull" Curry, was an American professional wrestler of Lebanese descent. He is recognized as the originator of the hardcore style, predating legends su ...

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was ...

* Hacksaw Duggan *

Dick Murdoch Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the NWA, WWE, Wo ...

* Johnny Valentine * Danny McShain * Boris Malenko * Nick Bockwinkel * Sputnik Monroe * The Kozak Brothers * The Midnight Express * Rock & Roll Express * J. J. Dillon * Bruiser Brody *

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic presidential nominations, until in 1988, he dropped out amid revelations of ex ...

* Leo Newman *

Jim Cornette James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

* The Blade Runners - Sting &

The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...

Other popular wrestlers who made regular appearances for the promotion included: * Jose Lothario * Mil Mascaras *

Ernie Ladd Ernest L. Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "the Big Cat", was an American professional American football, football defensive tackle and professional wrestling, professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd ...

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

Dory Funk Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Earl ...

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...

Red Bastien Rolland "Red" Bastien (January 27, 1931 – August 11, 2012) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his time in Capitol Wrestling Corporation, Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was a three-time WWWF ...

* Ivan Putski * Superstar Billy Graham * Gino Hernandez * Andre the Giant *

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Fede ...

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

Stan Stasiak George Emile Stipich (April 13, 1937 – June 19, 1997) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stan "the Man" Stasiak. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the 1970s, ...

* Terry Taylor * Barry Darsow * Tony Atlas *

Bruce Prichard Bruce Prichard (born March 7, 1963) is an American professional wrestling executive, booker, and producer and a former manager, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler who works for WWE as Executive Director - CWT. In addition to ...

External links

Slam Wrestling Article on Houston Wrestling
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Obsessed With Wrestling
{{Houston, Texas Independent professional wrestling promotions based in Texas Entertainment companies disestablished in 1987 Professional wrestling in Houston Professional wrestling in Texas 1922 establishments in Texas 1987 disestablishments in Texas Defunct professional wrestling promotions