Joseph P. McHugh (April 30, 1904 – January 31, 1993) was an American

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts ...

. He announced boxing and wrestling matches in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, from the 1920s through the 1980s and gained national exposure on WWWF and WWF programming in the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life and education

McHugh was born on April 30, 1904, in

, one of six sons born to Owen E. and Bridget (Brown) McHugh. One of his brothers was Terry McHugh, a boxer who fought bantamweight champion

Pete Herman Pete Herman (February 12, 1896 – April 13, 1973) was one of the all-time great bantamweight world champions. An American of Italian heritage and descent, Herman was born Peter Gulotta in New Orleans, Louisiana, and fought from 1912 until 1927. ...

in 1919. He grew up on Gordon Street in the Irish section of Allentown's Sixth Ward and graduated from

Allentown Central Catholic High School Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS), often referred to as Central Catholic or Central, is a private, parochial school located at 301 N. 4th Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The school is managed by the Diocese of Allentown, and pred ...

Career

When he was 16 years old, McHugh went into

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. He performed across the United States as a comedian and an emcee. After vaudeville, McHugh worked as an entertainment promoter in

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

clubs. He was part owner of Club Rio, a nightclub located in South Whitehall Township. He also worked as a sales associate for Roy Eichelberger Roofing and Siding in

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

until 1976. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, McHugh served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Ring announcing

By 1929, McHugh was a licensed ring announcer. He announced boxing and wrestling matches primarily in Allentown and the surrounding

area during the region's heyday as a fight town. He was a ring announcer at other East Coast arenas. He announced fights featuring a number of notable boxers, including

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He is often considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, and

Jack Sharkey Jack Sharkey (born Joseph Paul Zukauskas, , October 26, 1902 – August 17, 1994) was a Lithuanian-American boxer who held the NYSAC, NBA, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight titles from 1932 to 1933. Boxing career He took his ring name from his ...

. In 1977, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' described McHugh as a "Living Legend of the Ring". In 1964, McHugh began announcing

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

matches in Allentown. In 1977, the WWWF, later renamed the WWF, began holding television tapings at the

Allentown Fairgrounds Allentown Fairgrounds is located at 302 North 17th Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It hosts the Great Allentown Fair annually in late August and early September. The fairgrounds was established in 1889 and comprises 46 acres. It is owned and ...

's Agricultural Hall, which gave McHugh national exposure. He would sometimes get applauded when he wrapped up his introductory spiel identifying various persons involved in the proceedings by saying "And ''my'' name is Joooooooooe McHugh!" WWF stopped taping in Allentown in 1984, but McHugh continued to announce regional wrestling shows until his death on January 31, 1993.

Personal life

McHugh was married to Barbara M. Gorman. They had one daughter, also named Barbara.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Joe 1904 births 1993 deaths Allentown Central Catholic High School alumni Boxing people American people of Irish descent Nightclub owners Businesspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania American professional wrestling announcers United States Army personnel of World War II American vaudeville performers