Louis John Klein (July 10, 1916-October 11, 1979), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

Lou Bastien, was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He had major successes in NWA-Detroit,

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 owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

and Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was 3-Time WWWF United States Tag Team Champions with his

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

brother

Red Bastien Rolland "Red" Bastien (January 27, 1931 – August 11, 2012) was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was a 3 time WWWF United States Tagteam champion with his kayfabe brother, ...

Professional career

Lou Klein was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1916. Growing up, Klein was an amateur wrestler who in the 1930s with hoped to qualify for the Olympics. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

broke out, in order to support his wife and child, he turned professional in 1942. In his early days he extensively wrestled in the Midwest region as a junior-heavyweight. There he primarily competed in the

Midwest Wrestling Association Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebra ...

. He defeated Johney Demchuk to win the MWA World Junior Heavyweight Title in 1948. He won the title again in 1953 defeating

Ed Francis Edmund Charles "Ed" Francis (June 11, 1926 – November 18, 2016) was a professional wrestler and wrestling promoter in Hawaii in the 1960s. Many wrestlers who came through Hawaii in the 1960s and 1970s were bound to come across the name Ed Fra ...

. He was dubbed as the "Atomic blonde from Detroit". His first big break came in 1960 when he debuted in the north-east region of Capital Wrestling Corporation (the precursor of the WWWF/WWF/WWE). There he was teamed up with

as the Bastien brothers. They won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship from the reigning champions

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * Jerry (film), ''Jerry'' (film), a 200 ...

and Eddie Graham (The Grahams) on a house at

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

on April 2, 1960. Lou and Red dropped The Fabulous Kangaroos on July 21 at a house show. They won the titles a final time on August 8 eventually losing it back to the Kangaroos. After this he and Red went to the Indianapolis region where they became 2-time American Wrestling Alliance Indiana World Tagteam Champions. Lou also had success in Big-time Wrestling(Detroit) where he was also a 3-time NWA World Tag team champion. He retired from in-ring competition in 1977 after a career spanning nearly 4 decades. During his later days he helped in training many wrestlers like Art Neilson, Count Drummer, Jim Lancaster, Malcolm Monroe Sr., Rujet Woods, Sandy Parker and Tanya West. Lou Klein's Gym, called "The Doorway to Wrestling", produced many future wrestling stars. He died in 1979 from a heart attack.

Championships and Accomplishments

* American Wrestling Alliance **AWA Indiana World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with

* Big Time Wrestling ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) ( 3 times) – with Roy Klein (2), and

Ed George Edward Gary George (born August 10, 1946) is a former offensive lineman and star player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). CFL Ed George was drafted in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers after playing at Wak ...

(1) *

Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version)'' ( 3 times) - with

* Midwest Wrestling Association (Ohio) **MWA World Junior Heavyweight Title (2 time)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastien, Lou 1916 births 1979 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Michigan Sportspeople from Detroit