Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) 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 ...

, 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 projecting ...

, Sammy Steamboat.

Early life

Mokuahi grew up in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, attending

President Theodore Roosevelt High School President Theodore Roosevelt High School is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school in Honolulu, Hawai'i. It is operated by the Hawaii State Department of Education and serves grades nine through 12. Roosevelt High School is accre ...

, where he played multiple different sports.

Professional wrestling career

Mokuahi was trained to wrestle by Lord James Blears and Lou Thesz. He debuted in the 1950s, adopting the ring name "Sam Steamboat", the English translation of his birth name. Steamboat began his career with the Honolulu-based promotion

50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...

. He won his first championship on August 5, 1956,

teaming Teaming may refer to: * Link aggregation, in computing, known more specifically as NIC teaming or Network teaming * the practice of being a teamster * the formation of a team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working togeth ...

with Billy Varga to defeat

Great Togo (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit su ...

and Tosh Togo for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship. On January 25, 1961, Steamboat defeated

Dick Hutton Richard Heron Avis Hutton (October 4, 1923 – November 24, 2003) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. He was a three-time NCAA champion and, as a professional, held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, making him a one-time worl ...

to win the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship. He lost the championship to Luigi Macera on April 15, 1961. In the early 1960s, Steamboat relocated to the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

, where he competed for the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

-based promotion Worldwide Wrestling Associates. In 1960, he won the WWA International Television Tag Team Championship with Dick Hutton. Steamboat went on to compete in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia-based Georgia Championship Wrestling, where he won the

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team title of the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling. It was originally won by Chris and Babe Zaharias in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlan ...

with

Eddie Graham Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), better known as Eddie Graham, was an American professional wrestler. He was also the promoter and booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and President of the NWA in the 1970s. ...

in 1964, and the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

-based

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promoti ...

, where he held the

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship. ...

with Graham in 1965. In the mid-1960s, Steamboat began wrestling for

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

, where he reformed his alliance with Eddie Graham. Steamboat won the

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling championship for tag teams in Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) that was used between 1961 and 1969. When the National Wrestling Alliance (NW ...

on five occasions between 1964 and 1967, as well as the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) on two occasions in 1965 and the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship in 1969. Steamboat returned to Hawaii in the late 1960s, winning the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship on three further occasions and the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship on four further occasions. He also won the NWA North American Championship (Hawaii version) on four occasions. He retired in the late 1970s.

Personal life

Mokuahi was married to Sheryll, with whom he had seven children. Mokuhai was an avid surfer and

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ist. Fellow professional wrestler

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

took his ring name from Mokuahi due to their resemblance and was briefly billed as his son or nephew. However, the two men were unrelated.

Death

Mokuahi died in Hawaii from complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

on May 2, 2006.

Championships and accomplishments

** NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) ** NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship ( 5 times) – with Billy Varga (1 time), Bearcat Wright (1 time),

Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982) better known as Peter Maivia was a Samoan-American professional wrestler. Maivia was the maternal grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and was also part o ...

(2 times), and Billy White Wolf (1 time) ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship ''(Hawaii version)'' ( 4 times) *

** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Ciclon Negro Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 an ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 5 times) – with

(3 times), Ron Etchison (1 time), and Jose Lothario (1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 1 time) – with Eddie Graham¹ * Georgia Championship Wrestling **

(4 times) – with Eddie Graham * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 1 time) – with Eddie Graham *

NWA Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 1 time) - with Eddie Graham * Worldwide Wrestling Associates ** WWA International Television Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

¹Steamboat and Graham won this championship by winning a tournament held on a card promoted in the

promotion.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steamboat, Sammy 1934 births 2006 deaths American male professional wrestlers Deaths from dementia in Hawaii Deaths from Alzheimer's disease President Theodore Roosevelt High School alumni Native Hawaiian professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Hawaii Sportspeople from Honolulu 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version)