Henry W. Mittlestadt (December 7, 1912 to June 24, 1987), best known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

, Tiny Mills, was a Canadian

professional wrestler 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 wrest ...

. He often teamed with his brother Al Mills as the

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

Murder Incorporated (Murder Inc.). Later on Stan "Krusher" Kowalski would replace Al Mills as part of Murder Incorporated.

Professional wrestling career

Mills started his wrestling career at the

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

in 1953. Teaming with his elder brother Al Mills, who had been wrestling since the 1930s, they were billed as "Murder Incorporated." Al and Tiny won Toronto's

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship in the Canada, Canadian professional wrestling promotion, promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1952 through ...

in the debut year, defeating the Canadian dream team of Whipper Billy Watson and Yvon Robert. They drew huge houses at Maple Leaf Gardens that year. They traded the Championship with Watson and Hombre Montana as well as Ernie and Emil Dusek in 1954 and won the Championship once more in 1955, which was also the year Al made his final wrestling appearance in Toronto. After the death of Al Mills, Tiny decided to find a new partner and reform Murder Inc. in the late 1950s. He decided to team up with Minneapolis native Stan "Krusher" Kowalski. Team won the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championships twice while working for the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club. When that promotion became the

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 ...

in 1960, Mills and Kowalski became the first

AWA World Tag Team Champions The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

. Mills not only worked in tag teams but as a singles wrestler as well. In 1960, Mills had a Championship match against NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor at Maple Leaf Gardens. Together with Kowalski, Tiny Mills once again won the Canadian Open Tag Team Championship, defeating Watson and Ilio DiPaolo on the last Maple Leaf Gardens show of 1960. They lost the Championship early in 1961 after which Mills never came back to Toronto again. After retirement, Tiny became a sheriff in Minnesota.

Championships and accomplishments

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 Haw ...

** NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Stan Kowalski * Alex Turk Promotions **Manitoba Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Al Mills *

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating 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, Nebr ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with Al Mills (1), Pat O'Connor (1) *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name of a Canadian professional wrestling promotion owned by Frank Tunney and based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. Founded in 1930, Maple Leaf was a territory of the National Wrestli ...

( 6 times) – with Al Mills (5) and Stan Kowalski (1) *

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

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 1 time) – with Jim Austeri *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 1 time) – with Jim Austeri *

NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' ( 1 time) – with Hombre Montana * NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club /

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

( 1 time) – with Stan Kowalski ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Minneapolis version)'' (

) – with Stan Kowalski * Southwest Sports, Inc. **

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NWA ...

( 1 time) – with Duke Keomuka *

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) The Calgary version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship was established in 1954 as the original top tag team championship in Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. ...

(

) – with Al Mills ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' ( 1 time) – with Jack Daniels *Other titles **North Dakota Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame - Al and Tiny Mills
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Tiny 1911 births 1987 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian male professional wrestlers People from Camrose, Alberta Professional wrestlers from Alberta AWA World Tag Team Champions NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champions NWA Canadian Tag Team Champions (Calgary version) Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions (Minneapolis version)