# St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame

The St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame in St. Louis, United States. After several years of debating the idea of creating the Hall of Fame, former owner and promoter of the St. Louis Wrestling Club Larry Matysik opened it in 2007. He was joined in this effort by SBAC Member Tony Casta, sports journalist Keith Schildroth, collector Mitch Hartsey, and longtime fan Nick Ridenour. Although these directors oversee the selection process, the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is unique because it is the only wrestling hall of fame that allows fans to vote for potential inductees.
The Hall of Fame was created to honor the role St. Louis played in helping to establish professional wrestling in North America. Matysik also wanted to create a hall of fame that recognized wrestlers for their contributions to wrestling rather than their relationships with the owner of the promotion. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, inductees must have held a title belt or played an important role in or around the Missouri area between 1959 and 1983, when the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) had a strong presence in St. Louis.
For the initial group of inductions, the directors decided that Sam Muchnick, Lou Thesz, Bill Longson, Mickey Garagiola, Penny Banner, and Joe Schoenberger would be inducted by acclamation. Fans were asked to vote for seven more inductees from a list of twenty choices. At the induction ceremony, these thirteen were enshrined, along with Matysik, a surprise inductee. King Kong Brody was inducted later that year.
When the Hall of Fame opened in 2007, it was located in The Pro Wrestling Shirt Shop, a business in St. Louis' South County Mall. It contained plaques and memorabilia from the St. Louis Wrestling Club. In 2008, the Hall was moved to the South Broadway Athletic Club. Each induction plaque is personalized with a description of the individual's contributions. For example, Thesz' plaque states that he is "the finest example of a true world champion". Six more people were inducted in 2008, bringing the total to twenty-one. The Hall's directors plan to add six more inductees each year. Fourteen men and one woman have been honored for their performance in the ring as wrestlers. The remaining six people have been inducted for their other contributions, including owning and promoting the St. Louis Wrestling Club, as well as performing duties as referees, ring announcers, and commentators.

## Inductees

| # | Year | Ring name (Birth name) | Inducted for | Notes |
| 1 | 2007 | Penny Banner (Mary Ann Kostecki) | Women's wrestling | Born in St. Louis and began wrestling career working for Muchnick's St. Louis Wrestling Club; won the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship (1 time) |
| 2 | 2007 | King Kong Brody (Frank Donald Goodish) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; inducted September 14. Won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) and NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) |
| 3 | 2007 | Dick the Bruiser (William Richard Afflis) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (3 times) |
| 4 | 2007 | Ric Flair (Richard Morgan Fliehr) | Wrestling | Won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (10 times) and NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 5 | 2007 | Mickey Garagiola | Ring announcing and commentating | Longtime ring announcer and commentator for St. Louis Wrestling Club |
| 6 | 2007 | Gene Kiniski | Wrestling | Held NWA World Heavyweight Championship for three years; won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 7 | 2007 | Bill Longson (Willard Rowe Longson) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) and NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 8 | 2007 | Larry Matysik | Commentating and Promoting | Owner, office worker, booker, announcer, and commentator for St. Louis Wrestling Club; wrote biography of Sam Muchnick |
| 9 | 2007 | Sam Muchnick | Promoting | Posthumous inductee; founded the NWA and served as president from 1950 to 1960 and 1963 to 1975; owner of St. Louis Wrestling Club |
| 10 | 2007 | Pat O'Connor | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), and NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (2 times); co-owner and booker of St. Louis Wrestling Club |
| 11 | 2007 | Harley Race | Wrestling | Won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (7 times) and NWA World Heavyweight Championship (8 times); co-owner of St. Louis Wrestling Club |
| 12 | 2007 | Joe Schoenberger | Refereeing | Posthumous inductee; longtime referee for St. Louis Wrestling Club and community youth sports advocate |
| 13 | 2007 | Lou Thesz (Aloysius Martiz Thesz) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (6 times) |
| 14 | 2007 | Johnny Valentine (John Theodore Wisniski) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 15 | 2007 | Fritz Von Erich (Jack Barton Adkisson) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 16 | 2008 | Jack Brisco (Fred Joe Brisco) | Wrestling | Won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times), NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (2 times), and NWA Missouri Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times) |
| 17 | 2008 | Dory Funk Jr. | Wrestling | Won NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) and NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 18 | 2008 | Joe Garagiola | Commentating | First commentator for St. Louis Wrestling Club's Wrestling at the Chase television program |
| 19 | 2008 | Rocky Johnson (Wayde Douglas Bowles) | Wrestling | Competed in St. Louis from 1975 to 1986 and challenged for NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions |
| 20 | 2008 | Buddy Rogers (Herman Gustav Rohde Jr. ) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 21 | 2008 | Lee Warren | Referee | Longtime referee for St. Louis Wrestling Club |
| 22 | 2009 | Baron von Raschke | Wrestling | Won numerous tag team titles, including NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) – with Maurice Vachon and NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 Time) – with Harley Race |
| 23 | 2010 | Bobby Heenan | manager | Managed various Tag Team Champions in AWA and WWE with The Heenan Family |
| 24 | 2010 | Terry Funk | Wrestling | Won numerous titles, including NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) |
| 25 | 2010 | Dick Murdoch | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; won various titles, including NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (2 times), NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Brown and NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (3 times) – with Dusty Rhodes (1) and Bob Sweetan (2) |
| 26 | 2010 | “Cowboy” Bob Ellis | Wrestling | |
| 27 | 2014 | "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase | Wrestling | Multi-time holder of the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship and NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship among other titles in the NWA and WWE Tag Champion. |
| 28 | 2014 | Wilbur Snyder | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee |
| 29 | 2014 | Rip Hawk (Harvey Maurice Evers) | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee |
| 30 | 2015 | Ken Patera | Wrestling | Two-time NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship title holder. |
| 31 | 2015 | Joe Tangaro | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee: Former wrestler and referee |
| 32 | 2015 | Eddie Smith | Wrestling | Former referee |
| 33 | 2015 | Bill Apter | Wrestling | Professional wrestling journalist |
| 34 | 2016 | Kerry Von Erich | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; NWA World Heavyweight Champion: 1984 |
| 35 | 2016 | David Von Erich | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Missouri Heavyweight Champion: 1983–84 |
| 36 | 2016 | Kevin Von Erich | Wrestling | Missouri Heavyweight Champion: 1979–80 |
| 37 | 2016 | Dr. Bill Miller | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Former American Wrestling Association Champion |
| 38 | 2016 | John Paul Henning | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Very popular wrestler in the St. Louis area during the 60's |
| 39 | 2016 | Charlie Venator | Referee | |
| 40 | 2017 | Bob Backlund | Wrestling | Former World Wrestling Entertainment Champion: 1978–83, 1994 |
| 41 | 2017 | Édouard Carpentier | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; NWA World Heavyweight Champion: 1957 and WWA Heavyweight Champion (Los Angeles): 1957–61, 1963–64 |
| 42 | 2018 | Whipper Billy Watson | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion: 1947, 1956 |
| 43 | 2019 | Bob Orton Sr | Wrestling | Posthumous inductee; Former Missouri Heavyweight Champion: 1954 |
| 44 | 2019 | Debbie Combs | Wrestling | NWA Women's Champion: 1986–87, 1987–94, 1996 |
| 45 | 2022 | Joyce Grable | Wrestling | Wrestled for Sam Muchnick several times during the 70's & early 80's |
| 46 | 2023 | Gerald Brisco | Wrestling | One half of the Brisco Brothers, long time WWE executive |
| 47 | 2023 | J.J. Dillon | Wrestling | Manager of The Four Horsemen |
| 48 | 2024 | Bob Orton Jr. | Wrestling | Commonly known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton during the 70's & 80's |
| 49 | 2024 | Harold Koplar | Businessman | Posthumous inductee: St. Louis businessman |
| 50 | 2024 | George Abel | Ring announcing | Posthumous inductee: Announcer |
| 51 | 2024 | Leilani kai | Wrestling | Women wrestling star of the 80's, WWF Women's Champion (one time) |
| 52 | 2024 | Judy Martin | Wrestling | Women wrestling star of the 80's, WWF Women's Tag team Champion (one time) |
| 53 | 2024 | Wendi Richter | Wrestling | Women wrestling star of the 80's, WWF Women's Champion (two times) |
Current board members are Herb Simmons and Nick Ridenour.
* $^a$ – This is the name given to him by his adoptive parents.