NWA Member: Mike London Admitted to Organization: September 1950 Albuquerque Office: Ice Arena, 5100 Lomas Blvd. (5-0668) (1955) 501 Silver Ave., S.W. (1955) Phone Number: 3-9755 (1955) A former wrestler, Mike London was a hugely successful promoter and wrestling booker, taking cities like Albuquerque and Denver and making them major grappling centers. There have been several notable feuds between National Wrestling Alliance members, but the war between London and Dory Detton was one of the most damaging to the organization, lasting a number of years. Detton was the registered Alliance booking agent in Amarillo, and sent wrestlers to more than 15 cities at the pinnacle of his operations. In April 1951, Detton reportedly paid London $3,000 for the booking rights to Albuquerque, adding the New Mexico town to his circuit. London, at the time, was settled in El Paso and booking from there. In October of that year, Detton applied for membership in the NWA. Despite the supporting evidence submitted to the NWA by Detton, London still claimed ownership to Albuquerque. London was a member of the Alliance, and support leaned toward him, but organization president Sam Muchnick and his fellow members wanted to give the situation a fair look. In the meantime, a fight for the city was on. Before the NWA could issue a ruling, London reopened an office in Albuquerque. Then he requested a date for Lou Thesz in the city in opposition to Detton. However, that request was denied by Muchnick, proving that the NWA wanted to deal with the matter fairly. Muchnick didn't want London using Thesz against Detton since the Alliance was considering Detton's application for membership. According to the evidence he saw, Muchnick believed that Detton had purchased the rights to Albuquerque on the square, despite what London was saying. Wishing to get a full representation of NWA thoughts, Muchnick mailed out a ballot to each member, stating either, "I am in favor of Detton's Application," "I am not in favor of Detton's Application," or "I believe that the matter should be tabled and that Detton's Application be taken up at next meeting." Pinkie George disagreed with Muchnick's assessment. George was the Chairman of the NWA Grievance Committee, and wrote a letter to the members of that committee, discussing the Detton-London situation in New Mexico. George spelled Detton's name, "Denton," throughout the letter, and felt that Detton had "invaded and taken over Roswell from another fellow member," who was London. George followed up by saying that "it is quite evident that Denton (sic) has broken our by-laws and London is justified in his grievance." George followed up by saying that he'd received correspondence from several of Detton's promoters in his territory, and they claimed that Detton abused them with threats and used profane language in front of ladies. These actions, George stated, were detrimental to the NWA. He wanted both Detton and London to appear before the Grievance Committee, and for it to be solved before the annual convention. Detton arranged matches for the 20-30 Club at the Armory between late 1951 and 1953. His bouts were held on Friday nights, while London's Ice Arena programs were staged on Thursdays, then Monday nights. Detton had former wrestler Ernesto "Gorilla" Poggi in Albuquerque to promote the matches for the 20-30 Club, and sent grapplers like Dory Funk Sr., Frankie Murdock, Gory Guerrero, and Tony Morelli. They also used Danny McShain, the reigining NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion. McShain was the headliner for their Friday, July 11 program at the Armory, wrestling The Masked Marvel in a title match. However, London held his second program that same week the day before, on Thursday, and it was his major "Parade of Champions" spectacular at the Ice Arena. On paper, it seemed like a dirty trick to upstage the Detton-Poggi show, but London denied that it was done for that reason. On July 8, 1952, Paul Rippberger of the 20-30 Club spoke before the Albuquerque City Commission, protesting the London effort on Thursday, and wanted the commission to adjust the schedule. His pleas were heard, but nothing was done. London said that he was holding the special show on Thursday because it was the only day he could get certain talent into the city to perform. [Albuquerque Tribune, 7/9/52] With a double-main event, London saw Danny Loos win the Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Title from Al Williams on July 10 and Mildred Burke retained her championship against Theresa Theis, but lost the initial fall to her opponent, a rarity. Although London expected close to 5,000, the newspapers never boasted about his attendance, which seems likely if he'd approached that figure. The Albuquerque Journal did report that the 20-30 Club's attendance that Friday was 300 less than the normal crowds of about 1,100. London, however, said that his Thursday's show was higher than what he did usually on Mondays. Both wrestling operations were profitable in Albuqeuerque, but the competition for the hearts and minds of local wrestling fans titled in London's favor. In 1953, the Ice Arena burned down, and by January 1954, London was using the Armory for his wrestling shows. The rival operation was gone. On August 2, 1953, the New Mexican newspaper of Santa Fe announced that new local promoter Don Sebastian was going to work with London. Sebastian now lived locally, having retired from wrestling in 1943. He wrestled as "Luis Mayo," and competed from 1933 to '43. Southwest Sports, Inc., run by Danny McShain, Ed Sharpe and Juan Garcia, tried to invade Albuquerque against Mike London in 1961 and on Thursday, June 22, 1961, the City Boxing and Wrestling Commission rejected their proposed wrestling promotional effort by denying them a license. The reasoning behind the rejection was because the members of the commission did not know the financial status and character of the promotion's organizers, and having no basis to believe that London wasn't doing a good job. Sharpe told the newspaper that he and McShain had both bought homes in the area and proclaimed that the commission was "depriving me of making a living." Apparently, Southwest Sports was running TV in Albuquerque already, on Sundays. Southwest Sports already had ties to Santa Fe, Farmington, Gallup, and Cortez, Colorado, establishing a booking territory. Sharpe also told the newspaper that the promoters in those towns wanted to work with their outfit "because London can't get any wrestlers." Research by Tim Hornbaker |
Albuquerque Booking Office |