Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, April 1, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) … Pat Fraley vs. Cliff Gustafson (one-fall) … Ray Steele vs.
Rube Wright … George Gordienko vs. Cal Reese … Tommy Bradley vs. Johnny Marrs …
(promoter:  Tony Stecher) … (referee:  Wally Karbo)
Note:  Fraley was said to be from Omaha.


Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, April 15, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sandor Szabo vs. Rube
Wright (one-fall) … Paul Nelson vs. Joe Pazandak … Cal Reese vs. Earl Wampler …
Johnny Marrs vs. Jack Paige … (promoter:  Tony Stecher) … (referee:  Wally Karbo)
Notes:  Paige was from Los Angeles, Reese from St. Joseph, and Nelson from Wichita.  
Wright reportedly “won the international tourney held in Los Angeles in 1942, defeating
the great Frank Sexton in the finals.  That tourney was supposed to name a successor to
Jim Londos as world champion.  The idea proved a big too ambitious.”

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, April 22, 1947
(The Auditorium) … Cliff Gustafson b. Sandor Szabo to capture the NWA World
Heavyweight Title … (promoter:  Tony Stecher) … (referee:  Wally Karbo)
Notes:  Reportedly the second time the world championship changed hands at the
Auditorium.  The first was when Bronko Nagurski dethroned Dean Detton.  Szabo said that
he was going back to California after the bout.  Stecher himself was said to be in Los
Angeles to attend the Bowling Classic and see his twins, Dennis and Doris, who lived in LA.




Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, May 6, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) … NWA World Heavyweight Champion Cliff Gustafson vs. Joe
Pazandak (one-fall) … George Gordienko vs. Johnny Marrs … Tug Carlson vs. Earl
Wampler … Tommy Bradley vs. Leo Jensen … (promoter: Tony Stecher) … (referee:  
Wally Karbo) … (announcer:  Marty O’Neil) … (company:  Minneapolis Boxing and
Wrestling Club, Inc.)
Notes:  Bradley was said to be from Colorado Springs.  Wampler and Jensen were both
said to be from Des Moines.  Marrs was a former baseball pitcher, “played pro ball some
years back,” and “had a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds.  A slipped ligament in his port arm
turned him to wrestling, but he went back to his home town, Bristol, Va., in 1939, and
pitched a one-hit game.”

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, May 13, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) … Dick Raines vs. Sandor Szabo (one fall) … Tug Carlson vs.
Ray Steele … George Gordienko vs. Andy Moen … Tommy Bradley vs. Earl Wampler …
(promoter:  Tony Stecher) … (referees:  Norm Kyrklund, Wally Karbo)



Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, June 3, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) … Butch Levy vs. Joe Savoldi … Dick Raines vs. Frank Taylor
… Tug Carlson vs. Bill Kuusisto … Tom Bradley vs. Don Koch … (promoter:  Tony
Stecher) … (referee:  Wally Karbo)
Notes:  Taylor was from Toledo and Koch from Milwaukee.  Levy returned signed with the
Los Angeles Rames with a $1,500 raise over the season before.

*The Tuesday, June 3, 1947 edition of Sports Facts stated that Steve Kozak of Winnipeg
was the “actual junior heavyweight king as a result of his victory over Ken Fenelon.” Kozak
was 5’6” and weighed over 200 pounds.  He reportedly had wins over Ray Steele, Johnny
Marrs, Abe Kashey and Rudy Strongberg.







1946-’47 Attendance Records: (said to have shattered all records)

Gustafson-Bowman                3,500
Pazandak-Hall                        4,000
Bartush-Hall                           4,400
Szabo-Burnell                        4,500
Szabo-Rice                            4,500
Gustafson-Hall                      8,500
Nagurski-Hall                         8,700
Nagurski-Szabo                     8,000
Hall-Szabo                             8,000
Hall-Szabo                             6,500
Gustafson-Steele                  5,000
Kussisto-Kashey                   3,000
Kozak-Kashey                       3,000
Pazandak-Kaempfer              5,000
Gordienko-Kashey                3,000
Levy-Kuss                             3,700
Nagurski-Kaempfer               5,000
Gustafson-Fraley                  3,000
Szabo-Wright                        4,200
Szabo-Gustafson                  6,000
Gustafson-Steele                  2,000
Gustafson-Pazandak            4,800
Raines-Szabo                       4,000
Gustafson-Szabo                  4,500
Raines-Nagurski                   5,000

Total for 25 cards:  121,800 (through June 3, 1947 report, probably ending the week prior)

*The best previous one year crowd total was in 1935 with 130,000.  The hottest streak of
any season came during the waning weks of 1946, when 42,700 attended six consecutive
shows.  Of these, 25,200 saw three straight shows.  The top individual crowd was 8,700
who saw Bronko Nagurski and Dr. Len Hall.



Notes from the Wednesday, May 13, 1947 edition of Sports Facts (Minneapolis):  
“Anybody want to hire a football coach?  One who can also tutor track, boxing, weight
lifting and wrestling?  Here’s your chance.  Norm Kyrklund, great Hamline University
athlete, has picked up his degree in physical education and is looking for work.  Norm was
offered a job in the Minneapolis high school system, but says he prefers to start in a
smaller town.  A husky specimen standing six feet, two and weighing 235, Kyrklund played
six years of football at Minneapolis South High school, Hamline and with the Mitby-Sather
team of the top Minneapolis amateur league.  He played tackle well enough to receive a
contract from the New York Giants, but the navy interered.  Having debuted as a
professional wrestler before the war, Norm won the Great Lakes wrestling championship.  
He was undefeated his last two years as a pro matman.”



Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Tuesday, October 7, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) … The Cardiff Giant vs. Cliff Gustafson (one-fall) (referee: Jack
Dempsey) … Bill Kuusisto vs. Danny Plechas … Ken Fenelon vs. Gino Vagnone … Don
Koch vs. Andy Moen … (promoter:  Tony Stecher) … (referees:  Jack Dempsey, Wally
Karbo)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Oct. 14, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Bronko Nagurski beat Chief Saunooke, Joe Pazandak drew
Gino Vagnone, Andy Moen drew Tom Angelo, Don Koch drew Karl Gray ... (promoter:  
Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Oct. 21, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Cliff Gustafson beat Bill Kuusisto, Joe Pazandak beat Chief
Saunooke, Gino Vagnone beat Don Koch, Karl Gray beat Tom Angelo ... (promoter:  Tony
Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Oct. 28, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... George Gordienko beat Gino Vagnone, Joe Pazandak beat
Eric Holmback (decision), Ken Fenelon beat Earl Wampler dq, Danny Fenelon beat Don
Koch ... (promoter:  Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Nov. 4, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... George Gordienko beat Dick Raines dq, Buddy Rogers beat
Kola Kwariani, Ede Virag beat Ted Tourtas, Danny Fenelon drew Karl Gray ... (promoter:  
Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Nov. 11, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Bronko Nagurski beat Eric Holmback, Mildred Burke beat Mae
Young, Steve Kozak beat Karl Gray, Danny Fenelon drew Ted Tourtas ... (promoter:  
Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Nov. 18, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Dick Raines beat Bill Kuusisto, Dave Levin beat Ted Tourtas,
Abe Kashey beat Danny Fenelon, Gino Vagnone beat Karl Gray ... (promoter:  Tony
Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Nov. 25, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Sandor Szabo beat Dick Raines (world title defense), Buddy
Rogers beat Dave Levin, Ken Fenelon drew Gino Vagnone, Andy Moen beat Karl Gray ...
(promoter:  Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Dec. 2, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Sandor Szabo drew Buddy Rogers (world title defense), Joe
Pazandak beat Gino Vagnone, Abe Kashey beat Ken Fenelon, Danny Fenelon beat Karl
Gray ... (promoter:  Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Dec. 9, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Abe Kashey beat George Temple, Dick Raines beat Frank
Taylor, Otto Kuss beat Jack (Hillbilly) O'Brien, Steve Kozak beat Ted Tourtas ...
(promoter:  Tony Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Dec. 16, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Dick Raines beat Abe Kashey, Otto Kuss beat Andy Moen,
Dave Levin beat Ted Tourtas, Polo Cordova drew Gino Vagnone ... (promoter:  Tony
Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Dec. 23, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Cliff Gustafson beat Dick Raines, Otto Kuss beat Abe Kashey,
Ede Virag beat Frank Taylor, Polo Cordova beat Danny Fenelon ... (promoter:  Tony
Stecher)

Minneapolis, Minnesota:  Dec. 30, 1947
(Minneapolis Auditorium) ... Bronko Nagurski beat Ede Virag, Otto Kuss beat Wally Dusek,
Bill Kuusisto beat Frank Hickey, Polo Cordova beat Stan Myslajek ... (promoter:  Tony
Stecher)









Research by J Michael Kenyon, Tim Hornbaker
October 23, 2010
Minneapolis Wrestling Results - 1947