Meeting Location: Toronto, Ontario Meeting Dates: August 24-27, 1961 Officers: President: Fred Kohler (elected) 1st Vice President: Dr. Karl Sarpolis (elected) 2nd Vice President: Roy Welch (elected) Executive Secretary: Sam Muchnick (reelected) Treasurer: Sam Muchnick (reelected) Membership Roster: Fred Kohler Chicago, IL Sam Muchnick St. Louis, MO Karl Sarpolis Amarillo, TX Roy Welch Nashville, TN Jim Crockett Charlotte, NC Al Haft Reynoldsburg, OH Harry Light Detroit, MI Mike London Albuquerque, NM Salvador Lutteroth Mexico City, Mexico Cowboy Luttrall Tampa, FL Leroy McGuirk Tulsa, OK Vincent McMahon Wasington, D.C. Joe "Toots" Mondt Pittsburgh, PA Don Owen Eugene, OR Eddie Quinn Montreal, Quebec Morris Sigel Houston, TX Frank Tunney Toronto, Ontario Stu Hart* Calgary, Alberta *As of September 28, 1961, Stu Hart was not listed on the membership roster of the NWA. Haft, Quinn, Light, and Luttrall paid their dues right before the 1961 convention in Toronto. Hart may not have paid his dues, and was considered not an active member. Among those in attendance for the conferences were Muchnick, Tunney, Kohler, Sarpolis, Crockett, Haft, Londos, Lutteroth, McGuirk, McMahon, Mondt, Owen, Sigel, Welch, Eddie Graham, Bobby Bruns, Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, Nick Gulas Cowboy Luttrall, Harry Light, Eddie Quinn, and Stu Hart did not attend the Saturday session, but may have appeared at other meetings. In July 1961, Muchnick claimed there were 12 members of the NWA. Following the convention, there were 18 members in total. The NWA Membership Committee rejected the application of Danny McShain because at the time he didn't meet the requirements of the NWA By-Laws for membership. The committee decided he should resubmit his application, and his check was returned to him. The Membership Committee also wanted Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle to resubmit up-to-date applications. Sam Muchnick had accepted their applications without approval from the membership committee, in violation of the NWA By-Laws. Barnett and Doyle were prepared to take action against the NWA for refusing them into the organization, and Muchnick had persuaded them not to do anything until they'd resubmitted their paperwork. The Membership Committee was made up of Mike London, Don Owen, Morris Sigel, Vincent McMahon, Jim Crockett, Harry Light, and Joe "Toots" Mondt. Although, Sam Muchnick was no longer the president of the NWA and having the same amount of responsibilities he once had, he was still being paid $15,000 a year by the organization. In a letter to the membership dated October 10, 1961, NWA President Fred Kohler brought up this fact, and that the money was being paid for Muchnick to book Buddy Rogers "as world's heavyweight champion," and Pat O'Connor "as the United States Heavyweight Champion." At the Toronto Convention, the NWA membership agreed that Muchnick, on behalf of the organization, would book O'Connor as the U.S. Champion - a new designation awarded to the former World Heavyweight Champion - to any member that wanted to use him. That meant O'Connor had a national booking schedule, similar to that of the heavyweight champion. Muchnick, the secretary-treasurer, was then compensated by the Alliance for booking him. There is still some debate whether or not the U.S. championship was actually sanctioned by the Alliance. It is a slippery slope because Muchnick was being paid by the NWA to book O'Connor, yet there wasn't a U.S. Title committee and the title didn't need any measure of Alliance approval to change hands - like the heavyweight, junior heavyweight, and light heavyweight titles. Kohler, in his letter of October 10, 1961, stated that he'd heard that Muchnick wasn't even booking O'Connor, and it was Muchnick's assistant, Bobby Bruns. The reasoning for $15,000 annual payment to Muchnick was questioned even more. In addition to the Barnett-Doyle and McShain applications, one came in from Jules Strongbow of Los Angeles on October 2, 1961. Muchnick sent copies to Kohler to initiate the membership process. With all the power that comes with being the NWA President, Kohler called a special meeting of the Board of Directors to Chicago on November 12, 1961 "for the purpose of adopting a resolution to dissolve the corporation, National Wrestling Alliance," according to a letter from NWA attorney Harry N. Soffer to Muchnick dated November 3, 1961. If a majority of the Board adopts the resolution, it would then be voted upon by the membership. 75% of the membership voting in affirmative to dissolve would be needed. Kohler informed the members that if they couldn't make the November 12th meeting, they could vote by proxy. Soffer told Muchnick, "I know of now law whereby boards of directors can vote by proxy." Soffer also said that it would take a three-fourth vote of "all the members" to dissolve the membership, not three-fourths of the members voting. Soffer also said it would be better to hold such a vote after the result of the Sonny Myers vs. NWA retrial in Des Moines, which was being staged the week of November 13, 1961. Regarding the talk of dissolving the NWA, Morris Sigel sent a letter to Kohler (and other members) on November 7, 1961, telling him that "Neither as a member of the Board of the National Wrestling Alliance nor as a member of the Alliance, can I vote for its dissolution at this time." Sigel pointed out that such an important decision should wait until all members could be present at a meeting to discuss it. He also noted that dissolution hadn't been brought up at the last annual convention. "Furthermore," he wrote, "has it been fully thought out just what will be substituted in its place if we end the Alliance?" Research by Tim Hornbaker December 14, 2010 |
| National Wrestling Alliance Convention - 1961 |
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