NWA Member: Joe Malcewicz Admitted to Organization: November 26, 1949 San Francisco Office: 406 Civic Auditorium Phone Number: Hemlock 1-4646, Hemlock 1-4647 (1955) Malcewicz became the promoter in San Francisco on November 18, 1935, taking over the Dreamland Auditorium for arena president Phil S. Ehrlich. He replaced Jack Ganson, who reportedly planned to trip to Europe to rest. Ehrlich was working with Boston promoter Paul Bowser, who wanted a change made from Ganson to Malcewicz. Malcewicz had been in town, along with "Toots" Mondt to make arrangements. Malcewicz's territory included the following cities: San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton, Oakland, Vallejo, Santa Rosa, Richmond, Fresno. Stanley Disney, Department of Justice investigator who interviewed Malcewicz in June 1955, described the San Francisco promoter and booker as a "bluff, rough speaker who answers every question at length and to little purpose." Malcewicz said that he considered the NWA annual conventions "social get-togethers." Malcewicz, in a letter to Stanley Disney of the Department of Justice on June 30, 1955, recalled a meeting he had with members of the Southern California NWA contingent, including Cal Eaton, Mike Hirsch, and Johnny Doyle, which took place in late 1952. Doyle, Eaton, and Hirsch explained that they were arranging a live TV deal that would be featured in San Francisco, adn it was expected to hurt his local attendance. With that being said, the Southern California operators were willing to pay Malcewicz $700 a week for what he was losing, plus to use some of his San Francisco talent. Malcewicz agreed, and in 1953, he sent grapplers to Los Angeles to appear at the Olympic Auditorium. However, his pay was not $700 a week as he was promised, but ended up being $500 a week and the payments continued from January 7, 1953 until July 31, 1953. Television via kinescope from Chicago was hurting Malcewicz's Fresno promoter in September-October 1953, and Malcewicz complained to Fred Kohler in Chicago. In effort to help his fellow NWA member, Kohler called the station manager, and there was preliminary talk about maybe shifting the night DuMont broadcast the footage in the Fresno area. The program was actually being shown out of San Luis Obispo, but regardless, Kohler put the wheels in motion to help Malcewicz. Kohler wanted to send Jim Barnett out to discuss matters with Malcewicz in person, but Barnett didn't want to fly "eight hours to get there." They proposed meeting in the middle, in Denver. On November 16, 1956, in NWA Bulletin #3, Sam Muchnick announced that Malcewicz had lost his eligibility to be a member of the National Wrestling Alliance because he failed to sign the Consent Decree. Malcewicz also hadn't paid his dues, which was moot. Muchnick stated that Malcewicz had been ill, and that was "probably the reason he has not attended to this important matter." |
San Francisco Booking Office |