On February 7, 1936, Savage was thrown over the top rope in a match in Galveston and the
champion Danno O'Mahoney was disqualified.  O'Mahoney was then suspended in the state
of Texas and given 90 days to return to wrestle Savage in a rematch for the championship.

Texas Boxing and Wrestling Commissioner Fred E. Nichols (in the Houston Post on 5/12/36)
commented on the situation:  "I hope and anticipate that the states operating under the NWA
agreement will support my penalization of O'Mahoney and indorse (sic) Savage as
champion.  But because of his odd personality and his great ability as a wrester and drawing
card, I do not feel that he should be deprived of all but championship bouts," thus Nichols
was allowing him to wrestle non-title matches.  Nichols wanted promoter Morris Sigel to offer
$500 to anyone who could beat Savage at the City Auditorium in Houston in a
two-of-three-falls match.

O'Mahoney had until May 7, 1936 to give Savage his rematch.

Officially, on Saturday, May 9, 1936, Savage was acknowledged as the World Heavyweight
Titleholder in Texas.  Since that time, O'Mahoney had lost his championship to Dick Shikat,
but Nichols still wanted NWA officials to back Savage as the champion.


In a column in the Houston Post by Lloyd Gregory on May 22, 1936, there were parts of a
letter written to the paper from an individual who signed their name, "Psychologist." The letter
said that they'd seen their first wrestling show a year ago with Leo Savage in a match, and
"since that first match, I have seen the whiskered gent every time he has wrestled here for
Morris Sigel.  I go time after time, but I am at a loss to explain the hold Savage has on me and
other fans.  I will concede he is very strong; but don't think he knows much about the finer
points of wrestling."

Gregory responded to the letter, saying that Savage was a "good showman," and that "he is
a polished grappler compared with what he knew a year ago." He noted that Savage's
gimmick was that of a simple countryman and "perhaps most of us are yokels at heart, and
that explains Savage's phenomenal drawing power."



The Houston Post on Friday, May 29, 1936 reported that Leo "Whiskers" Savage was
entering the wrestling ring "tonight" as the defending World Heavyweight champion.  "Savage
was declared champion by Fred Nichols, Texas boxing and wrestling commissioner, when
Danno O'Mahoney failed to meet Savage in a return match here." Savage's main hold was
the back-body drop, which had been banned by Nichols in non-title matches.  Nichols would
allow Savage to use the hold in title matches, however.  His opponent was Orville Brown.




Research by Tim Hornbaker
Leo "Daniel Boone" Savage Wrestling History
Custom Search