Lou Thesz

Lou Theszwas the stage name of Aloysius Martin Thesz, (April 24, 1916 in Banat, Michigan–April 28, 2002 in Orlando, Florida).

Lou Thesz was a champion wrestler for 58 years. He was born in Michigan but wrestled out of St. Louis, where he had moved as a young boy.

A well-known hooker, Thesz wrestled professionally from 1932 to 1990. During the 1940s and 1950s, it was not uncommon for Thesz to put on 250 exhibitions a year, and while the outcome of most pro wrestling matches were "fixed" even then, Lou Thesz was the "real deal", a supremely talented freestyle wrestler with tremendous "legit" talent who could handle himself in a real contest (and did on several occations). Lou Thesz was by far the greatest wrestler of the 40s and 50s, and it appears that he was never ever beaten in a legitimate contest from 1936 onward. His arsenal of "hooks" (or submission holds) could literaly cripple a man in seconds, and his autobiography, Hooker, is perhaps one of the best books written on the subject of professional wrestling.

Thesz was also a champion, winning various world titles seven times and remaining unbeaten from 1948 to 1956. He finished his career in 1990 at the age of 73, wrestling a special match against his protege, Masahiro Chono , in Japan.