When Charlie Thesz met her late husband over five decades ago, she had never even seen a professional wrestling match before, let alone knew who Lou Thesz was.
But, over the course of their 29-year relationship, Charlie became immersed in the world of professional wrestling and the colorful characters who inhabited it. Today, she fondly remembers both the miles and the memories, but most of all—her husband.
The two met in the spring of 1973.
“I picked him up at a motel in Nashville, Tennessee,” Charlie said.
“I was the desk clerk. He was working for Nick Gulas and staying at the hotel. … I’d never been to a wrestling match. I didn’t know anything about it. And everyone kept saying, do you know who that is? And, I kept saying, ‘The guest in room 222?’”
Lou was, of course, in the twilight of his career. At 57 years of age, his days as the traveling world’s heavyweight champion were behind him. But, that doesn’t mean Lou had lost his step.
“He was in such great condition. Not just physically, but mentally. Very observant, very well-read—the first time I went to the wrestling matches, I was shocked, because I really could not imagine Lou belonging in that world.”
While Charlie was apprehensive about professional wrestling, it didn’t take her long to understand its allure.
“Nick Gulas was not known for his classy wrestling, and I sat there thinking, ‘This can’t be what he does for a living.’ Once I understood what professional wrestling is all about, and I met the people, it is a wonderful world. And, it serves the people of this country well.”
Lou was more than a world champion. He was the preeminent world champion, who not only held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three-times, but various other world championships that preceded the National Wrestling Alliance’s formation in 1948.
For nearly two decades, Lou was the NWA’s kingpin—having held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for over 3,794 days between Nov. 27, 1949 and Jan. 6, 1966. As such, his network was as vast as it was varied.
From Ed “Strangler” Lewis to Jack Brisco, and everyone in between, professional wrestling was a fraternal vocation for Lou. And, Charlie was welcomed into his world with open arms.
“He had such an amazing life and I was just so thrilled to share part of it. There were so many incredible people.”
Of course, Lou’s career spanned seven decades, so he became acquainted with many of his closest confidants prior to meeting Charlie.
One such individual was Ed “Strangler” Lewis, who Charlie never had the pleasure of meeting.
“Of course, when he was in the beginning of his career… the closest person in his world was Ed “Strangler” Lewis. I used to hear the stories constantly of Ed. I feel as if I knew him. Lou had such an admiration and kinship with Ed, that surpassed even his own father.”
Then, there were other catch-as-catch-can mat-men of the thirties and forties, like Bobby Managoff and George Zaharias.
Charlie was particularly fond of Danny Hodge and his wife, Dolores.
“What an amazing pair. I used to say, when I grew up I wanted to be like Dolores Hodge. She was the loveliest person in the world… Danny Hodge was one of my most favorite people. Danny was just so genuine and an amazing athlete.”
Lou famously had an affinity for wrestlers with backgrounds in Greco-Roman or folkstyle wrestling, like Hodge or Dick Hutton. But, his respect wasn’t reserved for wrestlers. It extended to grapplers of other disciplines, like “Judo” Gene LeBell.
“Everytime we were in [Los Angeles], we had to see Gene LeBell,” Charlie said.
When Lou and Charlie were in Houston, they made a tradition of visiting Tiger Conway Sr.
“Anytime we were in Houston, we always stayed with Tiger [Conway Sr.] and his wife, Inita. Oh, it was just the absolute best. And, other friends in Houston, would say ‘why do you always stay with Tiger and Inita?’ And, I said, ‘because when we get there, the ironing board’s up in my room, and everything is just perfect.’ You know, it was just real. There was no pretense about anything. They were the loveliest people. I loved them.”
Then, there was the former pro-wrestler turned actor, Mike Mazurki: who starred in films such as Dick Tracy, as “Splitface,” and Donovan’s Reef as Sgt. Monk Menkowicz.
“When Lou said something about Mike Mazurki, I said: ‘you know Mike Mazurki?’ And, Lou said, ‘you know who he is?’ I said, ‘Lou, John Wayne was in some of his movies.’ I just adored him.”
Mazurki founded the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1965 and served as the organization’s first president. Lou was intimately involved with the fraternal organization—eventually following in Mazurki’s footsteps in 1992, by becoming the club’s third president.
During the final stanza of Lou’s career, he traveled across the country with Charlie—as well as Japan and Canada. During Thesz’s stint in the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), they even briefly living in Mexico.
“I guess my favorite place to stay was Mexico. I loved Japan, but we only visited Japan. We lived in Mexico. Sometimes his boys would come down, when they were 9 and 11—10 and 12. They’d come down and spend the summer with us. We had a little apartment and we had our dog.”
Eventually, the two settled down in Norfolk—where Lou opened his own wrestling school in 1988. Lou ultimately became an ambassador for the shoot-style promotion, UWFi, serving ss both its commissioner and trainer.
Eventually, the two relocated to Florida, shortly before Lou’s passing in 2002.
It’s been 23 years since Lou’s passing, but Charlie still remembers all of the miles and the memories they share. More importantly though, her love and admiration for Lou hasn’t waned.
“It doesn’t seem fair that I’ve had so much fun in my life, but I don’t care. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
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