Surprise Castle
Ballyhoo!: The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling

Ballyhoo!: The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling - Hardcover

$26.99
$36.95
-27%
Quantity
01

Pay over time for orders over $35.00 with

Availability:In StockContributor:Jon LangmeadSeries:Sports and American CulturePublish date:2024-01-19Pages:316
Language:EnglishPublisher:University of Missouri PressISBN-13:9780826222992ISBN-10:826222994UPC:9780826222992Book Category:Sports & Recreation, HistoryBook Subcategory:Wrestling, History, United StatesBook Topic:20th CenturySize:9.22 x 6.29 x 1.01 inchesWeight:1.3911Product ID:SCB3QMQYMF
Ballyhoo! The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling is a history of professional wrestling's formative period in the U.S., from roughly 1874 to 1941, and the contested interplay of wrestlers and promoters who built the "sport" as we know it. During this period, the major conventions that would define wrestling to the present day were perfected and codified, as wrestling morphed from a rough sport practiced on farms and at town gatherings to melodramatic mass entertainment that reliably drew large crowds in cities across the nation.

The narrative uses the life and career of Jack Curley--a boxing promoter whose fortune took a turn for the better when he began promoting wrestling matches--as a compass as it charts the development of wrestling. By the late 1910s, Curley's shows were selling out Madison Square Garden monthly. Ballyhoo chronicles his competition with the other promoters, as well as the lives of colorful athletes like "Strangler" Ed Lewis, Frank Gotch, the "Masked Marvel," Jim Londos, "Gorgeous George" Wagner, "Farmer" Martin Burns, and "Dynamite" Gus Sonnenberg.
Language:EnglishPublisher:University of Missouri PressISBN-13:9780826222992ISBN-10:826222994UPC:9780826222992Book Category:Sports & Recreation, HistoryBook Subcategory:Wrestling, History, United StatesBook Topic:20th CenturySize:9.22 x 6.29 x 1.01 inchesWeight:1.3911Product ID:SCB3QMQYMF
Jon Langmead is a writer covering music and popular culture for a variety of outlets, including PopMatters, Aquarium Drunkard, SLAM! Wrestling, and North Carolina Indy Week.


Publisher: University of Missouri Press

Contributor(s)

Jon Langmead

Free shipping on orders over $75. Standard shipping takes 3-7 business days. Returns accepted within 30 days of purchase.

Recently Viewed

View All