Word Hoard

I never heard anybody in Toronto call it Rogers Centre unless they were mocking the corporate branding.

The announcer is Russ Davis. I became a fan after hearing his work on the Chicago footage that came out a few years back. "Russell W. Davis was born in Kansas City, Missouri on September 15, 1909. After graduating high school in 1927 he worked at Kansas City radio stations until he left the city in 1931. From 1931 to 1940 he worked at a number of radio stations around the country including KOA in Denver and KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. Starting in 1941 he began working at the CBS radio affiliate in Chicago. In 1946 he made the switch to television at WBKB, which was Chicago’s first commercial television station. He worked on a variety of shows including two different wrestling shows from the Rainbo and Midway arenas, boxing matches, and Christmas and New Year’s Eve specials. He provided commentary for a women’s baseball league, hosted a short-lived but popular amateur show The Knickerbocker Hours, was the emcee for a man-on-the-street show Off the Cuff, and was the announcer for The Jane Foster Show in which Foster and Davis advised housewives on their domestic problems. No copies of these shows are known to exist. He left the station in 1949 to co-found IWF, Inc. with his wife Sylvia, who he married in 1946. IWF stood for both Imperial World Films and International Wrestling Films. The company primarily released syndicated wrestling shows that Russ announced. The show was leased to over 160 stations nationwide. Due to its success Russ Davis was considered a television pioneer amongst wrestling fans in the 1950s. The company also made sponsored films and a few other TV series including Raymond Massey Reads the Bible (1951). From the summer of 1951 to May 1952 Russ and Sylvia hosted a daily talk show on WGN called alternately The Davises or The Russ Davis Show. In the show the Davises attempted to enlighten and entertain the viewers (mostly housewives) by interviewing guests from the world of high culture – opera singers, art critics, ballet dancers, musicians – in a welcoming, yet slightly irreverent tone. He worked on the IWF wrestling TV shows until his death on March 14, 1969. He died of a heart attack, but had been battling alcohol addiction for decades."

Cowboy Bob Orton hitting an RKO.

Just wanted to thank FFTHEWINNER for the link. This guy is a hero.

You sure he doesn't just sound that way in comparison to Cornette? I didn't think of it like that... Believe it or not, Cornette has been bearable lately. The secret is skipping the first 30 minutes of him pretending he's Bill Maher and geting to the interview.

Just finished the latest Cornette podcast. Lance Russell really comes across as the friendliest and most likeable person in wrestling ever.

Before several of them passed away they should have made a movie with these guys as The Expendables (or American Gangsters, if you're into blaxploitation). Terry has a SAG card and could have been the lead. Who is the don next to Thesz and Race? Pat O'Connor.

I love how they "seamlessly" inserted a shot of Magnums reaction at 1:10.

If the wrestling thing hadn't worked out, Lawler would've been a superstar for his artwork. Dude could and still can draw his ass off. Are there really a lot of "superstar" caricature artists in the world? It seems more likely he'd have had a long career drawing the visitors at the nearest Six Flags. Not knocking the style - I have a friend who does zombie-style caricatures that are amazing - but superstar might be pushing it. Has anyone ever seen any full comic pages by Lawler? I wonder how strong his storytelling skills are? At the least, he could've been a solid inker for Marvel in the 70's. Based on that Conan illustration, he seems to to be heavily influenced by John Buscema.

It was Michael Hayes. I think they discussed it on the show when he was a guest. Episode 106.

I enjoyed the latest show. Your enthusiasm is infectious. I want to watch all of this stuff now. Great job as usual.

So how long was your friends dad in hospital?

She wasn't on episodes 42 and 43.

I found this quote from Ellering: "It was just a point to, uh, the office at that time thought the guys just can't get no sympathy. It was just something thrown in there to give them a perk. Maybe work something around it, but nothing ever came of it. " http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=29664

The first 10 minutes were him answering questions about the lawsuit he just won and discussing the half wits on Fox News who criticize him. No truther stuff....yet. I can see myself skipping any episode that doesn't have a wrestler for a guest.