My major supply for this text is the work of Phil Lions, who scoured historic information for God is aware of how lengthy to write down an excellent detailed writeup on the historical past of wrestling in Greece. I do embody some further ancillary data, however it is best to actually learn his piece on wrestling in Greece and on Andreas Lambrakis you probably have the time. The aim of this text is usually to focus on and lift consciousness of what he has already discovered. If you’re all for worldwide wrestling historical past, you should learn his work. Right here is his web page.
“There aren’t any uninteresting tales. Persons are filled with surprise. Regardless of the way you research our historical past, you’ll at all times, at all times discover it.” –Jon Bois
The place folks have lived, wrestling has adopted. Iraq, Turkey, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Singapore, India, Algeria, Cuba, and plenty of, many extra international locations have had no less than some sort of wrestling scene in some unspecified time in the future. And the promotions in such international locations weren’t at all times small, one-off indies: promotions in locations like France and Spain ran main occasions on a regular basis.
Regardless of this worldwide proliferation, the areas exterior of Mexico, Japan, and the English-speaking world obtain very restricted illustration on the Wrestling Observer Corridor of Fame. The one inductee who has been voted in due to his work in a lesser-known area is Carlos Colon – and that’s nonetheless within the US! The few others who’re in had been auto-inducted by Dave Meltzer.
It’s not like there are that many candidates on the poll, both. This yr, there have been a paltry ten acts within the Remainder of the World area. Six of them had been there based mostly on their work within the UK and Australia. Of the remaining 4 (George Gordienko, Jose Tarres, Karl Kox, and Spiros Arion), everybody however Tarres labored in a “mainstream” nation for a good portion of their profession.
It’s no coincidence that Tarres, one of many best no-brainers on all the poll but, has struggled to achieve ample momentum: candidates exterior of English-speaking nations are at an obstacle attributable to each a language barrier and unintended ignorance. Different robust choices have carried out worse: L’Ange Blanc, the largest star in mid-20th century France, and the one who popularized masked wrestling on the continent, acquired 12 % of the vote in his first yr and dropped off the subsequent yr. His greatest rival in L’Homme Masque has by no means made a poll look in consequence. Felix Lamban, the second greatest attract Spain’s historical past – second solely to an all-time nice attract Tarres –should equally look forward to his fellow countryman to get in earlier than a dialogue will be had.
I’m not right here to say that somebody like Blanc or Lamban is Corridor-of-Fame worthy. Fairly, I’m right here to emphasise that there’s a want monitor down, find out about, and critically contemplate extra Remainder of World candidates. Particularly, there’s a must study extra about wrestlers from non-English-speaking international locations that noticed wrestling booms on the extent of any notable US territory.
Greece is nearly as good a spot to begin as any.
Positive, the Mediterranean nation already has some illustration: Jim Londos was an inaugural inductee, and Gordienko and Arion are no less than on the poll. However none of these guys wrestled in Greece for almost all of their careers. Greece wasn’t precisely bereft of massive crowds with out them: for over 40 years, a nation that numbered between 7 and 9 million folks was the host of a flourishing wrestling scene. On the middle of all of it had been Greece’s two most vital long-term attracts: Andreas Lambrakis, and his arch-rival, Haralambos “Harry” Karpozilos.
Lambrakis and Karpozilos: The Best Greek Rivals
Jim Londos is the best attract wrestling historical past, and by way of attendance per present, he reached his best heights in his dwelling nation. From 1928 to 1936, he wrestled in 4 foremost occasions in Athens that drew no less than 40,000 followers. Whereas Londos by no means lingered in Greece for too lengthy, a small-ish however wholesome scene continued in his absence. One early native star was Paraschos Boras, who would main-event no less than six exhibits with a newspaper-reported attendance of no less than 5,000 folks, summing to 47,000 followers in whole. Boras reached his zenith within the years main as much as WWII and briefly following the conflict, however his time on high is most vital for setting the stage for 2 males who would blow his numbers far out of the water.
Haralambos “Harry” Karpozilos was born in 1915 (not 1925, as is typically claimed). He had first tried his hand at skilled soccer, however he decked an official after getting ejected from a sport and acquired suspended for 3 years. He ditched the game fully and converted to wrestling. He rapidly gained stardom after debuting in 1933 as a middleweight, climbing up the cardboard in the course of the Thirties and dealing with Boras for the Greek title in 1940. In the meantime, Andreas Lambrakis debuted as a heavyweight in (more than likely) 1936. I couldn’t discover his beginning yr, however he was seemingly additionally younger on the time of his debut. He, too, rose up the cardboard rapidly, defeating Karpozilos of their first match collectively in 1937 earlier than shedding to Boras in Athens. By 1940, each males had been firmly established as high stars in a rustic the place wrestling gave the impression to be on the upswing.
World Warfare II derailed every thing. I couldn’t discover out what Lambrakis did in the course of the conflict, however Karpozilos ended up within the Greek military, preventing in opposition to the invading Italians. For many who aren’t historical past aficionados, the Italian military didn’t precisely acquit itself properly. Mussolini’s tried conquest of Greece via Albania backfired spectacularly, prompting intervention from Germany and a swift defeat of Greek forces. Nazi rule in all occupied international locations went past cruelty, and Greece was no exception: estimates differ, however between 300,000 and 800,000 Greeks out of a pre-war inhabitants of seven.2 million would die as a result of results of conflict and occupation.
I remind you of this to emphasise that Greece was now not a spot for wrestling to thrive. It actually was not a spot for a free press to exist and report on it. There’s an account from Karpozilos’s son that his father helped arrange a number of exhibits beneath occupation, however he ended up going into hiding when occupying forces tried to arrest him. By the point the conflict had ended, Greece was in turmoil, and it had been 5 years since Karpozilos and Lambrakis gained momentum. The 1946-1947 civil conflict between pro-communist and anti-communist sides, coupled with hyperinflation and foreign money restrictions, would type a robust deterrent in opposition to any overseas expertise displaying up. By all rights, wrestling in Greece mustn’t have recovered rapidly.
It did recuperate rapidly. Not solely that, however wrestling in Greece turned greater than ever. And it was Andreas and Harry main the best way. The pair drew 8,000 folks for his or her July 30, 1945 match, with Lambrakis defeating Karpozilos once more. Andreas getting the higher hand over his rival could be a recurring sample, as would their success as headliners: eight of the ten highest attended exhibits for the post-war Nineteen Forties had no less than one among them in the primary occasion. Whereas the largest of those occasions featured the 1945 bout between Lambrakis and Boras, six of them included Karpozilos.
Lambrakis left Greece on tour in 1949 and didn’t return till 1955. Over the following years, he would tour much more. Between this prolonged interval and his later excursions in the course of the Nineteen Sixties, by the tip of his profession, he had made appearances in Australia, Austria, Argentina, Dale Martin Promotions, EMLL, the US, and Canada. He didn’t make a long-lasting impression in most of those locations, however he was booked in opposition to the likes of Beautiful George, George Gordienko, Maurice Vachon, and different high stars. He was additionally briefly a giant deal in Barcelona, the place he headlined a 20K capability bullring present in 1955, defeating the massive star Pedro Bengoechea (one other doubtlessly ballot-worthy identify). He spent that autumn there, wrestling on the massive weekly exhibits at or close to the highest of the cardboard in opposition to the likes of Jose Tarres and Felix Lamban.
Since Andreas wasn’t round, Harry turned the undisputed high star. He will need to have been fairly charismatic, for followers typically celebrated his victories by storming the ring and carrying him on their shoulders. His 1950 win in Cyprus in opposition to Kasim Aslan despatched 10,000 followers into such a frenzy that they apparently carried their hero all the best way again to his resort. Karpozilos continued to attract large till leaving in 1954 for a tour of his personal within the US. Like Lambrakis, Karpozilos would additionally tour round later in his profession and briefly present up in Spain and (I feel) Australia, however he was by no means a giant difference-maker exterior of Greece.
With neither Lambrakis nor Karpozilos in Greece in 1954, enterprise did poorly, however each had been attributable to return the subsequent yr. To emphasise how essential they had been, contemplate this: all 18 of the 5,000+ exhibits with attendance information from 1950 to 1955 had been headlined by one of many two. 1955 proved to be the most well liked of those years and the crowning second of their rivalry. On June 29, 1955, the 2 opponents confronted off in entrance of a whopping 18,000 followers in Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. Lambrakis in the end emerged victorious after an hour, signaling a altering of the guard.
The 1955 match could be their high-water mark collectively. Each males remained on high via the late Nineteen Fifties and continued to compete in opposition to one another on large exhibits, however the drawing energy of their face-offs declined considerably, and an growing old Karpozilos started to lose increasingly more. For his half, Lambrakis continued to be featured in large foremost occasions into the Nineteen Sixties, including increasingly more accolades to an already improbable 20+ yr resume. Nonetheless, his time on the high of the mountain wouldn’t final for much longer, as he too continued to age.
Whereas Lambrakis saved on chugging on the high of the cardboard, Karpozilos was in his late 40s and firmly within the backseat within the eyes of the followers. However don’t let his new position within the ring idiot you: behind the scenes, he was the main promoter in Greece! I don’t know precisely when he began selling, however he was doing so within the first half of the Nineteen Fifties on the newest. He had established a monopoly on wrestling in Athens, and he used his energy to herald high overseas expertise like Felix Miquet and later Gordienko and Arion. He additionally started pushing a brand new high Greek star in Kostas Papalazarou, who would go on to match Karpozilos’s drawing numbers over his profession. One other large contribution of his group was the branding of a collection of summer season exhibits because the “World Catch Pageant,” which caught on like wildfire. Suffice to say Harry was lots energetic behind the curtains.
Karpozilos’s monopoly in Athens set the stage for one last competitors in opposition to Lambrakis: the inter-promotional conflict of 1965. That yr, Harry noticed his stranglehold in Athens threatened, as Andreas led a breakaway group. Different teams might have been round as properly – that yr, no fewer than 33 stadium exhibits occurred in Athens. Harry’s promotion was essentially the most profitable, as he was capable of e-book worldwide expertise in George Gorienko, George Bollas, and Spiros Arion. Andreas’s group, that includes principally native Greek expertise, did properly for themselves, however it could be Lambrakis’s last yr wrestling in his dwelling nation. He would quickly retire, permitting Karpozilos to win out.
Although fleeting, the 1965 conflict marked the start of a Golden Age of wrestling in Greece. From 1965 via 1969, there have been, at minimal, 6 occasions with reported crowds of no less than 15,000, 16 occasions with no less than 10,000, and 21 occasions with no less than 8,000. Enterprise actually boomed in 1969, with three competing teams operating high-profile occasions in Athens. Karpozilos’s group remained the strongest, at the same time as Harry himself lastly hung up his boots. Beneath his umbrella, Gordienko, Arion, and Papalazarou had turn out to be main sights. By all indications, his tenure as a promoter in the course of the Nineteen Sixties was a powerful success.
Karpozilos didn’t get to see simply how lengthy his promotion lasted, as he handed away in 1971. Even with out him, wrestling in Greece maintained strong reputation all through the Nineteen Seventies with Papalazarou on the helm. Sadly, the scene started floundering within the Nineteen Eighties, and the newspapers reported on it much less and fewer till wrestling in Greece principally died out.
With the autumn of Greek wrestling got here the decay of its remembrance. Lambrakis, as soon as praised by the papers because the second-coming of Jim Londos, was so unknown to the broader wrestling world by the point of his demise in 1997 that protection of his passing was confused exterior of Greece with Spiros Arion’s, who was nonetheless alive and properly. As for Karpozilos, the one particular person to my information who went out of his method to protect his legacy was his son George, who wrote a biography on his father’s life. To the remainder of the world, the story of wrestling’s growth in Greece, and of the 2 males who did greater than anybody else to create it, turned principally forgotten.
There are only a few round at the moment who can provide firsthand accounts of the Golden Age of Greek wrestling. Fewer nonetheless can inform us firsthand in regards to the two males who helped make it potential. But the proof of their impression stays. It may be present in fossilized ink blotted into yellowing pages, pale however not but vanished.
Recap of Credentials
Drawing
We don’t have attendance information for each present in Greece, however from what Phil Lions discovered, Andreas Lambrakis was a headline act in no less than 36 exhibits that drew 5,000 or extra followers from 1945 to 1965. The entire variety of followers at these exhibits combines to about 326,000. 17 of these exhibits drew no less than 10,000 folks. And that’s simply what we have now attendance figures for – Lions discovered information of over 100 main exhibits with Lambrakis as a foremost attraction. This makes him simply one of many best attracts within the historical past of Europe.
Harry Karpozilos was not as large a draw as Andreas total, however he was nonetheless actual large: for the occasions with reported attendance, he was a headline act in no less than 30 5,000+ exhibits for a complete of 229,000 followers from 1937 to 1959. This makes him tied for the third greatest draw within the historical past of the nation, behind Lambrakis and Londos and at about the identical stage as Papalazarou. There have been intervals within the late Nineteen Forties and early Nineteen Fifties, particularly when Lambrakis was away touring, that he was broadly seen as the highest man.
After all, there may be the standard asterisk: these figures come from newspaper stories, which guess-timated the variety of folks in attendance and might need been liable to exaggeration, so there may be potential for attendance inflation. This isn’t a priority alien to large stars elsewhere although, so I might nonetheless contemplate Lambrakis and Karpozilos to be HOF-level attracts with tons of longevity.
In-Ring
There isn’t a lot wrestling footage of Andreas and Harry to research, and what little there may be comes from exterior of Greece.
From the one 1954 match in opposition to Nice Yamato in Chicago that I might discover, Karpozilos appeared a greater than succesful grappler. He additionally decisively received a wrestlers’ ballot in 1951 deciding one of the best wrestler in Greece, though 1951 was additionally a yr by which he was the highest draw, so they could have simply been choosing the largest identify. There’s far too little proof to find out whether or not he was near a HOF-level performer, however he might have been extra expert than the common Joe.
The one Lambrakis footage I might discover was a 1960 match in Brisbane in opposition to Beautiful George.
Even this cut-down and edited model is a slog to get via, that includes an entire bunch of nothing. To be honest, Andreas was someplace in his 40s on the time and didn’t look to be in the identical prime situation of his youth.
Whereas this one match is all we have now to work with, we actually don’t have a good suggestion proper now about how good or unhealthy he was.
Historic Significance
Lambrakis is at minimal the second greatest attract Greek wrestling historical past behind Londos, and one might argue he’s #1 attributable to his longevity as a full-time star within the nation. Both manner, he’s up there with a number of the greatest stars in European historical past. Karpozilos, in the meantime, was his foremost rival, was a giant star in his personal proper, and was the important thing promoter each main as much as and through Greece’s Golden Age. Collectively, these two wrestlers had been extra accountable than anybody else in constructing a vibrant wrestling scene that endured at a excessive stage for over 40 years.
Verdict
So, is both Karpozilos or Lambrakis a rightful Corridor-of-Famer? I need to say sure, however I don’t know for positive. There are unknowns: are there extra fleshed-out accounts of their in-ring performances? When, precisely, did Karpozilos take over as a promoter, and was he the one one making key choices? How a lot ought to we weigh a number of the down-years compared to the stronger years? Simply how inflated, if in any respect, are the attendance figures for somebody like Lambrakis? A few of these questions is perhaps answerable, however some solutions is perhaps misplaced.
What I do know is that this: whether or not Lambrakis or Karpozilos belongs within the Corridor of Fame must be given earnest consideration. Their inclusion within the dialog could be a terrific first step in giving the Remainder of the World the stronger illustration that it deserves and desires.