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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NYProWrestling.com or its related websites. The Johnston Family One subject which does not seem to come up often in the midst of all the McMahon & Mondt hullabaloo is that of the Johnston family. James Joy Johnston, its leading light, went all the way back with Curley, Rickard, Jess McMahon, etc., and appears to have had a hand in wrestling almost as long as any of them -- while, of course, making his principal living (and notoriety) in the boxing business. But boxing, alas, always was a gamble, and sometimes a high-priced one ... by contrast, wrestling, as some of the comments below by Johnston family henchmen make plain, was like minting money -- at least most of the time -- in New York City. And so, while promoting practically all the various small boxing clubs in the greater Gotham area, the Johnstons naturally fell into the wrestling business in a pretty large way. After Jimmie Johnston died, in 1946, his brothers -- William, Charlie and Edward (Ned) -- picked up the pieces of the empire and went right on. And it was William (Bill) who had the promotional license that Mondt used when he re-opened the Garden in February 1949 (interestingly, years later, the Johnstons still seemed angry at Gorgeous George because that first show laid such an egg at the box office). There is another personage involved, Walter Smallshaw (married to one of the Johnston brothers' sisters) and I've always assumed the papers referred to him as Walter "Johnston" -- unless someone knows differently. Especially after Bill died (in 1950), he seems to have been the name up front on most of the Garden promotions along with, in a lesser way, Charlie and Ned. The point is that, especially from the 1937 death of Jack Curley on, the Johnstons seemed to play a pretty large role in NYC wrestling promotion. I don't know how deep they were into the booking agencies -- the meaty end of the racket -- but they certainly were holding down a lot of promotional licenses. Here is a small timeline concerning them and some of the other interested parties, e.g., like Gilzenberg and Fabiani, with a little preface describing how entwined with Garden boxing (and politics) Jimmie Johnston was from the outset (along with, it must be said, Roderick "Jess" McMahon): January 14, 1959 WHAT LED TO THE FORMATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOXING CLUB Great Neck NY: July 12, 1937 New York City NY: March 30, 1938 New York City NY: Juy 26, 1938 New York City NY: August 20, 1938 New York City NY: January 21, 1939 New York City NY: January 10, 1940 MRS. ELIZABETH JOHNSTON Mrs. Elizabeth Johnston, mother of James J. (Jimmy) Johnston, former matchmaker and promoter for Madison Square Garden, died yesterday of a heart attack at her home, 92-25 215th Place, Queens Village, Long Island. Born in Liverpool, England, eighty-five years ago, she had lived here since girlhood. She leaves two daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Smallshaw and Mrs. Ria Powers, and four sons, James J., who is now managing Abe Simon, Bob Pastor and other boxers; William, promoter for the St. Nicholas Palace boxing bouts; Charles, manager of boxers, and Edward Johnston, a former boxer who is now a trainer. New York City NY: May 2, 1941 COLISEUM BOXING STARTS SEPT. 2 The indoor boxing season at the New York Coliseum will start on Tuesday night, Sept. 2, it was announced yesterday by promoter Bill Johnston. With the arena enlarged to a seating capacity of 20,000, a number of attractive matches are being considered. Newark NJ: August 15, 1941 COLAN AND TUCKER MATCHED Bill Johnston, promoter at St. Nicholas Palace, announced yesterday that he had signed Johnny Colan, West Side middleweight, and Tommy Tucker of the Navy for the opening boxing show at the midtown arena. The bout is scheduled a week from Monday. NEW RIDGEWOOD GROVE PROMOTER Promoter Bill Johnston, who has been operating small boxing clubs for several years, yesterday announced he had acquired a three-year lease on the Ridgewood Grove S.C., Brooklyn, where he plans to conduct shows every Saturday night, commencing Jan. 9. Lulu Costantino is to be a principal in his first feature. Johnston operated the Ridgewood Grove two years ago. BENEFIT WRESTLING TONIGHT The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis will benefit from a wrestling carnival to be held tonight by promoter Bill Johnston in the Jamaica Arena. The feature will be a finish bout between Maurice LaChappelle, French heavyweight, and Dr. John Bonica, Jamaica. WRESTLERS TO AID FUND The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis will receive part of the proceeds tonight from the wrestling carnival arranged by promoter Bill Johnston in the Bronx Winter Garden. The feature finish event will bring together Ali Baba, Turkish heavyweight, and Karol Krauser, Polish grappler. J.J. JOHNSTON DIES; RING PROMOTER, 70 James Joy Johnston, one of boxing's most colorful personalities, died of a heart attack yesterday morning at his home, 200 Cabrini Boulevard. The 70-year-old manager, matchmaker and promoter collapsed in the arms of his wife, Mrs. Agnes Johnston, at 9:30 a.m. as he was dressing in prepration to go downtown. Although Mr. Johnston had been afflicted for years with a heart ailment and had complained to friends of feeling ill on Monday night at the boxing matches at St. Nicholas Arena, the boxing world was stunned at the news of his death and hundreds of messages of sympathy were received at the Johnston home. A high requiem Mass will be sung on Friday at 10 a.m. in St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. There was no one in the boxing game better known and few more universally respected than Jimmy Johnston. For more than fifty years, this cocky little bantam with his tilted derby hat was a familiar figure on Broadway, its side streets that house the followers of fistiana and in the various fight arenas around town. Besides a widow, he leaves ten childen ... two sisters, Mrs. William Smallshaw and Mrs. John J. Powers, and three brothers, Edward, William F. and Charles B. Johnston, all of New York, and ten grandchildren. [The ten children were: Mrs. Albert Wentworth, Denmark ME; Charles P. Johnston, Washington DC; William Johnston, Houston TX; Mrs. James Delaney, NYC; Miss Alice Johnston, NYC; Mrs. Edward Daly, NYC; James J. Johnston, Jr., NYC; Edward L. Johnston, NYC; Agnes Yvonne Johnston, NYC, and John James Johnston, NYC] New York City NY: September 4, 1946 New York City NY: December 27, 1946 New York City NY: January 15, 1947 New York City NY: November 23, 1948 New York City NY: January 19, 1949 New York City NY: February 22, 1949 RALPH MONDT Ralph Mondt, an automobile salesman, who was formerly a professional wrestler and later a wrestling promoter, died yesterday in Glendale, Calif., after a brief illness, according to word received here. Born in Greeley, Col., He leaves his mother, Mrs. Lulu Mondt; three brothers, Joe (Toots) Mondt, wrestling promoter and ex-wrestler; Frank Mondt, and Lowell R. Mondt, of Bridger, Mont.; a son, Bruce Mondt, and two sisters. RALPH MONDT, RETIRED MAT PROMOTER, PASSES Ralph Mondt, 58, retired New Jersey wrestling promoter, died yesterday. He was stricken with pneumonia which brought on a stroke and for nearly two months had been in a paralytic coma at Behrens Memorial Hospital in Glendale. BROOKLYN FIGHT ARENA CLOSES BECAUSE OF BERLE NEW YORK CITY -- Max Joss, who has promoted boxing shows at Brooklyn's Broadway Arena for over ten years, has closed down operations until next fall. Milton Berle's television shows and a scarcity of boxing talent are the reasons, the 55-year-old promoter said today. The once flourishing small indoor arena has been operating in the red for the past two years. "Milton Berle was too much Tuesday night competition," said Joss. "Even though I lowered my prices, I kept losing money ..." Kingston NY: September 13, 1949 November 20, 1949 January 6, 1950 NEW MAT WIZARD HEADS INITIAL SATURDAY CARD Antonino "Argentine" Rocca, the spectacular "drop-kick" specialist from Buenos Aires, will headline the next professional wrestling show in Kingston on Saturday, Feb. 11, promoter Bill Johnston, Jr., of New York announced today ... The Argentine's opponent will be the former professional football tackle star of the Los Angeles Rams, the massive, 285-pound Rube Wright. The latter played college football at North Arizona State College before entering the professional grid ranks. New York City NY: March 5, 1950 W.F. JOHNSTON FALLS DEAD William F. Johnston, fight promoter, collapsed and died at 6:35 p.m. yesterday in a drug store at 1632 Broadway, after walking in from the street. The body was identified at the West Forty-seventh Street police station by Harry Curley, a friend. Mr. Johnston, who was 61 years old and lived at 92-25 215th Place, Queens Village, Queens, was a brother of James Boy Johnston, fight promoter and one of boxing's most colorful personalities, who died in May, 1946, leaving his business to his brothers, William and Charles. New York City NY: May 15, 1950 CARNERA TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE Several good ringside seat locations are still available for the Primo Carnera-Slim Zimbleman wrestling feature Saturday night at the Municipal Auditorium, promoter Bill Johnston announced this morning. Rebel Russell, the Boston Terror, will share honors with the former world's heavyweight kingin. Ticket reservations can be made by calling the Tommy Maines Sports Shop, 6039-J. New York City NY: February 12, 1951 Chicago IL: April 18, 1951 TONY GALENTO SEIZED IN ATTACK ON PROMOTER GREENSBURG, Pa. -- Tony Galento, one-time challenger for the heavyweight boxing crown, was held in the Westmoreland County jail nine hours today after attacking a wrestling promoter in a brawl at a Pennsylvania Turnpike gasoline station near Irwin PA ... State police said Galento had "a short fight" with Bill Johnston over division of proceeds from a show held the previous nightat Speney's Palisades in McKeesport PA ... "Galento ended it when he hit Johnson in the mouth and knocked out his four front teeth," added the police report ... Johnston dropped assault and battery charges after Galento indicted he would pay $250 for Johnston's hospital bill and some false teeth ... Galento was released at noon. MAT SHOWS SET FOR GARDEN Promoter Charley Jonston last night arranged to stage five wrestling programs at Madison Square Garden on a monthly bais. The first show, Nov. 18, will be headed by Antonino Rocca of Argentina and Lu Kim of San Francisco. The mat cards will not be televised. GAGNE WRESTLES TONIGHT Verne Gagne of Chicago will tackle the Mighty Atlas of San Diego, Calif., and Gene Stanlee of New York will oppose Wladek (Killer) Koalski of Windsor, Ont., in the featured exhibitions on the wrestling program at Madison Square Garden tonight. Ned Johnston, the promoter, said yesterday that he expected the card to draw between 15,000 and 18,000 fans, but that there are seats at all prices still available. The program will not be televised ... [att. 15,581, $51,265.50] New York City NY: December 14, 1953 New York City NY: February 14, 1954 Wilkes-Barre PA: November 21, 1954 New York City NY: January 1, 1955 New York City NY: March 10, 1957 New York City NY: March 29, 1957 New York City NY: August 27, 1957 New York City NY: November 21, 1957 New York City NY: November 22, 1957 New York City NY: January 24, 1958 PROMOTING WRESTLING IS NO JOKE TO JOHNSTONS NEW YORK CITY -- The Johnstons have had an office for 30 years on the eighth floor of a building on 42nd Street and Broadway. The building is faded now and the office is dusty and the chairs creak and some of the desks still have roll tops. It was an office that always was a part of the boxing beat. But when you go there now they tell you about wrestling. "We never had it so good," Vic Scutari was saying. Jimmy Johnston took the office first and he kept it even though he had another one in the Paramount Building. When Jimmy wasn't handling the business for Harry Greb or putting a match together for the St. Nicholas Arena or Madison Square Garden, which he ran, he would sit in the office and if the papers said anything bad about him he would say, "They've got the name spelled right. Johnston with a 't' like it's supposed to be." Later, Charley Johnston always sat in a swivel chair by the window and he would book a Lulu Constantino or a Sandy Saddler for featherweight championship fights or try and keep track of Archie Moore. Charley still works with Moore and some other fighters, but his brother, Walter, is doing the big business in the office these days. "I been with the Johnstons since 1929 doing publicity," Scutari rasped. "But nothing is like this wrestling. This is the best touch ever. "We ran nine shows at Madison Square Garden last year. They did $450,000 and 150,000 in people. There was five sellouts. In September we ran a show on the 16th and we had 22,000 people in the joint. Did over $60,000, and there was a riot because the cops had to help us chase away 5,000 who couldn't get in. "Go over to the Garden box office and ask Benny Bennett about it. He handled tickets for Tex Rickard. He don't remember anything like the way we sell out a wrestling show four days ahead." Walter Johnston nodded. "It's the times, we're just doing good with the times." "First," Scutari said, "you had the Russians, Germans and Polish. They were wrestling bugs. That was a long time ago. Then come the Greeks. They all come out when Jim Londos was around. Now comes the Spanish-speaking people. We stick Rocca in there and you can't buy a ticket." Bertie Briscoe, who used to train the Johnston fighters, but now helps handle the wrestling tickets, looked over the top of the newspaper he was reading. "There's a nice lady comes here for every show, Rodriguez her name is. Well, if I don't have the same seats for her, do you know what? She wouldn't talk to me any more. She's a nice lady and I always remember to save her seats. We got a lot of people like that. Steady customers. They come up here, stand at the door there and say hello and I give them the tickets. They don't even have to tell me what they want." "The next show we're running is on the 24th of February," Walter said. "I'll say right now it is going to go out. You know, sell out." "Rocca is some attraction," Scutari said. "You ought to come and see him. He is a crowd pleaser." Once they used to tell you in this office how hard Sandy Saddler could hit somebody in the belly with a left hook. Now, it's about wrestling sellouts and a Rocca. It seems distasteful. But as Scutari kept saying, 'It was never good as this." New York City NY: August 8, 1958 WRESTLING GROUP SUED A $300,000 suit was filed in District Court yesterday against Capitol Wrestling Corp., Joe (Toots) Mondt and Vince McMahon of 1332 I St. NW, charging antitrust violations. Edward A. Contos and Alta Contos of Parkton, Md., partner who have promoted wrestling bouts in Balitmore, want an injunction to stop the Washington group "from refusing to supply wrestling talent." The Contoses also are asking that the Capitol group be restrained from supplying wrestlers to Harry Smythe, former Maryland referee who has obtained a license to promote wrestling and has his first show scheduled next Wednesday in the Baltimore Coliseum where the Contos partners also operated. McMahon, who promotes wrestling bouts in Washington, said last night that his firm supplied wrestlers to the Contoses until last July when they switched to a Buffalo group. McMahon said Edward Contos asked to reaffiliate with him in January but he prefers to do business with Smythe. New York City NY: January 16, 1968 CHARLIE JOHNSTON, BOXING MANAGER, 74 Charlie Johnston, a boxing manager and promoter for more than 50 years, died yesterday, apparently of a heart attack, at Union Hill Hospital in the Bronx. He was 74 years old and lived at 888 Grand Concourse, The Bronx. Mr. Johnston managed Archie Moore, the former light-heavyweight; Sandy Saddler, former featherweight champion, and more than 100 other fighters. For the last 15 years he promoted wrestling at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Johnston was the sole survivor of four brothers from Liverpool, England, who went into the fight game. The most famous was James Joy Johnston, the Boy Bandit, also a promoter and one of New York's most colorful personalities. In 1957, Mr. Johnston, then president of the International Boxing Guild, an organization of fight managers; William Daly, and Albert W. Delmonte were acquitted of antitrust law violations. The government had charged that the I.B.G. sought to monopolize boxing int he country. Mr. Johnston leaves his wife, the former Mae Ross, and a sister, Mrs. Ria Powers. |
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