Rewind:

Paul Boesch made his wrestling debut in October 1932 against Benny Ginsburg.  He would wrestle professionally for years, wrestling such notables as Gorgeous George, Wild Bill Longson, and Leroy McGuirk.  Before retiring in 1947 due to a car wreck (Boesch would make numerous comebacks, most notably in 1955 against Duke Keomuka, and in the 1970’s against manager Gary Hart), he also wrestled and promoted in Seattle, Washington.   

From 1946 to 1966, Boesch helped out longtime Houston promoter Morris Siegel, booking, and providing talent for other promoters.  He also was the television announcer for the Houston Wrestling televising show.  Boesch took over promoting the Houston area in early 1967, after Siegel’s death in December 1966.  He nearly lost his opportunity to do so due to constant phone calls to Siegel’s widow from other promoters wanting to buy into Houston.  She never listened to them, and instead allowed Boesch to take over.   

At the time Boesch took over, the Houston region was not doing well financially, although it still had a television presence on a small UHF station called Channel 39 (which is now a WB affiliate).  Boesch regained the trust of Houston fans, and for the next twenty years promoted some of the best cards in the country.  One of his first longtime successes was a feud between Wahoo McDaniel and Johnny Valentine, which also was arguably the most legendary feud in Mid-Atlantic wrestling history.  Boesch also scored with bringing a Dallas feud between Valentine and Fritz Von Erich to Houston as well.  Gates picked up, and ratings went through the roof.  As stated earlier, Boesch even made a comeback in June 1977 against manager Gary Hart.  His comeback drew another huge crowd in a decade that would prove that Boesch was one of the greats in in wrestling promotion.  Ratings would remain high for Houston Wrestling until Boesch retired in August 1987.   

Interestingly, Boesch had a great relationship with George Bush, and was often contacted by Bush to see if wrestling would be happening when Bush could be in town.  One of the telegrams read on Boesch’s retirement card was from the Vice President congratulating Boesch on his years in the business.  Boesch describes in his book a chance meeting between Bush and St. Louis promoter Sam Muchnick where Bush “puts over” his wrestling friend. 

As the 1980’s dawned, Boesch would share more and more of his on-air responsibilities with his nephew Peter Birkholtz.  His longtime affiliation with Bill Watts ended in the spring of 1987, and just four months into his affiliation with the WWF, Boesch decided to call it quits; citing philosophical differences with WWF promotional tactics; chief among them being “no-shows.” 

His book does not chronicle his short-lived comeback to wrestling in 1988, but does take the reader through the panorama that was pro wrestling in this country for years. 

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