Great to have you back with Maple Leaf Wrestling where we remember the stars of Frank Tunney's Toronto promotion. This month we will look at one of the mat greats who graced the ring in Maple Leaf Gardens and the circuit of towns in southern Ontario.

Dewey Robertson

Known to millions as "The Missing Link", in his second career as the hated/loved weirdo with half-a-haircut and green face, Dewey had revitalized his wrestling life. The Toronto fans though will remember Mr. Robertson as a local fan favorite with outstanding mat skills and a muscled physique who always gave you your moneys worth. Dewey, originally from the Kitchener area (hour or so from T.O.) began wrestling in the area in 1963 . He would hone his skills in the Ontario area and work the circuit including some time in Florida in the late 60's, and regular appearances at Maple Leaf Gardens including a U.S Title shot against The Sheik in 1970.

In 1973, while in what was later known as the Mid-South territory, Dewey teamed with Dennis Stamp and won the areas United States Tag Team Titles (Tri-State) from the team of The Hollywood Blondes in an exciting match that lasted over an hour. He would make it to the finals of a tournament for the Tri-State version of the North American Title, losing out to Tank Morgan in late 1973.

Dewey would also face a young up and comer by the name of Chuck O'Connor who would later become Canadian Champ John Studd, and would appear on cards with Toronto legend Billy Red Lyons. At that time Billy Red was appearing all over the South and had formed a formidable tag team with tough Oklahoman Cowboy Bill Watts.

When he returned to the Toronto area in 1974, he was in all white under the mask as The Crusader until losing to The Sheik and unmasking on the under card of the Jack Brisco/Johnny Valentine World Title match. For the finish, The Sheik turns Dewey's mask around to blind him and applies the dreaded Camel Clutch for the victory. For a few appearances Dewey would be accompanied by a manager, one of the students at his Burlington gym by the name of John St. John who would later become a referee for Maple Leaf and the WWF in the '80s.

After he unmasked, the billing became "Crusader" Dewey Robertson until a few months later when he would team up with the legendary Billy Red Lyons and return under the mask as "The Crusaders". They would become one of the most loved teams in Maple Leaf history battling the villain teams with the fans cheering their every move in the squared circle.

They would occasionally appear with other partners or as a singles wrestler and the fans knew their identities, but with those masks on they seemed to raise it up a notch. The long running feuds with The Kelley Twins and the Love Brothers are still remembered by long time fans and The Crusaders would battle constantly until 1978 when Dewey and Billy Red went back to singles competition.

When the Tunneys went into co-promoting with the Mid-Atlantic area around 1979, Dewey would also appear in the heel corner but wrestle like an aggressive babyface (ala Dory Funk). This was only on the Carolinas circuit and on Mid-Atlantic TV . Back in Toronto he was always a fan favorite and he would be chosen to carry the newly revitalized Canadian Heavyweight Title in 1979 getting a very popular victory over Greg Valentine in the finals of the Canadian Title Tournament. Everyone always had a lot of respect for Dewey because you knew he was a consummate athlete with a deep training in wrestling and he had that "Canadian laid back persona" which endeared him to the fans. He was believable!

He rarely lost in the Toronto area and had big wins over all the top stars including Nick Bockwinkel (AWA Champ, but only the Canadian title was on the line), Jimmy Snuka (U.S Champ, only Canadian Title on the line), and  a title shot against NWA Champ Harley Race (a loss) before losing the belt  to Hussein The Arab (The Iron Sheik) in May 1980. While in the Carolinas there was no shortage of skilled matmen to test Dewey while in the heel role including Jim Brunzell, Tim Woods and former WWWF Champ Pedro Morales.  More...