Langmead, Jon

Ballyhoo!: The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling (Sports and American Culture)

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ISBN 13:: 9780826222992
author:: Langmead, Jon
format:: Hardback
publisher:: University of Missouri Press
language:: English
Publication Year:: 2023
Pages:: 316
Dimensions:: 23.4 x 16 x 2.6 centimetres (0.6
Genre:: Sports & Recreation, History, Sports & Recreation,
Condition:: New
Availability:: Item usually sent within 20 working days

£27.44

Current Stock: 5

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Description

Description

Ballyhoo! The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling is a history of professional wrestling's formative period in the US, spanning from 1874 to 1941. During this time, the conventions that define wrestling today were established, and the sport evolved from a rough, rural activity to a mass entertainment spectacle that drew large crowds in cities nationwide. The story of Jack Curley, a boxing promoter who found success in promoting wrestling matches, serves as a narrative compass for this period. Curley's shows, which began selling out Madison Square Garden monthly by the late 1910s, were a key factor in the sport's growth. This book chronicles Curley's competition with other promoters, as well as the lives of colorful wrestlers such as "Strangler" Ed Lewis, Frank Gotch, and "Gorgeous George" Wagner. By examining the lives and careers of these individuals, Ballyhoo! sheds light on the development of professional wrestling and the complex interplay between wrestlers and promoters that shaped the sport into what it is today.

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