The Cauliflower Alley Club is pleased to announce that 2013 CAC honoree Mr. George Schire is set to become the official James C. Melby Historian Chairman for the CAC. As such, Mr. Schire and past historians will oversee selecting future James C. Melby Historian Award recipients.
Here is a look at Mr. Schire’s career:
For wrestling historian George Schire, professional wrestling has been a part of his life since the mid 1950’s. After he attended his first wrestling card in the old St. Paul Auditorium featuring a main event of Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff against fellow heels Mitsu Arakawa & Kinji Shibuya, he was hooked on the sport and in September 1959, it was Tiny Mills & Stan “Krusher” Kowalski who cemented his addiction to wrestling for life.
George has an entire room in his home completely dedicated to and decorated with wall to wall photos, six file cabinets crammed with wrestling programs, magazines and related memorabilia that he has acquired over the last 58 years.
Over those years, George has been privileged to not only be first and foremost a fan, but also work in the wrestling business in various roles. He has been a fan club president (for former wrestler Ramon Torres), and a writer and columnist for Wrestling Revue, Wrestling Monthly and the Wrestling News magazines, and contributed historical facts and statistics to many wrestling books published over the years.
George has also been a promoter (for two cards in the early 70s), ring announcer, and ringside commentator calling play-by-play action of matches for television. The latter work was for Eddie Sharkey’s “Pro Wrestling America” promotion and Tony Condello’s “West Four Wrestling” in the mid 1980’s promoted in Winnipeg, Canada. Also in the late 1980’s, George was the ring announcer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) when they came to the Twin Cities in Minnesota.
When wrestling radio was big in the early 1990’s, George co-hosted a weekly radio show (with Pro Wrestling Torch editor Wade Keller) on KFAN-AM 1130, and was also a frequent guest and contributor on another wrestling radio program on WWTC-AM 1280 in the Twin Cities.
For “Steel Domain Wrestling”, George worked under the name of “The Authority” as a heel manager. At one point in time, “The Authority” managed both the SDW Heavyweight Champion (Daryck “Old School” St. Holmes) and the SDW Television Champion (Gage Octane). Others that he managed for SDW were “Wild Bill” Irwin and Adrian Lynch.
It is as an historian though, that George is best known. Over the years, he has compiled wrestling results (won/loss) career records that include Dick (the Destroyer) Beyer, Billy Red Lyons, Nick Bockwinkel, Mad Dog Vachon, Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, Larry Hennig, Pampero Firpo, Moose Evans, Doug “The Professional” Gilbert, Hans Schmidt, Pat O’Connor, Edouard Carpentier, Stan “Krusher” Kowalski, Lars Anderson, and Cowboy Bill Watts. And also tag team records of Crusher Lisowski & Dick the Bruiser, the Lisowski Brothers, the Vachon Brothers, and “Pretty Boy” Larry Hennig & “Handsome” Harley Race.
George feels honored to have many wrestlers as personal friends, and some of the boys like Red Bastien, Nick Bockwinkel, Baron Von Raschke, Sir Oliver Humperdink, Jim Brunzell, Greg Gagne, and Dick Beyer have visited his home. He feels it is a great compliment when wrestlers call him to get information regarding their respective careers. George has stated many times that, “It isn’t often that one can meet and have as friends their childhood idols”.
Over the years George has served as an executive director on the Board of Directors for the Cauliflower Alley Club. He also serves on the induction nominating committee for the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa and as chairperson for the PWHF in Wichita Falls, Texas. In addition to this, George can be heard regularly on local Twin City radio station WCCO-AM 830 talking old school wrestling. He also regularly co-hosts “Rasslin Memories” an internet radio program with many wrestlers as guests. Also over the last decade, George has co-hosted over 350 wrestling Internet podcasts and he is a regular guest on “Sports Talk” with Patrick Reusse on Twin City radio station 1500-ESPN (KSTP) AM.
In 2010, George authored his book, “Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling” which was published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. The book is now in its fourth printing and continues to sell well in bookstores and on Amazon.com. In 2014 and 2015, two new books were authored by George titled, “AWA Record Book: the 60s” and “AWA Record Book: Part One 1970-1974” and “AWA Book: Part Two 1975-1979 now added. All are available from Amaazon.com.
A most humbling honor was bestowed on George in April 2013, when the Cauliflower Alley Club presented him with the “James C. Melby Wrestling Historian Award” at their annual reunion in Las Vegas. He was presented the award by none other than the world famous Dick Beyer (The Destroyer/Dr. X) at the awards ceremony.
In real life, George is retired after working 35 years in the banking business. He has two daughters, two granddaughters, and shares life with his wife and best friend Lorraine of 43 years in Oakdale, Minnesota.