Joseph D. Pottsgieser, Jr., the well known time keeper for both wrestling and boxing in California died October 21, 2016 of lung cancer. He was an aid to promoter and ex-wrestler John Swenski and in the 60’s and 70’s wrote articles for The RING WRESTLING magazine.
He also put up poster weekly for the shows and doubled as an usher and any other job needed. Joseph had been a member of CAC and will be missed.
Greg Oliver wrote the following:
Joe Pottgieser was leading authority on Ray Stevens
By GREG OLIVER – Producer, SLAM! Wrestling
In the time before you could start a fan club with the click of a mouse, there were REAL fan clubs, the kinds where the person running it was so passionate, so committed to a single wrestler that they published a newsletter to share with other fans. Often that led to a relationship with their idol. Such was the case of Joe Pottgieser, who died a month ago. He was the world’s leading authority on Ray Stevens.
Like many, I was fortunate to learn of the legacy of “The Crippler” through his principle chronicler through the years, Pottgieser and his Blond Bomber Revue. Not that I subscribed—the publication far pre-dates from beginnings as a fan during the heights of Hulkamania. Instead, it was through the magic of the Internet that we connected and corresponded.
To look at the biography on Ray Stevens in the book, The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels, which I co-wrote with Steven Johnson, is to see Joe’s handiwork throughout. Not only is he quoted, but I know that he helped connect me with some truly outside-the-box people, like world champion cowboy Jack Roddy and racing legend Joe Leonard.
“Ray was able to effect people by just being him,” Joe told me in an email before I spoke with Leonard, for example.
Read the rest of the article here.