Orville Brown
Encyclopedia
Orville Brown was a professional wrestler. Born in Sharon, Kansas
, Brown was a former NWA Champion
, and was recognized as the first NWA champion in 1948. Brown's pro-wrestling career ended on November 1, 1949, when he suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident.
Orville Brown was born on March 10, 1908. He grew up on a small farm in Sharon, Kansas
, USA. Brown worked on the farm during the mornings before walking several miles to school in Kiowa, Kansas
. He only attended one year of school due to financial reasons.
put him on the preliminary of the weekly matches there.
A well-known wrestler named Abe Coleman
saw Brown wrestle and recommended him to the promoter in St. Louis
- Tom Packs.
Orville Brown impressed many people with his wrestling skills in matches against former World Heavyweight Champions Jim Londos
and Ed "Strangler" Lewis
. He quickly won the Kansas Heavyweight Championship. Orville Brown went on to become the Kansas-based Midwest Wrestling Association (MWA) World Heavyweight Champion for a record of 11 times from 1940 till 1948. Brown won that title by beating wrestlers such as Bobby Bruns, Lee Wyckoff, Tom Zaharias, Swedish Angel, Roy Graham and Tug Carlson.
In 1948 promoter Pinkie George, along with other promoters, recognized Orville Brown as the World Heavyweight Champion
in the newly-formed National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA). Brown began the NWA's project of unifying the various world heavyweight championships contested at that time with the NWA version. A significant unification match took place against Frank Sexton
on March 15, 1949. Sexton held the American Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship, the second most important championship in the country at that time, which he had previously unified with the Maryland version of the World Heavyweight Championship.
Brown held the NWA title twice before he was forced to retire in November 1949 due to injuries he suffered on 1 November 1949 in a car accident. He was scheduled to be in a unification match against Lou Thesz
on November 25, 1949. Thesz was awarded the title as Orville Brown was unable to compete.
After retiring, Orville Brown became a promoter in Kansas City, Missouri
. He promoted the Midwest Wrestling Association
(MWA) from the founding of the NWA in 1948 until 1958, when the promotion was taken over by Bob Geigel
.
Orville Brown married Grace, a farmer's daughter, in October 1926. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1981. Their son Richard also became a wrestler.
Sharon, Kansas
Sharon is a city in Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 158.-Geography:Sharon is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 210 people,...
, Brown was a former NWA Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, and was recognized as the first NWA champion in 1948. Brown's pro-wrestling career ended on November 1, 1949, when he suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident.
Biography
Orville Brown was born on March 10, 1908. He grew up on a small farm in Sharon, Kansas
Sharon, Kansas
Sharon is a city in Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 158.-Geography:Sharon is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 210 people,...
, USA. Brown worked on the farm during the mornings before walking several miles to school in Kiowa, Kansas
Kiowa, Kansas
Kiowa is a city in Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,026.-19th century:Kiowas was the city where anti-saloon advocate Carrie Nation vandalized her first saloon.-Geography:...
. He only attended one year of school due to financial reasons.
Career
Orville Brown was noticed by Ernest Brown, a former manager of amateur and professional wrestlers, in the late 1920s. Brown was convinced that Orville might have a future as a wrestler. He agreed to work with Orville at the local high school in Kiowa, Kansas. After training, Orville Brown was undefeated for 71 matches. He gained enough notoriety in western Kansas that the promoter in WichitaWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
put him on the preliminary of the weekly matches there.
A well-known wrestler named Abe Coleman
Abe Coleman
Abe Coleman, born Abbe Kelmer, was a Polish-American professional wrestler who was, at the time of his death, believed to be the oldest member of his profession in the world. His wife, June Miller, who he married in 1939, died in 1987...
saw Brown wrestle and recommended him to the promoter in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
- Tom Packs.
Orville Brown impressed many people with his wrestling skills in matches against former World Heavyweight Champions Jim Londos
Jim Londos
Christos Theofilou or Christopher Theophelus better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos, was a professional wrestler who was one of the most popular stars wrestling offered during the Great Depression.-Career:Jim Londos was born Christos Theofilou in 1897 in Argos, Greece. as the youngest of...
and Ed "Strangler" Lewis
Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Robert Herman Julius Friedrich , was a professional wrestler best known by his ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, whose career spanned four decades.-Wrestling career:...
. He quickly won the Kansas Heavyweight Championship. Orville Brown went on to become the Kansas-based Midwest Wrestling Association (MWA) World Heavyweight Champion for a record of 11 times from 1940 till 1948. Brown won that title by beating wrestlers such as Bobby Bruns, Lee Wyckoff, Tom Zaharias, Swedish Angel, Roy Graham and Tug Carlson.
In 1948 promoter Pinkie George, along with other promoters, recognized Orville Brown as the World Heavyweight Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in the newly-formed National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA). Brown began the NWA's project of unifying the various world heavyweight championships contested at that time with the NWA version. A significant unification match took place against Frank Sexton
Frank Sexton
Frank Sexton was an American professional wrestler in the early to mid-twentieth century. Along with Orville Brown, Bill Longson, and Lou Thesz, he was one of the biggest stars of the 1940s...
on March 15, 1949. Sexton held the American Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship, the second most important championship in the country at that time, which he had previously unified with the Maryland version of the World Heavyweight Championship.
Brown held the NWA title twice before he was forced to retire in November 1949 due to injuries he suffered on 1 November 1949 in a car accident. He was scheduled to be in a unification match against Lou Thesz
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a United States professional wrestler and 18-time world heavyweight champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone else in history...
on November 25, 1949. Thesz was awarded the title as Orville Brown was unable to compete.
After retiring, Orville Brown became a promoter in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. He promoted the Midwest Wrestling Association
Heart of America Sports Attractions
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
(MWA) from the founding of the NWA in 1948 until 1958, when the promotion was taken over by Bob Geigel
Bob Geigel
Robert "Bob" Geigel is a former American professional wrestling promoter and also a former professional wrestler. Geigel ran the NWA Central States promotion between 1963 and 1986, until it was bought out by Jim Crockett Promotions...
.
Personal life
Orville Brown married Grace, a farmer's daughter, in October 1926. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1981. Their son Richard also became a wrestler.
Championships and accomplishments
- Midwest Wrestling Association
- MWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipMWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe MWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Kansas City, Kansas-based Midwest Wrestling Association...
(11 times)
- MWA World Heavyweight Championship
- NWA IowaNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
(1 time)
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship
- Professional Wrestling Hall of FameProfessional Wrestling Hall of FameThe Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Amsterdam, New York. It was previously located in Schenectady, New York...
- Pioneer Era inductee in 2005