John Tolos R.I.P.

This past week, I lost another boyhood hero … John Tolos. He and his brother Chris were two of the meanest men in the squared circle. The reputation of being brawlers came to them naturally growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Both brothers were graduates of the Hamilton Factory of wrestling that produced many great Canadian athletes during the early 50's, some of which were Bruce Swayze, Dewey Robertson, the Tolos Brothers and many others. These men went into all of the different territories and gained success and national acclaim as being the very best that Canada had produced.

Chris and John became the "Canadian Wrecking Crew" and caused more riots than they cared to admit to. They sold out arenas all over Ontario while carving a name into the record books as winners.

Their ring garb was very simple ... black boots ... black trunks and huge fists that fought many battles within the confines of a 20-foot ring. There was nothing fancy about them as they tagged quickly and bedazzled their opponents with the rough house style that would be a trademark for them in the years to come.

John was the driver for the team as Chris never had the inkling to get a car, or a license, for that matter. For the first 10 years or so, it was ok, but then John had the calling to go to Los Angeles. The brothers went and were a huge success, but Chris yearned to return to his native Canada and, one day, just boarded a train and didn't look back on his career in California.

While John went on to become one of the hottest box office attractions with feuds in California, Chris, on the other hand, was still tearing up the rings in Canada, Michigan and Ohio.

John was a member of the Cauliflower Alley Club and would often attend reunions in California and then in Las Vegas when they moved it there. He was good friends with a number of people in our business and stayed in touch with them. One was Diane Devine, now of Denver. They were friends from her association of fan clubs in the United States and spoke quite frequently on the phone.

Another good bunch of friends of John’s was the late Bob Orton Sr. and his family. They would talk on the phone every week when Bob was still alive. Rhonda, Bob's only daughter, would call John on a regular basis following her dad's passing.

One of the biggest feuds that John had in California was with Classy Freddie Blassie. They were at a television taping at the old Olympia in Los Angeles doing an interview when John threw powder from the doctor’s bag into Fred's eye, blinding him and putting him out of action for many months. John kept the situation alive every week reminding the fans of what he had done to Freddie.

They would have Freddie come to the auditorium and sit near the interview area in the front row with his eyes bandaged heavily and "looking" for Tolos. He would scream out near curse words at Tolos, calling him things that were bleeped out of the broadcast. They finally would not let Blassie into the arena as John threatened to end his career in more than one way.

The return matches which took place a number of months later sold out the Olympia for many cards. Matchmaker Jules Strongbow had a tough time with having enough security to contain the two. Blassie ended up getting revenge on Tolos, finally putting him out of action for two months.

Later, John went into retirement and was a manager for Mr. Perfect, calling himself "The Coach." He didn't remain in the business too much after that assignment and permanently retired back to Los Angeles.

Chris passed away in 2005, and John went back to Canada for a while, but he yearned to return to Southern California to the lifestyle he had been accustomed to for many years.

I will always remember the time you took to speak to me during those CAC events you were at. Every time you shook my hand, you looked to see if I had left some money in your hand for the pleasure. Your words to me of "How do you spell wrestling?" It was T-O-L-O-S. John Tolos was a true gentleman, and I will miss him like I do Chris Tolos.

Rest in peace, sir, as your work on Earth is done.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers