Real Name - Edward Nicholas George, Jr.
Lifespan - 6/3/1905 - 9/18/1985
6'1" 219 lbs. - North Java, NY
Aliases - none
Athletic background - Wrestling (Olympics - 1928); Football (University of Michigan)
Peak Years - 1930s

Place in History - Ed Don George's successes in all aspect of "wrestling" are nothing short of amazing. He was a top-notch amateur wrestler, he was one of the premier pro-wrestling champions of his day and later became a successful promoter in the pre-television days. It all really began when he was a dual athlete at St. Bonaventure University and later the University of Michigan. Here, he won several big tournaments in the 1920s, the AAU Nationals being the most noteworthy. In 1928, he represented his country in the Olympics and walked away with a impressive fourth-place finish by defeating future legendary professional Earl McCready. The following year, he was in a Boston ring winning his first professional match. Promoter Paul Bowser built him up for a year as a master of mat wrestling to oppose football star turned champion pro wrestler Gus Sonnenburg. The 1930s were a tumultuous time in pro-wrestling and Boston was a key market and Bowser was continually trying to find his answer to New York City’s mega drawing card Jim Londos. After George went over Sonnenburg, he became a regular in the championship mix and was established as a serious drawing card. Bowser’s version of the World title jumped from George to “Strangler” Lewis to Henri DeGlane and back to George in a two-year period. He would hold it from that point forward for two and half a years. He and DeGlane drew three 10,000-15,000 houses, he met Jim Londos at Fenway Park in front of 30,000, which were impressive feats. However, he drew the biggest crowds with Irish sensation Danno O’Mahoney. First, George dropped the belt in front of 45,000 and they drew 25,000 in a rematch shortly after. After that time, George backed out of the title scene to wrestle in other places. He returned in the late 30s to defeat “Crusher” Casey and enjoyed a brief run before departing for the military. George was forty when he came home and decided to buy into the sport after years of earning money for the promoters. He bought into Buffalo and ran it for a decade in affiliation with the Boston office. He eventually sold the city and promoted in Cuba in the 1950s before it Fidel Castro came to power. He returned to the United States and lived out his final years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.