Harry Light

Early life Light was born in Paris, France, in 1898. Light's right hand men were Jack Britton, a road agent, and Bert Ruby, a booker and trainer.

In 1948, Light founded the National Wrestling Alliance along with Al Haft, Orville Brown, Paul "Pinkie" George, Sam Muchnick, and Tony Stecher. The six promoters agreed to divide the United States into regional territories within which they would not compete with one another and to recognise a single NWA World Heavyweight Champion who would travel the country wrestling in each territory. By the 1950s, Light effectively controlled professional wrestling in Detroit and Big Time Wrestling was one of the most popular programs airing in Detroit.

As part of the NWA, Light and his colleagues were responsible for coordinating the booking of midget professional wrestlers by NWA members. and blacklisting wrestlers who failed to fulfill their commitments.

In the mid-1950s, Ruby broke away from Light to found the outlaw promotion Wolverine Wrestling, weakening Light's promotion. This left Light vulnerable in an ensuing promotional war with Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle, who began staging professional wrestling events in the Cobo Arena in opposition to Light in 1959. After a short rivalry, Light stepped away from promoting, leaving the Barnett-Doyle Corporation in control of professional wrestling in Detroit.