Leroy McGuirk

Leroy Michael McGuirk (December 13, 1910 – September 9, 1988) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. He was involved in professional wrestling for more than fifty years. As one of the longest surviving members of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), he was affiliated with the organization from 1949 to 1982, where he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

Early life He was born in Garvin, Oklahoma. He suffered the loss of his father before he was twelve and had to endure the loss of sight in one of his eyes due to a swimming mishap. McGuirk overcame many adversities to persevere in wrestling. He started wrestling at Tulsa Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma and competed at Oklahoma A&M from 1928 to 1932 under coach Edward C. Gallagher.

McGuirk would lose in the quarterfinals of the 1930 NCAA Tournament. He would bounce back the next year to claim the 155-pound title at the 1931 NCAA Tournament.

Professional career After graduation from college, McGuirk went to work for Sam Avey. On March 5, 1934, he beat Hugh Nichols in Tulsa for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. McGuirk's tinted glasses were shattered and the side of the glasses covering his good eye were fractured, blinding McGuirk permanently. This led to another Oklahoman, Danny Hodge, rising to prominence in the Junior Heavyweight field, and who by 1960, became the principal headliner for McGuirk.

Booking and promoting After the accident, Avey kept McGuirk as a partner. McGuirk became second vice-president of the NWA from September 1950 to August 1956, and from August 1959 to August 1960.

By 1953, McGuirk was the primary booker for the junior heavyweight champion, while coordinating talent from southwestern Missouri to Little Rock, across Oklahoma, and into parts of Texas. Despite being the booker, McGuirk also took on the opportunity to train promising wrestlers. One of his most promising was eventual NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dick Hutton. In the May 10, 1953 edition of the Tulsa Daily World, McGuirk said "He has a fine chance to get into the big money brackets. He has a lot to learn, but has the natural qualifications, and I won't be surprised at anything he may accomplish." Hutton did not disappoint, as he beat Lou Thesz on November 14, 1957, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Avey and McGuirk's actual territory covered most of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Said territory also included Joplin and Springfield, Missouri, Shreveport, Louisiana, plus Wichita Falls, and Tyler, Texas. On January 4, 1958, McGuirk took over the entire business after Avey retired. One of the biggest issues McGuirk faced was the tension that occurred due to sporadic visits by world champion Buddy Rogers in the early 1960s. Many felt that the bigger promoters were locked in for visits by Rogers while territories such as McGuirk's, Jim Crockett in Charlotte, Karl Sarpolis in Amarillo, and Cowboy Luttrall in Tampa, to name a few, were perceived as the non-essential territories.

Bill Watts

McGuirk had many people who worked for him as matchmaker: Leo Voss, Sam Menacker, Rip Tyler, Wayne Martin, and George Scott. Of all those people, "Cowboy" Bill Watts played a big part in McGuirk's promotion, both positively and negatively. His first real connection to McGuirk was in 1968, when McGuirk submitted the only vote in favor of passing the NWA Championship to him. McGuirk and Watts worked together to promote Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana in the late 1970s. On July 22, 1978, their joint promotion of a wrestling show at the Louisiana Superdome drew an estimated 31,000 fans and a gate of $140,000. McGuirk's daughter, Michelle Kathleen, better known in wrestling as Mike McGuirk, married B. Brian Blair, a wrestler for Mid-South. Both eventually worked for the World Wrestling Federation: Blair as one half of the tag team The Killer Bees, and Mike McGuirk as an in-ring announcer.

Honors McGuirk was inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977. Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)