Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:04, 22 February 2024

Whipper Billy Watson.

Status: Lost

On 21st February 1947, professional wrestler Bill Longson fought Whipper Billy Watson at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, with Longson's National Wrestling Association (NWA) World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Watson defeated Longson to claim the belt, ending Longson's four year reign. The match also made television history, as it became the first televised instance of a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship changing hands.

Background

Heading into the match, Longson was in his second run as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, after defeating Bobby Managoff for the belt on 19th February 1943. By the time the Watson encounter occurred, Longson had held the belt for 1,463 days, the second longest reign with the belt behind Jim Londos' 1,847 day run. Meanwhile, Watson had become more popular and influential within the Toronto and St. Louis territories, including winning Maple Leaf Wrestling's British Empire Heavyweight Championship on multiple occasions. With the influence of Maple Leaf Wrestling promoter Frank Tunney and with greater connections to St. Louis promoter Tom Packs being established, it was decided that Watson should defeat Longson for the World Heavyweight Championship.^[1]

The match occurred at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, in front of over 8,500 in attendance. Watson was most certainly the babyface in this encounter, as Longson was a hated champion notorious for his brutality. This led to his downfall however, as after punching referee Charley Schwartz in frustration, Longson was disqualified at the 18:36 mark. Under the rules back then, it led to Watson becoming champion, thus ending Longson's reign.^[2]

Watson's sole reign as champion lasted 63 days, before he was defeated by Lou Thesz in front of over 10,000 fans on 25th April that same year. Longson would defeat Thesz in Houston, Texas on 21st November 1947 in his final reign, before dropping it to Thesz on 20th July 1948 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The belt would be unified with the National Wrestling Alliance's version of the World Championship on 27th November 1949.^[3]

Television Significance

Aside from producing professional wrestling history, the Longson-Watson match also proved significant from a television perspective. According to the 7th March 1947 issue of Sports Pointers, which provided arena programs for wrestling in St. Louis, the match featured the first televised instance of a world championship changing hands. The issue states that KSD-TV cameras were present to capture the match, and broadcasted on KSD-TV 5 (now KSDK 5), which was St. Louis' first television station. Harold Grahams was the television commentator, having previously commentated on various sports events on KSD-TV 5.

The issue also states this was the first time wrestling was televised in St. Louis, with fans across the city watching the title change live. The broadcast was deemed a success, with many wrestling fans in the area delighted that Longson had finally been dethroned after 87 successful defences. Due to the limitations of television distribution at the time, the match could not be viewed in Watson's hometown of Toronto.^[4]

Availability

Like all early television programs, the Longson-Watson match was televised live and was unlikely to have been directly recorded. Although there were means of achieving this following the Second World War, recording seldom occurred until video tape was perfected in the late-1950s.^[5] Thus, footage of the match is most likely permanently missing. The match's television significance was almost forgotten to time, until the 7th March 1947 issue of Sports Pointers among other St. Louis programs were preserved and documented through Koji Miyamoto and Scott Teal of Crowbar Press.^[6]

Gallery

Image

Bill Longson.

Video

Episode 199 of Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru, which discusses the Longson-Watson match and its television significance.

References

↑ National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling detailing the prelude to the match. Retrieved 21st Dec '21
↑ Legacy of Wrestling detailing how Watson won the championship. Retrieved 21st Dec '21
↑ Wrestling-Titles detailing the history of the National Wrestling Association's World Championship. Retrieved 21st Dec '21
↑ 7th March 1947 issue of Sports Pointers detailing the match and its television significance. Retrieved 21st Dec '21
↑ Web Archive article discussing how most early television is missing due to lack of directly recording television. Retrieved 21st Dec '21
↑ Crowbar Press detailing the preservation of many St. Louis wrestling programs, including the 7th March 1947 issue of Sports Pointers. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[1] National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling detailing the prelude to the match. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[2] Legacy of Wrestling detailing how Watson won the championship. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[3] Wrestling-Titles detailing the history of the National Wrestling Association's World Championship. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[4] 7th March 1947 issue of Sports Pointers detailing the match and its television significance. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[5] Web Archive article discussing how most early television is missing due to lack of directly recording television. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[6] Crowbar Press detailing the preservation of many St. Louis wrestling programs, including the 7th March 1947 issue of Sports Pointers. Retrieved 21st Dec '21

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 Heading into the match, Longson was in his second run as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, after defeating Bobby Managoff for the belt on 19th February 1943. By the time the Watson encounter occurred, Longson had held the belt for 1,463 days, the second longest reign with the belt behind Jim Londos' 1,847 day run. Meanwhile, Watson had become more popular and influential within the Toronto and St. Louis territories, including winning Maple Leaf Wrestling's British Empire Heavyweight Championship on multiple occasions. With the influence of Maple Leaf Wrestling promoter Frank Tunney and with greater connections to St. Louis promoter Tom Packs being established, it was decided that Watson should defeat Longson for the World Heavyweight Championship.<ref>''National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling'' detailing the prelude to the match. Retrieved 21st Dec '21</ref>
-The match occurred at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, in front of over 8,500 in attendance. Watson was most certainly the babyface in this encounter, as Longson was a hated champion notorious for his brutality. This led to his downfall however, as after punching referee Charley Schwartz in frustration, Longson was disqualified at the 18:36 mark. Under the rules back then, it led to Watson becoming champion, thus ending Watson's long reign.<ref>[http://www.legacyofwrestling.com/Watson.html ''Legacy of Wrestling'' detailing how Watson won the championship.] Retrieved 21st Dec '21</ref>
+The match occurred at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, in front of over 8,500 in attendance. Watson was most certainly the babyface in this encounter, as Longson was a hated champion notorious for his brutality. This led to his downfall however, as after punching referee Charley Schwartz in frustration, Longson was disqualified at the 18:36 mark. Under the rules back then, it led to Watson becoming champion, thus ending Longson's reign.<ref>[http://www.legacyofwrestling.com/Watson.html ''Legacy of Wrestling'' detailing how Watson won the championship.] Retrieved 21st Dec '21</ref>
 Watson's sole reign as champion lasted 63 days, before he was defeated by Lou Thesz in front of over 10,000 fans on 25th April that same year. Longson would defeat Thesz in Houston, Texas on 21st November 1947 in his final reign, before dropping it to Thesz on 20th July 1948 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The belt would be unified with the National Wrestling Alliance's version of the World Championship on 27th November 1949.<ref>[https://www.wrestling-titles.com/nba/nba-h.html ''Wrestling-Titles'' detailing the history of the National Wrestling Association's World Championship.] Retrieved 21st Dec '21</ref>
 ==Television Significance==
-Aside from producing professional wrestling history, the Longson-Watson match also proved significant from a television perspective. According to the 7th March 1947 issue of ''Sports Pointers'', which provided arena programs for wrestling in St. Louis, the match featured the first televised instance of a world championship changing hands. The issue states that KSD cameras were present to capture the match, broadcast on KSD television, which was St. Louis' first television station. Harold Grahams was the television commentator, having previously commentated on various sports events on KSD television.
+Aside from producing professional wrestling history, the Longson-Watson match also proved significant from a television perspective. According to the 7th March 1947 issue of ''Sports Pointers'', which provided arena programs for wrestling in St. Louis, the match featured the first televised instance of a world championship changing hands. The issue states that KSD-TV cameras were present to capture the match, and broadcasted on KSD-TV 5 (now KSDK 5), which was St. Louis' first television station. Harold Grahams was the television commentator, having previously commentated on various sports events on KSD-TV 5.
-The issue also states this was the first time wrestling was televised in St. Louis, with fans across the city watching the title change live. The broadcast was deemed a success, with many wrestling fans in the area delighted that Longson had finally been dethroned after 87 successful defences. Due to the limitations of television at the time, the match could not be viewed in Watson's hometown of Toronto.<ref>7th March 1947 issue of ''Sports Pointers'' detailing the match and its television significance. Retrieved 21st Dec '21</ref>
+The issue also states this was the first time wrestling was televised in St. Louis, with fans across the city watching the title change live. The broadcast was deemed a success, with many wrestling fans in the area delighted that Longson had finally been dethroned after 87 successful defences. Due to the limitations of television distribution at the time, the match could not be viewed in Watson's hometown of Toronto.<ref>7th March 1947 issue of ''Sports Pointers'' detailing the match and its television significance. Retrieved 21st Dec '21</ref>
 ==Availability==
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 ==See Also==
 ===Professional Wrestling Media===
+*[[AJ Styles vs Kenny Omega (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2006)]]
+*[[Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler vs Jack Swagger vs John Cena (partially found master tape footage of untelevised Hell in a Cell match; 2011)]]
+*[[Awesome Kong vs Melissa Anderson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2009)]]
+*[[Blood Circus (partially found Santo Gold film; 1985)]]
 *[[Braden Walker's "Knock Knock" promo (lost original pre-tapes of WWE backstage segment; 2008)]]
+*[[Bradshaw vs Christian (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2001)]]
 *[[Bret Hart-Hulk Hogan photoshoot (lost professional wrestling promotional photos; 1993)]]
 *[[Bret Hart vs Tom Magee (found untelevised professional wrestling match; 1986)]]
 *[[Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)]]
 *[[Celebrity Wrestling (partially found ITV professional wrestling reality show; 2005)]]
+*[[Chowdaheads (partially found unaired professional wrestling cartoon show; 1999)]]
+*[[Collision in Korea (found professional wrestling event in North Korea; 1995)]]
+*[[Collision in Korea wrestler sketches (lost North Korean pencil sketch portraits of professional wrestlers; 1995)]]
+*[[Cultaholic (lost debut video of professional wrestling YouTube channel; 2017)]]
 *[[ECW Anarchy Rulz (lost build of cancelled Nintendo 64 port of professional wrestling game; existence unconfirmed; 2000)]]
+*[[ECW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)]]
 *[[ECW Hardcore TV final episodes (lost episodes of Professional Wrestling Show; 2001)]]
+*[[FMW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)]]
 *[[The Game (partially found Disturbed cover of professional wrestling theme song; mid 2000s)]]
 *[[GFW Amped (partially found unaired professional wrestling show; 2015)]]
+*[[The Giant's moonsault (lost footage of professional wrestling move; existence unconfirmed; 1990s)]]
 *[[Girls Gone Wild: Live from Spring Break (found WWE/Girls Gone Wild crossover special; 2003)]]
 *[[GLOW (lost unfinished final season of Netflix comedy-drama series; 2019-2020)]]
+*[[Goldberg's pre-television debut matches (lost footage of professional wrestling dark matches; 1997)]]
 *[[Gotch-Hackenschmidt Match Film (lost world championship match; 1908)]]
 *[[Gotch-Hackenschmidt Match Film (lost world championship match; 1911)]]
 *[[Jake "The Snake" Roberts DDTs Hulk Hogan (lost Snake Pit segment; 1986)]]
+*[[Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream (lost footage of alternate finish to professional wrestling match; 2019)]]
+*[[Kurt Angle vs Owen Hart (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1999)]]
 *[[The Last Battle of Atlanta (found untelevised professional wrestling steel cage match; 1983)]]
+*[[Lita's training matches (partially found training videos of professional wrestler; late 1990s-2000)]]
+*[[Low Ki & Mercury vs Ric Blade & TCK (partially lost footage of hardcore wrestling tag team match; 2000)]]
+*[[Mark Jindrak in Evolution (partially found unaired vignettes of professional wrestling stable; 2003)]]
+*[[Pat Tanaka vs Rocco Rock (lost footage of "Body Count" professional wrestling match; 1993)]]
 *[["Plane Ride From Hell" (lost photographs of drunk wrestler incidents; 2002)]]
+*[[Radio WWF (lost professional wrestling radio show; 1993-1994; late 1990s-2000)]]
 *[[Screwed: The Bret Hart Story (lost unfinished wrestling documentary film; 2005)]]
 *[[Sex University (lost WWE webshow; 2006)]]
@@ Line 58: / Line 78: @@
 *[[Strange Kentucky People (lost recording of Chris Jericho "tribute"; 1994)]]
 *[[TNA Impact! 2 (lost build of unfinished professional wrestling game; 2009)]]
+*[[TNA International and TNA Wrestling Collection (completely lost pro-wrestling TV shows; 2006)]]
+*[[TNA Xplosion (partially found TV series; 2002-2016)]]
 *[[WCW 2000 (lost work on unfinished PlayStation 2 game; 2000)]]
 *[[WCW All Nighter (partially lost professional wrestling compilation show; 1994-1995)]]
@@ Line 65: / Line 87: @@
 *[[WWE 24x7 (lost professional wrestling compilation show; 2007)]]
 *[[WWE Brawl (lost build of cancelled fighting game based on professional wrestling; 2012)]]
+*[[WWE Crush Hour (lost build of cancelled Xbox port of vehicular combat game; 2002)]]
 *[[WWE SmackDown vs Raw Online (lost build of cancelled online professional wrestling PC game; 2010-2011)]]
+*[[WWE Wrestlemania 36 (lost footage of alternate finishes to professional wrestling matches; 2020)]]
 *[[WWF Attitude (lost professional wrestling recap show; 2001-2002)]]
 *[[WWF Backlash (non-existent unfinished Nintendo 64 professional wrestling game; 2001)]]
@@ Line 76: / Line 100: @@
 ===Early Sports Television Media===
-*[[1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)]]
 *[[1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)]]
 *[[1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)]]
+*[[1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)]]
+*[[1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)]]
+*[[Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)]]
+*[[Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)]]
+*[[Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)]]
+*[[Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)]]
+*[[Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)]]
+===Early BBC Sports Television===
+*[[1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)]]
 *[[1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)]]
 *[[1937 International Imperial Trophy Race (lost footage of motor race; 1937)]]
@@ Line 84: / Line 117: @@
 *[[1938 Ashes Series (partially found footage of international test cricket match; 1938)]]
 *[[1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)]]
-*[[1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)]]
 *[[1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)]]
+*[[1947 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1947)]]
 *[[1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)]]
-*[[1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)]]
+*[[1955 Scottish Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1955)]]
+*[[Archery (lost early televised toxophily; 1937-1938)]]
+*[[Arsenal 7-1 Hibernian (lost footage of charity football match; 1952)]]
 *[[Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)]]
-*[[Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)]]
+*[[Barnet 3-2 Wealdstone (lost footage of Athenian League football match; 1946)]]
-*[[Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)]]
+*[[The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)]]
-*[[Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)]]
+*[[Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)]]
 *[[Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)]]
 *[[England 0-1 Scotland (partially found international football match; 1938)]]
+*[[England 1-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)]]
 *[[England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)]]
-*[[Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)]]
+*[[England 3-0 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)]]
-*[[Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)]]
+*[[England 3-0 Rest of Europe (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)]]
-*[[The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)]]
+*[[Falkirk 3-2 Newcastle United (lost footage of football match; 1953)]]
+*[[Horace Lindrum vs Willie Smith (lost footage of televised snooker; 1937)]]
+*[[Scottish Universities 1-1 English Universities (lost footage of international football match; 1952)]]
+*[[Woods and Jack (lost early televised lawn bowls; 1937; 1946)]]
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
-[[Category:Lost recordings of real incidents]]
+[[Category:Lost recordings of sports events]]
-[[Category:Lost TV]]
 [[Category:Completely lost media]]
 [[Category:Historic]]