Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Wrestling at the Chase

Wrestling at the ChaseWrestling at the Chase by Ed Wheatley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wrestling at the Chase by Ed Wheatley is a coffee table book about Wrestling at the Chase, the legendary wrestling program that aired in St. Louis from 1959 to 1985.

I'm a wrestling fan from way back and have hazy memories of watching Wrestling at the Chase during its dying days. My in-laws gave me this for my birthday, unlike other relatives who don't like to buy me books for some reason.

Anyway, this book chronicles Wrestling at the Chase and the St. Louis Wrestling Club. Obviously, it covers much of the same ground as Larry Matysik's Wrestling at the Chase book. Since this is a coffee table book, the history of Wrestling at the Chase is explored at a much higher level.

In addition to a broad overview of the history of the St. Louis Wrestling club, Wheatley presents profiles of wrestlers important to the St. Louis wrestling scene during its heyday, like Dick the Bruiser, King Kong Brody, Lou Thesz, Harley Race, and Ric Flair.

What the book lacks in depth it makes up for in photographs. The book is jammed with photos of wrestlers, buildings, merchandise, vintage ads, flyers, and everything else connected with the wrestling business, even some of Sam Muchnick's notes.

Sadly, Wrestling at the Chase ended the same way here as it did in Larry Matysik's book, eventually run out of business by Vince McMahon's expansion in the early to mid 1980s.

I prefer Larry Matsik's book but this coffee table presentation is a good addition to any wrestling fan's collection. 3.5 out of 5 piledrivers.

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