Albert Joe Criswell (April 30, 1929 – March 13, 2012), better known as Joe McCarthy, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the 1950s and 1960s primarily throughout the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) where he was a former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. He was a prominent competitor for various NWA territories including Nick Gulas's NWA Mid-America and Leroy McGuirk's NWA Tri-State.
| Joe McCarthy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Joe Criswell[1] |
| Born | April 30, 1929[1] Obion County, Tennessee, United States[2] |
| Died | March 13, 2012 (aged 82) Dyersburg, Tennessee, United States[3] |
| Children | Joe Criswell Jr. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Al Criswell Joe McCarthy Masked Mighty Yankee #1[1] |
Professional wrestling career
editCriswell began his professional wrestling career in the early 1950s, competing primarily within Nick Gulas's NWA Mid-America territory. As Joe McCarthy, he headlined several events in 1954/1955, including tag team bouts with his partner Buddy Fuller.[4] By the late 1950s, he was competing regularly throughout Ohio, North Carolina and Alabama.[5] By 1960, McCarthy began capturing championship gold. On April 20, 1960, he teamed with the Great Bolo to defeat Bobby and Don Fields for both the Gulf Coast and Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Championships in Mobile, Alabama.[6]
On April 9, 1963, McCarthy won the NWA Georgia Southeastern Heavyweight Championship. By this point, he had become a headliner for NWA Tri-State.[7] On February 12, 1966, McCarthy defeated Lorenzo Parente to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[8] He defended the title in the Southern United States before eventually losing it to Danny Hodge in Little Rock, Arkansas.[9]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- National Wrestling Alliance[7]
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
- NWA Georgia Southeastern Heavyweight Championship
- NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship
- NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
References
edit- ^ a b c Saalbach, Axel. "Joe McCarthy". Wrestlingdata.
- ^ Kreikenbohm. "Joe McCarthyfirst=Philip". Cagematch.
- ^ "Joe McCarthy: Profile & Match Listing". Internet Wrestling Database.
- ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Show @ Sheffield". Wrestlingdata.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches". Cagematch.
- ^ "On this day in pro wrestling history: Brisco vs. Terry Funk, Farmer Burns vs. Original Strangler Lewis". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. April 20, 2015.
- ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Titles". Cagematch.
- ^ Hornbaker, Tim (November 26, 2017). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 9781554902743 – via Google Books.
- ^ "NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.