Stephen Casey (4 December 1908 – 10 January 1987) was an Irish sport rower and world champion professional wrestler. He was the second Irish wrestler, after Danno O'Mahoney, to become a world champion.
Casey was the eldest of seven sons and three daughters of Mike Casey, a bare-knuckle boxer and Brigid (nee Sullivan).[1] Steve Casey rowed in the Sneem senior crew with his father and the O'Connor Brothers. The Sneem/Casey Team won the Tug-O-War Munster Championship in 1932. Casey went on to win the Salter Challenge Cup with his brothers during 1930 to 1933. In 1936, he became the All-England Rowing Champion with his brothers Paddy, Tom and Mick. In the same year, the Caseys qualified for the Olympics in rowing but were disqualified for Steve and Paddy being professional wrestlers because Steve had wrestled two professional matches before the Olympics.
Professional wrestlingedit
In 1935, Steve and his brother Paddy Casey joined the British Amateur Wrestling Team. Steve Casey debuted as a professional wrestler on 3 March 1936 by beating the Irish Canadian Heavyweight Champion Paul Duveen in a non-title match. In October 1936, Boston promoter Paul Bowser brought Casey to the United States.
On 11 February 1938, he received the biggest victory of his career when he defeated the legendary Lou Thesz to win the Boston-based American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship. On 26 August, he wrestled Danno O'Mahony to a draw after ten five-minute rounds in the European style. In September 1938, promoter Tom Packer switched recognition to National Wrestling Association champion Everett Marshall. In later years it was claimed by the similarly initialled National Wrestling Alliance that Casey had stripped of the original NWA title for being out of the country - this would be cited as an example of enforcement of the "thirty day rule."[2] He continued to be recognized as champion by theAmerican Wrestling Association. On 18 September, he beat O'Mahony in Munster in a finish match in 18 rounds and 97 minutes.
On 13 May 1942, Casey beat French Angel for his fourth reign as AWA champion. While still champion, Casey joined the United States Army during World War II, serving from 1942 to 1944. On 6 June 1945 in Boston, he defeated Frank Sexton to start his sixth reign as AWA champion and re-lost the title to Sexton three weeks later. In 1947, he announced his retirement at age 38, but continued wrestling, and had his last bouts in 1951.[3] He opened a liquor store near Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. He also owned a bar on Massachusetts Ave., Boston in the 1950s.
Personal lifeedit
In 1983, the Casey family organized a family reunion in Sneem, Ireland. On 10 January 1987, he died at age 78.
Legacyedit
The name "Steve Casey" - or close variations - was subsequently used by a variety of other wrestlers. These have included Steve Casey (alias Steve McHoy), the son of Black Angus Campbell, in both Britain and America in the early 1980s,[4] fellow British wrestler Steve Casey from Lincolnshire (born Paul Rudderham)[5] and also Steven Casey, a wrestler signed to WCW circa 1989, who later wrestled for the company as Steve Dane.[6]
^"Wrestlers Database » Steve Casey". CageMatch. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
^"World Heavyweight Championship Title (France)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
External linksedit
Profile at OWW
April 11, 2024
steve, casey, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 2021. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Steve Casey news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Stephen Casey 4 December 1908 10 January 1987 was an Irish sport rower and world champion professional wrestler He was the second Irish wrestler after Danno O Mahoney to become a world champion Steve CaseyBronze statue of The Crusher in SneemBirth nameStephen CaseyBorn4 December 1908Sneem IrelandDied10 January 1987 aged 78 Professional wrestling careerRing name s Steve CaseyBilled height6 ft 4 in 1 93 m Billed weight238 lb 108 kg Trained byMike CaseyDebut3 March 1936Retired1947 Contents 1 Rowing 2 Professional wrestling 3 Personal life 4 Legacy 5 Championships and accomplishments 5 1 Sport rowing 5 2 Professional wrestling 6 References 7 External linksRowing editCasey was the eldest of seven sons and three daughters of Mike Casey a bare knuckle boxer and Brigid nee Sullivan 1 Steve Casey rowed in the Sneem senior crew with his father and the O Connor Brothers The Sneem Casey Team won the Tug O War Munster Championship in 1932 Casey went on to win the Salter Challenge Cup with his brothers during 1930 to 1933 In 1936 he became the All England Rowing Champion with his brothers Paddy Tom and Mick In the same year the Caseys qualified for the Olympics in rowing but were disqualified for Steve and Paddy being professional wrestlers because Steve had wrestled two professional matches before the Olympics Professional wrestling editIn 1935 Steve and his brother Paddy Casey joined the British Amateur Wrestling Team Steve Casey debuted as a professional wrestler on 3 March 1936 by beating the Irish Canadian Heavyweight Champion Paul Duveen in a non title match In October 1936 Boston promoter Paul Bowser brought Casey to the United States On 11 February 1938 he received the biggest victory of his career when he defeated the legendary Lou Thesz to win the Boston based American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship On 26 August he wrestled Danno O Mahony to a draw after ten five minute rounds in the European style In September 1938 promoter Tom Packer switched recognition to National Wrestling Association champion Everett Marshall In later years it was claimed by the similarly initialled National Wrestling Alliance that Casey had stripped of the original NWA title for being out of the country this would be cited as an example of enforcement of the thirty day rule 2 He continued to be recognized as champion by theAmerican Wrestling Association On 18 September he beat O Mahony in Munster in a finish match in 18 rounds and 97 minutes On 2 March 1939 Casey lost the AWA World Championship to Marvin Westenberg in Boston On 29 March he beat Gus Sonnenberg to start his second reign as AWA champion losing the title to Ed Don George on 18 April in Albany New York He defeated George to start his third reign as AWA World Champion on 3 November 1939 at Broadway Auditorium dropping the title to The French Angel on 13 May 1940 In the same year he beat Richard Codman for the Governor s Cup in Cambridge Massachusetts He defeated the U S boxing champion Tiger Warrenton and issued a challenge to Joe Louis which went unanswered On 12 November 1941 he challenged Earl McCready for the British Empire Heavyweight Championship but the match was fought to no contest On 13 May 1942 Casey beat French Angel for his fourth reign as AWA champion While still champion Casey joined the United States Army during World War II serving from 1942 to 1944 On 6 June 1945 in Boston he defeated Frank Sexton to start his sixth reign as AWA champion and re lost the title to Sexton three weeks later In 1947 he announced his retirement at age 38 but continued wrestling and had his last bouts in 1951 3 He opened a liquor store near Nantasket Beach in Hull Massachusetts He also owned a bar on Massachusetts Ave Boston in the 1950s Personal life editIn 1983 the Casey family organized a family reunion in Sneem Ireland On 10 January 1987 he died at age 78 Legacy editThe name Steve Casey or close variations was subsequently used by a variety of other wrestlers These have included Steve Casey alias Steve McHoy the son of Black Angus Campbell in both Britain and America in the early 1980s 4 fellow British wrestler Steve Casey from Lincolnshire born Paul Rudderham 5 and also Steven Casey a wrestler signed to WCW circa 1989 who later wrestled for the company as Steve Dane 6 Championships and accomplishments editIn 1982 Casey was awarded the Irish Hall of Fame award by 1956 Olympic Gold Medalist Ronnie Delaney Sport rowing edit Tug O War Munster Championship 1932 All England Rowing Championship 1936 Professional wrestling edit American Wrestling Association Boston AWA World Heavyweight Championship 6 times Federation Francaise de Catch Professionnel World Heavyweight Championship French version 1 time 7 Other titles Governor s Cup 1940 References edit Stephen Casey Geni com Retrieved 29 July 2021 Point Counterpoint Should Ric Flair Be Stripped of the NWA World Title Sports Review Wrestling July 1989 Steve Casey Wrestlingdata com Wrestling Heritage Wrestling Heritage Wrestlers Database Steve Casey CageMatch Retrieved 25 November 2022 World Heavyweight Championship Title France Wrestling Titles com Puroresu Dojo 2003 Retrieved 22 August 2020 External links editProfile at OWW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Steve Casey amp oldid 1209165233, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
