American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. His last match was against Funk in Calgary, Alberta Canada on February 14, 1987. NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight title defeating Joe McCarthy (May 3, 1960); NWA (Mid America) World Tag Team titles w/Lester Welch defeating Don and Al Greene (Febuary 29, 1961); NWA (Mid America) World Tag Team titles w/Lester Welch defeating Joe and Jackie Fargo (May 29, 1961); NWA (Florida) World Tag Team titles w/Don Curtis defeating Karl and Kurt Von Brauner (March 29, 1962); NWA (Georgia) World Tag Team titles w/Don Curtis Billed as champions (June 1962); NWA (Gulf Coast) Southern Tag Team titles w/Lee Fields defeating Don and Al Greene (April 10, 1963); NWA (Gulf Coast) Southern Tag Team titles w/Lee Fields defeating Pancho Villa and Tiger Tomasso (May 3, 1963); NWA (Mid America) World Tag Team titles w/Alex Perez defeating Karl and Kurt Von Brauner (October 15, 1964); NWA (Georgia) Southern Tag Team titles w/Chief Little Eagle defeating Corsica Jean and Corsica Joe (June 4, 1965); NWA Florida Heavyweight title defeating Johnny Valentine (December 5, 1967); NWA (Florida) Southern Tag Team titles w/Jose Lothario defeating Aldo Bogni and Bronko Lubich (April 23, 1968); NWA Florida Brass Knuckles title defeating Boris Malenko (July 30, 1968); NWA (Florida) Southern Tag Team titles w/Jose Lothario defeating Boris Malenko and Johnny Valentine (August 31, 1968); NWA (Florida) Southern Tag Team titles w/Jose Lothario defeating The Blue Infernos (October 8, 1968); NWA Florida Brass Knuckles title defeating Boris Malenko (April 23, 1969); NWA Georgia Heavyweight title defeating Paul DeMarco (September 19, 1969); NWA Georgia Television title defeating Assassin #2 in a tournament (November 22, 1969); NWA Macon Tag Team titles w/El Mongol defeating Buddy Colt and Homer O` Dell (March 17, 1970); WWWF Tag Team titles w/Sonny King defeating Curtis Iaukea and Baron Mikel Scicluna (May 22, 1972); PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1973). Following the bout, Riley complained of chest pains, and died that night in Memorial Hospital. He drove around in an old pick-up truck and wanted the people to think he was one of them.. Greg Oliver has been writing about pro wrestling since 1985, and is the author of wrestling books: The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Storytellers (with Steven Johnson), The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons (with Steven Johnson and Mike Mooneyham); The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels (with Steven Johnson); The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams (also with Johnson); The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians; SLAM! Okay,' said Parks. You mention a state, I was there, Strongbow said. Clip from Episode 1The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo and JP Zarka of https://ProWrestlingStories.comFor the 3hr 45min extended version of The Genius Cast fina. Of course, Ive always thought of him as mostly Italian, she said. of 1994. Jay Strongbow Joe Scarpa. I learned that I wasnt as bad as I thought I was. Those early years were rough, with mat burns on the arms and chin. It was not just with kind words and actions but with chastisement when I needed it, Brisco wrote in his autobiography. all races - there was none better, and "The Chief" proudly wrestled his January 8, 1985 House Show:Bob Orton defeated Chief Jay Strongbow. He treated me like a son. Jimmy Valiant on Chief Jay Strongbow Getting Mercilessly RIBBED by Gorilla Monsoon!Owen Hart: King of Pranks (The Ultimate Anthology of Owen's Greatest Ribs,. Truly, "Chief" Jay Strongbow was a consummate wrestlerStrongbow began his career in the mid-1960s, and worked primarily for Vince McMahon Sr. and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. This resulted in one of the roughest feuds in Atlanta history. Jay Strongbow - Official Wrestling Yearbook No.3, June 1973 Cover (cropped).jpg 399 429; 31 KB. He also changed his name to Mark Pyle. November 17, 1984 House Show:Big John Studd defeatedChief Jay Strongbow. Born October 4, 1928 The Native American duo of Strongbow & White Wolf held the title for over 8 months before being forced to vacate the championship when White Wolf's neck was "broken" by Ken Patera's devastating finisher, the Swinging Neckbreaker. He really lived like an Indian, said Tito Santana. There was another "Jules Strongbow": John Ralph Bilbo (1906-1975), who wrestled in the 1930s and, later, promoted in California through the 1950s. That August he began his first house show series, where he was paired off against Boris Zukhov. reliable, professional wrestlers of his, or any, day. Robert L. Howell wrote: Joe Scarpa and Paul Demarco had a rough main event match which Scarpa won with the sleeper. > Video They were close in the ring as well as outside of the ring. Chief Jay Strongbow made frequent appearances in NWA: Georgia Championship Wrestlings TBS program. January 15, 1985 House Show: David Schultz defeated Chief Jay Strongbow. Chief Jay was known for his famous Tribal War Dance, which was equal, if not more electrifying that, In 1975, Jay Strongbow began feuding with Spiros Arion. Though of Italian descent, Scarpa often said that his mother was Cherokee and that is where the Jay Strongbow name came from a lot of people didnt know that, he said. If it doesn't work, then click here. For over 30 years, Strongbow has been a role model for his fans, a teacher and friend to his co-workers, and a fair and respected boss to the wrestlers on the road. February 15, 1985 House Show:Adrian Adonis defeated Chief Jay Strongbow. He taught so many of us the psychology of being a babyface. Roles: Singles Wrestler Tag Team Wrestler Road Agent (1985 - 1999) Beginning of in-ring career: 1947. Feb 11: NWA Nuff Said Finally, after nearly half a year as champions, The Strongbows were defeated by another Lou Albano-led teamthis time the impressive and dangerous Wild Samoans.After losing the title, The Strongbows remained a top WWF tag team, until Jules left the promotion. On the July 13 episode ofChampionship Wrestling, the Strongbows lost the titles back to Fuji and Saito,[2]but on the October 26 episode ofChampionship Wrestling, the Strongbows defeated Fuji and Saito for their second WWF Tag Team Championship reign as a team. April 6, 1984 House Show:Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Charlie Fulton. October 1969: Joe Scarpa received a shot at the Worlds title for winning the first Georgia TV title tournament. After leaving the WWF, Jules later competed on the independent circuit for several years (most notably in top indy promotions like the Pennsylvania-based National Wrestling Federation and Ohio's International Wrestling Alliance). "The Chief" was also well-schooled in the science of "rasslin" and had a solid repertoire of moves, such as the Indian Deathlock (a punishing submission move) and several variations of the suplex. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), where he won the WWWF Tag Team Championship . Scarpa was a second generation wrestler; his adopted father was Chief Jay Strongbow who wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1970s and 1980s. I never connected well with Strongbow because, among other reasons, he was incredibly cheap. > Sporting Connection "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native A man who truly loved the wrestling business, when his ring career ended, Strongbow displayed his professionalism in another important, but far less glamorous role - that of a WWF road agent. "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. July 17, 1984 House Show:Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Ken Jugan. By age 14, he already weighed 300 pounds (140 kilograms), as he routinely ate a dozen eggs for breakfast. Overbow was winless during his brief time in the promotion.[8]. Scarpa returned to the WWF in January 1992 under the monicker 'Todd Overbow'. Young entered into a losing streak and was winless against the Russian, but rebounded to put together a lengthy series of house show victories over Barry Horowitz. Share. His first WWWF Tag title came on May 22, 1972 when he teamed with Sonny King to defeat Baron Mikel Scicluna & "King" Curtis Iukea at New York's Madison Square Garden. He had magnetism, he had tremendous grit inside the squared circle, and he knew how to play on the emotions of many a fan.. Curtis recalled a flight she took with Scarpa to a fan fest. selflessly gave himself to the "sport." entire career as a beloved fan favorite. > Obituary Archive Stories of debauchery, backstage fights, ribs, and more!Bookmark our site: https://ProWrestlingStories.comChoose from hundreds of stories: https://ProWrestlingStories.com/choose-a-story/ Follow us on the socials:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prowrestlingstories/Twitter: https://twitter.com/pws_officialInstagram: https://instagram.com/prowrestlingstories/ Joe Scarpa, who entertained pro wrestling fans for decades as Native American favorite Chief Jay Strongbow, died Tuesday at the age of 83. Chief Jay Strongbow a.k.a. However, "The Chief" did venture outside the parameters of the WWWF on occasion, and was (for a time) a high-profile figure on TBS's NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling, the predecessor of WCW Saturday Night. Years before, he had battled men like Spiros Arion and Jimmy Valiant. In 1979, Jay Strongbow feuded withGreg The Hammer Valentine, who broke Strongbows leg. When Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales ruled the roost, he was the next babyface in line; when Superstar Graham was the villainous WWWF champion, Strongbow was a frequent opponent, though they did not see eye to eye. [citation needed], NWA Southeast Continental Tag Team Championship, List of premature professional wrestling deaths, "Mark Young Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database", https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=5853&page=4, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Young_(wrestler)&oldid=1114417921, This page was last edited on 6 October 2022, at 11:45. End of in-ring career: 1985. [5] On October 26 edition of Championship Wrestling, the Strongbows defeated Fuji and Saito for their second tag title reign. [5] Shortly after losing the titles, Jules left the WWF. champions in pro wrestling, he never allowed his ego to get the best of In his first match he was defeated by Steve Dane on March 20, 1992 on GWF TV. He was the master babyface., Graham called being a road agent the unenviable job of supervising the boys backstage., Given his position of authority and notorious miserliness he acted like every penny the company spent came from his own pocket, and was known to order eight or nine jobbers to share the same hotel room before a TV taping the wrestlers loved goofing on Strongbow, wrote Graham. never above "doing the job" in order to help "the team." With his long, black hair, war dress, frilled boots, his war dance and the Indian Deathlock and Tomahawk Chop holds, Strongbow became such a star in the WWWF that he was inducted into the WWEs Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1994. Chief Jay Strongbow, the WWWF star who died today, was always a pretty matter of fact guy, someone who saw his role as a star wrestler as a job and never expressed a great love of the. Bob Carter's Honor Guard after losing a match to Tony Anthony. As both a main event and mid-card performer, Strongbow was one of the most reliable, professional wrestlers of his, or any, day. Take, for example, his thoughts on promoters: You were just like a piece of meat to them; if you couldnt produce, you were gone., Yet he stuck with pro wrestling for four decades, and was someone that WWE ring announcer Howard Finkel called one of the greatest people ever to put a pair of tights on.. Strongbow understood how the wrestling business works, and was [5] On July 13 edition of Championship Wrestling, the Strongbows lost the belts back to Fuji and Saito. During the decades before the gimmick, Scarpa wrestled under his real name and saw a lot of success with championships. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1980s under the ring name Jules Strongbow, where he held the WWF World Tag Team Championship on two occasions with his kayfabe brother, Chief Jay Strongbow. He worked extensively for various National Wrestling Alliance territories as well as the World Wide Wrestling Federation, where . Chief Jay Strongbow. [5] They were defeated for the belts in Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 8, 1983 edition of Championship Wrestling by the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika). Chief Jay Strongbow Fans Also Viewed . > Movies & TV People think its a good life but they dont realize what a hassle it is., In the shoot interview he did with Highspots.com, Strongbow was dry and unappealing, giving short answers and revealing little. As both a main event and mid-card performer, Strongbow was one of the most reliable, professional wrestlers of his, or any, day. 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