Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt (January 18, 1894 â€" June 11, 1976) was
an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the
wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World
Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of the stars Mondt helped create from
the 1920s through the 1960s included Wayne Munn, Jim Londos, Antonino
Rocca, Bruno Sammartino, Stu Hart and Cowboy Bill Watts.Joseph Raymond
Mondt was born in Garden Grove, Iowa on January 18, 1894. Joseph (Joe)
Toots was his professional name. Toots' father, Frank, was a farmer
and building contractor. The Mondt family moved to Weld County,
Colorado in 1904.Toots Mondt made his wrestling debut in Greeley in
1912 at the age of 18 in a carnival/wrestling style match, a match he
would wrestle in for many years. Stu Hart claimed he ran into Toots by
chance while wrestling in New York City and that Mondt said he
received his first wrestling lesson in 1916 from Jack Taylor, and
Mondt tried to recruit Hart into a territory in Washington D.C. Around
this time, he also tried his hand at acrobatics. However, this was an
unsuccessful move and Toots returned to wrestling matches. Toots
received his big break when he was discovered by wrestling pioneer
Farmer Burns during one of his scouting trips. The nickname
‘Toots’, had to do with either his small feet or his relative
youth and baby face. Mondt was the youngest wrestler in Farmer Burns'
camp.Until 1919, wrestling matches were slow-moving exhibitions mainly
confined to the mat and lasting on an average 60 minutes. Crowds no
longer found this to be suitable entertainment and accordingly, they
began to dwindle. Wrestling matches slowly and eventually became
pre-determined. Toots Mondt joined the camp of Ed "Strangler" Lewis
with the recommendation of Farmer Burns. Toots served in many
capacities as a sparring partner, trainer, sometimes as an opponent
and as a police officer. As a sparring partner and trainer, Toots
Mondt helped Ed Lewis develop new holds and counters. The working
relationship and unity amongst wrestling promoters was beginning to
wear thin and crowd attendance was still low. Toots conceived a
solution and combined features of a boxing ring, Greco-Roman,
freestyle wrestling, and the old-time lumber-camp style of fighting.
Toots had called it ’Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling’.
an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the
wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World
Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of the stars Mondt helped create from
the 1920s through the 1960s included Wayne Munn, Jim Londos, Antonino
Rocca, Bruno Sammartino, Stu Hart and Cowboy Bill Watts.Joseph Raymond
Mondt was born in Garden Grove, Iowa on January 18, 1894. Joseph (Joe)
Toots was his professional name. Toots' father, Frank, was a farmer
and building contractor. The Mondt family moved to Weld County,
Colorado in 1904.Toots Mondt made his wrestling debut in Greeley in
1912 at the age of 18 in a carnival/wrestling style match, a match he
would wrestle in for many years. Stu Hart claimed he ran into Toots by
chance while wrestling in New York City and that Mondt said he
received his first wrestling lesson in 1916 from Jack Taylor, and
Mondt tried to recruit Hart into a territory in Washington D.C. Around
this time, he also tried his hand at acrobatics. However, this was an
unsuccessful move and Toots returned to wrestling matches. Toots
received his big break when he was discovered by wrestling pioneer
Farmer Burns during one of his scouting trips. The nickname
‘Toots’, had to do with either his small feet or his relative
youth and baby face. Mondt was the youngest wrestler in Farmer Burns'
camp.Until 1919, wrestling matches were slow-moving exhibitions mainly
confined to the mat and lasting on an average 60 minutes. Crowds no
longer found this to be suitable entertainment and accordingly, they
began to dwindle. Wrestling matches slowly and eventually became
pre-determined. Toots Mondt joined the camp of Ed "Strangler" Lewis
with the recommendation of Farmer Burns. Toots served in many
capacities as a sparring partner, trainer, sometimes as an opponent
and as a police officer. As a sparring partner and trainer, Toots
Mondt helped Ed Lewis develop new holds and counters. The working
relationship and unity amongst wrestling promoters was beginning to
wear thin and crowd attendance was still low. Toots conceived a
solution and combined features of a boxing ring, Greco-Roman,
freestyle wrestling, and the old-time lumber-camp style of fighting.
Toots had called it ’Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling’.
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