Joe McCarthy (wrestler)
{{Short description|American professional wrestler}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
| name = Joe McCarthy
| birth_name = Joe Criswell{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=bios&wrestler=18733|title=Joe McCarthy|first=Axel|last=Saalbach|publisher=Wrestlingdata}}
| image =
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|spouse =
|children = Joe Criswell Jr.
| names = Al Criswell
Joe McCarthy
Masked Mighty Yankee #1
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1929|04|30|}}
| birth_place = Obion County, Tennessee, United States{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net//?id=2&nr=13869|title=Joe McCarthyfirst=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=Cagematch}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|03|13|1929|04|30}}
| death_place = Dyersburg, Tennessee, United States{{cite web|url=http://www.profightdb.com/wrestlers/joe-mccarthy-13033.html|title=Joe McCarthy: Profile & Match Listing|publisher=Internet Wrestling Database}}
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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.
Professional wrestling career
Criswell 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=345813|title=Show @ Sheffield|first=Axel|last=Saalbach|publisher=Wrestlingdata}} By the late 1950s, he was competing regularly throughout Ohio, North Carolina and Alabama.{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net//?id=2&nr=13869&page=4|title=Matches|first=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=Cagematch}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/day-pro-wrestling-history-brisco-vs-terry-funk-farmer-burns-vs-original-strangler|title=On this day in pro wrestling history: Brisco vs. Terry Funk, Farmer Burns vs. Original Strangler Lewis|date=20 April 2015|work=Wrestling Observer Newsletter}}
On April 9, 1963, McCarthy won the NWA Georgia Southeastern Heavyweight Championship. By this point, he had become a headliner for NWA Tri-State.{{cite web|url=https://www.cagematch.net//?id=2&nr=13869&page=11|title=Titles|first=Philip|last=Kreikenbohm|publisher=Cagematch}} On February 12, 1966, McCarthy defeated Lorenzo Parente to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=npQBhSTtvCsC&q=joe+mccarthy+nwa+wrestler&pg=PT250|title=National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling|first=Tim|last=Hornbaker|date=26 November 2017|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=9781554902743|via=Google Books}} He defended the title in the Southern United States before eventually losing it to Danny Hodge in Little Rock, Arkansas.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-j.html|title=NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title|publisher=Wrestling-Titles}}
Championships and accomplishments
- National Wrestling Alliance
- 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
{{reflist}}
{{NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Joe}}
Category:American male professional wrestlers
Category:People from Obion County, Tennessee
Category:20th-century male professional wrestlers