Results: Pro Wrestling in Budapest in the 1930s

A collection of pro wrestling results from Budapest, Hungary.

Pro wrestling in Hungary can be traced back to the 19th century and Budapest in particular was somewhat regularly hosting Greco-Roman pro wrestling bouts all the way up to 1937. In fact, the first half of the 1930s was probably the peak of Greco-Roman pro wrestling's popularity in Budapest, largely because of the popularity of the top Hungarian pro wrestlers the Czaja brothers (Janos and Josef Czaja), who by that point had been wrestling for two decades. The 1930s was also the decade when the American/catch style of pro wrestling started gaining popularity in Budapest.

The Czaja brothers in their younger years: Janos (left) and Josef (right)

Like elsewhere in Central Europe, the Budapest scene was largely tournament-based. Some of the earlier big tournaments to be held in Budapest were, for example, in September-October 1900 (where "The Russian Lion" George Hackenschmidt wrestled the Turk Kara Ahmed for 3 hours in the final), in May 1905 (with top names like Stanislaus Zbyszko, Jess Pedersen and the winner of this tournament Jakob Koch), in August-October 1906 (where on the final day Stanislaus Zbyszko had to quit his final match against Georg Lurich, because earlier in the day he had had a minor throat/nose surgery and his nose started bleeding profusely during the match so he had no choice but to quit the match), a European Championship tournament in September-October 1923 (which ended with a disputed result between Jaan Jaago and Hans Schwarz Sr.), a September 1924 European Championship (which seems to have been won by Paul Westergaard-Schmidt), etc.

Among the notable foreign names who wrestled in Budapest in the 1930s were guys like Dick Shikat, Michele Leone, Jaan Jaago, Hans Schwarz Jr., Kurt Zehe, Leo Pinetzki, Dimitri Martinoff, Regis Siki, Bob Gregory, etc.

Below I've listed all of the tournaments I could find in the 1930s in Budapest and I've also listed some standalone events too. As a matter of fact, the bigger focus of this research was on the standalone events. If you want more detailed information about the tournaments, such as full lists of participants, seek out the research of  Ronald Großpietsch as he has covered them in greater detail than I have.

All the numbers and quotes describing the attendance come from the Hungarian press. If you see more than one number or quote per event that means they're from different newspapers.

Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, the tournaments and matches below were in the Greco-Roman style. I'll also point out that I'm missing some results here and there.

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There was a tournament from 19 April to 6 May 1930 at Sportarena. Final placement: 
1. Mila Svoboda
2. Josef Czaja
3. Pavel Ivanoff

There was a World Championship tournament from 16 September until 30 October 1930 at Circus Beketow. Final placement: 
1. Theodor Sztekker
2. Dimitri Martinoff
3. Alexander Peterson
4. Karl Kornatz
5. Hadji Weinura

26 April 1931
Circus Beketow
"capacity crowd"
1. Fritz Frank (Franculescu) def. Milan Vladar
2. Franz Olschowsky def. Istvan Szoradi
3. Szalay def. Szatmari
4. Janos Czaja def. Willy Urbach (45 minutes)

There was a tournament from 16 May 1931 until maybe late May. Not sure when it ended and who won it. Notable participants: Josef Czaja, Leo Pinetzki, Emil Grikis, Gerhard Karsch, and others.

4 June 1931
Millenáris Sporttelep
more than 8,000 / nearly 10,000 / 10,000 fans
1. Fritz Frank (Franculescu) def. Franz Olschowsky
2. Gerhard Karsh def. August Brylla (about 30 minutes)
3. Josef Czaja def. Emil Grikis (45 minutes)
= Millenáris Sporttelep was a big open-air velodrome and that's where most the biggest Budapest matches of the 1930s were held.
= Pavel Ivanoff vs. Istvan Szorandi was also advertised, but none of the reports mention it in the results.

A pair of newspaper articles: Josef Czaja vs. Emil Grikis and Josef Czaja vs. Gerhard Karsch

7 June 1931
Millenáris Sporttelep
"large crowd" / "many thousands" / "packed to capacity"
1. Emil Grikis def. August Brylla
2. Josef Czaja def. Gerhard Karsch
= The main event was a match was to commemorate Josef Czaja's 25th year anniversary as a wrestler.

16 September 1931
Millenáris Sporttelep
6,000 / 6,000 / 6,000 fans
Janos Czaja def. Karl Kornatz (37 or 38 minutes)
= A few days before the match Czaja was in a car accident and was a bit banged up.

Newspaper advert for Janos Czaja vs. Karl Kornatz

There was a tournament from 14 September until 1 November 1931 at Czaja Neparena.
= Final placement:
1. Janos Czaja
2. Karl Kornatz
3. Gustav Czaja
= Middleweight placement (the middleweight portion of the tournament concluded on 16 October):
1. Gustav Czaja
2. Franz Mrna
3. Pavel Ivanoff
4. Hermann Schultz

27 March 1932
Circus Beketow
1. Laszlo Teer def. Bela Szatmari
2. Pavel Ivanoff def. Istvan Szorandi
3. Josef Czaja def. Gerhard Karsch (24 minutes)

16 April 1932
Circus Beketow
"crowded auditorium"
1. Istvan Czontos def. Bela Weiss
2. Pavel Ivanoff def. Hans Marko
3. Janos Czaja def. Josef Steinbach (47 minutes)

20 June 1932
Czaja Neparena
Janos Czaja def. Franz Mrna (48 minutes)

28 June 1932
Czaja Neparena
2,500 fans
1.Jaan Jaago def. Petrics (3 minutes)
2 Freestyle: Janos Czaja def. Franz Mrna (35 minutes)

21 July 1932
Millenáris Sporttelep
nearly 4,000 / nearly 4,000 fans
1. Bela Weiss def. Istvan Szoradi (25 minutes)
2. Janos Czaja def. Jaan Jaago (46 minutes)
= The match was supposed to be on 6 July at Czaja Neparena, but it was decided to reschedule it and move it to a bigger venue. Then it was scheduled for 18 July, but was postponed due to rain.

2 August 1932
Czaja Neparena
"crowded arena"
1. Jaan Jaago def. Bela Weiss (8 minutes)
2. Janos Czaja vs. Dimitri Martinoff ended without a winner (45 minutes)
= Martinoff was wrestling very rough and the jury said Czaja could not continue to wrestle, more or less, but there was no winner announced.

10 August 1932
Czaja Neparena
1. Janos Czaja def. Bela Weiss (1 minute)
2. Dimitri Martinoff def. Jaan Jaago (50 minutes)
= The story here was that the 8-time World Greco-Roman champion, which is what he was billed as, Jaago challenged Martinoff because he did not like Martinoff's rough style of wrestling in the Czaja match and wanted to put him in his place.
= Ferenc Holuban was in attendance and challenged Martinoff.

17 August 1932
Czaja Neparena
1. Jaan Jaago def. Franz Olschowsky (7 minutes)
2. Dimitri Martinoff def. Ferenc Holuban (40 minutes)
= Janos Czaja challenged Martinoff.

27 August 1932
BSzKRT Sporttelep
5,000 fans
Janos Czaja def. Dimitri Martinoff
= A disputed finish. Martinoff had Czaja in a double nelson and Czaja tapped three times on the mat. Martinoff thought that meant Czaja was giving up so he released the hold. Czaja, however, then surprised him and pinned him. One of the jury members, Franz Doberl, sided with Martinoff and was saying that Martinoff was the winner due to tap out.

There was a European Cup tournament from 1 September until 21 October 1932 at Circus Beketow.
= Final placement:
1. Jaan Jaago
2. Dimitri Martinoff
3. Paul Westergaard-Schmidt
4. Sergej Orloff
5. William Thompson
6. Raoul de Saint Mars
= Middleweight placement:
1. Bela Nagy
2. Armas Vichtonen
= According to the local press the tournament drew a combined audience of more than 100,000 fans and brought a lot of tourism to the city.

Newspaper article about the final of the tournament and the attendance

There was a European Cup tournament from 1 August to 31 August 1933 at Sportarena. Final placement:
1 Peter Ferestanoff
2. Ferenc Holuban
3. Franz Mrna
4. Alois Krause
= This tournament was managed by the Hungarian Richard Weisz. Weisz was an Olympic gold medalist in Heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1908 Olympics. The following year he turned pro and then eventually moved to the management side of things.

There was a tournament from 1 September until 22 October 1933 at Circus Beketow.
= Final placement:
1. Hans Schwarz Jr.
2. Dimitri Martinoff
3. Bela Nagy
4. Petar Kopp
5. Armas Vichtonen
= Lightweight winner: Sandor Nemeth.
= According to one report the first 26 days of the tournament attracted a total audience of 60,112 fans or in other words an average crowd of 2,312 fans per show. On the final day they turned away 1,000+ fans.

Newspaper article talking about the tournament attendance

There was a tournament from 29 September until 16 October 1934 at Circus Beketow, which was managed by Richard Weisz. Final placement:
1. Dimitri Martinoff
2. Albert Raago

There was a tournament from 6 August until 12 September 1935 at Sportarena. Final placement:
1. Hans Schwarz Jr
2. Alexander Peterson and Bela Nagy (tied for 2nd)
3. Radko Petrowitsch
4. Regis Siki
5. Vasil Colev

11 June 1936
Sportarena
2,000 / 2,000 fans
1. Josef Kamaras vs. Grun
2. Josef Czaja def. Franz Mrna (28 minutes)

17 October 1936
Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz
1. Peter Glavanoff def. Josef Kamaras
2. Sandor Nemeth def. Bela Nagy
3. European Mid-Heavyweight Title: Stan Karolyi (c) def. Dick Perron to retain his title (29 minutes)
= Billed as the first ever American/freestyle pro wrestling show in Budapest. There had been standalone freestyle/catch/American style matches in the past in Budapest, but this is the first actual show that I've seen a mention of. The show was supposed to be held on 10 October, but was postponed at the last minute. The Karolyi/Perron match was originally supposed to be 2 out of 3 falls, but then it was changed with the storyline being that Perron insisted on it being one fall with a 60-minute time limit. At the time the Hungarian Karolyi was the European Mid-Heavyweight champion, a title he had won in France, and this was him defending the title in Budapest for the first time ever.

Newspaper article about the first Stan Karolyi vs. Dick Perron show

22 October 1936
Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz
2 out of 3 falls: Stan Karoyi drew Dick Perron

25 October 1936
Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz
1. Peter Glavanoff def. Nagy (most likely Ferenc Nagy)
2. Sandor Nemeth def. Pesthy
3. 2 out of 3 falls: Stan Karolyi def. Dick Perron (39 minutes) (2:0 falls)

22 November 1936
Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz
Janos Czaja def. Said Kahouta (40 minutes)

21 March 1937
Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz
"big crowd"
Janos Czaja vs. Alfred Bellgardt was stopped
= The 50 year old Czaja felt bad during the match and wasn't moving well so the match was stopped in the 2nd round and he was taken to the hospital where he died later that night. Janos' death got a ton of coverage in the Hungarian newspapers. It was a huge story as he was very popular. His death more or less spelled the end of Greco-Roman pro wrestling in Budapest and soon the American style took over as the main style.

Photos from Janos Czaja's funeral - Josef Czaja and Janos' medals & championship belt

25 April 1937
Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz
1. E. Dittrich vs. Lajos Koczka
2. Istvan Czontos vs. Ferenc Nagy
3. Peter Glavanoff drew Josef Kamaras
4. Josef Czaja def. Said Kahuta (13 minutes)

17 July 1937
Millenáris Sporttelep
1. Todor Ivanoff vs. Gaborffy
2. Said Kahuta vs. Milenko Georgevics
3. Josef Czaja vs. Alfred Bellgardt

There was an American wrestling tournament from 2 September until 16 October 1937 at Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz.
= Heavyweight placement:
1. Paul Shikat
2. Sandor Vary
3. Regis Siki
4. Vilo Bur
= Light Heavyweight placement:
1. Stan Karolyi
2. Michele Leone
3. Arthur Ghevaert
4. Charles Pierlot
= Middleweight placement:
1. Bob Gregory
2. Al Hamilton
3. Jose Almeida
= Lightweight placement:
1. Paul Marton
2. Maurice Charf
3. Gabriel Laurier
4. Georges Freymond

There was a European Freestyle Championship tournament from 31 March until 1 or 2 May 1938. Held at Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz, except for the final three days which were at Sportarena. 
= Winner: Mike Brendel (or Stan Karolyi?).
= Here's what happened. After defeating Mark Passmann on 1 May Brendel became the champion, but then Karolyi said he does not recognize this and challenged Brendel. The jury and Brendel accepted the challenge so on 2 May Karolyi vs. Brendel for the European Championship was to take place. However, I haven't been able to find the result of that match.

There was a tournament from 2 September until 30 September 1938 at Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz.
= Winner: Sandor Vary and Kurt Zehe?
= Vary and the giant Zehe were to wrestle on the final night and if I'm understanding things correctly there was no winner in their match. Two different reports say Vary was the "moral winner" of the tournament. Right after the Greco-Roman tournament finished an American wrestling (freestyle) tournament began. I don't know how long it lasted or who won it.

There was a European Freestyle Championship tournament from 21 April to 25 May 1939 at Fővárosi Nagy Cirkusz. Final placement:
1. Dick Shikat
2. Stan Karolyi
3. Raja Randi

29 June 1939
Angol Park
nearly 3,000 fans
1. Franz Olschowsky def. Milan Vladar
2. Petersen def. Petrics
3. Josef Czaja def. Dimitri Martinoff via disqualification (40 minutes)

8 July 1939
Millenáris Sporttelep
Josef Czaja vs. Dimitri Martinoff

American/freestyle pro wrestling shows continued to be held in Budapest in the 1940s, but those are a topic for another day. Prior to 1942 the shows were referred to mostly as either American wrestling or freestyle wrestling, and then in 1942 they started calling them pankráció (a term which is used in Hungary to this day). Then around 1948 professional wrestling got banned in Hungary and was gone from the country for three decades until 1978 when the Hungarian pro wrestler and promoter Arpad Weber managed to bring it back.