Jim Londos' Huge Stadium Matches in Greece (1928-1956)

Some of the biggest crowds in the history of European pro wrestling to this day.

There's always been talk about Jim Londos' big matches in Greece and the huge crowds he drew there so I decided to dig though the Greek newspapers and see what numbers the Greek papers reported back then. I used about 20 different Greek newspapers for this - sports, national and local ones. Below are the numbers I was able to find for all of Londos' stadium matches in Athens, as reported in the Greek press. I've also added a couple of numbers that were reported in the neighboring Turkish press. If you see more than one number listed per show that means they're from different newspapers.

I will also say this. In going through the Greek press of the 1930s it really hits you how absolutely huge of a star Jim Londos was in Greece back then. I've researched a lot of wrestling from a lot of countries and I don't think I've seen another wrestler receive as much press and as much front-page coverage as Londos did in Greece in the 1930s. It's quite incredible.

Londos had several other matches in Greece, but they were outside of Athens and in smaller stadiums so I haven't covered them below. The focus of this article are his matches at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.

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Jim Londos vs. Karol Zbyszko in 1928

2 December 1928
Athens, Greece
Panathenaic Stadium
40,000 / 40,000 / 50,000 / 50,000 fans
Jim Londos def. Karol Zbyszko (74 or 75 minutes)

This was an athletics event, featuring a number of sports. The Londos match was the headline attraction. The event was organized by the sports newspaper "Athletics". Originally the event was scheduled for 18 November, then 25 November and finally 2 December.

It was raining during the match.

The popular Greek weightlifter turned pro wrestler and Londos manager Dimitrios Tofalos was the referee.

Originally Regis Siki and Serafino were to wrestle on the card as well, but didn't.

It's important to mention that at the time Greece didn't have a local pro wrestling scene and had never had much of a scene. 1932-1933 is when a local scene began shaping up.

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Jim Londos vs. Kola Kwariani in 1933

22 October 1933
Athens, Greece
Panathenaic Stadium
70,000 / 80,000 / 80,000 / 80,000 / 80,000 / 100,000 / 100,000 fans
Jim Londos def. Kola Kwariani (46 or 47 minutes)

The card also featured a George Tragos vs. John Maxos match.

George Tragos refereed the Londos/Kwariani match.

St. Louis wrestling promoter John Contos was in attendance.

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Jim Londos vs. Dinarli Mehmet in 1936

2 August 1936
Athens, Greece
Panathenaic Stadium
more than 30,000 / 50,000 / 50,000 / 50,000 / 50,000 / 50,000 / 60,000 / 60,000 / 60,000 fans
Jim Londos def. Dinarli Mehmet (58 minutes)

Originally the show was scheduled for 26 July, but was postponed.

Londos' opponent, Dinarli Mehmet, was one of the top Turkish pro wrestling stars at the time.

The card also featured a John Maxos vs. Mulayim match.

Londos was accompanied to the ring by his father, up-and-coming Greek pro wrestler Georgios Kleitomachos, and some others.

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Jim Londos vs. Johannes van der Walt in 1937

25 July 1937
Panathenaic Stadium
more than 40,000 / 50,000 / 50,000 / 60,000 / 65,000 / 70,000 / 70,000 / 70,000 fans
Jim Londos def. Johannes van der Walt

The card also featured a Regis Siki vs. Joe Campbell match.

John Maxos refereed the Londos/van der Walt match.

Londos was accompanied to the ring by up-and-coming Greek pro wrestler Panagiotis Adam, among others

Londos' opponent, Johannes van der Walt, was the top South African pro wrestling star at the time.

Henry Irslinger, the top wrestling promoter in South Africa and van der Walt's manager, was in attendance.

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Jim Londos vs. Jim Wright in 1956

3 October 1956
Panathenaic Stadium
40,000 / 40,000 fans
Jim Londos def. Jim Wright (43 minutes)

On the card there were also matches with Greek pro wrestlers such as Elias Panagos, Thanasis Kabaflis, and others.