Stanislaus Zbyszko and Bull Komar in Turkey in 1937

Information about Stanislaus Zbyszko and Bull Komar's visit of Turkey in 1937.

In late May 1937 the popular Polish pro wrestling veteran Stanislaus Zbyszko arrived in Turkey accompanied by Joe "Bull" Komar (a Lithuanian pro wrestler who had been wrestling in the United States for many years and was now touring Europe). By this point the former World champion Zbyszko, who was in his late 50s, was no longer an active wrestler and was focused on being a manager and promoter. According to a signed document that I've seen the two had entered into a six-month contract for Zbyszko to be Komar's manager, and the contact could be extended if needed. The contract gave Zbyszko the exclusive rights to sign up Komar for matches in Turkey and Greece. Komar was going to receive 15% of the gate for any match he wrestled, with a minimum guarantee of $175 per match. That money would then be divided 50/50 between Zbyszko and Komar.

Stanislaus Zbyszko and Bull Komar arrive in Istanbul (25 May 1937)

At the time pro wrestling (catch/freestyle) was pretty popular in Turkey and had been for a couple of years. Upon arriving in Istanbul Zbyszko and Komar immediately challenged Dinarli Mehmet (one of the most popular Turkish pro wrestling names of the era and one of the sons of Yussif Hussane, who was a popular name in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s). Earlier in the decade Zbyszko had brought Dinarli to the United States so there was already a connection there. While issuing the challenge Zbyszko even showed the local press a letter from Dinarli agreeing to the match, but then a couple of days later Dinarli issued a statement to the press that Komar first had to beat several other Turkish wrestlers before he could get a match with him. Ultimately, the match never happened.

Stanislaus Zbyszko and Bull Komar being interviewed by the Turkish press (26 May 1937)

Meanwhile, on 29 May or 30 May in Istanbul Zbyszko watched several local amateurs work out and seemed to be impressed with Çoban Mehmet in particular and praised him in the press, saying he could have a good career as a pro. Çoban Mehmet was Turkey's best amateur heavyweight in the 1930s and a two-time Olympian. He never made the transition to pro wrestling, despite flirting with the idea on a few occasions.

On 31 May Zbyszko mentioned he's been talking to people in India and trying to arrange matches for Komar there as well. Zbyszko, of course, had previously wrestled The Great Gama in India so he had some connections there.

Wherever in Turkey Komar went to wrestle Zbyszko was with him. Komar wrestled Adapazarli Cemal in Istanbul on 5 June, Mulayim in Bursa on 13 June (in front of a reported audience of 15,000 fans), Molla Mehmed in Balikesir on 20 June, Mulayim on 27 June in Izmir, Mulayim in Istanbul on 4 July, and Mulayim yet again in Istanbul on 18 July. There may have been other matches too. There was talk of Komar facing Tekirdagli Huseyin (another one of the top Turkish names) in Ankara or Istanbul, but it doesn't seem like the match took place. Zbyszko was saying that if Tekirdagli managed to beat Komar then Zbyszko would offer him a $25,000 per year contract to tour to America.

Left to right: promoter/referee Cemal, Adapazarli Cemal, Stanislaus Zbyszko and Bull Komar in Istanbul (5 June 1937):

On the 20 June card in Balikesir, which featured both amateur and pro bouts, Zbyszko refereed some of the matches.

Around the time of the Balikesir event Zbyszko traveled out of his way to go visit Kurtdereli Mehmet in the village where Kurtdereli was living at the time. Kurtdereli was one of the Turkish wrestling legends, his peak being the late 1890s through the early 1910s. Zbyszko had wrestled Kurtdereli back in the day.

On the 27 June card in Izmir Zbyszko actually wrestled a match. It's one of his last matches on record. He took on a young Turkish wrestler by the name of Molla Mehmed. The match ended in a 20-minute draw.

Left to right: Stanislaus Zbyszko, Bull Komar, Mulayim, Molla Mehmed and other wrestlers pose prior to their matches in Izmir (27 June 1937)

The big feud of Komar's run in Turkey was his rivalry with Mulayim (a former Turkish oil wrestling champion and one of the most popular Turkish pro wrestlers at the time). When he came to Turkey Komar had a championship belt with him, which he claimed to have won in South America, and he and Mulayim feuded over it. The Turk ended up winning the belt in Istanbul. Komar and Zbyszko disputed the match outcome and Zbyszko was even threatening to get the police involved since according to him Mulayim had "stolen" the belt from Komar. Of course, this was all ballyhoo to drum up more interest in the rematch. Mulayim won the rematch too and retained the belt. That was the end of Zbyszko and Komar's tour of Turkey.

Bull Komar and his championship belt