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The Annotated Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce
If you're like most people, who think professional wrestling was strictly "kayfabe" in the days before it morphed into "sports entertainment," then think again. In 1937, a book titled Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce was published. In the 215 pages written by sportswriter Marcus Griffin, the sport was exposed to the general public and the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing by promoters and wrestlers alike were bought to light. It was the first credible book ever published on the subject.
Griffin wrote about double-crosses and rivalries between promoters, the manipulation of the wrestlers, the "synthetic buildup" promoters gave to the grapplers to put them over in the minds of the ticket-buying public, and a history of some of the great characters of that era.
Fall Guys was, and still is, fascinating reading ... with one caveat. A great deal of the book was written by Griffin with an extreme bias for Toots Mondt ... his boss ... and against those whom Toots didn't like. It is filled with inconsistencies, contradictions, and ... yes, downright lies. Nevertheless, the book is the best resource of events that took place during that era, and wrestling scholars have used much of Griffin's writing as a launchpad for their own research.
That being the case, why would anyone want to read this book?
This is the annotated version, in which Yohe & Teal challenge Griffin's statements about events and correct errors that have been repeated through the years in other books and writings. They add additional detail to the stories and the lives of the book's personalities.
It all makes absorbing reading and a lively tale for those people afflicted with the disease which Griffin terms "wrestler-itis."
Griffin wrote about double-crosses and rivalries between promoters, the manipulation of the wrestlers, the "synthetic buildup" promoters gave to the grapplers to put them over in the minds of the ticket-buying public, and a history of some of the great characters of that era.
Fall Guys was, and still is, fascinating reading ... with one caveat. A great deal of the book was written by Griffin with an extreme bias for Toots Mondt ... his boss ... and against those whom Toots didn't like. It is filled with inconsistencies, contradictions, and ... yes, downright lies. Nevertheless, the book is the best resource of events that took place during that era, and wrestling scholars have used much of Griffin's writing as a launchpad for their own research.
That being the case, why would anyone want to read this book?
This is the annotated version, in which Yohe & Teal challenge Griffin's statements about events and correct errors that have been repeated through the years in other books and writings. They add additional detail to the stories and the lives of the book's personalities.
It all makes absorbing reading and a lively tale for those people afflicted with the disease which Griffin terms "wrestler-itis."
213 pages, Paperback
Published April 28, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 12, 2022
Griffin's original wrestling tell-all book gets a welcome enhancement from Yohe and Teal, who are able to point out where Griffin massages the facts to suit his own agenda. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
September 16, 2024
God bless the researchers
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews