Paul Bowser
American professional wrestling promoter (1886-1960)
Paul Forbes Bowser (May 28, 1886 – July 17, 1960) was an American professional wrestler and promoter who was active from the 1920s to the 1950s in the Boston area.
He founded the Boston-based American Wrestling Association and later a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. The careers of eventual world champions Gus Sonnenberg, Ed Don George, Danno O'Mahony and Steve Casey were started under Bowser's direction. Others that Bowser has been credited for giving their first breaks in wrestling were Maurice Vachon and The Fabulous Moolah
Bowser is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Early life
Paul Forbes Bowser was born on May 28, 1886 in Kittanning, Pennsylvania to Armstrong County, Pennsylvania teacher, school superintendent and farmer Marlin Bowser and Nancy Arreta "Arreta" (Hawkins) Bowser. The Bowsers grew fruits and vegetables on their farm along with raising standardbred horses, which would become a lifelong hobby and business venture for Paul. Paul studied law at the co-educational Beaver College, leaving in 1907 prior to receiving a degree when the college limited enrollment to female students. While in school, Paul played football at the local YMCA with Hube Wagner.
Professional wrestling career
Wrestler
At 18 years old Bowser began amateur wrestling, becoming a professional upon leaving college in 1907. Bowser toured the vaudeville circuit as a middleweight, taking on all comers and offering $25 to any man he couldn't throw within 15 minutes.
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This entry incorporates text from “Paul Bowser” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.