Wally Karbo

Businessperson, Deceased Person

1915 – 1993

63

Who was Wally Karbo?

Walter J. Karbo was an American professional wrestling promoter and co-founder of the American Wrestling Association with Verne Gagne. A longtime promoter in the Minneapolis-area, Karbo was a close associate of Tony Stecher and attended the first meeting of the National Wrestling Alliance held by Stecher in 1948.

In 1952, Tony Stecher sold a one-third interest in the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling club to Wally Karbo and his son Dennis Stecher. On October 9, 1954, Tony Stecher died and control of the promotion passed to Karbo and Dennis Stecher. In 1959, Dennis Stecher sold his majority stake in the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling club to Karbo and Gagne. They became co-owners of the promotion from that point onward.

Breaking away from the National Wrestling Alliance, he and Gagne established the AWA in 1960 and together operated the promotion for over thirty years. He would also appear as an on-air personality hosting the AWA's Saturday morning television show All-Star Wrestling before Karbo sold his interests to Gagne in 1985. Although retiring soon after, he did remain in professional wrestling, most notably appearing as the commissioner of the Ladies Pro Wrestling Association before his death from a heart attack on March 23, 1993.

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Born
Aug 14, 1915
Minneapolis
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Lived in
  • Minneapolis
Died
Mar 23, 1993

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"Wally Karbo." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/wally_karbo>.

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