American Wrestling Association (Boston)

American Wrestling Association

Company type	Private
Industry	Professional wrestling
Founded	June 15, 1931 (1931-06-15) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	Paul Bowser
Defunct	1958 (1958)
Fate	Replaced by Atlantic Athletic Corporation
Headquarters	Boston , United States
Area served	New England region, United States
Key people	Paul Bowser (owner and booking agent)
Products	Professional wrestling events and promotions

The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in the United States, established by Paul Bowser in Boston, Massachusetts. It operated from 1931 until 1958. Between 1949 and 1958, the organization functioned as the Boston branch of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) before separating and being replaced by the independent Atlantic Athletic Corporation. The AWA organized events throughout the New England region, with primary venues including the Boston Garden and Boston Arena.

Origins (1922–1931)

In 1922, wrestler and promoter Paul Bowser moved his promotional activities from Newark, Ohio to Boston’s Grand Opera House, entering into competition with local promoter George V. Tuohey, who soon went bankrupt. Bowser formed an alliance with the influential Gold Dust Trio—comprising world champion Ed "Strangler" Lewis, manager Billy Sandow, and wrestler Toots Mondt—to challenge New York promoter Jack Curley. In 1923, Bowser’s wrestler John Pesek achieved a legitimate victory over Curley-supported Nat Pendleton.

By 1926, Bowser sought to create his own world title claimant by arranging a match between Joe Malcewicz and champion Joe Stecher, who ultimately forfeited by leaving prior to the bout. Consequently, Bowser recognized Malcewicz as champion, leading to a prominent unification match against Lewis at Boston’s Braves Field. Although the contest concluded in a draw, Malcewicz subsequently lost his championship claim to Lewis in a rematch. Lewis regained the principal world title from Stecher in 1928.

On January 4, 1929, Bowser’s client Gus Sonnenberg captured the world heavyweight championship at the Boston Garden by defeating Lewis. However, several state athletic commissions withdrew recognition from Sonnenberg in July 1929 due to his lack of credible challengers. Despite this, Bowser continued to acknowledge Sonnenberg’s reign and formally founded his promotion as the American Wrestling Association in 1931, responding to challenges posed by the New York State Athletic Commission and the National Wrestling Association.

American Wrestling Association (1931–1958)

The American Wrestling Association was officially created on June 15, 1931, by leading promoters seeking to resolve heavyweight wrestling disputes that neither state commissions nor the National Boxing Association had successfully addressed. The group aimed to include representatives from all major wrestling territories across both the United States and Canada.

Ed Don George, who was trained under promoter Paul Bowser’s guidance, rose to prominence after defeating Sonnenberg in Los Angeles in 1930. Following a disputed title exchange involving Lewis and Henri DeGlane in Montreal, Bowser promoted George back to prominence by reclaiming the AWA world championship in Boston in 1933.

In 1935, Danno O'Mahony became Bowser’s new marquee star by capturing the AWA title before an audience of 40,000 at Boston's Braves Field and securing multiple world heavyweight championships. His loss to Dick Shikat in 1936 sparked legal battles over contract rights; nonetheless, Bowser continued recognizing O'Mahony as champion amid these disputes.

Yvon Robert, supported by Bowser’s Boston office, became one of the youngest heavyweight champions at age 21 after winning the AWA title in Montreal in 1936. That same year saw Steve "Crusher" Casey debut for AWA, engaging in numerous title exchanges with Lou Thesz and others, including contests featuring the masked wrestler known as "The Shadow."

Maurice "The Angel" Tillet joined AWA in 1940 and dominated with an unbeaten streak lasting over nineteen months. Frank Sexton won the AWA championship in 1945 and maintained a significant reign spanning nearly five years.

In 1949, Bowser aligned with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) to bring top-tier talent to New England audiences but declined to agree to NWA regulations due to conflicting championship recognitions. The AWA title changed hands beyond New England under "Chief" Don Eagle, who defended it nationally through a talent-sharing arrangement with Toots Mondt.

Following Eagle’s injury and mounting pressure from NWA officials, Bowser retired the AWA world championship and introduced the AWA "Eastern Heavyweight" title. The early 1950s experienced renewed interest fueled by imported stars such as Buddy Rogers and Killer Kowalski from Fred Kohler’s Chicago promotion, capitalizing on national television exposure.

Edouard Carpentier’s NWA title victory in Chicago caused friction between Bowser's partner Eddie Quinn and NWA leadership; both Quinn and Bowser subsequently left the alliance. Locally, Bowser continued recognizing Carpentier as champion until a high-profile match in 1958 where Kowalski defeated Carpentier at Boston Garden before an audience exceeding 10,000.

Afterward, Kowalski’s championship operated under the Atlantic Athletic Corporation banner, signaling a quiet conclusion to Bowser’s AWA. Following heart surgery complications, Bowser passed away in 1960. Promotion duties for New England were then assumed by Tony Santos’ Big Time Wrestling, which maintained the AAC world title lineage until losing prominence against Abe Ford’s Capitol Wrestling Corporation and its World Wide Wrestling Federation (now WWE).

Championships

Championship	Final Titleholder	Image	Established	Discontinued	Remarks	Ref
AWA World Heavyweight Title	Don Eagle		March 11, 1926 (de facto)	November, 1952	Template:Ref label
			June 15, 1931 (de jure)
AWA Eastern Title	Yvon Robert		December 12, 1952	1954	Template:Ref label
AWA Duration Title	Sándor Szabó		December 8, 1943	April 4, 1945	Template:Ref label

Affiliated Promoters

Outside the New England region, multiple promoters partnered with the AWA, utilizing talent booked through Bowser's Boston office:

New York:

• Jack Herman (Buffalo)

California:

• Lou Daro (Los Angeles)
• Joe Malcewicz (San Francisco)
• John Poole (Santa Barbara)

Canada:

• Jack Ganson, Lucien Riopel, Eddie Quinn (Montreal)
• Ivan Mickailoff (Toronto)

Officials

• Paul Bowser (owner and booking agent)
• Thomas F. Gleason, president (1931, 1938)
• Thomas Reardon, president (1933)
• John J. Conray, president (1935)
• Lawson W. Oakes, president (1946)
• George Moran, president (1950)
• Tommy Parle, president (1954)
• Homer C. Rainault, vice president (1931–1938)
• Emil Klank, vice president (1931)
• Joseph Asselin, vice president (1931)
• Lucien Riopel, vice president (1931)

See also

• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Boston version)
• Paul Bowser
• List of National Wrestling Alliance territories

Notes

• Eagle sustained an injury during a bout with Killer Kowalski in November 1952. Bowser declared: "Since Eagle cannot defend it, the championship no longer exists."
• This title succeeded the AWA world championship.
• Served as a temporary wartime championship while reigning world champion Steve Casey was enlisted in the United States Army.

References

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