21 June 1957
Bodybuilder Andre Drapp (in the light trunks) entered the wrestling ring in 1947, at the age of 27, and was a driving force in professional wrestling for the next 25 years. At age 37 at the time of this match against Jack Laskin, his body had changed but remained nothing less than magnificent. I especially admire his hairy chest and the muscularity of his belly. (The Arax Studio shot the photos below in 1947, the year he was declared France's most beautiful athlete. A small, framed 1960s reprint of the first image has hung in my hallway for about ten years.)
Canadian wrestler Jack Laskin is the heel in this match, admirable for breaking almost every rule in the book in his attempt to take down 6', 215# Drapp, preferably by crippling him, apparently. Just wait to see who gets crippled in this match. Laskin is the kind of heel I would have liked to be - a hotheaded, opportunistic cheat, brained between Drapp's thighs in the last seconds of the match. What a way to go!
The match isn't as narrative-driven or kid-friendly as most pro matches are these days. There's a ref who at least attempts to maintain order in the ring. There's a (pre-smart mark) crowd who may suspect that the action is fake but enthusiastically cheer on their beautiful hero. Best of all, there's some top-notch brawling.
I love that the old time pro wrestlers (or some of them) didn’t shave their chest and pit hair. Not like today.
ReplyDeleteI too like the old time pro matches. Drapp was showing a nice bulge too.
ReplyDeleteFrench catch was excellent. Those vintage matches turn me on much more than today’s ones. Also because they were good wrestlers, and their bodies were naturally masculine
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Ricky Starr gave me my first boner as a kid, as a ballet dancing wrestler. In the 60s, he was in one very strange movie in England, The Touchables,
ReplyDeleteI saw Andre Drapp in UK in mid-1960s. Packed red trunks and boots and a thick body of muscle and beef. As he left the ring, I was close enough to pat his sweaty back by way of congratulations (He won). I still remember that moment.
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