Inductees

Born on April 24, 1916 in a tiny village in Michigan, Lou Thesz spent his childhood and teen years in St. Louis. He fell in love with wrestling at an early age and wrestled in area amateur matches as a schoolboy.

Beginning in 1937, Thesz held the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) world title on six occasions for a total of 13 years, longer than any other wrestler in NWA history. For nearly four decades, Thesz was one of the biggest names in all of professional sports.