Paul Boesch Best of Texas Wrestling Financial Records
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Scope and Contents
This collection contains financial records related to 34 professional wrestling matches promoted by Paul Boesch in the city of Houston, Texas in the first half of the 1980s. Boesch’s promotion company was named Gulf Athletic Club and then Best of Texas Wrestling. Records include copies of tax reports sent to the Texas Department of Labor and Standards detailing wrestler pay and ticket sale information for matches; ticket sales account sheets for matches; wrestler paysheets for matches; gate breakdowns, which provided detailed information about the finances of all aspects of the operation for matches; talent sheets, which contain information about wrestler payments, advances, debits, and credits for matches; and event sheets, which include information about the personnel and operation of matches. Most folders contain some combination of these financial records. All of the matches described in the records took place in Houston, but specific venues are not listed. The records include details about the finances and the attendance at the wrestling matches. Names appearing in the records include many well-known 1980s wrestlers, including Andre the Giant, the Junkyard Dog, Billy Graham, Tony Atlas, Jerry Lawler, Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, King Kong Bundy, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and many others. The collection also includes one letter to Boesch from the Texas Department of Labor and Standards. Formats include financial records and correspondence.
Dates
- Creation: 1980-1985
Creator
- Boesch, Paul (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Biographical / Historical
Paul Max Boesch was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 2, 1912. Boesch began working as a professional wrestler in the 1930s, and he has often been credited with helping to popularize “the sleeper” hold. He joined the Army during World War Two, serving as a First Lieutenant on the European front. After the war, he continued his wrestling career until injuries suffered in a car accident forced his retirement from the ring. Houston wrestling promoter Morris Sigel hired Boesch as a radio announcer in the late 1940s and then as a television announcer when wrestling shifted to television in the early 1950s. Boesch remained a fixture in Houston wrestling for decades, and he bought Sigel’s Gulf Athletic Club promotion business when Sigel died in the mid-1960s. Boesch’s wrestling matches were popular in Houston, and he drew talent from around the country, working with several regional promoters over the years including the National Wrestling Alliance, Mid South Wrestling, and, briefly, World Wrestling Federation. In 1982, Boesch changed the name of his promotion from Gulf Athletic Association to Best of Texas Wrestling. He retired from wrestling in 1987 and died of a heart attack in 1989. He has since been posthumously inducted into several wrestling Halls of Fame, including the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame.
Extent
.44 Cubic Feet (1 document case (legal))
Language of Materials
English
Genre / Form
Occupation
Topical
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- October 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Notre Dame Rare Books & Special Collections Repository