Editor’s note: This is another column in Bill Boyd’s new series, “The Way It Was,” about growing up in Marysville. Bill continues to work with the Union County Historical Society to obtain information for his stories.
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When I was a kid, my dad was a wrestling fan. Every summer he and a couple of his friends would make a trip to a place in Columbus called Haft’s Acre. It was an outdoor arena for professional boxing and wrestling. The venue was located at the corner of Park Street and Goodale Boulevard, across the street from Goodale Park.
As the name implies, it was a single acre of ground, and it was owned and operated by a man named Al Haft. You wouldn’t believe how many fans Al could cram into that small piece of ground. The ring was located in the center of the acre, and it was surrounded by giant bleachers. I think they must have been as tall as the bleachers that once stood at the open end of the OSU “Horseshoe” football stadium.
My dad’s favorite wrestler, a man named John Pesek, was scheduled to wrestle, so he asked if I would like to go with them. Oh boy that sounded like fun, so we all headed for Columbus that night.
Pesek was an excellent wrestler, and he won most of his matches, and the audience cheered each time he won. But John often got even more applause in the middle of a match, for something else. My dad called him an “escape artist.”
His opponent might have him tied up like a pretzel – his arms and legs rendered useless, intertwined with those of his opponent. John’s shoulders might be only inches from the mat. Then he would begin his escape. But he didn’t do it the way other wrestlers did it by pitting brute force against brute force.
Instead, it seemed as if John’s entire body was double-jointed. Joints that normally bend only in one direction, could also bend in other directions. He might start with one leg, and he would work with it until it was free. Then he would work on another area. And little by little, his entire body was free. And the fans cheered like crazy. They all loved it.
A few years later, my dad lost interest in professional wrestling. That’s when TV was introduced, and it was full of professional wrestling. He said it turned the sport into a “Show Biz” thing, with characters like Gorgeous George and Hulk Hogan. He had no interest in that. I don’t know what happened to John Pesek, but my dad was right. His “double-jointed” body made him a great “escape artist.”
Those wishing to contact Bill Boyd can e-mail him at williamboyd514@gmail.com