Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 4, 2013 14:53:53 GMT -6
Dutch Savage, one of the five biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling in the Pacific Northwest, passed away last night at the age of 78.
Savage, real name Frank Lionel Stewart, had been having health problems with his heart and with a series of strokes in recent years. He had not recovered from a stroke in April which left him paralyzed on the left side of his body.
Savage was a great bump taker, strong talker and top level working as the brawling former coal miner who came to the Pacific Northwest in 1966, and never left. For the next ten years, he, Lonnie Mayne, Jimmy Snuka and later Bull Ramos carried the territory until the emergence of Buddy Rose and Roddy Piper in the late 70s. He rarely traveled far, but had many top matches in Japan and neighboring territories such as in British Columbia and Northern California, where he headlined the San Francisco Cow Palace for a series with Pat Patterson.
He also worked as the territory's booker for years, owned 33% of the promotion at one time and also owned the Washington territory.
He later worked as a television announcer. After wrestling, he was heavily into religion.
Savage made his pro debut in 1962 in Macon, Georgia using the ring name Lonnie Brown then spent the next few years competing across North America, in Hawaii and in Japan (going by the ring names Mr. X and Dutch Schultz). Savage first began using his most famous ring name during a stint in the Kansas City territory. He eventually settled in the Pacific Northwest region in 1966, splitting his time between PNW in Portland and NWA All Star Wrestling in Vancouver, British Columbia.Savage also had a brief stint in the AWA territory where he formed a solid tag team with Hard Boiled Haggerty. However, when a trip to Japan was offered, Dutch opted to leave the AWA after only a few months. His most memorable matches while in the AWA were with the masked Doctor "X" (Dick Beyer, aka The Destroyer) and Mad Dog Vachon.
Savage wrestled mainly as a heel early in his career, but he turned face around 1971 during a feud with Bull Ramos in Portland. He also formed a legendary tag team in PNW with Jimmy Snuka that won six Pacific Northwest tag team titles; one of their reigns lasted for a record 11 months in 1974-75. He originated the Coal Miner's Glove match in 1972 in Eugene, Oregon, and went undefeated in that specialty match during his career. In Vancouver, BC, Savage captured 13 NWA Canadian tag team titles, second only to the record of 18 Canadian tag titles won by Don Leo Jonathan (with whom Savage won the championship once, in 1977).
On the promotional side, he later bought out Sandor Kovacs' ownership stake in the Washington territory and also purchased a one-third portion of PNW, getting into promoting as well as doing color commentary for PNW's Portland Wrestling program on Portland station KPTV (syndicated outside of Portland to the rest of Oregon and Washington as Big Time Wrestling) after his retirement from active competition around 1981.
Savage was involved in real estate for many years after his wrestling career, and he served as the play-by-play host for the Championship Wrestling USA promotion's TV program during the 1990s, but is now retired. He is now an administrator for his official website (Dutch Savage.com) and hosts a program called "Dutch's Corner", where he teaches King James Scripture, on Public-access television out of Portland, Oregon. He and his wife Willa now live on their farm in the mountains of southwest Washington State, close to Mount St. Helens, and have adopted Yacolt, Washington, as their home town.
On April 13, 2013, it was reported that Savage had suffered a stroke on April 10, which left him with paralysis on his left side and other complications. According to his daughter, Mitzi Stewart Graham, Dutch Savage passed away August 3, 2013.
Championships and accomplishments:
Central States Wrestling
NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) - with Rocky Hamilton
Mid-Pacific Promotions
NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA All-Star Wrestling
NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (13 times) - with Don Jardine (1), Stan Stasiak (2), John Tolos (1) Bob Brown (2), John Quinn (1), Steven Little Bear (4), Gene Kiniski (1), and Don Leo Jonathan (1),
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Don Jardine
NWA Tri-State
NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) - with Luke Brown
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (16 times)
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (12 times) - with Jimmy Snuka (6), Moondog Mayne (2), Steven Little Bear, (1), Jonathan Boyd, (1), Beauregard, (1), and Stan Stasiak (1)
Savage, real name Frank Lionel Stewart, had been having health problems with his heart and with a series of strokes in recent years. He had not recovered from a stroke in April which left him paralyzed on the left side of his body.
Savage was a great bump taker, strong talker and top level working as the brawling former coal miner who came to the Pacific Northwest in 1966, and never left. For the next ten years, he, Lonnie Mayne, Jimmy Snuka and later Bull Ramos carried the territory until the emergence of Buddy Rose and Roddy Piper in the late 70s. He rarely traveled far, but had many top matches in Japan and neighboring territories such as in British Columbia and Northern California, where he headlined the San Francisco Cow Palace for a series with Pat Patterson.
He also worked as the territory's booker for years, owned 33% of the promotion at one time and also owned the Washington territory.
He later worked as a television announcer. After wrestling, he was heavily into religion.
Savage made his pro debut in 1962 in Macon, Georgia using the ring name Lonnie Brown then spent the next few years competing across North America, in Hawaii and in Japan (going by the ring names Mr. X and Dutch Schultz). Savage first began using his most famous ring name during a stint in the Kansas City territory. He eventually settled in the Pacific Northwest region in 1966, splitting his time between PNW in Portland and NWA All Star Wrestling in Vancouver, British Columbia.Savage also had a brief stint in the AWA territory where he formed a solid tag team with Hard Boiled Haggerty. However, when a trip to Japan was offered, Dutch opted to leave the AWA after only a few months. His most memorable matches while in the AWA were with the masked Doctor "X" (Dick Beyer, aka The Destroyer) and Mad Dog Vachon.
Savage wrestled mainly as a heel early in his career, but he turned face around 1971 during a feud with Bull Ramos in Portland. He also formed a legendary tag team in PNW with Jimmy Snuka that won six Pacific Northwest tag team titles; one of their reigns lasted for a record 11 months in 1974-75. He originated the Coal Miner's Glove match in 1972 in Eugene, Oregon, and went undefeated in that specialty match during his career. In Vancouver, BC, Savage captured 13 NWA Canadian tag team titles, second only to the record of 18 Canadian tag titles won by Don Leo Jonathan (with whom Savage won the championship once, in 1977).
On the promotional side, he later bought out Sandor Kovacs' ownership stake in the Washington territory and also purchased a one-third portion of PNW, getting into promoting as well as doing color commentary for PNW's Portland Wrestling program on Portland station KPTV (syndicated outside of Portland to the rest of Oregon and Washington as Big Time Wrestling) after his retirement from active competition around 1981.
Savage was involved in real estate for many years after his wrestling career, and he served as the play-by-play host for the Championship Wrestling USA promotion's TV program during the 1990s, but is now retired. He is now an administrator for his official website (Dutch Savage.com) and hosts a program called "Dutch's Corner", where he teaches King James Scripture, on Public-access television out of Portland, Oregon. He and his wife Willa now live on their farm in the mountains of southwest Washington State, close to Mount St. Helens, and have adopted Yacolt, Washington, as their home town.
On April 13, 2013, it was reported that Savage had suffered a stroke on April 10, which left him with paralysis on his left side and other complications. According to his daughter, Mitzi Stewart Graham, Dutch Savage passed away August 3, 2013.
Championships and accomplishments:
Central States Wrestling
NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) - with Rocky Hamilton
Mid-Pacific Promotions
NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA All-Star Wrestling
NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (13 times) - with Don Jardine (1), Stan Stasiak (2), John Tolos (1) Bob Brown (2), John Quinn (1), Steven Little Bear (4), Gene Kiniski (1), and Don Leo Jonathan (1),
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Don Jardine
NWA Tri-State
NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) - with Luke Brown
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (16 times)
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (12 times) - with Jimmy Snuka (6), Moondog Mayne (2), Steven Little Bear, (1), Jonathan Boyd, (1), Beauregard, (1), and Stan Stasiak (1)