Wrestling at the Chase. This item is unavailable.Wrestling at the Chase

When Sam Muchnick and Harold Koplar had a chance conversation on a plane they had no inclination that their unique idea would turn into the iconic program Wrestling at the Chase. Spanning multiple generations of fans, the 1959 premier of the show would launch a phenomenon and the onset of professional wrestling’s golden years. Today, the WWE rules television and arenas nationwide, but without the leadership and promotion of this show, it may never have reached the standing it enjoys today. Hundreds of men and women, dressed to the nines, would be drawn ringside every Saturday night in the Khorassan Room of the opulent Chase Park Plaza Hotel while hundreds of thousands more tuned in at the stroke of nine to enjoy the spectacle. They’d marvel at such heroes of the sport as Bruiser, the Fabulous Moolah, Gorgeous George, King Kong, and Nature Boy. Then the next morning, a brand new audience of thousands would tune in for the re-airing of the show. America couldn’t come cheer on their idols in person, so Muchnick, the Vince McMahon of his day, brought wrestling to the living rooms of America. In Wrestling at the Chase, Emmy-award winning producer Ed Wheatley brings the story of professional wrestling’s rise to prominence to life in this exciting, rideof-a-lifetime book. With hundreds of photos and the stories behind the famous monikers, relive the decades and the countless memories that have thrilled wrestling lovers for generations.

Ed Wheatley is an award winning author, film producer, and sports historian. His works have received numerous accolades and awards including Sports Collectors Digest selection as the best book published on baseball in 2017, a 2017 nomination for the Lawrence Ritter Award by the Society for American Baseball Research for the best book in baseball, and the St. Louis Post- Dispatch’s selection as one of the top 25 books of 2020. He has produced two films shown on the PBS network that each received EMMY award nominations, as well as a win in 2020.