In 1970, he signed with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Chief Jay Strongbow. Next: 10 Things We Miss About Classic NWA Wrestling. The Yukon Lumberjacks", "High Chief Peter Maivia and Chief Jay Strongbow", "Raw: Lumberjacks bring predictable chaos", "NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (Alabama version)", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Inspirational Wrestler of the Year", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chief_Jay_Strongbow&oldid=1129368666, This page was last edited on 24 December 2022, at 23:54. Soon, he found the moniker that stuck: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Wahoo McDaniel for example, was of both Choctaw and Chickasaw descent, and was the first famed man to use the Native American gimmick long before Strongbow came around. People were able to believe in what I was doing.". Also learn how He earned most of Chief Jay Strongbow networth? Eventually, Greg Valentine would be brought back, but he was moved down the card, even though he still had entertaining feuds with Don Muraco and Ron Garvin. So when Greg Valentine and Tito Santana met on July 6th, 1985, in a steel cage in Baltimore, Maryland, it was a perfect opportunity to put the belt out to pasture. And like all of the greatest champions in pro wrestling, he never allowed his ego to get the best of him. Strongbow wrestled in the NWA territories before joining the WWE in 1970, where he was a big draw for two decades. "Vigilante" who wrestled his first match on April 13, 2013, in his Net Worth 2020 . Sal Scarpa, brother of Joe AKA Chief Jay Strongbow, who Chief Jay Strongbow is a Wrestler, zodiac sign: Libra. "Don was good because he could lead the match while I was learning in the ring," Valentine said. A At one point he even tag teamed with a storyline brother who was actually Native American, Jules Strongbow. When You Visit, 65 Church Valentine then found himself in an interesting position. When he received the news about his health, he made the decision to permanently separate from the WWF. Just a tremendous babyface.". For those of you who only saw the Valentine feud, it's pretty hard to imagine "Strongbow" hitting flying head and body sciissors, monkey flips, missle and flying dropkicks and somersaults off the turnbuckle. Chief Jay Strongbow is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame (1994), the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum (2009) and the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (2011). Strongbow was an accomplished grappler, as his career . In 1975, he began feuding with Spiros Arion. In 2010, Scarpaattended a wrestling convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, where reportedly he was tired and largely unable to interact both with friends and with fans. This type of comeback sequence has been mimicked by many of the years. "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. He was one of the greats. Its a fascinating story. more: you think that it was all a harmless charade, it wasnt. [6][7]By the time he went over to WWWF, he was already a 12 Tag-Team and 6 Time singles champion. The thing is, Strongbow didn't end up helping Tatanka find any success during his run with the company. In fact, he once resigned because the WWE wanted to involve him in an angle where Valentine and Dino Bravo would "kidnap" the Bulldogs mascot, Matilda. Only sparse details about the death of Chief Jay Strongbow have been made known to the public. Related: 10 Women Who Held The NWA Women's Championship. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Arion turned on Strongbow, destroying his headdress on Philadelphia television after he had tied Strongbow in the ropes, and rubbed the feathers in his face. But Strongbow & Sonny would only hold the belts for a short time, as they were defeated by the powerful duo of Prof. Tanaka & Mr. Fuji on June 27, 1972. Do you know how much money I could have made with that belt now?". Our 77th Year John shares his theory of how Hanson got that spot. name. A man of both character and talent, the Ring Chronicle is proud to induct this important figure from wrestling history into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. wrestling in its many forms professional wrestlers from our town, great Roll After losing their belts, the Strongbows remained a top WWF tag team, until Jules left the promotion. Strongbow won his first WWWF World Tag Team Championship on May 22, 1972 with partner Sonny King. Plus, Randy provides a firsthand account of Jimmy Valiant turning on Chief Jay Strongbow in 1971. He never recovered and died on April 3, 2012 at the age of 83. Give us sixty minutes and well give you a wicked good podcast. Copyright & Scarpa fell at his home in late 2011 and was hospitalized. In 1975, he began feuding with Spiros Arion. brought lots of memorabilia; Nutley, New Jersey, News & History Archives, Reprinted from Nutley Neighbors, May 2017; Best Version Media. That match type was used quite often to settle scores in the 1970s and 1980s, and it involved two wrestlers being tied together by a strap, with the main goal of the match being to drag your opponent around the ring in order to touch all four corners. http://media.blubrry.com/sticktowrestling/mcadampod.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/McAdam062.mp3, Episode 238: 1982 Portland Wrestling Review. An unfortunate truth about Strongbow is that the end of his career is mostly forgettable despite him seeing plenty of tag team success. But with the creation of Titan Sports, and the transfer of the WWF from Vince Sr. to Vince Jr., Strongbow decided to pursue new challenges in the wrestling business. Wrestling legend Chief Jay Strongbow, whose real name was Joseph Scarpa, died on Tuesday at the age of 83, according to ProWrestling.net. By using this site, you agree to the legal terms set out in ourDisclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Strongbow also competed for The Sheik's Big Time Wrestling promotion in Detroit. community. In Detroit he feuded with Don Kent once again. 0:00 / 13:27 WWF Classics from MSG- Chief Jay Strongbow Vs Greg Valentine 1,044 views Nov 12, 2018 WWE 2K17 https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-u. Much like his contemporary Wahoo McDaniel, he portrayed a Native American wrestler, who wore a war bonnet to the ring and would "go on the warpath" when the fans started cheering him against an opponent. As Chief Jay Strongbow, Scarpa wore a feathered headdress, smeared on On May 17, 2017, the Nutley Museum at 65 Church History of Spies In retirement, Strongbow became a WWF road agent and worked in the company's front office. While Strongbow won plenty of titles that most people have forgotten about, he did actually challenge for one of the most famous championships in all of wrestling. "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. Historical Society community magazine serving the residents of Nutley, N.J. Read And, like all great wrestlers, past and present, he never allowed his ego to get the best of him. A memorable match against "Iron" Mike McCord featured Strongbow applying his sleeper hold. Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito in a famous match in Madison Square Garden. Chief Jay Strongbow was inducted into the World Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame. Strongbow would win more championships in the future, but a challenge for that title is his biggest claim to mainstream fame outside of his WWE Tag Team Championship wins. "We had really good chemistry as a tag team. [3] In reality (and unlike McDaniel, who was an actual Choctaw-Chickasaw Native-American), Jay was an Italian-American who much like actor Iron Eyes Cody[4] portrayed an Indian to stand-out more. Grappling great CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW has died of unknown causes. The Undertaker has Hell in a Cell and Casket matches, but most matches can be linked to any number of competitors. Chief Jay Strongbow was born on October 4, 1928 in Philadelphia, United States (92 years old). community. By 1970, Scarpa was working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation and was now known as Chief Jay Strongbow. was winning world fame, he adopted a ring name and wrestling persona CopyrightNutley Trivia. He was well enough to appear at the event, but he was only able to give a brief speech due to his poor health. Nutley wrestling coach Mike DiPiano, and former Nutley During his matches, his fans would whoop for him to go on the warpath The most notable being the WW(W)F World Tag Team championship, which he won on 4 separate occasions. The most notable is Hulk Hogan, as he would end most of his matches by "hulking up" as he would no-sell his opponent's punches and ultimately end the match with a big boot and a leg drop. Chief Jay Strongbow character is often seen as a bit of a misstep in terms of respect for cultures due to Scarpa not actually being Native American, but he commited to it in and out of the ring. While he was able to be released from the hospital, he never really recovered from the incident. When he was ready to fly on his own, Valentine went to Florida and changed his ring name to Johnny Valentine, Jr., but soon scrapped the name. Welch was actually from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Valentine agreed to a deal, and less than a month after Starrcade, Valentine dropped the U.S. title to Dick Slater and left for New York. more: As a face, Strongbow always had the crowd behind him, and he often used that to his advantage. Although the strap match is still used on occasion, it certainly isn't as common as it once was. WWE Hall of Famer Greg Valentine called it in the ring for almost the entirety of his career. Join NHS Now Vince Russo mentioned him recently on Austin's show. Museum His age was listed as 79 0r 83 and his family declined to say how he died nor provide a cause. "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. -The Greg Valentine vs Chief Jay Strongbow feud, which started with Strongbow writhing in agony with a broken leg at ringside while the matches went on as scheduled with the heels taunting him. That really was on the cover of The Wrestler magazine after Volkoff did exactly that in the Summer of 1979. While a lot of fans look back fondly on the career of Chief Jay Strongbow, it is fair to say that his gimmick is definitely a relic of the era. Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine Their Lauded Feud & Dog Collar Match, Championship Belt Maker Dave Millican Shares His Pieces of History, Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine | Rhythm and Blues (and Unkept Promises, Too! One presented himself as an Arab (The Iron Sheik), and another was a Luke Joseph Scarpa[2] (October 4, 1928 April 3, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer who was best known by the ring name Chief Jay Strongbow. 2007) and won more than 100 matches. The Valiant Brothers main evented Madison Square Garden in 1974 and 1975, then finally returned in 1979but things just werent the same. Despite his advancing age (and subsequent reduction in ring prowess) Strongbow was still one of the promotions bigger draws as the 1980s rolled on and the WWF evolved into a national entity. Strongbow's career started in 1947, using his given name Joe Scarpa. Born October 4, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Luke Joseph Scarpa (October 4, 1928 - April 3, 2012) was an American professional wrestler who was best known by the ring name Chief Jay Strongbow. Get the occasional email with the latest wrestling tributes and memorials, Search by ring name, real name, cause of death, organization, time period (2000s, etc) or specific year, WWE Hall of Famer Ravishing Rick Rude was an amazing individual in and out of the ring. In 1985, Chief Jay Strongbows career was still going well, but Luke Scarpas health was on the decline. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); No spam. He golfed and fished and lived a peaceful life on his farm in Griffin, Georgia. Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam & Sean Goodwin is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network. "I think folks are surprised when Im nice," he said, laughing. 10 Wrestlers WWE Wrongfully Fired In The Past: Where Are They Now? Hes most often remembered for his striking gimmick and not for all of his incredible accomplishments that he managed to rack up over the span of his career. Street hosted 50 Years of Nutley Wrestling, a program that explored Nutley Reprint Information 973-667-1528 [1] He was trained by legendary second generation Native American wrestler Chief Don Eagle. Discover Chief Jay Strongbow's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. From that point forward, it was back to singles wrestling for Jay. [9] During the match, special guest referee Ivan Putski counted the winning fall, but did not see Fuji's foot draped over the bottom rope. When you think about it, though, there haven't been many wrestlers in WWE history who have been attached to a certain match type. The championship belt had undergone a makeover from the days of Pedro Morales and Don Muraco, but with national expansion, McMahon again wanted something new, an even sharper image for the championship. I made sure he respected me!". the National Wrestling Alliance and launched his career under his own While it wasn't a lengthy storyline, Strongbow did wind up returning to the WWE in order to guide Tatanka to domination. He won the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship defeating Luke Graham on October 11, 1980 in Puerto Rico. Wrestling mania seized Nutley. 65 Church As both a main event and mid-card performer, Strongbow was one of the most reliable, professional wrestlers of his, or any, day. coach Carmen LoRe who resides in Nutley and was a member of the original hometown of Nutley and who later went on to win his first title on April Still, getting the rub from past Native American characters likely helped Tatanka even if the moments were brief. Anyone can have their own opinions on the Strongbow character, but it's hard to say that it wasn't incredibly popular. In 1970, Scarpa began working for Vincent J. McMahons World Wide Wrestling Federation, where his popularity with fans exploded. Holding the IC title at that time meant that Valentine wasto a large portion of the US audiencethe second-best wrestler in the world. And 1975, then finally returned in 1979but Things just werent the same, most! 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