The MWC Hall of Fame welcomes Chief Jay Strongbow into the Class of 2017! Real Name: Luke Joseph Scarpa Height: 6'0'' Weight: 260 lbs From: Philadelphia,Pennsylvania Birthday: October 4,1928 Death: April 3,2012 Trained by: Don Eagle Debut: 1947 Retired: 1985 Ring Names: Chief Jay Strongbow Joe Scarpa Notable Titles Held: WWF World Tag-Team Championship (4x) NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (2x) NWA World Tag-Team Championship NWA Mid-America World Tag-Team Championship (3x) WWC Carribean Heavyweight Championship Other Accomplishments/Awards: WWE Hall of Fame (1994) PWI Most Popular Wrestler (1973) PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler (1979) Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (2009) New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (2011) Chief Jay Strongbow was one of the most influential Native American wrestlers ever and the thing is, he's not even an actual Native!
He kicked off his wrestling career in 1947 and first wrestled under his real name "Joe Scarpa." From the 40's through 1970 he wrestled under multiple territories of the NWA, winning several championships and becoming a fan favorite! In 1970 he began working for Vince McMahon Sr's WWWF. This is where Joseph Scarpa became Chief Jay Strongbow and despite being billed from Philadelphia, he is now from Pawhuska,Oklahoma and is now wearing full on Native American gear and parafernalia. Strongbow quickly became one of the biggest fan favorites during the 70's in the WWWF feuding with some big heels such as "Superstar" Billy Graham with whom he almost won the WWWF World Championship against! Captain Lou Albano would become one of his biggest feuds after Albano hits Strongbow with a cast during his match, completely cutting him wide open! The Chief would settle the score in front of a sold out crowd in Madison Square Garden by defeating Capt. Lou in a match. Around 1972 Chief Jay Strongbow won his first WWWF World Tag-Team Championship with Sonny King by defeating the team of "Baron" Mikel Scicluna and King Curtis Iaukea. They only held it for a month before dropping the belts to the team of Mr. Fuji & Professor Toru Tanaka who would start their legendary long reign with the belts. In 1975 Spiros Arion made his return to the WWWF and started teaming up with Strongbow and they seemed to be the next top tag-team in the promotion until one time during a match, Arion betrayed him destroying his headdress much to the crowd's disdain! Four years since his first World Tag-Team Title victory, The Chief got a hold of the belt once again this time with Billy White Wolf winning the belts in a tournament. After almost a year of reign, they were forced to vacate the belts after Wolf suffered an injury from Ken Patera. 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow left the WWF for a while and began wrestling for other territories most notably The Sheik's Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. He had a feud there with "Bulldog" Don Kent which culminated in the infamous shark cage match! He also wrestled for Carlos Colon's WWC in Puerto Rico where he won the WWC Carribean Heavyweight Championship, defeating "Crazy" Luke Graham. Throughout the late 70's and early 80's Strongbow wrestled his last matches in the WWF. He feuded with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine in 1979 which culminated in an "Indian Strap Match" on MSG. 1982 saw him teaming up with on-screen brother: Jules Strongbow. They won the World Tag-Team belts twice from Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito whom they had a huge feud against! After a 5 decade run competing in the squared circle, Chief Jay Strongbow retired in 1985. He would come back for one more match in a Legends Battle Royale in 1987 but during those times he mainly focused on his work with the WWF as a road agent. In 1994 he was inducted by Gorilla Monsoon in the WWE Hall of Fame, he made his last appearance with the WWE in 2008. Unfortunately the Chief would passed away in April 3,2012. The WWE paid tribute to him by showcasing a video package during their shows. Besides Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund, one of the biggest babyfaces in the WWF during the 70's was Chief Jay Strongbow! Even though his gimmick could be considered controversial by some, he was still a beloved wrestler and universally respected by his peers! |
AuthorSuper Mastodon. Spent countless of hours throughout my life watching professional wrestling. Now I write about it, because I like that too. Archives
March 2021
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