He never recovered and died on April 3, 2012 at the age of 83. Black History Moments While it didn't translate into all that many championships at that point, he was still considered one of the greatest stars of that decade. When You Visit, 65 Church Jules Strongbow was hired by the WWF in 1982, and formed a tag team with his on-screen brother, Chief Jay Strongbow. Born October 4, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The two wrestled all over the WWF circuit, including an "Indian Strap match" at Madison Square Garden on July 30, 1979.[3]. [9], Four and a half years later, on December 7, 1976, Strongbow won his second WWWF World Tag Team Championship, this time with partner Billy White Wolf. The pair made their debut on June 5, 1982, defeating Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura.After making their debut, The Strongbows had a number of opportunities to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito, but were unsuccessful. Officers He had a memorable feud with "Bulldog" Don Kent, which culminated in a "shark cage match" in 1977. On the table this week: Pat Patterson wins the North American title, and then wins the Intercontinental Title. Perhaps the greatest Native American to lace up a pair of boots, Chief Jay was one of sports-entertainment's most influential and popular grapplers for almost 40 years. Strongbow picked up a win at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 1970, shortly after he entered the WWWF, pinning top contender Crusher Verdu, who was managed by Lou Albano. 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.Scarpa 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. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! If a wrestler could get past Strongbow, a title opportunity often followed. He was born in Philadelphia in 1928, but moved to Nutley with his The first thing that should be known to just about everyone is that Strongbow wasn't actually Native American. Despite that and despite the general stereotypes involved with his gimmick, it could be said that Strongbow did bring a more positive perception on Native American culture than most people likely had at that time. Be it as a performer or as part of the management team, Strongbow made many sacrifices, and selflessly gave himself to the "sport." Valentine again won the world tag titles, this time with Baron Von Rasche. He died in that hospital on April 3, 2012, at the age of 83. 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. He defended the title against the Junkyard Dog at the first WrestleMania, taking a count-out loss and keeping the championship. Ask him about the 1980s WWE wrestling scene, and Valentine will tell you that life on the road was difficult, but the money often made up for it. Many people have wondered about his heritage over the years, and unfortunately he wasnt native at all. He laughs, but its easy to see hes only half-kidding. Museum Store His first WWWF Tag Team title came on May 22, 1972 when he teamed with Sonny King to defeat Baron Mikel Scicluna & Curtis Iaukea at New Yorks Madison Square Garden. However, "The Chief" did venture outside the parameters of the WWWF on occasion, and was (for a time) a high-profile figure on TBS's NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling, the predecessor of WCW Saturday Night. Wrestling legend Chief Jay Strongbow, whose real name was Joseph Scarpa, died on Tuesday at the age of 83, according to ProWrestling.net . Born Luke Joseph Scarpa, he was an Italian-American man from New Jersey. Bobby Mathews is a contributor for Pro Wrestling Stories as well as a veteran journalist whose byline has appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Birmingham News, The Denver Post, as well as other newspapers around the country. He was well enough to appear at the event, but he was only able to give a brief speech due to his poor health. Arion, a popular and seemingly unbeatable babyface, returned to the WWWF after an absence and teamed with Strongbow. In 1970, Scarpa began working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation as Chief Jay Strongbow, a Native American gimmick complete with a traditional headdress and Native themed wrestling moves. Chief Jay Strongbow worked as a road agent in the WWF during the 1990s. Then, on December 7, 1976 Strongbow regained the tag team championship, this time with partner Billy White Wolf, defeating Nicolai Volkoff & Tor Kamata in the finals of a tournament for the vacant WWWF Tag Team title. He was 83 years old at the time. "Chief" Jay quietly faded away, while Joe Scarpa settled into his new life as a WWF "suit. Historical Society, Email But Lou Albano, McCord's manager, interfered by smashing a cast on the Chief's forehead. Just like with Wahoo, Valentine did an angle with the territory's No. Sound off in the comments section below. Valentine found himself the No. Their reign was cut short in August 1977 when the belts were vacated due to White Wolf suffering a neck injury at the hands of Ken Patera's Swinging Full Nelson. I made sure he respected me!". His first run with the company was almost a decade in length, and during that time, Strongbow was one of the top faces in the industry, far above the worst performers of the era. Approx. "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. Chief Jay Strongbow. wrestling team (1962) and head coach for the NHS wrestling team (1994 to Museum In 1979, he feuded with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, who broke Strongbow's leg. Contact Room Rental, via phone, not email, Call On the table this week: Pat Patterson wins the North American title, and then wins the Intercontinental Title. Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Kamala: August 25, 1984 | WWE This video is either unavailable or not supported in this browser Error Code: MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED Technical details : The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. Eventually, though, nearly forty years after his pro debut, Scarpa retired from active competition in 1986. Copyright 2022 Wrestlingfigs.com. "He knew what to do and when to do it, and he was incredibly tough, so I learned just by being around him the Dungeon was different. Later, Scarpa excelled in two of the NWAs top promotions, the Georgia and Florida territories, winning the NWA World Tag Team championship (Florida version) with Don Curtis in 1962, the Florida Heavyweight title in 1967, plus the Florida Brass Knuckles championship and the Southern Tag Team championship (w/Jose Lothario), both in 1968. persona of Jules Strongbow. Just as Don Fargo had been his mentor early in his career, Valentine was teamed with Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake as a top heel team in the company, defeating the U.S. Express of Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo for the WWF world tag team titles in August of 1985 and holding those belts until losing them to the British Bulldogs at WrestleMania II in April of 1986. Apparently, the former professional wrestler fell sometime at the end of 2011 and had to be hospitalized. He was better than he gets credit for being. He didnt care for a lot of the ga-ga that the WWE was putting on TV at the time. In 1982, they won the WWWF tag team 2017. Arion was now a heel, and pinned Strongbow in eastern arenas as he went on to challenge champion Bruno Sammartino. He has won awards from press associations in several states, including a General Excellence award from the Georgia Press Association while sports editor at The Statesboro Herald. Still one of the more popular wrestlers in the World Wrestling Federation, in the eyes of the fans, Strongbow was now an elder statesman for WWF wrestlers, having been with the promotion for so long. [9] Their reign was cut short in August 1977 when the belts were vacated due to White Wolf suffering a neck injury at the hands of Ken Patera's Swinging Neckbreaker. Although there is no timetable set, there will inevitably be an actual Hall of Fame that fans can visit one day, and Strongbow will be among the first plaques that people see. He was also admitted to the New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011, but it seems he was not well enough to attend that event. Then dropped the title on December 20 to Danny Condrey. Grappling great CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW has died of unknown causes. Directions Native American? "Vigilante" who wrestled his first match on April 13, 2013, in his The Nutley Strongbow's career started in 1947, using his given name Joe Scarpa. Hawaiian who wore a derby and took on a Japanese persona (Mr. brought lots of memorabilia; His larger than life persona as a Native American wrestler ran from 1947 to 1985. Clearly WWE was willing to give back to its talent as Strongbow wound up working as an agent for WWE for a while. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); No spam. At 6`2 and weighing 260, Strongbow was a formidable opponent for anyone who faced him in the ring. Society .more .more 3 Dislike Share Save. Men's Premium T-Shirt Chief Jay Strongbow Tomahawk WHT $29.99 Women's V-Neck T-Shirt Chief Jay Strongbow Tomahawk WHT $29.99 Men's Cotton T-Shirt Chief Jay Strongbow Tomahawk WHT from $24.99 Kids T-Shirt Chief Jay Strongbow Tomahawk WHT $24.99 Men's Crewneck Sweatshirt Chief Jay Strongbow Tomahawk WHT $49.99 "You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies.". As both a main event and mid-card performer, Strongbow was one of the most reliable, professional wrestlers of his, or any, day. [2][3] He also participated in a 1994 storyline in which he mentored Tatanka (an actual Native American of the Lumbee tribe). Vince Russo mentioned him recently on Austin's show. Millions Sob As Volkoff Attacks Bruno. Scarpa got his If Stu got ahold of you, hed try to make you scream.". 2007) and won more than 100 matches. brought lots of memorabilia; Reprinted from Nutley Neighbors, May 2017; Best Version Media From that point forward, it was back to singles wrestling for Chief Jay. While it wasn't a lengthy storyline, Strongbow did wind up returning to the WWE in order to guide Tatanka to domination. Strongbow and Kent fought inside of a small shark cage, with the first man to escape being declared the winner. Scarpa's wrestling career began in 1947, under his real name. (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). The brutality of the feud was brought home during the first Starrcade in 1983, when Valentine and Piper worked a "dog collar" match, with each man chained to the other by the neck. Check-in Pro Wrestling Stories - Your daily source of nostalgia and a peek behind the curtain wall of wrestlings past! John shares his theory of how Hanson got that spot. By 1970, Strongbow was working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation and was now known as Chief Jay Strongbow. Chief Jay Strongbow? 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. This time, the Native American duo held on to the title belts, and defended them against the WWF's best teams. His age was listed as 79 0r 83 and his family declined to say how he died nor provide a cause. And, like all great wrestlers, past and present, he never allowed his ego to get the best of him. He spoke later in life about the stress of his role as a supervisor backstage at WWF events. 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. 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. Still, a wrestler as popular as Jay Strongbow couldn't help but pick up a fair share of championships. A Society, Web site If the Chief started his War Dance, the tens of thousands of fans in attendance knew the end was near, because no one could (or, perhaps more appropriately, was allowed to) stop him once Strongbow began circling his opponent with his "ancient tribal dance. A memorable match against "Iron" Mike McCord featured Strongbow applying his sleeper hold . sponsored by: Email Scott Ronald Garland (born July 2, 1973) is an American professional wrestler who was most recently signed to WWE as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center.He also competed under the ring names "Too Hot" Scott Taylor (1991-1999) and Scotty 2 Hotty (1999-2007) for WWE. October 4, 1932, 50 Years of Nutley Wrestling guest speakers included Chief Jay Strongbow | Wrestlingfigs.com WWE Figure Forums Wrestlingfigs.com WWE Figure Forums WFT: Mattel WWE Chief Jay Strongbow Chief Jay Strongbow Actions Prev 1 2 Next Use of this site signifies your acceptance of the Privacy Policy & Terms of Use. 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. As both a main event and mid-card performer, Strongbow was one of the most reliable, professional wrestlers of his, or any, day. 10/10 He Wasn't Actually Native American. Joe Jr. died in 2016 at the age of 48. Standing 6`0 and weighing 245 lbs., Strongbow was a formidable challenge for anyone who faced him in the ring and he often served as a roadblock for future opponents of WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino. Trivia. Web SiteNutley Historical CopyrightNutley He's won multiple awards for reporting and opinion writing, and his sports journalism has garnered several Associated Press Managing Editors Awards. "Chief" Jay Strongbow was arguably the most famous, beloved Native American wrestler of all time, and a consistent box office draw. Related: 10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About Lou Thesz. There was even a Greek Adonis kind of guy called The Golden Greek.. the Nutley Hall of Fame in 2013. born right here in Nutley on DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY! History of Spies That may lead many people to not know that Strongbow was a bonafide legend of NWA. community magazine serving the residents of Nutley, N.J. Read Dead wrestler database Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Chief Jay Strongbow is now retired and living on a farm in Georgia. Luke Scarpa, the most famous professional wrestler who ever called Nutley Valentine then found himself in an interesting position. Anthony Bowens AKA "club" wrestling team at Nutley High School (1961) the first varsity Holding the IC title at that time meant that Valentine wasto a large portion of the US audiencethe second-best wrestler in the world. During the match, special guest referee Ivan Putski counted the winning fall, but did not see Fuji's foot draped over the bottom rope. 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. Later on, of course, they started paying by check, and that was kind ofI dont know. Many people have wondered about his heritage over the years, and unfortunately he wasn't native at all. Strongbow settled the score in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, beating Captain Lou Albano convincingly. 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. People were able to believe in what I was doing.". Some people have their careers cut short due to injury or waning fan popularity, while others work for decades. Strongbow's last appearance in WWE was a brief appearance on the November 17, 2008 episode of Monday Night Raw when Stephanie McMahon introduced him to the audience in Atlanta. The Valiant Brothers main evented Madison Square Garden in 1974 and 1975, then finally returned in 1979but things just werent the same. Street hosted 50 Years of Nutley Wrestling, a program that explored Nutley By using this site, you agree to the legal terms set out in ourDisclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Sal Scarpa, brother of Joe AKA Chief Jay Strongbow, who [9] They defeated the team of Baron Mikel Scicluna and King Curtis Iaukea. wrestler. Contact - Nutley Historical Society. 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. That really was on the cover of The Wrestler magazine after Volkoff did exactly that in the Summer of 1979. He was one of the greats. [13], World Wide Wrestling Federation (19701979), NWA Georgia / Mid-Atlantic and other territories (1980-1981), Last edited on 24 December 2022, at 23:54, NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version), NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Championship, PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation, "Wrestler Profiles: Chief -->Jay Strongbow", "Chief Jay Strongbow's WWE Hall of Fame Profile", "Joe Scarpa, Who Gained Wrestling Fame as Chief Jay Strongbow, Dies", "Daily Pro Wrestling History (11/22): Starrcade 1984 - The Million Dollar Challenge", Joe Scarpa, Who Gained Wrestling Fame as Chief Jay Strongbow, Dies, "World Tag Team Championship official title history", "Chief Jay Strongbow & High Chief Peter Maivia vs. Though, nearly forty years after his pro debut, Scarpa retired from competition. 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