{"id":394950,"date":"2026-07-11T19:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T19:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394950\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T19:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T19:21:13","slug":"how-a-1946-fresno-accident-foreshadowed-browns-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/394950\/","title":{"rendered":"How a 1946 Fresno accident foreshadowed Brown\u2019s fate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series<\/a> that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Fresno area so special.<\/p>\n

When Orville Brown, one of the pioneers of 20th-century pro wrestling, performed in Fresno 80 years ago, he not only left town with a main-event billing and a working western vacation. He left town with his life intact.<\/p>\n

Despite being the first National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight champion \u2014 wrestling\u2019s top prize for four decades \u2014 Brown\u2019s role in developing the modern mat spectacle has largely been forgotten. Not only was he the first champion, but he helped form the NWA, a cooperative of wrestling promoters that existed until the WWE (then known as the WWF) drove most of them out of business in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

A horrific car crash in 1949 ended his career, weeks before a world championship unification with 1950s great Lou Thesz. Just three years earlier while wrestling in Fresno, Brown nearly met the same fate.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s Fresno wreck<\/p>\n

By 1946, Brown was one of wrestling\u2019s top stars. Even before the internet or even TV wrestling, Brown had a reputation as tough in the ring and able to draw fans. The Kansas native was not only the top star but owner of the territory that included Kansas City, Wichita, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri.<\/p>\n

He took a break that summer for a working vacation. He spent a week in Montana, and two weeks in California. Twice, he wrestled in Fresno with matches held at the long-since-demolished Ryan\u2019s Auditorium.<\/p>\n

It was his second match in Fresno that nearly ended Brown.<\/p>\n

According to The Bee\u2019s account, on July 20, 1946, a truck attempted to pass Brown\u2019s car on northbound Golden State Highway near Chestnut Avenue. At the same time, a southbound Greyhound bus attempted to pass a car. The truck and bus collided. A piece of iron came loose from the side of the truck \u201cknifing through the side of the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two suffered amputations. Another suffered a fractured neck and leg. A fourth passenger had a ruptured spleen. Several others suffered lacerations.<\/p>\n

Brown \u201cwas shaken up when some of the wreckage smashed the windshield of his automobile. (He) insisted upon proceeding to Fresno to take part in the wrestling matches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wrestling Wrestling pioneer Orville Brown made a tour in Fresno in 1946. He survived a horrific car crash but continued to compete. Reproduced from the original held by the Department of Special Collections of the Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame. Reproduced from the original held by the Department of Special Collections of the Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame. Two weeks in California<\/p>\n

The wreck took place on the last day of Brown\u2019s western tour.<\/p>\n

Brown was greeted in Montana as the world champion, headlining five matches. Strictly speaking, he wasn\u2019t champion at the time. In California, The Bee and other papers treated his accomplishments with less enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Some things in wrestling never change. Several wrestlers could claim to be \u201cworld champion\u201d in the 1940s. Even today, several wrestlers claim to be \u201cworld champion.\u201d The WWE recognizes two.<\/p>\n

The Bee previews billed Brown as \u201ctitle claimant\u201d without explaining what that fully meant. He held the Midwest Wrestling Association version of the world title, but not really.<\/p>\n

Prior to taking his vacation away from his Kansas City base, Brown lost his version of the world championship to rival Bobby Bruns on June 20, 1946, in Kansas City. Bruns took the match on a disqualification in controversial fashion, setting up a dispute and rematch when Brown returned later that summer.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t stop promoters in Montana and California from billing Brown as champion. As Brown headed out of the Midwest, a crazed fan stabbed him at a match in St. Joseph, Missouri on June 22. Brown needed four stitches to close a wound to his throat, or so the story went. Neither the promoter nor Brown declined to press charges. The incident \u2014 and the title loss to Bruns \u2014 gave a convenient storyline for Brown to be out of action, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the attacker story.<\/p>\n

Brown in Fresno<\/p>\n

\u201c(Brown) is said to be a wealthy farmer and is backed by the state athletic commission in his neck of the woods as the world champion. He has relatives in Oakdale and plans to spend several weeks in California,\u201d The Bee wrote.<\/p>\n

For a \u201cworld champion,\u201d Brown shared the main event billing in Fresno with The Swedish Angel vs. Al Steinhauer. Angel parlayed his grotesque-looking face into worldwide stardom. Steinhauer was a Fresno local who later became a police officer.<\/p>\n

Brown defeated Tony Martinelli on July 13, 1946, drawing 1,439 fans for a gate of $1,375 at Ryan\u2019s Auditorium. Brown won the first fall of the three fall contest with an \u201coverarm body slam and press.\u201d Martinelli won the second \u201cbody drop.\u201d Brown won the match and third fall with a piledriver and elbow smash to the chin.<\/p>\n

Martinelli claimed foul because Brown refused a clean break and got the winning blow on a cheap shot. The two had a rematch the following week on July 20, 1946, the day of Brown\u2019s wreck heading to the matches. Without Angel on the card, attendance dipped to 1,311 for a $1,267 gate. Brown again won the match, this time billed as the main event.<\/p>\n

The following week, with Brown out of town, the fans returned with 1,633 showing for a card headlined by another former world champ, Sandor Szabo. Despite Brown\u2019s standing in other parts of the wrestling world, his name did not pop the Fresno crowd.<\/p>\n

In between Fresno shows, Brown wrestled five dates in Southern California, none in the main event. Some newspaper previews mentioned his world champion status, others ignored the claim.<\/p>\n

\"The The main event for the July 20, 1946, wrestling card featured Orville Brown, seen in this Fresno Bee ad. The Fresno Bee Forming the NWA<\/p>\n

Raised in Kansas, Brown worked on a farm and even as a rodeo cowboy, according to a biography by wrestling historian Steve Yohe<\/a>. Brown parlayed that into pro wrestling, and quickly became a nationwide star. By 1940, he moved to Kansas City to farm, and invested in the local wrestling promotion, taking control.<\/p>\n

In 1948, he formed a wrestling cooperative with five other Midwest-based promoters to form the NWA. The goals included recognizing one world champion, not to directly compete against each other, and offer a hand if there was a promoter daring enough to challenge their supremacy.<\/p>\n

The original six promoters expanded to dozens in the intervening decades. The power of the NWA diminished and just about disappeared by 1993, thanks to the rival WWF (as it was known then) changing the landscape of the wrestling business.<\/p>\n

The NWA recognized Brown as its world champion. He was set for a unification match with another perennial champ, Lou Thesz in 1949. But the biggest match of Brown\u2019s career was never to be.<\/p>\n

A fateful car crash ends Brown\u2019s career<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s Fresno accident was an omen for worse luck on the roads. On Nov. 1, 1949 \u2014 weeks before his major unification match with Thesz \u2014 Brown suffered a career-ending auto accident. After wrestling in Des Moines, Brown was driving back to Kansas City with Bruns.<\/p>\n

In the middle of the night near Bethany, Missouri, a banana truck overturned blocking the road. Brown could not stop his 1949 Cadillac sedan in time and slammed into the jackknifed vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe top of the Cadillac was pushed back so far it looked like a convertible. The two wrestlers used their strength to force the front seat backward and that saved both their lives. Bruns suffered a broken shoulder and upper arm injuries, which he recovered from. The frame of the trailer came through the car hitting Brown\u2019s head, resulting in brain damage. Brown was able to get out of the car and walked before falling unconscious. Brown\u2019s mangled Cadillac was sold to salvage for $216,\u201d Yohe wrote.<\/p>\n

Brown spent 17 days in the hospital. His title unification match was canceled, and the NWA awarded Thesz the championship. Brown made a brief comeback the following year, but his career was effectively over.<\/p>\n

After the end of his in-ring career, Brown continued to promote wrestling, fully retiring in 1963. He died in 1981 at the age of 72.<\/p>\n

Orville Brown\u2019s \u2018working vacation\u2019 resultsDateLocation (arena)Result6\/24\/1946Missoula, MT (Avalon Skating Rink)Orville Brown d. Walter Sirois6\/25\/1946Kalispell, MT (McIntosh Opera House)Orville Brown d. Ronnie Etchison6\/26\/1946Great Falls, MT (Civic Center Arena)Orville Brown d. Jimmy Clark6\/27\/1946Helena, MT (Civic Center Arena)Orville Brown -time limit draw- Ronnie Etchison6\/28\/1946Butte, MT (KC Gym)Orville Brown d. Walter Stedium7\/13\/1946Fresno, CA (Ryan’s Auditorium)Orville Brown d. Tony Martinelli7\/15\/1946Pasadena, CA (Pasadena Arena)Orville Brown vs. George Becker7\/16\/1946Wilmington, CA (Wilmington Bowl)George Becker & Carlos Mojica d. Orville Brown & Senator Harford7\/17\/1946Los Angeles, CA (Olympic Auditorium)Orville Brown d. Vic Holbrook7\/18\/1946Long Beach, CA (Muncipal AuditoriumOrville Brown TLD George Becker7\/19\/1946Santa Monica, CA (Ocean Park Arena)Orville Brown vs. Jim Casey (no result available)7\/20\/1946Fresno, CA (Ryan’s Auditorium)Orville Brown d. Tony Martinelli
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

David Taub<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

David Taub joined the Fresno Bee in 2026 after reporting 10 years for digital publication GV Wire. He has worked in the Fresno market since 2007. Prior to moving to the Central Valley, he worked for TV and radio stations on the Central Coast. He has also worked behind the scenes in local TV and radio. During his career, he has covered City Hall, the state Capitol, the White House and several houses of government in between. When not in a reporting capacity, he works tracking stats for the Fresno Grizzlies as an official scorekeeper, and also with televised basketball and football games. He has worked the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and several MLB games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue!\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-394950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}