When I
first got into the carnival sideshow business, not knowing any
better I worked the Midwest. Iowa,
the Dakotas Nebraska and Kansas. I
think every carnival in that
territory had an AT Show (Athletic
Arena), They were Not sideshows and
were never referred to as such.
They
were the AT show. They were so
popular with the Towners that most
AT Show operates didn't own
equipment, because the carnivals
would all have an AT Show frame up.
They were very simple and Spartan. A
three banner front with no bally
cloth below the banners. Small bally
platform with no bally cloth, a
ticket box and a string of light
bulbs across the top, The tent was
usually a thirty by thirty foot top
with eight foot high sidewalls the
center poles were offset to allow
about a I6 foot ring. The Ring had no bally cloth around
so it was
visible under the ring were some
dirty mattresses and blankets as
this is where the athlete would
sleep at night.
Although the operate and the
carnival profited greatly from the
AT Show, "the boys" from three to
maybe six were not paid much, so
they often helped put up and take
down rides to earn extra money.
Generally they were farm boys who
had some school wrestling or boxing
skills who joined the shows as they
considered it glamorous and exciting
way to escape the humdrum life on
the farm. Of course since they were
well built and usually attractive
young men there were plenty of local
girls available in each new town.
The operate was usually the front
talker, and referee. On the bally
they would make a challenge to the
locals offering a money prize for
those who accepted and would be able
to pin the show boy. If they
couldn't convince a local to
cooperate and either win or lose as
instructed for either money or a
promise that they could travel with
the show. The challenge made and
accepted, the Towner would be
brought onto the bally and the tip
would be turned.
Sometimes the
operates wife would be the ticket
seller, and frequently the wife
would operate the "Kooch" Girl Show
with the carnival, in which case one
of the wrestlers would jump from the
bally into the ticket box. Once the
audience was turned inside they
would remain standing for the match
which would usually last less than
five minutes, The performers would
all return immediately to the bally,
where the loser, in the first match
would be t
he
Towner. Who would loudly complain
that the show boy cheated and he
demanded a rematch. The audience
would be rehashed, paying to go back
in to see their hero take on the
other guy. This type of action would
be repeated time and again all night
till the Towners either had enough
or ran out of money. Sometimes the
AT Show would continue for a time
after the rest of the carnival
closed for the night. There were a
few independently owned AT Shows
with nice equipment and there own
transportation, which would
hopscotch into the better county
fairs. The carnival owned shows
didn't have a truck or trailer for
the AT Show they would just throw
the meager equipment into a ride
truck.. Most of the boys also drove
the carnival trucks on the jumps.
Farm boys all learn to drive trucks
at an early age. There was always
quite a turnover of "the boys". The
glamour would quickly wear off. Most
of them had a girl back home, and
they would get homesick for mothers
home cooking. This would especially
happen at harvest time when there
help was needed on their families
farm.
I don't remember most of the
names of the operates or the buys,
however Sonny Myers from St Joseph,
Mo. was first an AT Show wrestler,
then had his own AT Show then he bought
the AT Show and carnival from
another AT showman, Gust Karas who
had a professional wrestling
territory office. Another was
a Greek boy who went from
wrestling and boxing to owning one
of the finest indoor circuses in the
country. To Packs was out of St
Louis Gust Karras had started in
show business and was the wrestler
in the concert (after show) on
Robbins Bros. Circus from Iowa.
Jimmy Canos went the same route and
owned an Indiana based carnival till
his death just a few years ago, I
cant recall the name of the AT Show
guy that later owned the Olympic
Shows carnival, Probably the best
known of the dozens who made that
progression was James E Strates Sr.
who owned the huge James E. Strates
Shows, the last railroad carnival,
now operated by his son and
grand-sons. Strates professional name
was "Strangler Lewis" By the end of
the I950's all states had an
athletic commission, which
instituted many regulations such as
a medical doctor must be present
at all matched. It was the
commissions which put an end to
these colorful characters and
lucrative operations. The last AT Show I saw was in I989 at the
October Fest in Munich Germany. It
had a gorgeous neon trimmed
beautiful solid paneled front, a
huge walkover bally stage with eight
or ten wrestlers in gorgeous
wardrobe and the talker and referee
in tuxes. It was a Real Big Time
Class Show.
The bally was still the same type
with a challenge to the local boys.
I appreciated that several of the
challengers were U S military men.
That first carnival I was on had six
standard major rides, three kid
rides and six shows: AT Show, Mickey
Mouse Circus, Snake Show, 2 Girl
Shows and note on one SIDESHOW which
the ten in one is the only
"sideshow" other carnival/ midway
shows are known by fair and carnival
managers by their descriptive name.
They still reserve the title
SIDESHOW for the ten in one.
Ward
Hall
