Following the name of the champion(s): Indicates the number of times the wrestler has held that title at that point.
[...]
Indicates a gap in the listing where title changes are not known.
*
If used next to the names of the wrestlers, they may, in fact, not have held the title in the period indicated. If used next to the dates or places, either they are possibly wrong or the title changes are fictitious.
<
Title was held or changed hands no later than this. In these cases, it is known that a wrestler held the title at a certain time but not when he/she won it.
+
Broadcast date; the actual recording date is unknown.
@
Order uncertain. Different titleholders may be known for the same year, for example, but it is not known who held the title before whom.
#
Unofficial or disputable claims. These are usually matches that certainly took place, but where there is doubt that the wrestler shown should be recognized as a true title holder. These listings are also italicized in HTML files
Defeats George Burlingame; also recognized in Delaware, Washington DC, New York, and Pennsylvania; loses to title claimant Charles Olson on 06-03-07 in Asheville, NC but continues to claim the title; still/again champion as of 10-04-02, 11-03-13, and 15-03-17, 15-11-09.
Defeats Herman Bernau in mixed style match; reported as a championship match on The Galveston Daily News (Galveston, TX) but no title is mentioned on the local papers in New Orleans, LA; also recognized in Kansas as of 07-10, Atlanta, GA as of 09-01-06, and Arizona as of 10-04; still recognized in Phoenix, AZ as of 10-06-06; still/again recognized in Florida as of 16-02-02 and 17-02-16.
Also defeats title claimant Shad Link on 06-03-07 in Asheville, NC (most likely non-title); still recognized as of 06-07-20 in Louisiana and 07-07-24 in N. Carolina.
Jack Lenard
1913-07-08<
Billed as champion in Muskegon, MI; still/again billed as champion in Pensacola, FL as of 14-10-13.
Jack Leon
1914-05<
Billed as "undisputed" champion in Macon, GA (The Macon Daily Telegraph, 14-05-13); still/again billed as champion in Nebraska as of 14-12-18.
Tony Bernardi
1924-06-10<
Billed as champion in Kingston, TN; said to have held the title for years.
Paul Jones
1924-08-16
Houston, TX
May be a non-title match but Jones is eventually recognized in Houston, TX.
May be a non-title match; recognized in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi; still/again champion as of 29-05-20.
Dick Raines #
1931-05-24<
Billed as champion in Salt Lake City, UT; may not be recognized in southern states.
[...]
Jack Kogut #
1933-10-05<
Billed as champion in Utah; may not be recognized in southern states.
Ernie Stevens #
1935-01-03<
Billed as champion in Reading, PA; may not be recognized in southern states.
[...]
Bob Russell #
1937-09-25<
Billed as champion in York, PA; may not be recognized in southern states.
Bill Sledge
1936
Memphis, TN *
Defeats Karl Sarpolis in tournament final "last year" (The News-Chronicle, Shippensburg, PA, 37-10-08); also recognized in Los Angeles, CA as of 36-03-04 and 36-05-19, Cincinnati, OH as of 36-11-25, Hutchinson, KS as of 38-10-01, and Madison, WI as of 39-12-03.
Jimmy Caulfield *
1943<
May be billed as champion in St. Joseph, MO, for winning the title before temporarily retiring for 6 years in 43 (St. Joseph Gazette, 74-02-18)
