1938 in professional wrestling

1938 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions

Only one promotion held notable shows in 1938.

Promotion Name	Abbreviation
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre	EMLL

Calendar of notable shows

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
September 16	EMLL	EMLL 5th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Pete Pancoff defeated Jack O'Brien in a Super Libre, no disqualification match [1]

Championship changes

EMLL

Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
incoming champion - Yaqui Joe [2]
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
Uncertain	Francisco Aguayo	EMLL show	[2]

Mexican National Middleweight Championship
incoming champion – Octavio Gaona [3]
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
September 2	Firpo Segura	EMLL show	[3]

Mexican National Lightweight Championship
incoming champion – Dientes Hernandez [4]
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
May 5	Jack O'Brien	EMLL show	[4]

incoming champion – Tarzán López [5]

incoming champion - TBD

No title changes [5]

Mexican National Featherweight Championship
New [6]
Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
February 25	Luis Robles	EMLL show	[6]

Debuts

• Debut date uncertain:
  • Al Costello ^[7]
  • Cavernario Galindo ^[7]
  • Maurice Tillet ^[7]
• April 3 – Murciélago Velázquez ^[7]

Births

• January 10 – Steve Veidor
• January 15 – Estrella Blanca ^[8] (died in 2021)
• January 21 – Sandy Barr ^[8] (died in 2007)
• January 23 – Giant Baba ^[8] (died in 1999)
• March 1 – Chris Markoff (died in 2024)
• April 22 – Omar Atlas
• April 28 – Argentina Apollo (died in 1984)
• June 4 – Wrestling Pro (died in 2019)
• June 19 – Wahoo McDaniel ^[9] (died in 2002)
• July 25 – Freddie Sweetan (died in 1974)
• August 2 – Ángel Blanco ^[10] (died in 1986)
• August 13 – Brian Maxine (died in 2024)
• August 28 – Jody Hamilton ^[8] (died in 2021)
• September 18 – Billy Robinson ^[8] (died in 2014)
• September 24 – Tommy Seigler (died in 2023)
• September 29 – Ann Casey (died in 2021)
• October 16 – Bulldog Bob Brown (died in 1997)
• October 26 – Ron Wright (died in 2015)
• November 3 – The Beast ^[8] (died in 2009)
• November 19 – Ted Turner ^[8]
• November 28 – Ernie Ladd ^[8] (died in 2007)
• December 16 – Sweet Georgia Brown (wrestler) (died in 1989)
• December 29 – Harvey Smith

Deaths

• June 10 – Frank Speer ^[11] (31)

References

1. Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares" [CMLL: 79 stories, 79 anniversaries, the 70 main events]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2020.
2. Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Heavyweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. pp. 390–391. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
3. Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
4. Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Lightweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
5. Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title [Lutteroth]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
6. Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Featherweight Title". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, ON: Archeus Communications. p. 397. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
7. "Wrestlers debuted in 1938: 1 - 14 of 14". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
8. "Wrestlers born in 1938: 1 - 50 of 70". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
9. "Wrestlers born in 1938: 51 - 53 of 53". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
10. "Wrestlers born in 1936: 1 - 50 of 51". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
11. "Wrestlers deceased in 1938: 1 - 12 of 12". Wrestling Data. Retrieved February 1, 2020.