Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce

by Marcus Griffin

The original book discussing the inner workings of the professional wrestling business.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sports

Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

Reviews

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the most useful primary source for understanding the backstage machinations in pro wrestling during the 20s and 30s. It's clear that most latter day historians, even if vaguely familiar with the sequence of events presented in Fall Guys, haven't read it very carefully. The material on lawsuits and newspaper exposes is particularly noteworthy.

[JT Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book published in 1937 is like climbing into a time machine and viewing the wrestling world before the age of television. There are not many books about the "Pioneer Era" of professional wrestling and Marcus Griffin's controversial exposé still stands to this day as one of the most informative pieces. Although there are a couple of minor inaccuracies (Greco-Roman wrestling originated in France, not Greece and Italy), these minor hiccups can be overlooked on account of the wealth of ancient wrestling history it provides.

When I turned to the chapter entitled "The Gold Dust Trio", I almost cried. Toots Mondt, Ed Lewis, and Billy Sandow were the architects of the modern theatrical industry known as "professional wrestling". 90% of the finishes that are still used in wrestling matches today were invented by Toots. As a wrestling historian, it was exhilarating reading then-recent accounts of arguably the most pivotal trio of the industry's existence. And it doesn't stop there. Jack Curley, Ray Fabiani, Paul Bowser, and all other promoters that contested their turf are also heavily featured.

The wrestling landscape before the foundation of the National Wrestling Alliance was extremely chaotic and even more cutthroat than future standards, allegiances always changing, and lines in the sand constantly being redrawn in wake of vicious competition amongst unregulated promoters. If you've ever wondered "When did wrestling stop being real and become more theatrical?", this book will definitely bring the complicated answer to that question into clearer focus.

It should be noted that this book is written to pan professional wrestling, hence the reason it was so controversial upon it's release. The knowledge shared in this book was damaging to promoters in the 1930's and came at a time the Great Depression had already crippled the industry significantly. Even though Griffin is honest with his historical chronology, it definitely reads like an old radio broadcast of why you shouldn't waste your time with this nonsense. Though it tells the truth, it's a shame it sounds so condescending at times.

Much of the transition between the "real" and the "theater" involves a series of what modern wrestling fans would describe as a "screwjob". The screwjob was rapant in the 1920's and 1930's when a wrestling championship represented "truth" and promoters frequently disagreed with the truth. Eventually various "world" championships claimed various truths. Undeterred, wrestling fans in the 1930's didn't seem to care. Even though most admitted that something felt fishy, they still walked away satisfied if they found it entertaining, not feeling as though they'd been conned. It's a fair assumption that Vince McMahon eventually took note of the same details Griffin did.

The reader should be cautioned that the book utilizes archaic language while referencing minorities, but these references mostly come in the form of early-20th century newspaper citations and there's no substantial indication the author was prejudiced in any way.

For a historian researching the origins of professional wrestling, this is good place to start. If you want to go back further to the Gotch days or 19th century, you'll have your work cut out for you, but this book offers a peek. "Fall Guys" is more centralized around the heavy-hitters of 30's and offers the most comprehensive account of, which was at the time, the most profitable sport in North America. And how they swindled everyone.

[Brent Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of the pre-WW2 history of professional wrestling. Amazing that a book like this, with the amount of behind-the-scenes information it has, could have been written in an era where kayfabe and the secrets of the business were so closely guarded.

[Bennynitro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only for the diehard history buffs

While it was interesting to hear some of the early goings on of the wrestling business, it’s not a book for the casual fan. Not even for one with a passing interest in the history. It’s written in a convoluted way that hasn’t aged well, with plenty of jargon that is hard to follow. It bounces back and forth between locations and time periods and I couldn’t keep track of who double crossed who and which trust was busting which.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing to know how long ago this was written, how much has happened since that time and how little the world of pro-wrestling has changed. I did find it a bit hard to follow sometimes, with paragraphs of mostly names talking about different groups of people. Maybe some of that was also the fact that everyone was back-stabbing everyone!

[Kevin Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrestling history

This book is a must for fans of professional wrestling. This book speaks of the early 20th century of professional. It was very difficult to get through at points because of lacking knowledge of the wrestlers that were referenced. But overall this was a neat look at the evolution of professional wrestling

[Thomas Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Historical Piece.

Great book. The first book to break kayfabe while the sport was still in it's infancy. This is a great resource for anyone who is interested in wrestling history. Only 4 stars out of 5, because I rarely rate anything a 5.

[Steve Thomasma · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of professional wrestling, this is a must read. Great book! Highly recommended!

[Rich Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book about early professional wrestling history.

[Warbotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as earthshaking as in it's time [but debate rages on when exactly the crowds knew what was up (They always did to me). Either way it's a must for pro wrestling historians. Maybe not as enjoyable as "Hooker by Lou Thesz" in way of stories, but it brings to life a sport on the edge of reality always struggling to prove itself and how to our author, that never really mattered in long run.

[Drew Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Professional wrestling in all its various forms throughout the years has never been completely “on the level.” Vince McMahon didn’t need to say so back in the 1980s. Vinny Mac wanted to avoid paying various taxes and fees in certain states. He didn’t have to come out and say professional wrestling was all a “work,” but some people didn’t know. Perhaps these state athletic commissions just wanted him to make a public statement. Back in the 1980s, in the territory days, professional wrestling had a presentation which made it easier to suspend disbelief. Nobody knew then like they know now, but a few did, and knew even earlier. Marcus Griffin’s 1937 book Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce, is the first true exposé of the wrestling business. I wanted to read it and wanted to like it. Instead, Fall Guys bounced onto my “so bad I couldn’t finish” shelf. As always, I’ll explain the reasons...

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