The Turnover Scissors King - Jim Browning Biography

By Tim Hornbaker

When reviewing the World Heavyweight champion wrestlers of the 1930s, one name that definitely doesn’t
stand out is Jim Browning. It is a name that sorta fades into the background and is often discounted as
being a central player during an important transitional period for the sport. Little is known about Browning
in the mainstream, and until he is fully recognized for his amazing skill and achievements, his dismissal will
continue to be one of the biggest oversights in wrestling.

Most researchers have grown to understand Browning’s integral place in the saga of professional
wrestling. He is much more than a name on a championship history listing. In fact, the celebrated Lou
Thesz named him the number four wrestler of all-time in his autobiography, after Ed “Strangler” Lewis, Joe
Stecher, and Frank Gotch, only three of the biggest names that ever participated in the business. That kind
of endorsement is not an easy thing to achieve, and Browning earned it in a number of ways. Thesz stated
that he was a “legend in the gyms and locker rooms,” and held the immense respect of the great “Strangler”
Lewis. Through that, Thesz had gained his high admiration.

It all comes down to the fact that Browning was respected for being a true shooter, a man capable of
wrestling legitimately against anyone in the world. Standing more than 6’2” and weighing upwards of 225
pounds, Jim was a massive figure, and to have the knowledge, strength, stamina, and resilience to rise
above his peers, he proved to be a phenomenon on all accounts. That is – among those in the wrestling
industry and the fans he entertained. Today, he is just another wrestler.

James Orville Browning was the second child born to James Madison (1864-1917) and Anna Letterman
Browning (1880-1947) on March 31, 1903 in Lawrence County, Missouri. Despite the press reports that
claimed that he was a well educated man from Verona High and Drury College, his mother told the United
Press in 1933 that her son left school at age 12 and was employed shortly after his father died of pneumonia
in January 1917. In fact, Jim was the oldest son with three younger sisters, and one brother who was born
shortly after his father died. He was relied upon to make ends meat, and Jim rose to the occasion, stepping
out of his childhood to become a carpenter, and labored on the Frisco Railroad.

In 1933, Verona barber Jacob Hiebert, known as “Old Jake,” told United Press Staff Correspondent Tom
Mahoney that he was Browning’s first wrestling manager. He explained that Jim “worked on the farm, too,
during harvest time. But all the time he was making muscles, training before and after doing a hard day’s
work. At the age of 16, Jim went into the ring as ‘Young Stecher.’ His first matches were with carnival
wrestlers. He would get $5 or $10 which seemed like a small fortune. All the time he continued training.
He squeezed heavy box springs attached to some pine boards. He developed a scissor hold, his airplane
spin, he defeated Strangler Lewis in New York recently. When Jim was only 17, he wrestled Sailor Jack
Rollin, Chet Sailer and Jack Lewis.”

Around 1920, Jim followed up on an opportunity to go to Augusta, Kansas with his uncle to work on an oil
field, hoping to make some serious money. While there, as fate would have it, he encountered a part-time
wrestler and promoter named Leo Dysart, who was billed as the “champion of the South” in Kansas City
publicity pieces. Dysart trained Browning for a short time, helping his proficiency and confidence as he
continued to pursue the craft. There was another man who was also given credit for discovering
Browning. He was Oscar “Hoss” Kimmons (1885-1938) of Lawrenceburg, Missouri.

It is clear that while both Dysart and Kimmons likely had an influence on the early career of Jim Browning,
the former farmer’s size and ability successfully carried him through many small towns and carnival
appearances, landing him in the wrestling-friendly town of Wichita. Veteran promoter Tom Law took an
immediate liking to Browning, and watched him blossom further under his watch.

By 1925, Browning had made his mark in Wichita that was going to carry him from coast-to-coast.
Through his willingness to stand up to any of his more established ring rivals on the mat and off, he was
earning a fierce reputation that quickly bounded from one end of the spectrum to the other. It reached
important people in major cities like Atlanta, Memphis, and Los Angeles, who would pay handsomely for a
wrestler of his stature. That meant that Jim could leave the Central States behind and still ably cover the
bills for his family, which was, after all, the most important thing. The pressure of barely scraping by
dwindled as his pay increased along the wrestling circuit. He left a resounding impression in matches, albeit
losses or draws, against the likes of Joe Stecher, Ray Steele, Jim Londos, Dick Daviscourt, John Pesek, and
Paul Jones.

Having impressed Al Haft in Columbus, Browning went to Boston in early February 1928 for Haft’s
longtime friend Paul Bowser. Within a month, Jim was a headliner at the Grand Opera House. Browning
was also working main events on the West Coast for Lou Daro at the Olympic Auditorium, battling Londos,
Nick Lutze, and Tom Draak. Although he was a solid performer on the mat, he was unproven as a draw,
and his ability to lure audiences on name recognition alone was still to be negotiated.

In 1929, Jim went to Australia and wrestled throughout the year against high-class opponents. The caliber
of the wrestlers in the South Pacific during this time-frame can be judged by the manifest list of the S.S.
Aorangi, which sailed from Sydney on November 14, 1929. Besides Browning, there was John Pesek,
Clarence Eklund, and Joseph Zigmund, each reputable wrestlers with impressive knowledge of shooting.
Jim trained extensively with this group and others like Alan Eustace and Walter Miller, not only in Australia,
but on the Aorangi during the 21 day journey to the Port of Vancouver. Needless to say, Browning’s skills
and mindset for professional wrestling were honed and the company he kept only served to elevate his
overall talent.

Browning and Pesek traveled to Columbus again in January 1930 and Jim worked with another top-notch
grappler in Fred “Legs” Grobmier. For almost a year and a half, he was booked out of the Haft
headquarters to points throughout Ohio and West Virginia. In May 1931, he returned to Boston and New
York City, but was still not an overwhelming success as a stand-alone entity. He won a majority of his
matches on the Bowser-circuit, however, losing to champion Henri DeGlane and Nick Lutze, but beating Joe
Malcewicz, Lee Wykoff, and Marvin Westenberg. The regular spots in the New York area indoctrinated
local enthusiasts to his style of grapping, and the Bowser influx into the territory was making a dent in the
Curley Empire, especially after Jim Londos walked out on the latter syndicate.

David F. Egan wrote in the February 3, 1932 edition of the Boston Globe that “Browning has all the
trappings of a coming champion. He is a huge, well-built athlete, perhaps the most powerful in the rings
today. Certainly he has the greatest pair of legs since Joe Stecher made the body scissors a dreadful
weapon. Browning has added a curleycue to the Stecher scissors – a turnover and slam- that makes his
weapon one of the most punishing in the game.”

For months and months, Browning was unable to secure a win over Bowser’s top men, and that included
DeGlane and Gus Sonnenberg. During the push of Lutze in summer of 1932, Jim was once again ushered
into the middle of the pack. Around that same time, Bowser ended his hostilities with Curley, creating an
even larger group of talent that could easily conceal Browning’s potential. It appeared that was the case
when he worked a preliminary contest on the October 10, 1932 spectacle at Madison Square Garden, with
Ed “Strangler” Lewis going over Jack Sherry for the New York “World” championship in the main event.

The expanded Bowser circuit allowed Browning to maintain his headliner position in secondary towns like
Albany, New Haven, Hartford, Lowell, Holyoke, Lewiston, and Lynn. But he was still under DeGlane,
Lutze, Sonnenberg, and Ed Don George, and his place in the pecking order was clearly established. That
was a steady push began during the winter of 1932. On January 9, 1933, he got perhaps the biggest win of
his career, to date, when he went over George in Buffalo.

At this point, a special distinction should be made regarding the state of professional wrestling in the
northeast. There were basically two champions fielded by promoters Bowser and Curley. The former had
his “AWA” heavyweight titleholder in the New England and other territories, while Curley was responsible
for the champion supported by the New York State Athletic Commission. The two wrestling leaders held a
a certain amount of interest in both, and their priorities were fused to earn as much income as possible.
Bowser, to a degree, held more power because of the range of his wrestling syndicate, but Curley was no
slouch. He was the kingpin in New York City, which was the sport’s biggest stage.

With the two champions came a pair of different, and unique, sets of challengers and feuds that had to be
manipulated with care in their respective areas. Browning was quickly rising up the ladder on the “New
York” side of the fence, getting a shot at champion “Strangler” Lewis at Madison Square Garden on January
23, 1933. Their bout drew 7,000, and Jim was defeated in 34:52. Despite Browning’s loss, he was
involved in a great deal of political wrangling behind-the-scenes at this point to surely surprise the wrestling
audience in the weeks to come.

Curley scheduled another important Garden show for February 20, 1933, and Browning was given a
rematch against the “Strangler.” In the February 19 edition of the New York American, Sid Mercer wrote
“Jack Curley predicts that [Jim] Browning is destined to win the [world heavyweight] title some day though
it may not be until Lewis passes from the picture. Browning is the most popular wrestler who has appeared
here in many a day. His “method [for the airplane scissors] is to get the leg hold around the body and by
sheer strength, he then lifts his man and rolls, the victim dangling helplessly and being unable to break the
force of violent slams to the floor. For a time, Gus Sonnenberg, who once defeated Lewis for the title, was
considered as the Strangler’s next opponent in the Garden, but a poll of his patrons convinced Curley they
preferred to see Browning get another chance.”

The stars were aligned and wrestling’s underdog was going into what would really be the most important
match of his career. That Monday, February 20, he toppled Lewis for the World Heavyweight
championship in 57:50 after applying his airplane scissor hold. Lewis Burton stated in the New York
American that Lewis “went out proudly, though reminded of his unpopularity,” and “the change is expected
to improve the local state of wrestling.” Burton also wrote that Lewis was “tubby” and had “obese
shoulders.” The 7,000 fans in attendance cheered Browning’s win, and many hoped, as Burton predicted,
that the wrestling scene in New York rose several notches. Browning, and his backers, wanted the same
thing.

No longer rated a secondary heavyweight, Browning was a genuine champion in the “Empire State.” He
had an important task of restoring a level of quality that seemed to disappear when Jim Londos abandoned
the big-time centers of New York City. Although Ed Lewis’s title reign had its moments, he failed to
reinvigorate the populace in the face of declining numbers, leaving the Curley-Bowser faction in search of
someone who could spike attendance. The fear of a double-cross also remained, and deleting that possibility
from the deck of cards was something the syndicate managers prepared for when they gave Browning the
ball to run with. Very few men could successfully cross him in the ring.

The X-factor remained because no one could predict how Browning would fare at the box office. While
he was established as a headliner in various New York arenas for several years, he hadn’t been a wrestler
that fans consistently saw go over the true top stars. In fact, the singular victories over Ed Don George and
Ed Lewis were isolated for the most part since joining the Bowser troupe. That’s how the shot-callers
wanted it, apparently, but in the flicker of the eye, these same men decided to give “Gentleman” Jim a run
with the heavyweight crown. Jim Browning was relied on to accomplish a task that probably no one
outside of Londos himself could do – and that was restoring wrestling’s credibility in New York City.

Curley knew it. He understood the star power of Londos in the “Big Apple,” and made the stressful
decision, along with Bowser, that he was optimistic would work on some level. The initial returns came in,
and they were positive.

Eight nights after his victory over the “Strangler,” Browning lured a record 14,000 fans to the New York
Coliseum in the Bronx for a title match against Mike Mazurki. Was this a worked number, drummed up by
Curley’s press agent, to indicate a changing times? Or was Browning the new superstar his handlers hoped
he’d be? Maybe it was a mix of both. Even if the Coliseum held half the fans the newspaper reported, it
was equal to what they had on February 20 at the Garden. The next evening at the Ridgewood Grove in
Brooklyn, Jim drew another packed house, and beat former trustbuster Marin Plestina in less than 25-
minutes.

The recharged Curley claimed his March 6, 1933 effort at the Garden was the greatest bill he’d ever put
together, with Browning and Sammy Stein in the main event. Lewis Burton in the American wrote that
more people were interested in the semi-final bout between Ed Lewis and Dick Shikat than the championship
bout. The latter due drew in an hour and five minutes, while Browning defeated Stein in 46:48 before 9,000
fans. Browning was reportedly recognized as titleholder in New York, Illinois, California, Maine, New
Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Arizona, Delaware, Indiana,
Iowa, Virginia, Florida, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Cuba.

At that same time, Londos was in town wrestling at his syndicate’s clubs. Curley saw the opportunity to
throw out a $5,000 forfeit to secure a match between Londos and the winner of his upcoming Browning-
Lewis affair at the Garden. He wanted to make the Greek athlete appear weak by running out on a potential
big-money contest to straighten out the heavyweight division. Then, he got his friends in the New York
American to bill Londos as the “former world’s heavyweight champion.” Curley’s slick maneuvering was
tough to beat, but Londos was still the premier draw.

According to the storyline, Browning had to be persuaded to wrestle Lewis again by Curley, and was
content with his singular victory. Lewis went into hard training at Bothner’s gymnasium and an
advertisement in the American stated that this was the “most important return match in wrestling since the
second Frank Gotch-George Hackenschmidt battle back in 1911.” An audience of 12,000 were drawn into
the hype, and saw, after nearly an hour of wrestling, Browning win with his turnover “pinwheel” leg
scissors. It was obvious that with the right kind of challenger and marketing, Browning was selling as a
major headliner.

But how would he fair in the long run? In the following months, thousands witnessed their local champion
beat Sam Cordovano, Rudy Dusek, Nick Lutze, and Sammy Stein before Curley set-up the next big event,
again – the biggest show of his career – on June 12, 1933 at Yankee Stadium. Browning was going to
tackle the rising star, Joe Savoldi, who only two months earlier got a sneaky win over Londos in Chicago, in
a benefit for the Free Milk Fund. A mammoth turnout was expected, but when bad weather crossed the ball
field, and rain toppled to the mat, the 6-7,000 fans in attendance scurried for cover. The disappointed
promoter, Curley, watched as Browning lifted Savoldi’s title after 1-hour, 58-minutes of grappling, taking
the bout by decision. The audience booed when Browning was named the winner, thinking that the two
men were evenly matched – and it should have been a draw.

In Los Angeles, Browning had two important victories over Sonnenberg and Charley Santen at the
Olympic Auditorium prior to his August 28, 1933 appearance at Wrigley Field against Sammy Stein. In
three-falls, he retained his championship before 14,000 fans, and promoter Lou Daro claimed that another
10,000 purchased tickets, but “failed to show up.”

Browning demonstrated that he was able to pivot from popular hero to heel depending on the night’s task.
During a match against Bob Kruse in Colorado Springs on September 4, 1933, he was consistently booed
“as he scrambled for the ropes…to escape punishing toe holds.” He was establishing himself as a terrific
performer, and would pull out of a tough beating to rebound and score the win in dramatic fashion. Any
belief that he was a stoic and completely unentertaining grappler was incorrect.

The rematch between the New York champion and Savoldi was booked for October 2, 1933 at Madison
Square Garden, and Curley’s predictions were more accurate this time around. Of course, weather could
not be blamed this time around if sales were dismal. 10,000 fans saw Browning pin Savoldi in 36:59 after
the ex-footballer knocked himself out following a dropkick. Later in the month, the same sized audience
witnessed his win over Sandor Szabo in 50:56.

November was a memorable month for professional wrestling, and the formation of the “Trust” ended the
hostilities amongst the syndicates. This not only gave Browning an exciting list of new challengers, but
could potentially lead toward unifying the different strands of the championship. Behind-the-scenes, there
was already political maneuvering going on, and preliminary talk of a series bringing the titleholders
together. Curley was going to, possibly, still get Browning and Londos into the ring together.

27,000 fans, in total, saw the three programs at the Garden between November 20 and the end of 1933,
and Browning went over Sonnenberg and Stein. The third bout was a curfew draw with AWA World
Heavyweight Champion Ed Don George after 1-hour and 40-minutes. The gate for the latter bout was
$16,651. The Savoldi feud carried into other territories, and hours after a successful house in Toronto in
which 11,000 turned out to see Browning and his athletic opponent go 60-minutes to a draw, Jim’s
trustworthy manager Frank Smith suddenly died. Smith was squaring away the monetary figures with
officials in the wrestling office when the 53 year old suffered a heart attack. The loss of his traveling
partner and friend was immense, and Jim accompanied the body to Chicago for burial.

On January 8, 1934, Browning met the former Londos-policeman, Ray Steele at the Garden, and won in 1-
hour, 4-minutes before another 8,000 fans. This one was a big marker for fans, who were not privy to the
fact that the “Trust” had erased boundaries, that wrestlers were going into the camps of rivals, and
wrestling possible shoot matches. Steele was known for this type of thing, wrestling “Strangler” Lewis in
December 1932 in what was known as a shoot bout between adversaries. Fans were now getting the
matches that once seemed improbable because of the different factions, and it really didn’t matter how it
came about – just that it had come about. The industry was rebounding.

With victories over Dick Shikat, Paul Jones, George Zaharias, Rudy Dusek, Gino Garibaldi, Hans Kampfer,
Earl McCready, Jim McMillen, Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Joe Stecher under his belt, and recognition as
titleholder in more than 20 states, Browning was named the top wrestler by Ring Magazine, over both
Londos and George. Curley also came out with a skewed rating’s list from his camp, putting Browning
number one, and dropping Londos to number six.

By the Spring of 1934, things took an apparent turn when only 3,000 enthusiasts appeared to see Browning
defend his championship against Steele at the Garden on April 30, 1934. The New York Times stated that
Steele gave Browning a run for his money, but the bigger champion edged out a win at the 36:22 mark,
using an arm and body hold to score the pin. Were fans burnt out on the turnover leg scissors king and
ready for the match of the year?

Curley knew he had to strike while the iron was hot, and not let things diminish too far before pulling out
his major moneymaker. On May 31, 1934, he had the distinct honor of announcing that he’d signed Londos
to a contract to wrestle Browning for the heavyweight championship of the world. The New York State
Athletic Commission then gave Browning a deadline of June 6 to sign, and he agreed to the terms. The bout
was going to happen on June 25, 1934 at the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Long Island City, New York.
Curley firmly expected a gate more than $75,000 paid by upwards for 30,000 people.

The amazing range of promotional outlets owned by Curley and Londos’s backers put their wheels in
motion, endlessly hyping the contest. Londos was considered the favorite, in some respects, because of his
experience, while Browning’s youth and strength was looked upon as a great equalizer. Both title claims
would be on the line, and the winner would leave the ring recognized as titleholder in more than two-thirds
of the United States. Insiders already knew what was going to happen, and believed as Curley did, that with
the colorful “Golden Greek” as the unified champion, the wrestling world would be electrified.

20,000 fans paid their way into the Garden Bowl on June 25, sending about $40,000 into the till, and
watched Londos triumph over his ring rival in what the New York Times called a “thrilling bout.” After
leading the match most of the way, Browning the recipient of a series of body slams, suffering a back
injury, and was then pinned after 1-hour, 10-minutes. The Browning era ended.

Shortly after the loss, Jim ventured to Southern California, where he obtained “Toots” Mondt as his
manager, and went over both George Zaharias and Ray Steele before working into a rematch with Londos at
the Olympic Auditorium on August 22, 1934. Their three-fall contest went more than an hour, and Londos
retained his championship. From there, Browning built an impressive record. He took wins from Hans
Steinke, Sandor Szabo, Ernie Dusek, Rudy Dusek, and Joe Savoldi, but lost a number of times to Londos
and Ed Don George.

By the end of 1934, he was suffering dearly from an eye disease, trachoma, which he had contracted
during one of his earliest Pacific Coast tours. The disease was commonly passed from athlete-to-athlete,
and competing on dirty mats was a contributing factor. Experiencing the full range of effects, Browning
was forced to scale back his wrestling schedule, and throughout 1935, exhibited his willingness to put
others over. He was not compelled by ego to keep himself in the limelight, and lost matches to Ernie Dusek,
Man Mountain Dean, Chief Little Wolf, Dean Detton, Vincent Lopez, and Danno O’Mahoney. Being a
former champion with name recognition, Browning suffering a loss to any of the latter grouping was
considered big in the mind of the wrestling public, and helped many promoters.

Browning quietly retired from professional wrestling in February 1936. Still haunted by the curse of
trachoma, he was admitted to Freeman Hospital in Joplin on May 9 for an “ulcerated stomach” and a “liver
ailment.” He lost about 70 pounds, and on June 6, was taken by ambulance to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota for surgery.

Within days, he was recuperating, but still not completely out of the water. His wife Mary Lovaun
returned to their Southwestern Missouri home believing that Jim was on the right track. She reportedly
went into a Western Union office to send him a telegram when she was given one herself. The news stated
that Jim Browning passed away during the afternoon of June 19 from a pulmonary embolism. He was 33
years of age.

On Monday, June 22, 1936, Browning was laid to rest at the Spring Valley Cemetery at Verona, Missouri,
and members of the local Masonic Lodge were pallbearers. More than 500 people packed the Verona
Presbyterian Church for the services, paying their respects to their most heralded celebrity.

An extraordinary talent, Browning wasn’t an egomaniac or a manipulator striving for points behind-the-
scenes, and maybe that’s another reason why his story has been overlooked for so long. Perhaps it is the
fact that he died so young, while wrestlers like Londos and Lewis wrestled into their 50s. Another main
factor is that compared to some of the other top heavyweights like Londos or Savoldi, Browning was not an
overly boisterous individual. He was low-key and allowed his abilities as a well-rounded performer to speak
for themselves. It was enough to carry him to the top of the throne, and earn the utter respect of his peers.

Browning’s development from a small-town light heavyweight to a national headliner was remarkable. He
grew into his position and worked hard in gymnasiums to sharpen his tactics, both on the offensive and
defensive side of wrestling. As champion in New York City, Browning carried the mantle as the sport
evolved from chaos and battles, to a period of harmony. The alliance of promoters in November 1933
eliminated the different factions, and Jim stood on the top of one plateau – prepared to wrestle a host of
newcomers who formerly stood on opposite sides of the barrier. Curley couldn’t have a better man in that
position, one who could protect his interests if a rogue grappler tried to pull a double-cross.

“Gentleman” Jim was a family man, and took care of his mother and siblings for years. His famous
turnover leg scissors, which had been developed on the family farm, was introduced to the industry’s
lexicon, and many of his wins were obtained by that maneuver. Despite his shortened career, his impact on
the business was memorable, and achievements great. When he passed away, the wrestling world lost a
true hero of the mat, one who had the potential to continue his influence on the sport, either by wrestling or
coaching others. As far as I’m concerned, his legacy is as strong today as it was on February 20, 1933,
when he knocked off Ed “Strangler” Lewis and became the heavyweight champion of the world. I have
great optimism that in time, others will learn to respect this legend of the mat.

Miscellaneous Notes:

1. Browning’s hometown of Verona had a population of 400, reportedly, during his childhood.
2. Some years after the death of her husband, Jim’s mother Anna remarried William Henry Batesel. She
died on October 7, 1947.
3. Jim married Mary Lovaun Edwards on October 6, 1924 in Verona, Missouri. She was known as Lovaun.
4. Jim and Mary Lovaun had their first child, Billy Bruce Browning on February 6, 1927. Billy passed away
on July 7, 1927 and was buried at Spring River Cemetery.
5. Jim and Mary Lovaun had their second child, James O. Browning Jr. on February 20, 1935 in New York
City. James Jr. went on to become a computer consultant.
6. Jim reportedly stood 6’ and weighed 170 pounds by 13 years of age.
7. “Old Jake,” Jacob Hiebert, Browning’s first manager, died in October 1973 at Verona, MO.
8. Jim’s brother Joseph Raymond Browning once told a UP correspondent that he wanted to be a
professional wrestler as well, served in the Navy during the 1930s.
9. The crowd size for the infamous rain-soaked match at Yankee Stadium in June 1933 has been reported
as high as 9,000. Most say between 6-7,000 fans.
10. Browning didn’t live extravagantly, instead invested his money into farms and land in Southwestern
Missouri. He was said to have lived 12 miles southwest of Joplin, Missouri from about 1933-1936.
11. Jim trained Detroit wrestler Bert Rubi, who also used a turnover scissors leghold.
12. Promoters bolstered Browning’s amateur credentials by saying that he was a wrestler in high school
and college, which was important in certain areas of the country. These statements were inaccurate.
13. In the June 1934 match with Londos, Browning portrayed the villain, giving Londos the underdog
status as the popular Greek fought a giant. Browning dominated the bout, then Londos turned the tables,
building toward a climatic win.

The Unknown Heavyweight Champion of the World - The Turnover
Scissors King – Jim Browning