Wrist by wrist, wrestlers captivated Petaluma

In 1952, in a small saloon in Petaluma, Argus-Courier columnist Bill Soberanes witnessed a couple of guys wrist wresting and thought it would be a pretty good draw for the community to sponsor a contest.

Soberanes never dreamed, however, what a big deal this would be and how “wristwrestling” would become as synonymous with the name of Petaluma as chickens, when he saw Oliver Kolberg defeat Jack Homell at “Diamond Mike” Gilardi’s corner saloon that day.

The contest was first called The Petaluma Wristwrestling Championship. But it shortly became the Northern California Championship, then went statewide and, in 1962, Bill teamed up with promoter Dave Devoto and formed The World Wristwrestling Championship.

Contestants came from all over the world, too. It was not unusual to have more than 300 guys (and gals) competing in 35 different divisions. The first World Unlimited Champion was Earl Hagerman.

By 1968, cartoonist Charles Schulz penned a series of 11 comic strips that sent Snoopy to Petaluma to compete in the WWC. Unfortunately, Schulz had the famous pup eliminated early-on in his wristwrestling career, because it was noticed that he didn’t have a thumb.

Of course, the comment from Snoopy, at that moment, was the well-known “Drats!” It seems that the rules stated that one has to lock thumbs first. Sometimes life isn’t fair.

The Peanuts strips were distributed throughout the world and gave the WWC an even larger audience.

By 1969, ABC’s Wide World of Sports began to cover the championships annually through 1984. One of the co-emcees was tennis star Billy Jean King, who said, “If it’s October, it’s wristwrestling time in Petaluma.” Howard Cosell also did a couple of those shows, as did Keith Jackson.

Those were “the glory days of the sport,” two-time champ, and later contest referee, my friend, the late Bill Rhodes told me. The Petaluma Veterans Auditorium was filled to overflow, and they had to accommodate some viewers in side rooms with videos of the competition.

Big names of the early contests were Petaluma heavyweight Jim Dolcini, former Mr. America Jimmie Payne, Jim Pollock and Maurice “Mo” Baker. In 1970, the Dolcini-Baker match went on and on in a stalemate until Dolcini, in a huge effort that got the local crowd to its feet, finally slammed Baker’s wrist to the table.

Rhodes called Dolcini “an animal who wouldn‘t be denied.” The Argus-Courier said Dolcini was “like some golden plumed phoenix rising from the brink of disaster,” as he called “on the last fiber of his colossal strength.”

Jim Dolcini became four-time world heavyweight champ. Dolcini family legend has it that Jim, age 16, and his brother, Mike, went to check out the WWC and, when they discovered it cost money to get in, both stated they were “contestants” to avoid the fee and Jim came in second in the middleweight division. Jim Pollock became five-time middleweight champion and, in his prime, could not be beaten.

One has to realize that there was no prize money in those early days, just trophies. The local businesses donated some goodies, because they were making out like crazy from all the attention and crowds. These contestants and their friends and supporters paid out of their own pockets to come here from all over the world, and the town loved it.

Soberanes, always the promoter and officially “Mr. Petaluma,” spread the word himself by wristwrestling celebrities. In 1972, he wrestled then-Governor Ronald Reagan. The governor pinned him in a flash and, in fact, broke one of Soberanes’ ribs in the effort. Soberanes said Reagan made his move before he “was ready” (uh huh). He added, “No hard feelings, though.”

By 1988, the sport was even better established than its No. 1 supporter, Soberanes. The town threw him a party, naming Oct. 7 Bill Soberanes Day, and unveiled a bronze statue by famed sculptor Rosa Estabanez. About 400 people attended at the Veterans Memorial Building. That bronze now resides on the corner of Petaluma Boulevard and Washington Street.

Jimmie Payne became an emcee of the event, after he couldn’t compete any more. Bill Rhodes, Earl Hagerman and Dave Devoto became referees for the sport. Soberanes passed away in 2003 and the championship moved to Reno, Nevada. Rhodes told me it was because Reno could offer cash prizes and great entertainment there that our town couldn’t match. Plus, the casinos really worked at getting the tournament away from Petaluma.

Petaluma would love to get the guys and gals back for this, but it’s been in Reno now for 13 years. Locals like Jeff Mayne of the Petaluma Downtown Association and Supervisor David Rabbitt have expressed their desire to see the tournament reinstated in Petaluma, and I’m positive the local hotels and restaurants would be chipping in for goodies again. But what about the cash prizes?

(Historian Skip Sommer is an Honorary Life Member of Heritage Homes and the Petaluma Historical Museum. Contact him at skipsommer@hotmail.com.)