359:, who had become the U.S. Junior Heavyweight wrestling champ. Out of town pros jumped at a chance to take down the local favorite, who was a credible opponent. Unfortunately, McGuirk was blinded in an auto accident en route to a match in Little Rock. Avey took him out of the ring, put him to work setting up matches, and gave him a stake in Avey's company. Other notable performers who graced the Coliseum ring included "Killer" Kowalski, "Strangler" Lewis, "Farmer" Jones and Al "Spider" Galento. "Spider was especially popular because he would offer money to any man in the audience who could stay in the ring with him for more than a minute. The cash reward was one dollar a minute and $ 100 to any volunteer who won.
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building. After switching to look at images from the roof top camera, they exited quickly and safely. The first fire alarm was received at 9:31 PM. Two more alarms were turned in later. Within minutes, Tulsa Fire
Department responded to the scene with ten fire trucks and 150 fire fighters. A significant number of responders had come from nearby cities, but all efforts subsequently proved futile. Before midnight, the entire roof collapsed into the building, pulling down much of the exterior walls as it fell. It seemed obvious then that the facility was a total loss.
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Whiteside, evidently the driving force of the partnership envisioned using the arena to present a variety of public entertainments, including such wintertime sports as ice hockey and ice shows, for which there were no suitable venues south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He even organized the Tulsa Oilers, the first Tulsa Hockey team.
304:. Whiteside's family was successful in oil, mining and lumber. Whiteside himself was the owner of Douglas Oil Company. Joining forces with W. S. Stryker, he formed Magic City Amusement Co. to have an indoor arena built on Elgin Avenue and extending the entire block between Fifth and Sixth Streets on the east side of
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Later, a professional estimate showed that replacement of the facility would cost around $ 2.5 million. Avey could not raise the additional funding, and had to file for bankruptcy. The debris was removed and the property was cleared for conversion into parking lots. The
Coliseum was never repaired or replaced.
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Avey and his wife had gone out that night to a house-warming party for his daughter and son-in-law, so it took a while before one of his employees located him and gave him the bad news over the telephone. He drove to the site and arrived just after the west section of the roof collapsed. He then went
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Walter
Whiteside, a wealthy native of Duluth, Minnesota who was attracted to Tulsa by the oil boom during the 1920s, partnered with W. S. Stryker to form the Magic City Amusement Company. The partnership commissioned noted Tulsa architect Leon Senter to design an indoor arena for the city in 1928.
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Police estimated that the raging fire attracted approximately 12,000 spectators as it occurred, and that another 125,000 drove by the next day to view the wreckage. When another reporter asked Avey about the damage estimate, the owner offhandedly said that it would be about one million dollars.
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There were no events scheduled that night, so only two people were in the building, both KAKC employees. One happened to be outside on break, when the bolt hit. He went back to the basement office, where his co-worker was monitoring a network feed, unaware of what had just happened to their own
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Pro wrestling shows bore little resemblance to
Olympic wrestling, the (Greco-Roman) type that A&M students learned. The emphasis was definitely put on showmanship. Its practitioners had outlandish personalities and questionable ethics. Avey first recruited a former A&M star named
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to design the facility, he specified that it must have the ability to cover the floor with ice within an 8-hour period. The skating oval measured 218 feet (66 m) long by 96 feet (29 m) wide. The building became the first indoor skating rink in this part of the United States.
382:, and it broadcast from the Coliseum basement. On September 20, 1952, the building caught fire when it was struck by lightning. A later report said that the KAKC antenna, which was located atop the building had attracted the bolt. The building's dry wooden roof accelerated the fire.
351:) had become notable for training prospective young professional wrestlers, but there was no venue in Oklahoma to stage public matches, which were becoming wildly popular elsewhere in the country. He met up with Whiteside and concluded that Tulsa was ripe and ready for such a venue.
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was promoter of vaudeville shows. He had spent six years with vaudeville companies during the 1910 decade learning the trade. Shortly after the end of WWI, he went on a tour with noted promoter
324:. The facility had a seating capacity of 7,500, and boasted a $ 25,000 organ. The building was sold to Coliseum Corporation at a sheriff's sale in 1942 and later was sold to wrestling promoter
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370:(USHL) from 1945 to 1951. The Oilers first disbanded in 1942, and were revived under the ownership of Avey in 1945. The Oilers disbanded when the USHL disbanded in 1951.
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In 1924, Avey moved his family to Tulsa, intending to start a new venture for Sandow. Avey was well aware that the athletic program at
Oklahoma A.& M. (now
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The building opened on
January 1, 1929, with skating displays by the Magic City Amusement Co. (also owned by Whiteside) and the first game of the new
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home to watch reports on TV, after telling a reporter, "... I've had too many happy memories in that old barn to watch it die."
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The building's exterior dimensions were reportedly 300 feet (91 m) long by 48 feet (15 m) high.
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By comparison, the 1950 census credited Tulsa as having a total population of 182,740 people.
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team from 1929 to 1951. Many other sporting events were held at the facility including
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in 1944 for $ 185,000, and it was also known as Avey's
Coliseum.
508:"Hail The Coliseum, Tulsa's New Palace of Wonders And Its Men!"
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at the corner of Fifth Street and Elgin Avenue. It hosted the
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The Untold Story of the
Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling
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594:"Only in Oklahoma: Tulsa Landmark Destroyed by Fire in '52"
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Burned buildings and structures in the United States
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279:. The building was destroyed by fire in 1952.
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547:Tulsa Oilers. "The Tulsa Coliseum." 2020.
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16:Ice hockey arean in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
514:. Tulsa City-County Library. 1928-12-30
235:8,000 (including temporary floor seats)
671:Ice hockey venues in the United States
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344:and his professional wrestling show.
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566:Gerkin, Steve. "The Ringleader."
378:Avey also owned the radio station
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691:Defunct sports venues in Oklahoma
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676:Sports venues in Tulsa, Oklahoma
163:Coliseum Corporation (1942–1944)
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464:Hornbaker, Tim (2007).
447:Hidden History of Tulsa
198:Design and construction
158:Walter Robert Whiteside
572:Accessed May 14, 2020.
449:. Arcadia Publishing.
445:Gerkin, Steve (2014).
336:Sam Avey, a native of
332:Sam Avey, second owner
273:professional wrestling
119:36.15278°N 95.98500°W
338:Kingfisher, Oklahoma
600:. September 5, 2007
124:36.15278; -95.98500
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62:Architectural style
49:General information
232:4,500 (ice hockey)
478:978-1-55022-741-3
298:Duluth, Minnesota
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258:Tulsa Oilers
250:indoor arena
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203:Architect(s)
78:Town or city
604:January 30,
598:Tulsa World
535:Gerkin 2014
374:Destruction
302:US$ 800,000
269:track meets
169:(1944–1952)
160:(1929–1942)
122: /
97:Coordinates
65:"Saracenic"
38: 1943
650:Categories
518:2022-02-23
439:References
261:ice hockey
185:Dimensions
110:95°59′06″W
107:36°09′10″N
487:Citations
252:built in
146:$ 800,000
398:See also
326:Sam Avey
167:Sam Avey
570:. 2011.
287:History
248:was an
88:Country
70:Address
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275:, and
265:rodeos
177:Height
135:Opened
410:Notes
180:48 ft
151:Owner
57:Arena
606:2011
473:ISBN
451:ISBN
380:KAKC
244:The
143:Cost
54:Type
652::
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
