Paul "Pinkie" George (born Paul Lloyd Georgeacopoulos; January 22, 1905 – November 1, 1993) was an American professional wrestling promoter, boxer and businessman best known as the visionary behind, and first president of, the National Wrestling Alliance. He operated the NWA's Iowa territory, one of the primary members of the NWA based in Des Moines. Described by Sam Muchnick as the father of the NWA George was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 1948, he brought a National Basketball League franchise (the Waterloo Hawks) to Iowa, which proved to be unsuccessful. After losing $20,000 in under a year, he sold the franchise to his brother Andy and Charley Shipp.
As a wrestling promoter, George worked closely with fellow promoters in Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Missouri.
By 1950, the NWA had 26 members throughout a territory stretching from Montreal in Canada to Honolulu, Hawaii. As was planned, George stepped down as President of the NWA at the end of 1950, having taken on the role in 1948. In a further letter to Pfefer dated June 8, 1950, he stated that "in September, my term ends and Sam Muchnick will be elected, as I think he is the fellow deserving of it".
George continued to run the wrestling scene in Iowa, with grapplers such as Verne Gagne, Bob Orton, Johnny Valentine and Pat O’Connor making their name in the territory. On January 23, 1951, George incorporated the NWA as a non-profit with a code of ethnics in Iowa for tax purposes, helping ensure its survival for years to come.
George grew disillusioned with the direction of the NWA, which he was not reluctant in expressing, but nevertheless remained confident in the new Presidency of Muchnick. Tensions however grew and George withdrew from the NWA board of directors in 1951. With bitterness and rivalry at its height in 1957 between the NWA and rival promoters/wrestlers such as Wladek Zbyszko, George Simpson and Sonny Myers, George claimed that he received a phone call telling him to get out of the wrestling business or "we’ll deliver your body to your wife". This prompted George to purchase a gun. George alleged that this was a part of a "one-sided wrestling war" to "harass, scare and discourage (him) out of the business". He also believed it was timed to coincide with a federal investigation against the NWA for alleged monopolistic practices.
The case against the NWA went to trial in December 1958. Simpson testified against Pinkie, stating he had had difficulty booking wrestlers within the NWA system but that he had recently straightened things out with Muchnick and Brown. Muchnick himself testified as a witness for the plaintiff but did little to harm the NWA or Pinkie George. A jury found in favor of Pinkie and the NWA on December 8.
His great-grand child Paul George IV is a professional wrestling promoter in Iowa.
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