Johnny Czeslaw 

Real Name - Czeslaw Minkler

Lifespan - 7/25/1928 - 1/4/2014

5’11” 217 lbs. - Krakow, Poland

Athletic Background - Wrestling

Teacher(s) - n/a

Aliases - none

Peak Years - 60s

Place in History - In its Golden Years, British wrestling was a great melting pot of international stars and native stars with vast international experience.  Johnny Czeslaw had an amazing backstory, surviving Russian concentration camps as a boy, he served in the Polish Army before emigrating to Britain.  As the story goes, he learned amateur wrestling and promoter Jack Dale noticed him and brought him to Britain.  Working as a mechanic and chauffeur by day, Czeslaw wrestled at night.  He toured the Middle East, Africa and Continental Europe with his Polish background becoming part of his persona.  Czeslaw developed into an excellent wrestler with a reputation of the type of performer who carry anyone to an entertaining bout.  This quality led him to become a staple for Dale Martin’s cards throughout the 1960s and 1970s.  The bald-headed “Polish Eagle” was often put in with blue eye stars, but hardly played a vicious, rulebreaking villain.  He called his opponent a “schwein” (swine) and played along with comedy spots that were common in British wrestling.  Although he gained enough exposure on TV to work on the top of cards around Britain and did some film and some commercials in his day, Johnny Czeslaw was more of a supporting character.  He was highly thought of by his peers because of his versatility in the ring and likability outside of it.  In 1980, Czeslaw was dealt a tough blow when a brain tumor was discovered and its removal led to blindness.  His career effectively ended then and he remained blind for the rest of his life.