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Bios

Danny McShain

Nickname: Irish, Silver Fox, Dangerous

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 205 lbs.

From: Glendale, CA

Birthday: Oct 30th

Pro Debut: October 30, 1930

Aliases: Dan McShain, Danny McShain, Sandy McShain

Feds Worked For: TSW, NWA, Al Haft Sports (IL/OH), Championship Wrestling from Florida (FL), Championship Wrestling USA (OR), Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling (AL/LA), Hollywood Booking Office (CA), International Wrestling (Canada), Los Angeles Booking Office (CA), M & M Promotions (NM/TX), NWA Capitol Wrestling Federation (NJ/NY/DC), NWA Hollywood (CA), Sam Muchnick Sports Attractions (MO), San Francisco (CA), Southwest Sports (TX), Upstate Athletic Club (NY)

Finisher: Irish Cannonball, The Octopus Hold

Signature Moves: Double-Foot Stomp

Career Highlights: -NWA (Amarillo) North American Champion
-NWA Gulf Coast Champion
-NWA Gulf Coast Louisiana Champion
-NWA (Los Angeles) World Junior Heavyweight Champion (4x)
-NWA (Ohio) American Tag Team Champion (w/ Oyama Kato)
-NWA Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Champion
-NWA (San Francisco) Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Champion (2x)
-NWA (Tennessee) World Junior Heavyweight Champion
-NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Champion (6x)
-NWA Texas Champion (10x)
-NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Champion (3x)
-NWA Texas Tag Team Champion (5x; 1 each w/ Casey McShain, Bad Boy Hines, Tony Borne, Sputnik Monroe, and Mark Lewin)
-NWA (Texas) World Tag Team Champion (w/ Joe Christie)
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion
-NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion (11x)

Affiliates: Oyama Kato, Casey McShain, Bad Boy Hines, Tony Borne, Sputnik Monroe, Mark Lewin, Joe Christie

Notable Feuds: Verne Gagne, Tito Montez, Tony Borne, Rito Romero, Bull Curry, Red Berry, Pepper Gómez, Duke Keomuka, Torbellino Blanco, Johnny Valentine, Nick Kozak, Black Guzmán, Jerry Kozak, Jesse James, Ray Stern, Dizzy Davis, Billy Varga, Silento Rodríguez, Buddy Rogers, Jackie Nichols, Luiz Martínez, Cyclone Negro, Dory Funk, Leroy McGuirk, Danny Savich, Neff Maivia, Mighty Ursus, The Great Togo, Cyclone Anaya, Michele Leone

Other Facts: -Real name was Woodrow Wilson Shain
-Brother-in-law of professional wrestlers Donn Lewin, Ted Lewin, & Mark Lewin.
-Brother-in-law (by marriage) of pro wrestling valet Princess Linda
-Larry Hamilton (AKA The Missouri Mauler) competed for a time as his brother Casey McShain. Together they were known as The McShain Brothers.
-Sometimes billed from Hollywood, CA
-While serving in the United States Navy, he won the Lightweight Boxing Championship multiple times
-Made his professional wrestling debut on his 18th birthday
-Accidentally killed Alex Kasaboski & Terry McGinnis after giving them piledrivers. He almost quit the business because of this.
-In 1952, McShain defended his NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship against Henry Harell. This match was supposed to be a victory for Harell, but McShain decided on his own to change the ending and got intentionally DQed. The referee declared that the title could not change hands on a disqualification. It was the first time the “ruling” that a championship cannot change hands due to a disqualification was ever used. It didn’t become officially adopted by the NWA until April 1953, and has been a part of wrestling storylines ever since
-Participated in what is believed to be the first Brass Knuckles match ever held, vs. Bull Curry in Houston, TX in 1953.
-In 1952, McShain and 10 other wrestlers refused to perform for Ed McLemore at the television tapings because they weren't getting paid for coming to do so. They wrote a letter indicating that they would not appear on TV for the matches unless they were paid to do so. After this issue went to the State Labor Commission in Texas, McLemore began paying them extra for their appearances. This precedent established the procedure that led to athletes being paid multi-million dollar contracts for TV appearances by the end of the 20th century.
-Credited by many wrestling historians as having introduced the concept of blading to pro wrestling.
Trained Bull Ramos and Tiger Conway for pro wrestling
-Close friend of performer Danny Kaye. He appeared in almost all of Kaye's movies.
-Passed away July 14, 1992
-Posthumously inducted into The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall Of Fame in 1996
-Posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2010