DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The Barney Smith mystery
On a new DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I present hour 36 of 1000 Hours, my series all about the pioneer era of pro wrestling.
On this episode, we do a lot of research including some new tidbits about Col. James H. McLaughlin (seen above) which leads us back to our most enduring mystery: did McLaughlin kill Barney Smith?
If yes, then why is there not a shred of evidence to support it aside from Smith disappearing from the record? If not, then why does the story even exist? It’s time to resolve the Smith story once and for all.
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
Karl Stern is a pro wrestling historian specializing in the 1980s and pioneer era (pre-1900) of pro wrestling. He is an author who has written several books on wrestling and independently runs the When It Was Cool retro pop culture website.