Tag 'N' Groan
(by Gene Kessler, Chicago Tribune, August, 1956)
No vaudeville team presents a more impressive, or probably more dramatic show, according to publicitor Dick Axman. And none ever was quilted with more slapstick. Axman presented two photos. One showed the Lisowskis flexing bulging muscles beside a weightlifting trophy won in Milwaukee at a time when their hair was dark brown. The other pictures the matured showmen, wearing glistening silk jackets and bleached curls.
But Reggie insisted their act had no further touch of vaudeville.
"I started wrestling in Germany where I was stationed with the 1st Infantry in 1944-45," Reggie said. "I had been a weightlifter and had done a little amateur wrestling at the Milwaukee CYO as a kid.
"BACK HOME FROM the war, I decided to turn professional. Tag matches were just gaining popularity, so I got a good partner, Art Nielson, and we developed a winning style. After I learned all the tricks I started schooling Stan.
"Since last February Stan and I have been unbeatable as a tag team."
When Fred Kohler presents his International Amphitheatre mat carnival Friday night, the Lisowski brothers will be featured. Their opponents this time are Wilbur Snyder and Argentina Rocca, two outstanding headliners and claimants of individual titles on their own.
"It's nothing new for Stan and me to go against two headliners," Reggie declared. "We've been up against such teams as Verne Gagne and Rocca, Hans Schmidt and The Bruiser. But our fast-change operation fools them all. We get them over in our corner, then give 'em the double treatment. We are in and out of the ring so fast that opponents don't know which one of us is putting on the pressure."
Although Reggie wouldn't comment on the rumor, Milwaukee fans claim the Lisowski boys aren't brothers, but cousins. Regardless of that angle, all agree they are the top showmen in the game today.
"The only time we get into trouble is when our opponents pin us on the other side of the ring," Reggie admitted, "but that doesn't happen very often. We are strong enough to make 'em wrestle where we want to wrestle."
Reggie, 29, weighs 242 pounds. He boasts a chest expansion of 59 inches, has biceps which measure 19-1/2 and has lifted 362 pounds. Stan, 25, scales 237 and is very close to Reggie in the other dimensions.