Pioneer Woman Wrestler
Penny Banner
In July of 1954 a beautiful twenty year old platinum blond named Mary Ann Kostecki stepped into the squared circled for the first time. She had never even witnessed a women's wrestling match before, much less competed in one. Little did she, or anyone in attendance at the venue in Masury, Ohio know but, they were witnessing the debut of one of the most important female wrestlers of all time that night.
The path that led her to that evening's fist-ivities was far more circuitous than one might think. Mary Ann developed a strong background in athletics growing up in her native St. Louis, Missouri. As a young woman, she began to focus her athletic prowess on the ancient martial art of Judo. Through local TV exhibitions, Mary Ann earned a sterling reputation as a strong and powerful athlete with the looks of a Hollywood starlet. Mr. Sam Muchnick, who at the time was the president of the National Wrestling Alliance, heard about the tenacious judo master after this serendipitous booking on a local television show in which she was seen tossing around a few sturdy American servicemen. Ever on the prowl for a new female presence to bring to his organization, an emerging commodity in the day, Muchnick immediately contacted Mary Ann by having such luminaries as Walter Killer Kowalski and Cyclone Anaia call and invite her to go to Cape Girardeau and Hannibal Missouri to watch girls wrestle, which she declined. Mary Ann considered herself an athlete, and had very little regard for professional wrestling. She preferred the competition of more conventional sports, and never pictured herself ever stepping foot inside a wrestling ring.
In a conversation that will forever be a secret of wrestling lore, Sam somehow convinced Mary Ann to brush aside her preconceived notions and prejudices about wrestling and accept a training assignment at Billy Wolfe's School of Women's Wrestling in Columbus, Ohio. Wolfe had long before recognized the tremendous response audiences had to women's matches and viewed it as integral to the future of the business. After just a couple of sessions in the gym with Mary Ann, he envisioned a potential superstar every bit the equal of the great June Byers and Mildred Burke, universally recognized as the two greatest ladies ever to strap on boots to that day.
It was not long before the "St. Louie Woman" found her true
calling in life. Almost from the first time she laid hands on an opponent,
Mary Ann discovered an intellectual depth and physical challenge in wrestling
that seemed impossible from a distance. In her early matches, she was
raw and had not even perfected a technical "style", but the
reaction she received from a mostly-male audience, transfixed by her explosive
combination of sex appeal and athleticism, was overwhelming.
Wolfe was surprised when his new star came to him suggesting changing
her name! When the ring announcer had a tough time pronouncing Mary Ann's
last name, "Kostecki", she remember that Sam had advised her
to change it to something more conducive to show business. The young grappler
gave it some thought before settling on the name we have all come to know
and love her as today. Some fifty years later on the glorywrestling.com
website, she explained... "Penny, because I felt so insignifigant.
And Banner, because Charlton Heston was my favorite actor and he played
in a role where his name was Banner" ("Arrowhead").
By her second match "Penny Banner" was born!
Even though the terms had not been popularized at the time, fans who only know Penny from the second half of her career may be surprised to know that the first version of the "St. Louie Woman" can more aptly be described as a "heel" than a "babyface". At 5'8", her statuesque frame and devastating moves like the Sunset Flip, Cradle and crushing Corner Dropkick were employed to punish "good girls" like Kay Noble, and Penny enjoyed her Amazonian villainy enthusiastically. But, despite her physical presence and agressiveness in the ring, fans simply could not get past her astonishing beauty and would instinctively pull for her to win on just about every card she appeared. Watching this unfold, promoters realized that the best way to exploit her immense popularity was to change the way she was being booked. It really is Penny Banner, the all-American blond beauty fighting the powers of evil, that is her legacy in the memories of all who were fortunate enough to see her in action at the height of her career.
Signifigant titles benchmark Penny Banner's remarkable record in wrestling. She was after the first and most important championship in all of the history of women's wrestling, the NWA Women's Title. When Mildred Burke, unquestionably the most imposing female wrestler of the pioneer era of Professional wrestling, was upset by June Byers in August of 1954, Byers took the gold. Penny has a professional respect and admiration for both of these ladies that endures to this day. But as a youngster tearing up wrestling venues all over the US, Canada and parts of Mexico, she felt uniquely qualified to challenge the new champ for her title.
Penny Banner and June Byers grappled many times over the years. That June agreed to so many bookings with Penny was a compliment that speaks louder than words. The champion fought all comers, but in the eyes of the promoters- there simply wasn't a better wrestler in the land during the late 50's and early 1960's. Though Penny was never able to take the NWA title away from June during their years of struggle, Byers gained a profound respect for the woman who would one day succeed her as the most dominant force in women's professional wrestling for the next decade as the first womens AWA champion. It is quite likely Penny would have gained the distinction of winning the NWA belt had Byers shown up for the championship match scheduled in Angola, Indiana that August night.
As a result of Byers', " non show", the FIRST American Wrestling Association (AWA) title was formed. On August 26, 1961 a tournament was held in Angola, IN. to determine a title holder, and by implication the pre-eminent female wrestler in the world. In a ferocious Battle Royal, Penny prevailed over a field of young women hungry for a taste of the glory reserved for legends. It was a title she would never lose, and one which fills her with a tremendous amount of pride to this day. During Penny's illustrious career and the few matches she had with Moolah, who claimed a championship, she found the "Fabulous" one to be lacking the fortitude to deliver the type of matches she had become accustomed to before the changes.
In singles competition, Penny Banner would collect one more prestigious title; The Ladies Texas Championship in March of 1963. But, to judge her career by her singles titles alone would be a disservice. When all was said and done, her contributions to tag team professional wrestling were every bit as important as her personal achievements. As fans became more sophisticated, they appreciated the ring psychology that a dynamite tag team could convey in a match, the story that they could tell. Penny maintains that her very first tag team partner, Bonnie Watson, helped her along in her career, as well as her second partner, Betty Jo Hawkins, who ended up as being her best friend. Together, these dynamic duos won the world tag team title beginning in 1957, ending in 1960 with her last Tag Team championship partner, Lorraine Johnson. Ringside fans responded to Penny and Lorraine's matches by calling them the Glamour Girls of the ring. Penny is as proud of her tag team championships as any that she won on her own, specifically because of the women with whom she won them.
To put Penny Banner's career into perspective, consider the over-hyped winning streak of Goldberg in World Championship Wrestling. In the jaded, modern era, we know that such a feat is indicative of a worker's popularity, and that the writers script these angles to sell tickets and pay per views. But, then, consider that Goldberg's winning streak lasted a year and a half... Penny Banner's winning streak lasted in excess of 20 years in an era when "sport's entertainment" was not even a factor!
Penny Banner could not have known how long the route was from St. Louis
to Charlotte, North Carolina when she started her journey. But it has
been quite an odyssey.
(courtesy http://www.bannerdays.com)
To see a 2004 interview WrestlingClothesline.com conducted with Penny
Banner, click here!
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