Fred Kohler Enterprises

Fred Kohler Enterprises was a Territory pro wrestling promotion operating in the United States, based in Chicago, Illinois.

The FKE promotion was founded on January 1, 1925 by Fred Kohler, and it ceased operations on November 12, 1965.

Opening up in about 1925, Fred Kohler Enterprises developed as a premier force in the Chicago wrestling scene throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Kohler would gain national exposure in 1946 through his program, Wrestling from Marigold, eliciting high-drawing crowds and television deals from the venture. Kohler would join the NWA in 1949 and would immediately became one of its most powerful promoters, though throughout his tenure would prove troublesome to the alliance, joining/rejoining in a three month episode from 1951-52, and at one point alienating top star Lou Thesz. FKE nearly went bankrupt when their Marigold Arena programming was cancelled, and in face of incoming opposition partnered with Vincent J. McMahon in a talent exchange, a success which culminated in a Comiskey Park show which drew 38,622 — the highest in North American NWA history. After a short stint as President which ruffled only more feathers among other promoters, Kohler would leave the NWA for the final time and renamed his promotion the International Wrestling Association, a move which wound up lasting only a year. Kohler’s promoting career would end in 1965, as the final of his assets and Chicago territorial rights were sold to Dick the Bruiser and Wilbur Snyder, who would go on to create the World Wrestling Association.

Fred Kohler Enterprises: Info