Chain Gang Wrestling Page

Chain Gang Newspaper Articles and Related:

All of this info and these articles were taken from the Kayfabe Memories message board, and somewhere I lost track of who wrote what, so if you need credit for submitting these I'll be more than glad to do it, and apologize for the oversite. For the original newspaper report(s), click here. For Chain Gang results, click here.

Re: The Chain Gang

The Chain Gang actually spawned from the very first version of the "Hell's Angels". And the Hell's Angels were spawned from the Dalton Brothers. The original Daltons were Jack (Don Kalt) and Jim (Jim Baggis). They were formed in 1961, following Kalt's years in the "Fabulous Fargos" team with Jackie Fargo (Jack Faggart). The original Daltons dressed as old west gunslingers, complete with cowboy hats and six-shooters. Kalt was so into his gimmick that he actually learned to fast-draw and won several quick-draw contests. In 1965 Jack and Jim went their separate ways and Kalt recruited Frank Dalton (Gene Stevens). Upon their debut in 1966, these Daltons now dressed in blue jeans and motorcycle boots. Occasionally, Jim would return to the fold and sometimes they were joined by a fourth "Dalton" brother, Bob Dalton (Johnny Long). In late 1967, it was only Jack and Frank and they added a manager named Kenny Mack (Ken McMullen). This is when they morphed into the "Hell's Angels" gimmick. They stayed together through 1968 and into early 1969. Jack and Kenny Mack then showed up in Indianapolis and Jack and Frank Dillinger, the Chain Gang. Frank stayed behind in the Gulf Coast area for the rest of his career.

Frank would become involved in a feud with a new "Jack & Jim Dalton" (Randy Colley & Baggis) in 1971.

During the Dirty Daltons/Hell's Angles run in the Gulf Coast in 1967 the came across the Dupree Brothers "Golden Boy" & "Chuck". Golden Boy was Ronnie Dupree (Russell Grobe) and Chuck was Chris Colt (Chuck Harris). Harris later replaced McMullen in the Chain Gang as Jim Dillinger. Harris then reteamed with Grobe as Ronnie & Paul Dupree, the second (and best known) version of the Hell's Angles.

Finally there was Kenny Dillinger (Ken Russell) who worked in Indianapolis but never was teamed with any other Dillingers, although reference was made as to him being their "brother". (Did in fact team with Chris/Jim in late 71-early 72.)

Hope this helps.

The last match of the Chain Gang (Jack and Frank) was on September 13, 1969 at the Milwaukee Arena before 6,476 fans. They beat Man Mountain Mike and Yukon Moose Cholak to earn a shot at the Vachon Brothers for the AWA World Tag Team Championship on the next card. But later that evening they were jumped by a motorcycle gang as they entered the Village Inn tavern in Rochester, WI (Racine County) - about 30 minutes south/southwest of Milwaukee. That's where Frank was shot.

Shooting article in The Elkhart Truth

This should have been Sep. 15, 1969 (no date on article) since Elkhart didn't have a Sunday paper and the incident happened too late to get it in. Nothing much different other than it does mention McMullen could lose a leg (which he didn't).

WRESTLERS WIN AND THEN LOSE
Racine,Wis. (UPI) Two wrestlers from Plainfield, IN., won a tag team match in Milwaukee Saturday night, but lost a tavern brawl near here at Rochester a few hours later.
Unknown assailants severely beat both men, leaving one with bullet wounds.
Sheriff's deputies were investigating the assault on Lawrence K. McMullen,25, and Donald V. Kalt, 29, at the Village Inn shortly after midnight.
McMullen was wounded by gunfire in both thighs and suffered head and face cuts and bruises on much of his body. He remains hospitalized here Sunday night listed in satisfactory condition. However, one report said he was in danger of losing one leg, because a bullet that pierced an artery stopped the flow of blood to the limb.
Kalt was treated for head cuts and bruises at a Burlington, Wis., hospital and then released.
Kalt told deputies the fight began when he and McMullen arrived at the tavern on their way back to Indiana.

Hmmm, interesting that Kalt was listed at 29! There's a typo for you historians.
Hope this may have helped a little.

This article is from the Monday, Sept. 15, 1969 edition of the Racine (WI) Journal Times:

INDIANA WRESTLER SHOT, BEATEN OUTSIDE RACINE COUNTY TAVERN

Racine County sheriff's deputies are waiting to question a Plainfield, Ind., professional wrestler who was hospitalized Sunday after being shot and beaten near a Rochester tavern.
Lawrence K. McMullen, 25, underwent surgery at St. Luke's Hospital and was listed in fairly good condition today.
Deputies attempted to piece together fragments of the story from witnesses and McMullen's wrestling partner, Donald V. Kalt, 39, also of Plainfield.
About 12:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies were sent to the Village Inn at Rochester to investigate a report of a fight but found nothing amiss.
A half-hour later a Burlington patrolman hear someone calling for help and found McMullen lying wounded behind the Railway Express Office, 516 Mill St.

SAW WHITE CAR

A Burlington youth said he saw a white Dodge auto, about 1963-model, pull behind the building and drive back out a short time before McMullen was found.
Shortly before 4:30 a.m. deputies found Kalt when they were sent to a home on Riverside Drive in Waterford to investigate reports of a man pounding on the door.
Kalt was staken to Burlington Memorial Hospital where he was treated for cuts to the head and welts and bruises to the upper portion of his body.
Kalt told deputies he and McMullen left Milwaukee after participating in a wrestling match and stopped at the Village Inn on their way back to Indiana.
A fight broke out and Kalt said he ran and jumped into the Fox River to elude a group of men who were chasing him. He said he heard shots as he ran toward the river.

HEARD SHOTS

A witness said he watched through a window as a group of men beat one man on the street. He momentarily turned away from the window and heard "what sounded like two or three shots." When he went back to the window, he saw a man lying on the ground.
"The guys doing the beating said the man was not dead and that they were going to take him to a hospital. They put him in a car and drove off."
Outside the tavern, deputies found blood stains on the sidewalk along with a bicycle chain, part of a rifle, two broken billiard cues, two spent .32 caliber cartridges and one unused cartridge.
A bartender at the Village Inn, Robert G. Walker, 44, of Rochester, allegedly told deputies that nothing out of the ordinary occurred. He was quoted as saying "It was just the regular Saturday crowd."
McMullen was taken to Burlington Memorial Hospital and later transferred to St. Luke's.

PAIRED IN WRESTLING

Deputies said he suffered gunshot wounds to both thighs, cuts to his face and head and welts and bruises over his entire body.
McMullen and Kalt were paired in a tag team wrestling match under the name "Chain Gang." Deputies said they were dressed to resemble motorcycle gang members.
Authorities theorized that the men may have become involved in a quarrel in the tavern with members of the "Outlaws," a Milwaukee motorcycle gang.
A Waterford man told deputies the "Outlaws" were angry about their club name being used by the two men and may have "set up" the wrestlers for the beating.

This one was originally posted on the Wrestling Classics message board and revived on Kayfabe Memories, and is an interesting thread concerning the Chain Gang:

originally from WCMB:
CrusherBolo
Member
Member # 1137

posted 05-30-2000 02:03 AM
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The shooting incident referred to in other posts happened after Jack and Frank Dillinger defeated Man Mountain Mike and Moose Cholak at the Milwaukee Arena on September 13, 1969.
The Dillingers (Donald Kalt and Ken McMullen) were invited out after the matches. They were driven to a bar in Rochester, WI in Racine County, where they were jumped upon entry. They fought their way out, with Kalt going one way and McMullen the other. Kalt dove into the nearby Fox River to escape his pursuers. As he did, he heard shots. McMullen was found later by police in nearby Burlington, where he had been dumped by his assailants. He had been shot in the legs and a bullet pierced an artery in one of them. The newspaper reported that he was in danger of losing that leg, and evidently that's what happened.
The shooting was a continuation of trouble they had had with a motorcycle gang in Indianapolis, so there's no doubt they were set up. The whole thing came to be because they were wearing Hell's Angels jackets (which were ripped off them when they got jumped).
I was at their last match and it was a good one. They were going to go against the Vachon Brothers for the AWA Title on the next card, and would that have been a great match!
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CrusherBolo
Member
Member # 1137

posted 05-30-2000 03:50 AM
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Correction: Frank's name was Lawrence K.
McMullen. He's been referred to as Frank
Mack and Kenny Mack.
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WWA-Indy
Member
Member # 425

posted 05-30-2000 02:19 PM
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Interesting info on the Hell's Angels. After Frank was shot, that would have been when Don Fargo, as Jim Dillinger, was brought in as the replacement brother, and took over as the WWA tag team champions.
I recently asked my father, who worked for the Indiana Athletic Commission during that time what he remembered about them. While it's tough to recall a lot from over 30 years ago, he did tell me that the Gang had gotten themselves into some kind of trouble in Indianapolis. Bruiser asked my father to find them a new place to live outside of Indy, but between Indy and Terre Haute, which is 70 miles from Indy. He didn't find them a place, but they ended up moving to Plainfield, IN, which is just outside of Indy.

More on Don Fargo…several years later, he returned to the WWA. Rene Goulet had come in to be the top heel in the group doing a French Foreign Legion gimmick. After several months as a single, Sgt. Jacques Goulet was joined by Pvt. Don Fargo and The Legionnaires were formed. They took the tag belts from Snyder and Gomez. During their reign, Fargo and Goulet got into some type of an altercation (in Ft. Wayne perhaps) which caused Fargo to be fired and to never work the territory again. He was replaced by Soldier LeBoeuf, a Canadian who soon after was in the WWWF as one of Albano's Yukon Lumberjacks. He later worked the WWA as Igor Volkoff.

I was once told by another wrestler that Don Fargo faked his death some years ago and successfully collected insurance money. Anyone have any details on this?

WWA-Indy
fssdj@aol.com

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CrusherBolo
Member
Member # 1137

posted 05-30-2000 10:39 PM
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The newspaper mentioned that they were from Plainfield.
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M.DuPree
Member
Member # 426

posted 05-31-2000 02:57 PM
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Jim Dillinger was Chris Colt (real name escapes me). Fargo was Jack Dillinger, and you're right about them living in Plainfield.( A fellow I work with's first wife lived next door to them, and he used to hang with them a bit.)A local boot repairer also used to make their boots, with the lighter weight soles.
Does anyone know where Frank was from (Ft.Wayne?)and where he is now? He only lost one of his legs, and in 1974,he appeared with Kenny Dillinger (Russell) on a TV promo. Dick just put him on for the heck of it.
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Vic Orlandino
Member
Member # 387

posted 05-31-2000 04:49 PM
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The Chris Colt (Jim Dillinger) who was brought in to team with Don Fargo (Jack Dillinger) as the Chain Gang was known as Paul Dupree, who, with Ron Dupree, worked for The Sheik as The Hell's Angels who had a nice run as tag champs in the Michigan-Ohio area. Chris Colt was on the small side, maybe 5'10" and 210 pounds or so. He took some nice bumps for Bruiser and Crusher and did some outstanding blood jobs, too.
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jc
Member
Member # 599

posted 05-31-2000 06:32 PM
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I met Don Fargo and have talked to him on the phone a few times since our initial meeting. It surely sounds like he would do something like that insurance scam you talked about. whether or not he did, that's a different story
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M.DuPree
Member
Member # 426

posted 06-01-2000 04:14 AM
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The odd thing was that the Chain Gang would end up in Plainfield,Indiana,which was about 5 or 6 miles from Mooresville,the home of John Dillinger,the outlaw from the 30's.I believe the farmhouse is still standing where Dillinger grew up.
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originally from the WCMB:
CraigK
Member
Member # 17

posted 12-11-1999 01:51 AM
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I will taking a look at my Wrestling Title Histories, and I noticed that in 1969 a group called The Chain Gang: Jack Dillinger & Frank Dillinger defeated the Bruiser and Crusher for the WWA Tag Title. The next entry states that Frank (real name Frank Mack) was shot in Chicago.
Was he killed? Does anyone know anything about this wrestler? Did he wrestle under any other names?

Just curious.

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Frank Dusek
Member
Member # 11

posted 12-13-1999 02:02 PM
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I don't know if this is the same incident or not. Perhaps Richard Sullivan or one of the other "ring historians" can fill in the blanks. But when I was a young boy just starting, I spent a few weeks w/an old timer called Don Fargo.
Now Don Fargo was a strange man to say the least. In fact, the whole time we traveled together, he always made me just a tad bit nervous. Nothing he did on purpose, just that some of the stories he told me of things he did let me know "that boy ain't quite right," has Hank Hill would say.

Anyway, Fargo told me he & another fellow were doing a Hells Angels type gimmick up north. He said they wore biker colors & didn't take baths, even after long, bloody matches. Finally, he said it got so bad that the state athletic commission refused to let them wrestle until they took baths. They even went so far as to pin medals (like the military receives) to their foreheads. Tell me ECW invented "hardcore"!

Fargo said that 1 night, after the matches, he & his partner were invited to a Hells Angels party at their club house. On the way there, they stopped on a bridge, where the angels let them know that they didn't like non-angels wearing the colors, especially just to make money. They took out a shotgun & blew his partner's knees out.

Fargo said when he saw what was happening he decided to take his chances & jumped off the bridge.

According to Fargo, that ended his partner's career. Like I said, this might be the incident you read about. I always attributed it to Fargo's BS.

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Zarr Zanyo
Member
Member # 618

posted 12-15-1999 02:21 PM
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I remember Donnie Fargo wrestling as a tag team with this guy. They called themselves "The Chain Gang." They were coping the success of another team, the "Hells Angles" who I believe were the Dupree Brothers. I remember seeing The Chain Gang on T.V. from Chicago. They did in fact were authentic looking Hells Angles Colors. I remember hearing about the shooting, but never heard the "real" story.
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M.DuPree
Member
Member # 426

posted 05-28-2000 08:43 PM
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The "official" story was that the incident happened in a Chicago bar, but Frank Mack did indeed get his leg blown off( ed. note:no, he did not). And the story about the athletic commission making them take a shower before they could wrestle was a shoot. Chuck Marlowe made reference to it on an old TV show when I was a kid, and I thought that it was a load then, until years later when the late Indiana State athletic commissioner, Kelse McClure, who was telling Don Fargo stories I can't repeat here, told me the shower story.
When Chris Colt was brought in to replace Frank, the Chain Gang changed their whole image to a more "flower power" gimmick; one I never liked.
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MaskedGoof
Member
Member # 135

posted 05-28-2000 10:59 PM
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I heard that he was shot in the leg in a bar too. Anybody know what theshoting was
about? Why was he shot?
The Chain Gang used to come to the ring with LIVE LEECHES on their body and fish hooks im their skin!
WAY AHEAD OF THEIR TIME HARO CORE.

They had a huge feud with Bruiser and crusher and could have been an all time legendary tag team. They were together only 6 months in 1970, but they headlined the WWA and the AWA

what a shame no footage exists of them

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M.DuPree
Member
Member # 426

posted 05-31-2000 03:22 PM
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As a young mark,I loved the Chain Gang.Absolutely one of my favorite tag teams.Face it,few teams ever looked so authentic.
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Hi, It is not Hell Angels Shoot, It is Chain Gangs Shoot.
Frank Dillinger ( Ken McMullen ) is still alive and well in South Florida. He is still walking with the cane because of his leg where he got shot by someone else. He was the same man and same wrestler who used to teamed up with Don Kalt ( Don Fargo ) as The Chain Gangs in AWA and WWA way back in late 1960`s.The last time I saw
Ken was 2 years ago at The Casino Place in South Florida
when wrestling was held up there. The name of Wrestling was Florida Championship Wrestling which is owned by
Bill Brown who is a cousin of Ken McMullen. Bill still have Florida Championship Wrestling right now and The last Wrestling Show was held there last week on May 11 or
May 12 in South Florida - Kevin Sullivan vs. Mike Graham and Main Event was The Warlord vs. Dan Severan and other matches. Ken might have went there to see wrestling and friends. Also Bill has another brother, Robert
Brown who is a big wrestling fan and friend of mine.We have been friends for long time. Bill & his brother, Bob are
cousins to Ken McMullen ( Frank Dillinger ).I hope this will help you about what happened to Ken and What is he doing now and where he is right now. Take Care and
So long from the state of Georgia.

Mbauman1961.

NightriderHCW

Re: Hells Angels Shoot

That was the last time I saw Frank Dillinger as well...he was a pleasure to speak with,and loved to tell stories. Glad that I got the privilege to meet him. Still have a picture of myself & him together at another FCW show down in Miami at Braddock High School...

Nick Mayberry

Ken Carson

Re: Hells Angels Shoot

In the '66-'67-'68 time frame Don Kalt (as Jack Dalton) teamed with both Bob Dalton (Jonny Long) & Frank Dalton (Gene Stevens), along with "sidekick" Kenny Mack (Frank McMullen) as the "Dirty Daltons", & they did the same motorcycle gang gimmick in several Southern territories back then, mainly in the Ala. Gulf Coast, Louisiana, & for Gulas some in Tenn. in 1968. Don took "Kenny Mack" (Frank McMullen) with him to the AWA in 1969 ("Frank Dalton"-Gene Stevens decided to stay in the South), they changed their names from Dalton to Dillinger, added the "Chain Gang" bit, & did the same gimmick that they'd been doing for the last 3 years down South-BEFORE Ron & Paul Dupree/Chris Colt (the Hells Angels) ever started the Hells Angels gimmick. I saw Ron & Chris here in Chattanooga the summer of 1967, & they were wrestling as Ron &Paul Dupree then, they weren't the Hells Angels yet, while down in Mobile, Ala. the Dirty Daltons (Don "Jack Dalton" Kalt & his Dalton "kin") had already been doing the biker gimmick for over a year or more. So, if anybody copied anybody on the biker gimmick, it was the Hells Angels copying the Dirty Daltons.