This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE

This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

The arm wrestling tournament over the weekend at the Shiloh Inn occasioned a memory trip that took me back about forty years.

In 1965 the Scripps League which then owned the Herald and News also, sent me to the little town of Petaluma, California.

It was a very Italian town, as I found out, and one that pointed proudly to its history as a chicken town. As a matter of fact the local football team called itself the Petaluma Leghorns.

However, by 1965 the chicken market in san Francisco was on the downslide for Petaluma. Southern raised chickens were being trucked in by refrigerated trucks to the San Francisco Market.

However, there was one unique feature about Petaluma that was unique. It began in a tavern in Petaluma….and it began with a man named Bill Soberannes. An Italian and also a native of Petaluma, Soberranes ran a weekly column in the local newspaper featuring action around town as well as historical notes on the town’s background.

We carried his column several times a week.

He began to promote what he termed “wrist wrestling”. At first, he publicized the activity at one of the taverns which he frequented. It was a popular item in the region. As editor and publisher of the local newspaper, the Argus Courier, we covered the Petaluma wrist wrestling contest. That gave it an impetus and Soberannes turned it into an area contest and later a statewide contest.

In 1970 when I left Petaluma it was well established across the lower California region with hundreds coming to Petaluma for the contests.

We note that a man named Leonard Harkless apparently established the U.S. Arm Wrestling Association in 1985. They sponsor about 30 or more tournaments across the country, and the one locally drew about a hundred participants.

It’s the same contest as wrist wrestling, and a harmless contest that really, as far as I can tell, had its origination in that little chicken town of Petaluma some 40 years ago.

It’s no longer just attached to one tavern or another but has become a test of strength across the nation. But I’ll wager a bet that a study would show that the sport really initiated in that Petaluma tavern thanks to one Bill Soberannes who may have had no other claim to fame than that.

Incidentally I tried it a few times, but found those chicken farmers were a bit too tough.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE

Text Box:
This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

The arm wrestling tournament over the weekend at the Shiloh Inn occasioned a memory trip that took me back about forty years.
             In 1965 the Scripps League which then owned the Herald and News also, sent me to the little town of Petaluma, California.
             It was a very Italian town, as I found out, and one that pointed proudly to its history as a chicken town.   As a matter of fact the local football team called itself the Petaluma Leghorns.
             However, by 1965 the chicken market in san Francisco was on the downslide for Petaluma. Southern raised chickens were being trucked in by refrigerated trucks to the San Francisco Market.
However, there was one unique feature about Petaluma that was unique.   It began in a tavern in Petaluma….and it began with a man named Bill Soberannes.   An Italian and also a native of Petaluma, Soberranes ran a weekly column in the local newspaper featuring action around town as well as historical notes on the town’s background.
We carried his column several times a week.
He began to promote what he termed “wrist wrestling”. At first, he publicized the activity at one of the taverns which he frequented. It was a popular item in the region. As editor and publisher of the local newspaper, the Argus Courier, we covered the Petaluma wrist wrestling contest. That gave it an impetus and Soberannes turned it into an area contest and later a statewide contest.
In 1970 when I left Petaluma it was well established across the lower California region with hundreds coming to Petaluma for the contests.
We note that a man named Leonard Harkless apparently established the U.S. Arm Wrestling Association in 1985. They sponsor about 30 or more tournaments across the country, and the one locally drew about a hundred participants.
It’s the same contest as wrist wrestling, and a harmless contest that really, as far as I can tell, had its origination in that little chicken town of Petaluma some 40 years ago.
It’s no longer just attached to one tavern or another but has become a test of strength across the nation. But I’ll wager a bet that a study would show that the sport really initiated in that Petaluma tavern thanks to one Bill Soberannes who may have had no other claim to fame than that.
Incidentally I tried it a few times, but found those chicken farmers were a bit too tough.
This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE