The Political Whore

It may have been nearly two decades ago, but the face of Democratic consultant Mitch Kates is unmistakable in the photograph of wrestling legend Killer Kowalski, who died this weekend. The photo ran in the New York Times and Boston Herald, among others, showing Kowalski putting his trademark “claw” hold on the grimacing face of his “nephew,” Mitch, as the caption put it.

(from the New York Times/Jon Chase of the Associated Press)

Truth be told, like so much in wrestling, it isn’t quite the way it appears to be. Kates was not Kowalski’s real nephew. But in speaking with Kates about the wrestler today, his love and admiration for Killer was a strong and real as any blood relative.

“He trained me,” Kates recalled. “He was the guy that I went into the business with. A couple of people commented that we had a familial resemblance. So one of the gimmicks that I had was to wrestle as his nephew.”

Before we continue, a bit of background: Walter “Killer” Kowalski was a (as the NYT put it) wrestling icon, one of the first great villains in the sport, before it became mega-entertainment in the Hulk Hogan-Vince McMahon years. He started in the 1950s as a good guy, Tarzan Kowalski, but it wasn’t until he went over to the dark side that the menacing 6-foot-7-inch wrestler became a featured performer.

Kates came to Florida after working in politics in Boston and Pittsburgh and running unsuccessfully for City Council in the Steel City. He won two longshot races right off the bat here, burnishing his local legend, along with the blogworthy news that he once wrestled in a hockey mask and axe as “Jason the Terrible.”

Kates recalled two stories about the man he still calls “Uncle Walter,” the first involving his Pittsburgh City Council run. At the time, another wrestling legend, Bruno Sammartino, was living in Pittsburgh and had agreed to attend a fundraising rally for Kates at the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. On a lark, Kates mentioned that they should invite Kowalski, who had been a bitter enemy of Sammartino’s in the ring. Kates called and Kowalski agreed to show.

Nearly 300 packed the event that night and Kowalski arrived, making a bee line straight for Sammartino, the two men warmly receiving each other and chatting endlessly about the good old days. When it came time to talk, Kowalski — one of the toughest bad guys ever — gave a speech about the power of love. There was not a dry eye in the house, Kates recalled.

Kates also recalled wrestling as Jason in a match that was refereed by Kowalski. At one point, Kowalski was leaning in, exhorting/taunting the two wrestlers, so Kates pulled up and went to throw a head butt at Kowalski, to fire up the crowd. But Kowalski mistimed and leaned into the head butt, cracking skulls so hard that the Jason hockey mask cracked. The sound of the collision in the boomy gymnasium where the match was being held was deafening.

“He fell like a rock, and I got out of there,” Kates recalled, “and the guys [back in the dressing room] are like what the hell happened? I said I just KO’ed Kowalski.”

Kates screwed up his courage and went to Kowalski’s dressing room.

“There is he sitting on the bench and he is dazed,” Kates said. “I said, hey Uncle Walter, are you all right? And he said, goddamn, my teeth are rattling.”

Kates apologized for the hard hit, but Kowalski said, “Bull shit, that was brutal, that was beautiful.”

About a month ago, Kates heard from a Boston newspaper article that Kowalski was in a nursing home and he sent a letter to his former mentor.

“I sent him that letter and said, Walter, I’m still fighting the fight,” Kates said. “I’ve been a vegetarian for about a year and half, and he has been a vegetarian since he was 19. I told him I would come up and we would have a vegetarian pizza together. I wanted to do that for him.”

Kates never got the chance. As for the letter, the political consultant is “hoping that [Kowalski] got an opportunity to read it. He was a super guy. He was tough as hell, but he also had a gentle soul.”

When Kates heard of the death this weekend, he checked the Boston Herald site, and there was the picture, from 1989, with a caption describing how the Killer was holding his nephew, Mitch, in the claw. Of all the myriad pictures of Kowalski, Kates said, “for that one to be there, it kind of took my breath away.”

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