The Joyce Sports Research Collection: Wrestling

What follows is a guide to some of the more significant wrestling related materials held in Rare Books and Special Collections, Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame. It does not include wrestling materials held elsewhere in the Hesburgh Libraries, or in Notre Dame's University Archives. Its purpose is to provide researchers with a convenient overview of Special Collections' resources in this subject area; it does not aspire to be comprehensive. Items listed in these finding aids do not circulate; they may be requested and consulted in Special Collections, 102 Hesburgh Library, from 9:30am to 4:30pm weekdays.

Title or collection descriptions on this page are linked to records, inventories, and other appropriate types of finding aid. Questions concerning the materials on the page may be directed to the curator of the Joyce Sports Research Collection, Greg Bond.

Manuscript Collections

• JACK PFEFER WRESTLING COLLECTION (MS/PFEFER). 1913-1974, 1999-2000, 2018 (bulk 1924-1969). 238 containers and 5 flat storage drawers; 122.79 cubic feet. The Pfefer Collection comprises the business papers and promotional materials of U.S. professional wrestling manager and booking agent Jacob "Jack" Pfefer (1894-1974), one of the sport's most colorful and influential figures in the second quarter of the 20th century. It includes manuscript material, printed matter, and photographs, most notably: pro wrestling programs (20 containers); photographic prints, mostly publicity portraits (52 containers); scrapbooks of clippings (40 containers); wrestler files (35 containers); business and financial records (58 containers); correspondence, mostly incoming (13 containers); and posters, handbills, and other graphic formats (8 containers and 5 flat storage drawers). A full finding aid to the collection is available.