Turned Pro:1953

Trained By: Self Trained

Hometown: San Antonio, TX

Height: 5'7"

Wrestling Weight: 210 pounds

Territories Worked In: Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona, Dallas, Mobile (AL), Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, Las Vegas, etc. (22 states, Hawaii & Mexico)

Toughest Opponents: Don Kent, Jody Arnold, Danny Hodge, Chuck Karbo

Best Matches: 1962 Cadillac Winner, 1974 Match with Andre the Giant as tag team partner

Favorite Move: Abdominal Stretch, Flying Head Scissors, Drop Kick, just to name a few

Titles Held: Arizona Heavyweight Champion, Western States Champion, Arizona Tag Team Champion, Texas State Jr. Heavyweight Champion

The name Tito Montez is synonymous with Arizona Professional Wrestling, so much so in fact that when we announced the creation of this website, his was the first name mentioned.  Everyone wanted to know if Tito was going to be a part of this site. Our answer was "of course." Trying to do a tribute to Arizona Wrestling Legends without featuring Tito Montez would be like trying to make a sandwich without bread.  You just can't do it.

Tito toured Arizona for parts of three decades: 1958-59, 1960-62, and 1974-76. In that time, he met and defeated the "who's who" of pro wrestling and endeared himself to the area fans - so much so, in fact, that Tito was awarded a trophy proclaiming him the most popular wrestler ever in Arizona.

In 1962, Tito's wrestling abilities won him a Cadillac. When you consider that Tito was half of the Arizona Tag Team Champions at the time, it makes the feat all the more impressive. It was Tito's skill in the ring and his ability to draw fans that made him in demand by promoters around the country.

His drawing power was well documented when 14,000 fans turned out at a baseball stadium to see a card headlined by Tito, Sputnik Monroe and Mario Galento with Pro Boxing Champion Joe Louis as a referee. Not only was Tito a great wrestler in his own right, he's also responsible for the training of many of the other stars featured on this site. The impact that Tito has had on the sport of professional wrestling has not gone unnoticed. He has been inducted into the Oregon/Washington Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Western States Wrestling Hall of Fame and he was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2003 for his outstanding career achievements.

These days, Tito is out of the wrestling business. For the past seventeen years, he has operated a successful carpet cleaning business in the Northwest. When asked his hobbies, he told us that he plays golf every week. "I love the game," he says enthusiastically.

When asked to sum up Tito's career in a few words, "Cowboy" Bob Yuma put it best when he said, "Tito is a legend's legend." We couldn't agree more.

To contact Tito, you may write to:

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or P.O. Box 22854, Milwaukie, OR 97269-2854.