ED “SAILOR CLARK” OURY, WRESTLING CHAMPION DIES
By Beau Roberts
“I want to see a doctor quick, I’m about to die.” Said Ed Oury, famed wrestling champion, when he walked into a Sevierville Hospital, Saturday evening, May 28. Well-Known as “Sailor Clark”, the biggest little man in wrestling, died of a heart attack approximately 20 minutes later.
LEGENDARY HISTORY
The 51-year old resident of Pigeon Forge left a legendary history to Sevier County youngsters and old alike.
Oury had been working as a guard for the construction company building the new Cherokee Mills in Sevierville. When the employees gather, “Sailor Clark” was always the topic of the conversation.
“Construction workers have never been anywhere,” he would jokingly tell the workers. “Why I’ve seen more of the United States from a covered wagon, than most people have seen from a car.”
BLAZED TRAIL TO FLORIDA
Western songs boast of driving herds of cattle on long trips, but they don’t have anything on Ed Oury. At the early age of 8, Ed and his 12-year-old brother, Paul, drove covered wagons from Okla. To Pennsacola, Fla. There were no roads in those days, and the trip took the young boys four months (November to February) over rough, unmarked trails.
Ed was born in Texas, and practically lived in the saddle. Wrangling was a job he knew well.
His father was a missionary to the first civilized Indian tribes in Oklahoma.
WORKED HARD
“Ed was never large, and was sick a lot when he was young, but he was determined to succeed in anything he tried,” his brothers said.
He constructed a special device for exercising, and spent hours upon hours developing every muscle in his body.”
WRESTLING TITLES
Sailor Clark was a welter-weight wrestler, but met any opponent of any weight in the profession. (There were only two classes of wrestling by weight, when Ed began his career. Heavy weight, 175 or over, and welter-weight, anything lighter than 175.)
A few of the titles he received were: All South (amateur), Tennessee Champion, Mason-Dixon Champion, and the Western Championship.
OPPONENTS
Herman Hickman, former All-American football player for the University of Tennessee, and now Coach of Yale University, was a personal friend of Sailor Clark. They were opponents in the ring on numerous occasions.
Sailor Clark met other such well known wrestlers as: Buck Lawson, Young Divisco, Jackie Renolds and Gus Sonnenberg, the originator of the “flying tackle.”
(Incidentally the flying tackle didn’t work on Sailor Clark).
WHIPS AUDIENCE
Ray Jenkins, prominent Knoxville lawyer, and Paul Oury, brother of Ed, were in the same Navy training camp and are friends.
Ray recently told Paul about one of Sailor Clark’s wrestling matches in Knoxville.
“The audience became very rowdy, as they often did, and began throwing bottles, while Sailor Clark was in the ring. The mob soon became so wild the police were unable to control them,” Paul said. “Sailor Clark climbed out of the ring and waded into the fighting mob. In short order, seven of the ring-leaders of the fight, lay unconscious in a straight line on the floor. Sailor Clark, then motioned to his opponent, climbed back into the ring and continued the match.”
FIGHTIN” FAMILY
There were 3 other athletic boys in the Oury family.
Paul, Rhode Island, was crowned the light-heavyweight champion of the Atlantic Fleet in Baltimore, Maryland on June 12, 1919.
He was a star player on the Navy football team. While Paul was on the squad, Navy was the only football team to defeat every college in the U. S. without suffering a defeat.
Carroll, a Western welter-weight Champion, was the middle-weight champion of Texas, when boxing was legalized in Texas in 1936.
Bob was an All-Navy welter-weight wrestling champion.
Paul, a commander in the U. S. Navy, is owner of the Pawtixet Valley Times, (a daily newspaper) and a radio station in Rhode Island. He was on the USS Penn, when the first radio was used aboard ship. Arthur Godfrey was, also, on the ship. Arthur’s voice and Uke were one of the first sounds to come over over the radio.
Paul assisted in building a Paramount Studio in Paris in 1929. They made movies in 14 different languages. Later a studio was constructed in Stugart, Germany.
POLICE OFFICER
Ed Oury was a member of the Gatlinburg Police Department for a number of years, and was a special night watchman for Pigeon Forge prior to being employed by the construction company at Cherokee Mills.
His home is at Pigeon Forge. He leaves his wife, three sons, two daughters, four grandchildren, three brothers, and two sisters.
