Joseph McHugh (1904 - January 31, 1993) was a longtime ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling events in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area. He served as the ring announcer for the World Wrestling Federation's television tapings, primarily at the Agricultural Hall in Allentown, from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1984.
McHugh's obituary stated that he had announced nearly 10,000 matches during his career, most of them in Allentown but on occasion in other venues including the Philadelphia Spectrum, and was said to include everyone from Jack Dempsey to Muhummad Ali, from Bruno Sammartino to Hulk Hogan and thousands of other athletes, entertainment personalities and other well-known people in virtually every field. His spiel, wherein he would introduce the commissioner, the sanctioning body, ringside physician, timekeeper and referees before introducing himself, opened hundreds of episodes of Championship Wrestling.
His announcing career was interrupted during World War II, when he served in the Army. McHugh also served as an entertainment promoter at nightclubs in the Allentown area (once working with a young up-and-coming comedian named Jackie Gleason), was a sales associate for a siding company in Allentown, and served as a master of ceremonies for the St. Patrick's Day Parade from the 1950s until a year before his death.
References[]
- "Ring announcer Joe McHugh dies at 88," The Morning Call, February 1, 1993. Accessed 11-01-2016. [1]