the 1960s, wrestling promoters battled over Boston and New York much like their "Gold Dust Trio" counterparts did during the 1920s and 30s. Two figures from this era, Jack Pfefer and Toots Mondt, partnered with younger promoters Tony Santos and Vince McMahon Sr. respectively. Shortly after allying himself with Pfefer, Santos was able to win the city by securing the Boston Garden for Big Time Wrestling. Santos was not the only one to take advantage of the absence of Bowser and Quinn. In the fall of 1962, he fended off a challenge from ex-wrestler and Boston College football star Dom Papaleo. Papaleo was able to bring in national talent for his shows including Dick the Bruiser, Verne Gagne, and Hans Schmidt. Heavyweight boxer Tom McNeeley was also brought in as a guest referee. Papaleo had plans to train McNeeley for a career in pro wrestling but this never came to fruition. This first promotional war was short-lived due to the failure of Papaleo's two shows held in September and October 1962. A few months later, Santos faced a second challenge when Abe Ford, representing McMahon's New York-based World Wide Wrestling Federation, arrived in the city. A former theatrical agent, Ford had previously booked talent for Eddie Quinn at the Boston Garden and planned to use the venue to compete head-to-head against Big Time Wrestling's weekly shows at the Boston Arena. Ford's first-ever event on April 20, 1963, however, turned into a complete disaster when half of his wrestlers failed to appear including the recently crowned WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers. Undeterred by accusations of false advertising, Ford attempted to run a second show the following month. The event was poorly attended despite a heavy publicity campaign and he subsequently returned to New York. Meanwhile, Santos and Pfefer went on the attack by booking journeyman wrestler Isaac Rosario as "Bruno Sanmartino", a playful jab at Capitol's rising young star Bruno Sammartino. Boston wrestling fans who failed to notice the spelling were tricked into thinking they were going to see the Italian-American strongman. On occasion, Santos and Pfefer were even able to get the Boston press to use the "correct" Sammartino spelling which added to the confusion. At one point, Big Time's champion Jackie Fargo challenged both men to a wrestling match. Santos and Pfefer also mimicked other popular wrestlers then working for the WWWF, such as "Hobo Brazil" (Bobo Brazil)