John Zgeb wrestled under the name "Johnny Zorro" in the mid-1950s.
In 1954, The Pennsylvania Sports Guide ranked John Zgeb as one of the top wrestlers in the country, based on fan interest.
The Lawrenceville native -- who wrestled professionally under the name "Johnny Zorro" -- was a big attraction in the South, especially in Louisiana and Tennessee, where wrestling drew large crowds in the early 1950s and a ringside seat cost $1.
Mr. Zgeb, of Shadyside, who wrestled in more than 800 professional matches from 1953-56, died on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, in Westmoreland Regional Hospital, Greensburg. He was 82.
Among Mr. Zgeb's opponents and partners were such nationally and internationally recognized wrestlers as Bad Boy Cronin of the United States, Rasputin of Russia, Desouza of Portugal, and Canadians Jules LaRance and the Adonis Chuck Molnar.
Mildred Benetusi, of Blairsville, Indiana, who was related to Mr. Zgeb through marriage, said he had a reputation as a clean and scientific fighter and took the name zorro -- fox in Spanish -- to define his style of wrestling.
"Jack considered a fox cunning and scientific in stalking its prey. That's how he went after his opponents."
The same was true, Mrs. Benetusi said, of the 12 years Mr. Zgeb spent in the Army, including the Reserve and National Guard.
"Jack started out as an Army anti-aircraft gunner during World War II, but was eventually assigned to the infantry," she said.
"Jack fought in Normandy, the Rhineland and Central Europe. I contend it was his ability to survive as a wrestler that earned him five Bronze Stars when he participated in some of the bitterest fighting without suffering a scratch.
"When Jack entered the Reserves after he was discharged in 1945, he was assigned to the Army Reserve Center on Saw Mill Run Boulevard and taught judo to the military police."
Mr. Zgeb was raised in Lawrenceville, and Benetusi said she was "told by people who knew Jack as a boy that he could be found every day working out and lifting weights at the Boys Club on Butler Street.
Mr. Zgeb worked as a heavy construction equipment driver and in the 1990s drove an Access bus in the East End.
In 1978, Mr. Zgeb married Lillian Molinari, a widow with a young son.
"Lillian met Jack at a Croatian dance in Millvale," Benetusi said. "Although John was fearless when he was in the ring, he was rather shy with women and had a friend approach Lillian to get an introduction.
"They both loved to dance, and after they were married you could find them at polka dances throughout the city."
Mr. Zgeb is survived by his wife, Lillian L. Molinari Zgeb; twin brother, Francis "Frank" Zgeb, of Lawrenceville; two stepgranddaughters, Pamela Cristello, of Port Orange, Fla., and Susan Friedlander, of Harrisburg; a stepgrandson, Mark Cristello, of Pittsburgh; and two stepgreat-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by a stepson, Joseph Cristello.
A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. today in St. Raphael Church, Morningside.
Arrangements by the Walter J. Zalewski Funeral Home, Lawrenceville.
