Wrestler 'Wik' known for fast moves in ring

Currently 93° (Feels like 99°) | Thursday, September 02, 2010 | SIGN IN

E-Edition

Comment

RSS Bookmark

“WIK”
Wallace Lam Ho: He played the goodguy against a villain in every match.

By JENNIE LLOYD World Staff Writer
Published: 6/29/2008 2:12 AM
Last Modified: 6/29/2008 3:01 AM

The professional wrestler had a 27-year career in the southeastern U.S.

"OniWikiWiki" was known as the barefooted Hawaiian wrestler with a mean flying head-scissors and a deft top-rope ring walk.

"Wik," as his family called him, played the "babyface" good-guy pitted against the villain "heel" in every match. He was strong, with size 18 ring fingers, and gave an action-packed show true to the translation of his name, meaning "Super Fast Fast."

When other wrestlers in the early days of professional wrestling wore plain black or gray trunks, Wik wore brightly colored Hawaiian skirts and leis in the ring.

Wallace "Wik" Lam Ho died Monday from complications from a fractured hip. He was 88.

He was born on April Fool's Day 1920 on Oahu, Hawaii, to Inga (Larsen) and Kong Wan Lam Ho. His family took their Hawaiian traditions seriously, waking every day at 4 or 5 a.m. to pick flowers and then sewing leis all morning, said his son Lee Lam Ho.

He played sports, became a star football player in high school and mastered judo. And Wik was known to be ornery at times, too, said Lee.

There's a story that "he actually knocked out a cow," Lee said, "and I think it's true."

He went to a few different colleges on the West Coast and played football until he was drafted into the Army in 1942. When World War II ended, he went back to Hawaii and was a fullback for the Hawaii Warriors.

In 1951, Wik visited a friend in Canada, where they sumo wrestled

together. At 6 feet tall and 220 pounds at his heaviest, Wik didn't have a sumo silhouette, but he got interested in professional wrestling.

He soon embarked on a 27-year wrestling career in the southeastern United States, sometimes driving 200 or 300 miles one way for a match, said Lee.

He and his young family moved every year, sometimes more. Wik often had his kids in tow when he drove several nights a week to perform at high school gymnasiums and National Guard armories in places such as Shreveport, La., and Nashville, Tenn.

He wrestled with different associations, including the National Wrestling Alliance, depending on where he lived at the time. They packed coliseums on the weekends, but there was never any money in it, said Lee.

Sometimes Wik had to stop by the hospital before driving home to have a broken bone set or to get sewn up after a match. "They were ruffians back then; they were tough," Lee said.

But despite what happened in the ring, "the heels and the babyfaces were all very good friends backstage," Lee remembered.

By the time Wik retired in 1978, the sport was waning. He and his family settled in Tulsa, where he worked as a security guard and coached wrestling and football while his sons were in junior high.

Despite losing the tips of two fingers to a wayward shark during a youthful skin dive, he still played the ukulele.

He often sang "Princess Papule," a Hawaiian song about a woman with "papayas aplenty," to his kids, remembered Lee.

He thought modern wrestling "was more soap opera than actual wrestling," said Lee.

Wik preferred the old way, when they didn't need anything but two guys in a ring.

By JENNIE LLOYD World Staff Writer

E-Edition

Comment

RSS Bookmark

Share

Reader Comments

Add Your Comment

4 comments entered

Show: Newest First

Report comments and help our forums

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the Tulsa World web staff to review the comment and either let it remain or delete it. Comments that will be removed include those that try to bypass our profanity word filter, personal attacks or any other inappropriate comments. Thank you, Web Editor Jason Collington

Comments

Report Comment

soonerd, (2 years ago)

Him and Cowboy Bill Watts two of the best.

Report Comment

Eugene T. Atkinson, (2 years ago)

Great obit. But the University of Hawaii football team was not called the "Warriors" in the 1940's. They were the "Rainbows" from 1923 until 1974, when they became the "Rainbow Warriors." They became simply the "Warriors" in 2001.

Report Comment

Sunshineinttown, (2 years ago)

To the Lam Ho family:

Lee & Chilton-Please accept my sincerest condolences. Your father sounds like he was an amazing & very interesting individual with a caring heart.

Report Comment

100% American, broken arrow (2 years ago)

Wik was married to a wonderful lady, Patsy, who took care of him to the very end, even as her health is failing. They lived in Henryetta before moving to Tulsa a few years ago and have many friends there also.

What a guy! He loved Hawaii, he made everyone laugh, he never met a stranger and I remember him calling Patsy, "baby" many times. Patsy, I am honored to have known Wik and to see first hand the devotion you shared with him. May God Bless you and help you through this time of great need.

4 comments displayed

Add Your Comment

In order to post a comment on this page, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.