View source for Al Costello

{{Short description|Italian-Australian professional wrestler}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
|name=Al Costello
|names=Al Costello
|birth_name = Giacomo Costa
|image=Al_Costello.png
|caption=
|height={{height|ft=5|in=9}}<ref name="TagKanga">{{cite book | author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson | title= The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams | publisher=ECW Press | year=2005 | chapter= Top 20: #1 The Fabulous Kangaroos | pages= 17–24 | isbn=978-1-55022-683-6}}</ref>
|weight={{convert|235|lb|kg|abbr=on}}<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|real_height=
|real_weight=
|birth_date= {{birth date|df=yes|1919|12|14}}<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|birth_place=  [[Santa Marina Salina]], Italy<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|death_date= {{death date and age|df=yes|2000|1|22|1919|12|19}}<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|death_place=[[Clearwater, Florida]], U.S.
|resides=
|billed=[[Australia]]
|trainer=Basher Bonas<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|debut=1938<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|retired=1987<ref name="TagKanga"/>
|website=
}}
'''Giacomo Costa''' (14 December 1919 – 22 January 2000) was an [[Italian Australians|Italian Australian]] [[professional wrestling|professional wrestler]] best known by his [[ring name]], '''Al Costello.''' Costello was the first professional wrestler to be nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Holds" because of his innovative and very technical style.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

Costello was the creator and original member of the [[tag team]] [[The Fabulous Kangaroos]], whose "Ultra Australian" [[List of professional wrestling slang#G|gimmick]] complete with [[boomerang]]s, [[Slouch hat|bush hats]] and the song "[[Waltzing Matilda]]" as their entrance music, existed in various forms from 1957 until 1983. Costello was either an active wrestler, or a [[Manager (professional wrestling)|manager]] in all versions of The Fabulous Kangaroos.<ref name="TagKanga"/> He and [[Roy Heffernan]] are arguably the most famous version of The Kangaroos,<ref name="TagIntro">{{cite book | author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson | title= The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams | publisher=ECW Press | year=2005 | chapter= Introduction | pages= 1–16 | isbn=978-1-55022-683-6}}</ref> regarded as one of the top tag teams to ever compete in professional wrestling,<ref name="TagKanga"/><ref name="TopTenTeams">{{cite book | author= Conner, Floyd | title=Wrestling's Most Wanted : The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities | publisher=Potomac Books | date =12 February 2001 | chapter= Terrific Tag Teams | pages= 166 | isbn=978-1-57488-308-4}}</ref> and are often credited with popularizing tag team wrestling in the late 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="TagIntro"/>

Costello later formed other versions of The Fabulous Kangaroos with Ray St. Clair, [[Don Kent (wrestler)|Don Kent]] and Tony Charles. He also managed the team of Don Kent & [[Bruno Bekkar]] and later on "Johnny Heffernan" under The Fabulous Kangaroos name.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

Costello officially retired from wrestling in 1983 but still made a few brief returns to the ring after that.<ref name="OneLegends">{{cite web| url = http://www.1wrestlinglegends.com/column/guest-14.htm| title = Al Costello, "THE" Fabulous Kangaroos | access-date= 5 August 2007 | author = Siler, Bob | publisher= 1Wrestlinglegends.com |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928122104/http://www.1wrestlinglegends.com/column/guest-14.htm |archive-date = 28 September 2007}}</ref> In 1993, he managed [[The Fabulous Kangaroos#New Fabulous Kangaroos|The New Fabulous Kangaroos]] (Denny Kass and [[Al Snow]]) before retiring completely from the wrestling business.<ref name="TagKanga"/> Both Costello and his tag team partner Heffernan died before Kangaroos were honored as the first tag team to ever be inducted into the [[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame]] in 2003,<ref name="HOF">{{cite web| url= http://www.pwhf.org/halloffamers/bios/kangaroos.asp| title= 2003: The Fabulous Kangaroos| access-date= 1 August 2007| author= the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070806063340/http://pwhf.org/halloffamers/bios/kangaroos.asp| archive-date= 6 August 2007| url-status= dead| df= dmy-all}}</ref> which started a tradition of inducting a new team every year.<ref name="HOFRules">{{cite web|url=http://www.pwhf.org/about/about.asp |title=About the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Ballot Formation and Voting Process for Induction Purposes |access-date=1 August 2007 |author=the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame |quote=One winner from each of the following categories shall be inducted each year: LADY WRESTLER, TAG TEAM, and NON-PARTICIPANT. As many as two wrestlers, but at least one wrestler, shall be inducted each year in the category of INTERNATIONAL. Two wrestlers will be inducted annually from each of the following categories:PIONEER ERA and MODERN ERA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804030157/http://www.pwhf.org/about/about.asp |archive-date=4 August 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Early life==
Costa was born in the village of Lingua, in the Italian island of [[Santa Marina Salina]], [[Sicily]], and lived there until his family immigrated to Australia when he was six years old.<ref name="TagKanga"/> The family settled in [[Rockdale, New South Wales]], where Costa helped out in his father's [[fruit]] store. He excelled at school sports and became interested in weightlifting at an early age. At age 16, Costa took up [[amateur boxing]] despite his father's wishes that he should become an [[opera]] singer.<ref name="OneLegends"/> Costa was approached by Australian middleweight wrestling champion "Basher Bonas", who convinced him to try wrestling. Costa made his debut under an assumed name; his father still had hopes of him becoming an opera singer, and he did not want his parents to find out that he was wrestling. He came up with the name "Al Costello", thinking it sounded tough like a [[portmanteau]] of [[Al Capone]] and [[Frank Costello]].<ref name="TagKanga"/>

Costa's granddaughter is [[Brody Dalle]], an Australian punk rock singer, songwriter, and musician best known for being the lead singer of [[The Distillers]].<ref>{{Cite Instagram |user=nerdjuice79 |postid=C5nNPlNOlPQgLm8tKOu39-36NfPxZLQMMRNn8g0 |date=11 April 2024 |title=A Journey Through Generations and Connection |access-date=11 April 2024}}</ref>

==Wrestling career==
===Early career===
Al Costello made his professional wrestling debut in 1938, but the man that would be known as "The Man of a Thousand Holds" 20&nbsp;years later, found little success early in his career. The general belief in Australian professional wrestling at the time was that a wrestler had to go to North America and learn how to be a pro before the bookers would even consider [[Push (professional wrestling)|pushing]] them up the [[List of professional wrestling slang#C|card]].<ref name="TagKanga"/> Costello travelled across Asia, where he did see some success; he won the [[Malaysia]]n Heavyweight title in 1939, as well as the South Africa trophy in 1949. During the 1950s, Costello finally started to turn heads at home by winning the Australasian title.<ref name="OneLegends"/> In 1952, Costello began wrestling in America, hoping to finally break through and make a big name of himself.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

===Fabulous Kangaroos===
{{Main|The Fabulous Kangaroos}}
For years, Al Costello had been working on an idea for a new tag team; he even knew who he wanted for a partner: a wrestler he had worked with some years ago named [[Roy Heffernan]]. Because Costello and Heffernan had lost touch over the years, the idea remained dormant until Costello toured [[Hawaii]] in 1956. Costello mentioned his idea of an "Ultra Australian" tag team to fellow wrestler, and future [[Promoter (entertainment)|promoter]], Joe Blanchard. Blanchard happened to be a good friend of Roy Heffernan and knew he was working in [[Stampede Wrestling]] at the time. Blanchard put the two in touch with each other, and Costello was soon off to [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], Canada to join Heffernan and finally make his tag team a reality. Costello and Heffernan debuted as "The Fabulous Kangaroos" on 3 May 1957 for [[Stu Hart]]'s [[Stampede Wrestling]] [[Professional wrestling promotion|promotion]] in a match against Maurice LaPointe and Tony Baillargeon. Only weeks after that first match, The Kangaroos were working with the top tag teams in the promotion.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

After working in Stampede for a while, The Fabulous Kangaroos started to travel across the United States, headlining shows wherever they went due to their ability to rile up crowds with their [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] (bad guy) tactics. On one occasion in August 1958, The Kangaroos, or "Kangaroo Men" as they were billed, nearly caused a riot in [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] during a match against [[Antonino Rocca]] and [[Miguel Pérez (wrestler)|Miguel Pérez]]; the fans began to throw fruit and stones at them. After the match ended without a decisive winner, the promoters stepped in, turned up the arena lights, and played the [[The Star-Spangled Banner|National Anthem]] to stop a potential riot.<ref name="TagKanga"/> This was a common tactic used at the time by the New York promoters in order to prevent riots and help the heels leave the arena unharmed.<ref name="TagRiot">{{cite book | author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson | title= The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams | publisher=ECW Press | year=2005 | chapter= The Madison Square Garden riot of 1957 | pages= 130–134 | isbn=978-1-55022-683-6}}</ref> Later that year, Costello and Heffernan started working for [[Dory Funk]]'s [[List of NWA territories|NWA Western States]] promotion based in [[Amarillo, Texas]]. Here, The Kangaroos won their first title as a team when they defeated Pepper Gomez and El Medico to win the Texas version of the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship]] on 17 November 1958. Their first title reign was short lived, however, as Gomez and [[Rito Romero]] defeated them to regain the titles two weeks later.<ref name="Titles">{{cite book | author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will | title=Wrestling Title Histories | publisher=Archeus Communications | year=2006|edition=4th | isbn=0-9698161-5-4 }}</ref>

Between 1957 and 1965, The Kangaroos wrestled in the United States, Canada, Asia and select tours of Australia and New Zealand. They worked for such companies as [[World Wrestling Entertainment|Capitol Wrestling Corporation]] (the future World Wrestling Entertainment), [[Championship Wrestling from Florida]], [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Ohio]], the [[Japan Wrestling Association]] and the World Wrestling Association in [[Los Angeles, California]].<ref name="TagKanga"/>

The Kangaroos never forgot their roots and continued to work in Canada off and on through the years; in addition to Stampede Wrestling, the team also worked for [[NWA All-Star Wrestling]] based in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]]. Costello featured in a [[National Film Board of Canada]] [[short subject]] ''La Lotta''/''Wrestling''/''Le Catch''. Their stint in NWA All-Star Wrestling was the last time Costello and Heffernan teamed together. In June 1965, The Kangaroos lost to Don Leo Jonathan and Jim Hardy and then split up. Heffernan had left Australia to tour the world in 1953 and wanted to return to his homeland, while Costello was determined to remain in the United States for a while longer.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

===Between Kangaroos===
Heffernan returned to Australia and began working for [[World Championship Wrestling (Australia)|World Championship Wrestling]] (the Australian version, not the North American wrestling federation) under [[List of professional wrestling slang#B|booker]] [[Jim Barnett (wrestling)|Jim Barnett]] as a singles wrestler. Costello was originally supposed to return to Australia as well and work for WCW, but those plans never came through.<ref name="TagKanga"/> Instead, Costello remained in the United States and kept working in the tag team division, never seeking a career as a singles wrestler. Costello began wrestling for [[Georgia Championship Wrestling]], where he teamed up with [[Louis Tillet]] to form a tag team known as "The Globetrotters"; a name that played off Costello's Australian and Tillet's French heritage.<ref name="OneLegends"/> The Globetrotters defeated the Mysterious Medics in the finals of the Georgia [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship]] but only held the titles for a week before losing them to Kurt and Karl Von Brauner on 4 February 1966.<ref name="Titles"/> After this, the Globetrotters broke up due to differences in their approach to tag teaming.<ref name="OneLegends"/>

Costello then moved to the [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Mid-America]] territory near [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. In Mid-American, Costello teamed with Herb Welch to win the Mid-American version of the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship]], which they held for just over 2 months.<ref name="Titles"/> While still working in Mid-America, Costello began to team with Karl Von Brauner, who used a "German Nazi" gimmick despite being American. Under the management of [[Gary Hart (wrestler)|"Playboy" Gary Hart]], Costello and Von Brauner were billed as "The Internationals"; the team was later managed by George "Crybaby" Cannon.<ref name="TopTenManager">{{cite book | author= Conner, Floyd | title=Wrestling's Most Wanted : The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities | publisher=Potomac Books | date =12 February 2001 | chapter= not everyone can be a world champion | pages= 227 | isbn=978-1-57488-308-4}}</ref> The Internationals worked mainly in [[Tennessee]] and [[Texas]] for NWA Western States. In Texas, Costello and Von Brauner won the Texas version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, a title Costello and Heffernan had held in 1958. The team was also billed as the first [[WCWA Tag Team Championship|NWA American Tag Team Champions]], titles that were also recognized by [[World Class Championship Wrestling]] in addition to the Western States promotion. The Internationals lost the American Tag Team title to [[Fritz Von Erich|Fritz]] and [[Waldo Von Erich]] on 21 February 1967.<ref name="Titles"/> Kurt then decided to go back to teaming with his storyline brother, Karl Von Brauner.<ref name="OneLegends"/>

After the Internationals broke up, Costello returned to Australia to visit friends and relatives and to recuperate after many years on the road. On his way back to the United States, Costello had a stopover in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], where he met Cleo Williams. The two fell in love and married shortly afterwards, remaining together for the rest of Costello's life.<ref name="OneLegends"/>

===Kangaroos once more===
{{Main|The Fabulous Kangaroos#Al Costello and Don Kent|l1=The Fabulous Kangaroos: Costello and Kent}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:KangarooKent.jpg|left|thumb|200px|"Adopted Australian" [[Don Kent (wrestler)|Don Kent]].]] -->

In 1967, Al Costello reformed The Fabulous Kangaroos, this time teaming up with Ray St. Clair. The team had been touring non-stop for about six months when St. Clair was forced to retire due to knee problems. A few months after St. Clair retired, Costello found a new man to don the bush hat: Don Kent. Kent, who was from [[Michigan]], adopted the Ultra-Australian [[List of professional wrestling slang#G|gimmick]] (but retained his American accent) and the two formed the third overall and second most well-known version of The Fabulous Kangaroos.<ref name="TagKanga"/> Costello and Kent teamed together on a regular basis from 1968 until 1974, approximately the same amount of time that Costello spent teaming with his original partner, Roy Heffernan.<ref name="TagKanga"/> Costello and Kent continued in a tradition that was reminiscent of the original Kangaroos; when a federation needed a new tag team title, The Kangaroos were brought in and acknowledged as champions upon arrival instead of holding a tournament to determine the champions. In 1967, the Japanese federation "International Wrestling Enterprise" (IWE) brought The Kangaroos in as the first Trans-World Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Champions. They held this title until 10 January 1968 when IWE mainstays Toyonobori and Thunder Sugiyama beat them for the gold.<ref name="Titles"/> Over the years, many more title reigns came from various promotions all over the globe. In Canada, The Kangaroos were the first [[Eastern Sports Association]] [[ESA International Tag Team Championship|International Tag Team Champions]]. In the [[World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis)|World Wrestling Association]] of [[Indianapolis]], they held the WWA World Tag Team Championship twice.<ref name="Titles"/> In addition to winning titles all over North America, Costello and Kent also made appearances for the [[WWE#World Wide Wrestling Federation (1963-1979)|World Wide Wrestling Federation]] (now known as [[WWE]]) from 1971 to 1972.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

The Kangaroos frequented [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA Detroit]], where they held the Detroit version of the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship]] for most of 1971.<ref name="Titles"/> By the end of 1972, The Kangaroos began working for Nick Gulas' NWA Mid-America. In Mid-America, they held the local version of the [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship]], the Mid-America version, on three occasions.<ref name="Titles"/>

In 1974, after a match at [[Cincinnati Gardens]], an enraged fan took a [[fire extinguisher]] off the wall and threw it at Costello and Kent from the balcony of the Gardens. The extinguisher hit Costello in the hip, damaging it so much that he needed hip replacement surgery later that year. The fan was arrested, served 15&nbsp;days in jail, and fined fifty dollars for damaging the fire extinguisher. The hip injury left Costello unable to wrestle, and The Fabulous Kangaroos split up once again.<ref name="OneLegends"/> Costello had a full hip replacement and was forced to retire from active competition.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

===Managing===
In 1975, Costello surprised everyone by returning to professional wrestling as the manager of the team known as "The Love Brothers" (Hartford and Reggie Love). He actually stepped into the ring on occasion as part of special six-man tag team matches.<ref name="TagLove">{{cite book | author=Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson | title= The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams | publisher=ECW Press | year=2005 | chapter= The Love Brothers | pages= 205 | isbn=978-1-55022-683-6}}</ref>

After recovering from his hip surgery, Costello returned to active competition at age 56. The fact that he was able to recover from such a major injury is credited to his almost-fanatical style of healthy living. As a devout [[vegan]], Costello credited his meat-free diet with his recovery, as well as the remarkable shape he was in for a man of his age.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

Costello reformed The Fabulous Kangaroos once more, this time teaming up with wrestler Tony Charles. The team defeated [[Dominic DeNucci]] and Chris Markoff to win Detroit's version of the NWA World Tag Team title, the same title that Costello and Kent had previously held. The Kangaroos title run was short, however, and they lost their gold to [[Grady Johnson|"Crazy" Luke Graham]] and Ripper Collins.<ref name="Titles"/>

In 1977, Tony Charles was replaced by Don Kent and the two reunited for a tour of [[Puerto Rico]] with the [[World Wrestling Council]] (WWC). In Puerto Rico, The Kangaroos arrived billed as the [[WWC World Tag Team Championship|WWC World Tag Team Champions]], once more to give a newly created title legitimacy. They dropped the titles to [[Carlos Colón Sr.|Carlos Colón]] and Jose Rivera on 12 March 1977 and remained in the WWC until 1978 chasing, but never regaining, the WWC World Tag Team Championship.<ref name="Titles"/> After their tour in Puerto Rico ended, Don Kent returned to singles wrestling, and Costello refocused on managing.

===Still a Kangaroo===
In 1981, Costello convinced Kent to once again don the bush hat and pick up the boomerang. Costello got Kent to team up with [[Bruno Bekkar]], who was mostly known from working in his native New Zealand and Australia. Kent and Bekkar worked a tour for the WWC, while Costello served as their manager.<ref name="TagKanga"/> The team won the WWC North American Tag Team titles from [[Jack Brisco|Jack]] and [[Gerald Brisco|Jerry Brisco]] on 22 October 1981. They then lost the titles to [[Jose Gonzalez (wrestler)|Invader I]] and Super Gladiator but quickly gained them back before [[List of professional wrestling slang#D|dropping]] the titles for good to Invader and Gladiator on 26 January 1982.<ref name="Titles"/> The Kent and Bekkar team only lasted through one tour of the [[Caribbean]], after which Bruno Bekkar returned to Australia and New Zealand to work for the local promotions there.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

Bekkar was replaced with Johnny Heffernan (Canadian wrestler [[Bob Della Serra]]), a storyline cousin of Roy Heffernan, for what was the final version of The Fabulous Kangaroos.<ref name="TagKanga"/> The team ended [[Terry Funk|Terry]] and [[Dory Funk Jr.]]'s year and a half run with the WWC World Tag Team championship on 1 May 1982. Kent and Heffernan held the gold for less than two months before losing the WWC World Tag Team titles to Invader I and Pierre Martel.<ref name="Titles"/> After a tour in Puerto Rico, Costello, Kent and Heffernan returned to work for [[Championship Wrestling from Florida]] (CWF), a promotion The Kangaroos last worked for in 1962. In Florida, The Kangaroos won the [[NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship]] four times.<ref name="Titles"/> The final storyline involving The Fabulous Kangaroos saw Al Costello bring in [[J. J. Dillon]] to act as his short-term replacement while he was "away on business". When Costello returned from his business trip, Dillon [[kayfabe]] refused to give up The Kangaroos' contracts and was backed up by both Kent and Heffernan. This [[List of professional wrestling slang#A|angle]] was designed to write Al Costello out of The Fabulous Kangaroos' storyline and allow him to retire from wrestling altogether.<ref name="OneLegends"/> Not long after Costello retired, Kent and Johnny Heffernan went their separate ways.<ref name="TagKanga"/>

===Retirement===
After retiring from wrestling, Al Costello became the head of security at College Harbor, Florida. In 1992, at the age of 71, Costello retired from his job in Florida and began teaching wrestling. He also started to manage '''The New Fabulous Kangaroos''' in 1993, a team consisting of Mickey Doyle and Denny Kass who worked for "Motor City Wrestling" (MCW).<ref name="TagKanga"/> By the fall of 1993, Mickey Doyle had been replaced by a young wrestler by the name of [[Al Snow]]; with Costello's help The New Fabulous Kangaroos defeated "Canadian Lighting" (Otis Apollo and "Irish" Bobby Clancy), on 29 December 1993, to win the MCW Tag Team Championship.<ref name="MCWTag">{{cite web | url= http://www.detroitsports-mcw.com/mcwwrestling.php | title= MCW Wrestling Results | access-date= 1 August 2007 | publisher= Detroit Sports MCW | archive-date= 30 September 2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930061108/http://www.detroitsports-mcw.com/mcwwrestling.php | url-status= dead }}</ref> On 14 May 1994, Kass and Snow defeated Canadian Lighting again to win the [[Border City Wrestling]] (BCW) Can-Am Tag Team Championship, unifying the two tag team championships. A week later, The New Fabulous Kangaroos lost both sets of titles to [[Scott D'Amore]] and "Irish" Bobby Clancy.<ref name="BCWTag">{{cite web | url= http://www.wrestling-titles.com/canada/on/bcw/bcw-t.html | title= BCW Can-Am Tag Team Title history | access-date=1 August 2007 | publisher=Wrestling-Titles.com}}</ref> After losing the unified MCW/BCW Tag Team championships, The New Kangaroos split up; Snow focused on his [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]] career while Costello retired for good, never making another wrestling related appearance.<!--What happened to Kass?-->

===Death===
On 22 January 2000, Costello died from a combination of [[pneumonia]] and [[heart]] problems, in Clearwater, Florida.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive2000/jan24_costello.html | title = Fabulous Kangaroo Al Costello dead | access-date = 3 August 2007 | author = Greg Oliver | publisher = Slam!Wrestling | quote = Al Costello, one half of the famed Fabulous Kangaroos, died Saturday, January&nbsp;22, 2000 at the age of 80. He had been suffering from pneumonia and had some heart problems | archive-date = 20 July 2012 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120720211823/http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive2000/jan24_costello.html | url-status = usurped }}</ref> In 2003, Al Costello and Roy Heffernan became the first tag team to ever be inducted into the [[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame]].<ref name="HOF"/> Since that time, the Hall of Fame has honored other tag teams, but The Fabulous Kangaroos were given the honor of being the first. In the tradition of the Kangaroos, they were "billed as champions on arrival" one last time.<ref name="HOFRules"/>

==Championships and accomplishments==
**[[Australasian Heavyweight Championship]] ([[Australasian Heavyweight Championship|1 time]])<ref>https://www.wrestling-titles.com/oceania/anz-h.html</ref>
*'''[[Alex Turk Promotions]] (Winnipeg)'''
**International Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with [[Roy Heffernan]]<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[World Wrestling Entertainment|Capitol Wrestling Corporation]]'''
**[[WWWF United States Tag Team Championship|NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version)'']] ([[WWWF United States Tag Team Championship#Title history|3 times]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[Cauliflower Alley Club]]'''
**Other honoree ([[Cauliflower Alley Club#1994|1994]])
*'''[[Championship Wrestling from Florida]]'''
**[[NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version)|NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'']] ([[NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version)#Title history|1 time]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'']]([[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version)#Title history|1 time]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[Eastern Sports Association]]'''
**[[ESA International Tag Team Championship]] ([[ESA International Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with [[Don Kent (wrestler)|Don Kent]]<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[Georgia Championship Wrestling]]'''
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version)]] [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Georgia version)#Title history|1 time]] – with [[Louie Tillet]]
*'''[[International Wrestling Enterprise]]'''
**Trans-World Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Don Kent<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[Japan Wrestling Association]]'''
**[[NWA International Tag Team Championship]] ([[NWA International Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[National Wrestling Alliance|Midwest Wrestling Association]]'''
**NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Ohio version)'' (1 time) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''Mike London Promotions'''
**Rocky Mountain Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name=Jan12F4W>{{cite web | url=https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/daily-pro-wrestling-history-0112-outsiders-win-wcw-tag-team-titles-301496 | title=Pro wrestling history (01/12): The Outsiders win WCW Tag team titles | date=12 January 2019 | access-date=18 January 2019 | work=[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter|Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online]] | first=Brian | last=Hoops}}</ref>
*'''[[National Wrestling Alliance]]'''
**[[NWA Hall of Fame]] (Class of 2013)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.walkertexaslawyer.com/nwaringside.com/home/hall-of-fame/2013 | title=2013 | work=National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame | access-date=10 September 2015 | publisher=[[National Wrestling Alliance]] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529232254/http://www.walkertexaslawyer.com/nwaringside.com/home/hall-of-fame/2013 | archive-date=29 May 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
*'''[[NWA All-Star Wrestling]]'''
**[[NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)|NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship ''(Vancouver version)'']] ([[NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)#Title history|4 times]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[World Class Championship Wrestling|NWA Big Time Wrestling]]'''
**[[WCWA Tag Team Championship|NWA American Tag Team Championship]] ([[WCWA Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with Karl Von Brauner<ref name=WCCWAmTag>{{cite book | author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will | title=Wrestling Title Histories |chapter= (Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich] |  publisher=Archeus Communications | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-9698161-5-7}}</ref><ref name="NWAAmericanTag">{{cite web |url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/wccw/am-t.html |title=N.W.A. American Tag Team Title | access-date=19 January 2020 |work=Wrestling-Titles.com}}</ref>
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship]] ''(Texas version)'' ([[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)#Title history|2 times]]) - with Roy Heffernan (1), Karl Von Brauner (1)<ref name=NWATagTexas>{{cite book | first1=Royal | last1=Duncan | first2=Gary | last2=Will | title=Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present | location=Pennsylvania |year=2000 | publisher=Archeus Communications | isbn=0-9698161-5-4 | chapter=Texas: NWA World Tag Team Title [Siegel, Boesch and McLemore]}}</ref><ref name=NWATagTexasWeb>{{cite web | url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/nwa-ss/tx-nwa-t.html | title=National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title [E. Texas] | work=Wrestling-Titles | access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref>
*'''[[NWA Detroit]]'''
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Detroit version)'']] ([[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version)#Title history|3 times]]) - with Roy Heffernan (2), Ray St. Clair (1)<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[NWA Mid-America]]'''
**[[NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship]] ([[NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]])
**[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'']] [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)#Title history|4 times]]) - with Don Kent (3), Herb Welch (1)<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''New Zealand Wrestling Union'''
**[[NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship]] ([[NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship#title history|1 time]])
*'''[[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame]]'''
**[[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame#Tag Team|Class of 2003]] - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="HOF"/>
*'''[[Western States Sports]]'''
**NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Texas version)'' (1 time) - with Roy Heffernan<sup>'''A'''</sup><ref name="Titles"/>
** [[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'']] ([[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version)#Title history|1 time]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name=NWATagAmarilloWeb>{{cite web | url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/w/nwa/wt-world-t.html | title=National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles [W. Texas] | work=Wrestling-Titles | access-date=February 21, 2017}}</ref>
*'''[[World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis)|World Wrestling Association]]'''
**[[WWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[WWA World Tag Team Championship#title history|2 times]]) - with Don Kent<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''[[Worldwide Wrestling Associates]]'''
**[[NWA Americas Tag Team Championship|WWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[NWA Americas Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with Roy Heffernan<ref name="Titles"/>
**[[WWA International Television Tag Team Championship]] ([[WWA International Television Tag Team Championship#Title history|2 times]]) - with Roy Heffernan
*'''[[World Wrestling Council]]'''
**[[WWC World Tag Team Championship]] ([[WWC World Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with Don Kent<ref name="Titles"/>
*'''''[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'''''
**[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame]] ([[Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame#Inductees|Class of 1996]]) with Roy Heffernan and Don Kent

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://members.tripod.com/~ALSNOWSHEAD/tribute11.html New Fabulous Kangaroos Tribute page]
* [http://www.cooldudesandhotbabes.com/kangaroos2.html Roy Heffernan Interview]

{{Navboxes|
|list1=
{{NWA Hall of Fame}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Amarillo version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Buffalo Athletic Club version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Detroit version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Georgia version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Mid-America version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Texas version)}}
{{WWC World Tag Team Championship}}
{{The Fabulous Kangaroos}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Al}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
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[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Florida]]
[[Category:20th-century male professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version)]]
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[[Category:20th-century Italian sportsmen]]
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