The Fabulous Kangaroos

Donning bush hats and carrying cardboard boomerangs, the Fabulous Kangaroos were as Australian as you could get. The gimmick was the brainchild of Italian Australian native Giancoma Costa, who became known as Al Costello. Costello formed the team along with Roy Heffernan, a friend from his bodybuilding days in his native Australia. Although there would be several incarnations of the team, Costello and Heffernan was the most famous pairing. Touring several territories, the Kangaroos helped popularize tag team wrestling in the 50's and 60's.

One of The Kangaroos' most prominent runs came in Capitol Wrestling (now WWE). Managed by "Wild" Red Berry, who added color to the team, they would be very successful. Headlining Madison Square Garden several times, they battled the likes of Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez and drawing large gates. Tolos Brothers and Bastien Brothers were other notable foes. Tag gold wouldn't elude the Kangaroos as they captured the NWA United Tag Team Championship (which evolved into the WWE World Tag Team Titles) three times.

In 1967 Heffernan returned to Australia as he became homesick, ending the original Kangaroos. Costello would replace him with Tinker Todd, a British wrestler who gains some notoriety working in the Carolinas under Jim Crockett Sr. Todd was renamed Ray St. Clair and the pair toured the WWWF, wrestling at the old Madison Square Garden before it closed. However, this incarnation of the Kangaroos only lasted six months as a degenerative knee hampered St. Clair and forced him to retire.

Despite yet another departure, Costello didn't give up on the Kangaroos team and he discovered Don Kent, an American wrestler working in the Detroit territory. The Costello-Kent pairing would last as long as the original Kangaroos and became the second most famous incarnation. As with previous runs, the Kangaroos toured the WWWF albeit briefly and a highlight was a classic 45 minute draw against Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Sr. at Madison Square Garden.

Costello retired from in ring in the late '70s though he would manage other incarnations of the Kangaroos. A decade later he was featured in a Legends Battle Royal held by the then-WWF in 1987, competing with other greats such as Nick Bockwinkel, Lou Thesz, Pedro Morales, Bobo Brazil, Gene Kiniski, Ray Stevens, Killer Kowalski and Pat O'Connor.