A founding member of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948, Stecher controlled the NWA's "Minneapolis wrestling territory" which included much of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwestern United States.
In 1959, Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo took control of the company and left the NWA the following year.
The company was subsequently renamed the American Wrestling Association.
In its heyday, the AWA was able to hold "stadium show" supercards at Comiskey Park, the International Amphitheater, Rosemont Horizon, Soldier Field and other major venues.
Although its success continued into the early part of the 1980s wrestling boom, peaking with 23,000 fans at WrestleRock '86, the promotion was unable to compete against the national expansion of Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation, and eventually went bankrupt in 1991.