THE ASSASSIN (JODY HAMILTON)

 

ACTION AT CHARLOTTE'S PARK CENTER

          It's difficult and somewhat sad to realize that this JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS

wrestling card at CHARLOTTE'S PARK CENTER occurred sixty-five years ago...

THE AMAZING ZUMA

THE GREAT BOLO

HAYSTACK CALHOUN

'IRISH' MIKE CLANCY

LARRY 'CRUSHER' HAMILTON

May 3, 1960

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Two of the hottest wrestling personalities to hit the Charlotte grappling scene in many years will collide tonight at the PARK CENTER to settle who is better.

It's THE AMAZING ZUMA, the acrobatic South American, going against the hooded menace, THE GREAT BOLO. They'll get one hour, two of three falls, to decide the winner.

The semiwindup has JACKIE FARGO and DON STEVENS tackling rugged RAY VILLMER and 'IRISH' MIKE CLANCY in tag team warfare.

The main prelim has 600-pounder HAYSTACK CALHOUN going against the nasty German KARL VON HESS and the 8:15 opener sends BOB BOYER against LARRY 'CRUSHER' HAMILTON *

* LARRY 'CRUSHER' HAMILTON later wrestled as THE MISSOURI MAULER.

ARN ANDERSON

 

SKIN HEADS BATTLE HILLBILLIES

                                                                      December 5, 1964

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

61 Years Ago

A SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH, growing out of a disputed finish of a tag battle last week, features tonight's wrestling card at the LEXINGTON YMCA, kicking off at 8:15.

GEORGE BECKER, who served as referee last week after the assigned official was injured and who was involved in the final fall, will join last week's winners THE KENTUCKIANS, TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN, to form one team. The two angry losers of the same match, BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY, will be joined by THE BRUTE to form what should be one of the roughest trios ever to enter the Lexington ring.

The battle will go for the best two-out-of-three falls with a one hour time limit.

Girl wrestlers PENNY BANNER and MARGIE RAMSEY will square off in a special attraction.

The opening match sends GEORGE "TWO TON" HARRIS against young DOUG GILBERT.

PAUL JONES AND NELSON ROYAL

 

PLAYBOY GARY HART GETS HIS

 You could push a mild-mannered guy like JERRY BRISCO only so                                                       far. 'Playboy' GARY HART crossed the line and paid the price!

"Chain matches disgust me," claimed JERRY. "If a wrestler can't win a match on his ability alone---then he should get out of the business."

Then why did BRISCO end up in a 1973 CHARLOTTE COLISEUM ring battling 'Playboy' GARY HART in a CHAIN MATCH?

The whole bloody mess stemmed from a title match the night OLE ANDERSON hoped to grab JERRY's EASTERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP.

At a point in the match, it seemed that OLE was really on the short end of a wrestling match, and that didn't happen often. ANDERSON was the victim of a series of dropkicks, spinning toe holds and the abdominal stretch. The end appeared to be near.

Enter GARY HART. Angry that he hadn't been given a title match as he had demanded, HART jumped into the ring to OLE's defense---with a chain.

The heavy metal object left its marks on BRISCO. The referee disqualified ANDERSON due to HART's outside interference. JERRY remained EASTERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

Immediately, HART challenged BRISCO to a match...a CHAIN MATCH. The 'Playboy' and the man he managed, RIP HAWK, told everyone that JERRY wouldn't accept the challenge...because he was yellow.

But they were wrong.

The match was signed for The Big Dome in CHARLOTTE.

It was a night GARY HART would regret. Although he had a few shining moments during the match, the night belonged to JERRY BRISCO. HART was soon a bloody mess, so bad that RIP HAWK grabbed his manager and dragged his limp body to the dressing room and on to the hospital.

Talk about a plan that backfired.

The referee secures each end of the chain to the combatants' wrists.

HART gets the advantage by choking BRISCO with the heavy chain.

The 'Playboy' inflicts more damage to JERRY.

The tide of battle changed, as RIP HAWK helps his manager from the ring.

The EASTERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION is victorious.

RIP HAWK BATTLES GENE ANDERSON

 

BAD BOYS! BAD BOYS!

                                                                       July 28, 1969

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

PARK CENTER is a great venue for professional wrestling as proven over the years, but the building may not be able to handle the action tonight when two of the very roughest and brutal tag teams (and constant rule breakers) in the business collide head-on in the evening's headline attraction.

In what has to be billed as a BATTLE OF THE BULLIES, the skin headed duo of BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY clash with wrestling's 'BLONDE BOMBERS' RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON. Sympathies to whichever referee is assigned the job of officiating this two-out-of-three falls contest. One may describe the match as two locomotives colliding at breakneck speed.

BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

EL LOBO

ABE JACOBS

JOHNNY HEIDEMAN

ROCK HUNTER

LES WOLFE

More tag team action is in store for fans attending tonight when the popular duo of New Zealander ABE JACOBS and his youthful partner LES WOLFE face the rugged ROCK HUNTER and his masked partner EL LOBO. No one seems to know the identity of EL LOBO, and if HUNTER actually does, he isn't talking. This is also a best-of-three falls match.

Two singles matches will open the 8:15 card when JESSE JAMES takes on TOM BRADLEY and the youngster MATTI SUZUKI faces veteran tough guy JOHNNY HEIDEMAN.

RICKY STEAMBOAT

 

BIG CARD IN LEXINGTON, NC

                                                                        May 24, 1969

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

56 Years Ago

Power-packed action is offered wrestling fans in an all-star card at the LEXINGTON YMCA tonight, kicking off at 8:15.

The first of two big tag team matches will send the "BLONDE BOMBERS" RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON against the popular Texas twosome of NELSON ROYAL and PAUL JONES. The Texans are fast and high-flying, the "BOMBERS" mean and rugged, so the clash of styles could make for just a plain old battle.

Co-featuring the agenda will be a tag battle between the popular duo of Hawaiian SAM STEAMBOAT and partner MR. WRESTLING when they face the highly dangerous combo of THE INFERNOS. Interesting that STEAMBOAT is the only participant who doesn't hide his true identity behind a mask. Both teams have been on a winning streak lately, so something's gotta give in this one. Add in THE INFERNOS' crafty manager, J.C. DYKES, and anything might happen.

Both tag matches will go the best-of-three falls.

Rough PANCHO VALDEZ meets young RANDY CURTIS and fan favorite GREG PETERSON will contest BOBBY PAUL in the evening's first match.