BOLO BRUTALITY

We don't hear much talk anymore about JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS wrestling as far back as the late 1950s.

Many of the adult fans (and wrestlers) of that era have passed away.

But there are a few of us who were just youngsters at that time who remember many of the stars of sixty years ago.

Good guy-wise, there were GEORGE BECKER, 'Irish' MIKE CLANCY, DICK STEINBORN and RED BASTEIN, to name a few.

On the other side of right and wrong were guys like THE SMITH BROTHERS, DUKE KEOMUKA and MR. MOTO.

But many fans of today, even though they don't remember them or weren't around to see them, have heard of THE BOLOS.

JCP wrestling fans still talk about THE BOLOS.

There were probably as many guys at my elementary school who tried to make a BOLO mask out of one of their Mom's discarded pillow cases who wore bath towels as Superman capes.

Making a BOLO mask wasn't easy. I found that out.

First, in the late 1950s, there was THE GREAT BOLO (Tom Renesto). Then, in the early 1960s, the masked man added an identical-looking partner, BOLO (Jody Hamilton). THE GREAT BOLO and/or BOLO were the top heels in JCP for close to six years, before heading further south, eventually changing their names to THE ASSASSINS.

Fans all over the MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING territory bought many a ticket to the matches to see THE BOLOS not only lose, but be unmasked.

Hero grapplers such as THE KENTUCKIANS, BECKER, WEAVER, THE SCOTTS, CHIEF BIG HEART, BILLY TWO RIVERS, HAYSTACK CALHOUN and MIKE CLANCY all tried over and over to expose the identities of the hooded hoodlums, but, alas, it never happened. Occassionally, THE BOLOS lost a match and even a mask here and there, but they always escaped protecting their identities.

Not until years later in Georgia, when Tom Renesto retired from active wrestling and voluntarily removed his mask on television, did the public ever know the identity of either of these men.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

On a summer afternoon in 1987, in Charlotte, North Carolina, CROCKETT PARK was the scene of one of the most fascinating sports competitions in the Tarheel state's history.

It wasn't Duke playing North Carolina, it wasn't the LA Dodgers against the SF Giants, not even the Boston Red Sox against the NY Yankees.

On this day, before the birth of the CHARLOTTE HORNETS, the CAROLINA PANTHERS or the CHARLOTTE BOBCATS, the professional wrestlers of JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS took on a team of employees of the Queen City's WSOC RADIO station for a softball charity fund raiser.

'The Russian Nightmare' NIKITA KOLOFF plays his left field postion. (It is rumored that Nikita tried to 'sickle' the home plate umpire on a disputed called third strike.)

Rock 'n' Roll Expresser RICKY MORTON makes a great play at shortstop.

'Hands of Stone' RONNIE GARVIN warms up to pitch for JCP.

BARRY WINDHAM takes his cuts at the plate.

A look into the MID-ATLANTIC dugout (how many can you name?)

Oh yes, if you're interested, the boys of JCP won the game 4 - 0.

DID YOU SEE...

MR. WRESTLING

CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1970

GENE and OLE ANDERSON versus THE INFERNOS with J.C. DYKES ended in a double DQ

BOB GRIFFIN and MR. WRESTLING downed JOHNNY HEIDEMAN and TOM BRADLEY

PEPE GOMEZ and GREG PETERSON wrestled to a draw

JESSE JAMES defeated BOBBY RED CLOUD

PAMPERO FIRPO

RALEIGH, N.C. - 1967

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT no contested LARS and GENE ANDERSON

PAMPERO FIRPO beat DON CHUY

THE MISSOURI MAULER defeated NELSON ROYAL

THE FABULOUS MOOLAH and TONI ROSE topped DONNA CHRISTENELLO and DORA NICHOLS

THE AMAZING ZUMA over BULL RAMOS

'BULLDOG' LEE HENNING

RALEIGH, N.C. - 1968

THE INFERNOS and J.C. DYKES whipped ABE JACOBS, NELSON ROYAL and LUTHER LINDSAY in six man action

TERRY and RONNIE GARVIN defeated PEPE GOMEZ and JACK RICO

'BULLDOG' LEE HENNING bested ALEX MEDINA

PAUL JONES toppled JIM GRABMIRE

NIKITA MULKOVICH

LYNCHBURG, VA. - 1969

THE INFERNOS with J.C. DYKES fell to GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER

NELSON ROYAL and PAUL JONES topped JIM GRABMIRE and 'BULLDOG' LEE HENNING

PEPE GOMEZ bested JOHNNY HEIDEMAN

NIKITA MULKOVICH lost to LUTHER LINDSAY

BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY

GREENVILLE, N.C. - 1970

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT defeated GENE and OLE ANDERSON

BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY lost to JOHNNY WEAVER and JOHN L. SULLIVAN *

JOHNNY HEIDEMAN beat JOE FURR (who didn't beat Joe Furr?)

TINKER TODD topped JIM GRABMIRE

* JOHN L. SULLIVAN had me baffled. I have no recollection of this man working for JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS, especially working on top with JOHNNY WEAVER.

So I went to the man who would have the info, if anyone would. And he did.

CARROLL HALL provided the following:

"JOHN L. SULLIVAN was not here that long. He went on to become 'LUSCIOUS' JOHNNY VALIANT. It was sort of being in the right place at the right time. I remember seeing him only once or twice on TV.

According to the records kept by JOHNNY WEAVER, GEORGE BECKER's mother-in law passed away on March 26,1970. That night in Greensboro, North Carolina, GEORGE and JOHNNY dropped the ATLANTIC COAST TAG TEAM belts to GENE and OLE ANDERSON, most likely because BECKER and WEAVER were booked solid at the time, and BECKER was going to take nearly three weeks off.

GEORGE's name was marked through in JOHNNY's records and replaced with 'SULLY' (SULLIVAN) for a portion of those matches. It looks like SULLIVAN was not working out as JOHNNY then marked through some of the booked tag team opponents' names and changed them to singles matches between himself and one of the other guys."

Thank you CARROLL.

BACKYARD WRESTLING...sort of

August 24, 1967

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

When I use the term "back yard wrestling," I'm not talking about kids of today doing a big splash off their roof down onto a trash can.

I actually mean that on a hot night, fifty-three summers ago, JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS scheduled a big night of wrestling in my home town.

So, there it was, the big grappling stars of WBTV and WGHP right there in my own "back yard"...so to speak.

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER

---

The final open air wrestling program of the year will be presented in Tiger Stadium tonight under the sponsorship of COMMUNITY BASEBALL, INC., and the four match program will send into action some of the top names of the mat sport.

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER, the SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS, will meet the rugged team of RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON in the featured event, scheduled for the best two-out-of-three falls within a one hour time limit. It's a non-title match, but the battle will renew a long-time mat rivalry and definitely carries championship status, for should HAWK and HANSON win tonight, it will put them in a great position to force a championship showdown with the titleholders..

An added tag team match on the star-studded program will see the former tag champions, ALDO BOGNI and BRONCHO LUBICH, with their controversial manager, HOMER O'DELL, facing a team composed of two of the rising young heavyweights in the business - blond LES THATCHER of Hammond, Indiana, and RUDY KAY of Chicago, Illinois. This, too, is for the best-of-three falls, and carrying a 45-minute time limit.

Adding to the luster of the card is a special event in which THE MISSOURI MAULER, the SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, will meet NELSON ROYAL, the aggressive and popular partner of TEX McKENZIE, and an outstanding star in his own right.

The opening event will see PAMPERO FIRPO, the unpredictable man from Argentina, meeting the young star ROGER KIRBY of Muncie, Indiana.

Ringside tickets are on sale at the STATESVILLE CITY NEWS STAND on a first-come, first-serve basis.

NELSON ROYAL

THE MISSOURI MAULER


BRONCHO LUBICH, HOMER O'DELL, ALDO BOGNI

LES THATCHER and RUDY KAY
---
GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER, the most popular wrestlers ever in the Carolinas, will devote time prior to tonight's program to appear and greet their many friends in the grandstand and at ringside. The two stars will sign autographs and chat with fans from 7:45 until the 8:15 starting time, so here is the opportunity for all folks who have wanted to meet these fine sports figures to do so.

Ticket prices are set at $2.00 for ringside seats, $1.50 for general admission and 75 cents for children under 12.

(Taken from the STATESVILLE RECORD & LANDMARK - August 24, 1967)


Regretfully, a massive summer storm ripped through Statesville during the day, and the program was canceled.

I was one unhappy sixteen-year-old that night.

The MEDICS and the PROFILE

December 18, 1961

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

59 Years Ago

There's an old adage that "nice guys finish last," and that's the promise of the mystery team of THE MASKED MEDICS and RIP "The Profile" HAWK, joining forces to take on three "nice guys" at tonight's PARK CENTER wrestling card.

Opposing "The Profile" and THE MEDICS will be ABE JACOBS, LENNY MONTANA and DON McCLARITY, three tough cookies who prefer to wrestle cleanly. Just whether each trio will stick to its tested methods, and what the opposition will do if this is the case, will make for an interesting two-out-of-three falls main event.

The semi-final will send Indian CHIEF BIG HEART against rugged GYPSY JOE, and the main prelim squares off BILL PARKS against tough LAVERNE BAXTER.

The 8:15 opener bills HENRY PHILLIPS against "Roughhouse" SONNY FARGO for a one fall, twenty minute match.