SWEDE HANSON

 

SALUTING CROCKETT STARS

          One would have to go back sixty or more years to remember all of these superstars who     appeared in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS...

Semi-reluctantly, I admit I am one who qualifies...

RAMON and ENRIQUE TORRES

TONY GAREA

JOHNNY VALENTINE

SKULL MURPHY

THUNDERBOLT PATTERSON

TEX McKENZIE

DANNY MILLER

 

JIM CROCKETT and GEORGE BECKER

 

SOME WON, SOME DIDN'T

 

TINKER TODD

CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1969

GENE and OLE ANDERSON topped MR. WRESTLING and ABE JACOBS.

JIMMY HINES whipped TINKER TODD.

BOB RAMSTEAD and JESSE JAMES wrestled EL GAUCHO and PEDRO GODOY to a draw.

BILLY HINES defeated BILLY SPEARS.

ARGENTINA APOLLO


RICHMOND, VA. - 1971

ARGENTINA APOLLO and LES THATCHER topped GENE ANDERSON and ART NELSON.

KOA TIKI and LUTHER LINDSAY defeated JIM GRABMIRE and JOHNNY HEIDEMAN.

NICK RUSSO won over JOE FURR.

BRUTE BERNARD stopped JIM DILLON.


GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT


CHARLOTTE, N.C. - 1966

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT beat KURT and HENRY VON STROHEIM.

PENNY BANNER defeated LINDA CARROLL.

DON CHUY bested TONY NERO.

RUDY KAY downed JACK DANIELS (cheers!).

ABE JACOBS topped CORSICA JEAN.


THE KENTUCKIANS
TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN


LYNCHBURG, VA. - 1967

THE KENTUCKIANS bested P.Y. CHUNG and HARU SASAKI.

JESSE JAMES and LES THATCHER wrestled to a no contest with JAN MADRID and GENE DUNDEE.

CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE defeated BULL RAMOS.

NELSON ROYAL toppled ANGELO MARTINELLI.


BRUTE BERNARD


RICHMOND, VA. - 1971

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER defeated GENE ANDERSON and ART NELSON.

BRUTE BERNARD and THE MISSOURI MAULER topped KOA TIKI and LUTHER LINDSAY

BARBARA NICHOLS won from TAMMY JONES.

JESSE JAMES beat ANGELO MARTINELLI.

JIM CROCKETT JR.

 

ANYONE FOR CARDS?

 

GREENSBORO, N.C. - 1966

GEORGE BECKER, JOHNNY WEAVER & LOU THESZ beat ALDO BOGNI, BRONCHO LUBICH & HOMER O'DELL in six man action.

THE MASKED RED DEMONS topped LUTHER LINDSAY & GEORGE "CATALINA" DRAKE.

PAUL DEMARCO toppled Big IKE EAKINS.

JESSE JAMES wrestled ABE JACOBS to a draw.

KLONDIKE BILL  pinned BOB MORGAN.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - 1966

GEORGE BECKER, JOHNNY WEAVER & TEX McKENZIE defeated HOMER O'DELL, ALDO BOGNI & BRONCHO LUBICH.

RIP HAWK & SWEDE HANSON won over BILLY TWO RIVERS & ABE JACOBS.

NELSON ROYAL pinned GORY GUERRERO.

KURT VON STROHEIM toppled KARL GOTCH.

HENRY VON STROHEIM defeated STEVE BOLUS.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - 1966

ALDO BOGNI & BRONCHO LUBICH with MGR. HOMER O'DELL beat TEX McKENZIE & NELSON ROYAL to retain the SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP.

GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER defeated BRUTE BERNARD & SKULL MURPHY via Disqualification.

RUDY KAY topped Big IKE EAKINS.

HENRY VON STROHEIM bested KARL GOTCH.

KURT VON STROHEIM over ROGER KIRBY.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - 1967

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT & TEX McKENZIE topple ALDO BOGNI, BRONCHO LUBICH & HOMER O'DELL in six man action.

GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER bested KURT and HENRY VON STROHEIM.

THE MISSOURI MAULER beat Big IKE EAKINS in a battle of the bullies match.

PEGGY ALLEN & TAMMY JONES defeated MARJORIE RAMSEY & JESSICA ROGERS.

NELSON ROYAL pinned THE GREAT MALENKO.

LUTHER LINDSAY over PEDRO GODOY.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - 1967

RIP HAWK & SWEDE HANSON vs. THE INFERNOS with MGR. J.C. DYKES ended in a double disqualification.

GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER over P.Y. CHUNG & HARU SASAKI.

ALDO BOGNI & BRONCHO LUBICH with MGR. HOMER O'DELL bested LUTHER LINDSAY & THE AMAZING ZUMA.

NELSON ROYAL pinned BULL RAMOS.

GREG PETERSON topped JERRY LONDON.

LES THATCHER defeated PEDRO GODOY.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - 1967

JOHNNY WEAVER beat NWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION GENE KINISKI in a non-title match.

RIP HAWK & SWEDE HANSON & THE MISSOURI MAULER beat GEORGE BECKER & GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT

NELSON ROYAL & PAUL JONES topped LARS and GENE ANDERSON via disqualification.

HIRO MATSUDA pinned LES THATCHER.

RUDY KAY stump pulled PANCHO VALDEZ.

JESSE JAMES toppled THE MATADOR.

RALEIGH, N.C. - 1972

THUNDERBOLT PATTERSON & JERRY BRISCO topped RIP HAWK & SWEDE HANSON with MGR. "PLAYBOY" GARY HART via disqualification.

THE ROYAL KANGAROOS destroyed ABE JACOBS & RANDY CURTIS.

SANDY SCOTT stretched GEORGE "TWO TON" HARRIS.

RONNIE GARVIN pinned BILLY HINES.

 

GERMANS DEMAND REMATCH

                                                               December 10, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

Two tag teams plus a battle between two pretty girl grapplers give interest to tonight's LEXINGTON YMCA mat card, kicking off at 8:15.

The popular duo of KLONDIKE BILL and ABE JACOBS are rematched tonight against KURT and HENRY VON STROHEIM. The German brothers made demands for this return match after a disputed loss to BILL and ABE here last Saturday.

PAUL DEMARCO and LUTHER LINDSEY, hero winners last week, return to face top competition in the likes of RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON, wrestling's "BLONDE BOMBERS."

Both tag team battles are set for the best two-out-of-three falls.

PENNY BANNER, the most popular girl wrestler around these parts, faces stiff competition when she faces TAMMY JONES, a not-so-nice lady, in a special one fall event.

TINKER TODD clashes with EL GAUCHO in the opening bout of the night. Don't look for many rules to be followed in this one.

 

 

SIX MEN GO TO WAR

                                                                    January 11, 1965

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

59 Years Ago

Wrestling moves to THE BIG DOME, the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM, tonight as promoter JIM CROCKETT offers a big six bout card that should offer the most avid fans more than their money's worth.

Heading the huge COLISEUM card is a rematch --- with a few extra stipulations thrown in. In one corner will be all 700 pounds of THE KENTUCKIANS, TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN, plus fan favorite GEORGE BECKER as their partner. Opposing them will be the hated trio of HOMER O'DELL, BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI.

O'DELL is usually clad in a tuxedo and stationed outside the ring, but tonight, he's in wrestling attire and included as the sixth participant.

"We're going to enclose the ring in a seven-foot tall chain link steel fence," CROCKETT announced, "Everybody's tired of Mr. ODELL running away when the going gets too hot. The fence should put a stop to that."

"There's also NO TIME LIMIT and NO DISQUALIFICATION in the two-out-of-three falls match," added CROCKETT.

Another tag team contest, also for the best-of-three falls, pits the popular combo of CHIEF BIG HEART and RUDY KAYE against the rugged duo of "BULLDOG" LEE HENNING and MIKE PAIDOUSIS.

A one-fall singles match promising to be very interesting sends the people's choice, JOHNNY WEAVER, against the always wild and unpredictable grappler, THE BEAST.

A special LADIES MATCH is on tap with the lovely PENNY BANNER taking on PENNY STRATTON in a one-fall contest.

Two other singles matches round out the card, which begins at 8:15.

New Zealand native ABE JACOBS faces a tough challenge against GEORGE "TWO TON" HARRIS, and EDUARDO CASTILLO meets a newcomer from the North Country who wrestles under the name of THE ALASKAN.

 

FROM WEST VIRGINNY TO SOUTH CAROLINA

THE INFERNOS and J.C. DYKES

NORFOLK, VA. - 1968

GEORGE BECKER, JOHNNY WEAVER and LUTHER LINDSAY won from THE INFERNOS and J.C. DYKES via DQ.

BOB NANDOR and JIM OSBORNE versus JOHNNY HEIDEMAN and FRANK MARCONI ended in a draw.

MARVA SCOTT pinned THE BLACK VENUS.

PEPPY GOMEZ defeated FRANK HICKEY.

THE FLYING SCOTT BROTHERS

ROANOKE, VA. - 1968

LARS and GENE ANDERSON toppled GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT.

BOBBY RED CLOUD and CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE bested JOHNNY HEIDEMAN and FRANK MARCONI.

PEPPY GOMEZ defeated FRANK HICKEY.

MARVA SCOTT pinned THE BLACK VENUS.

ABE JACOBS

LYNCHBURG, VA. - 1968

ABE JACOBS and LUTHER LINDSAY topped LARS and GENE ANDERSON.

TERRY and RONNIE GARVIN defeated PEPPY GOMEZ and JACK RICO.

BOB NANDOR bested PANCHO VILLA.

THE MATADOR lost to JESSE JAMES.

JESSE JAMES

CHARLESTON, W.V. - 1968

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT wrestled LARS and GENE ANDERSON to a draw.

ABE JACOBS and LUTHER LINDSAY toppled LEON BAXTER and EL GAUCHO.

OLE ANDERSON whipped JESSE JAMES.

BOB NANDOR defeated TINKER TODD.

BOBBY KAY won from JACK VANSKY.

THE VIKING

GREENVILLE, S.C. - 1965

THE KENTUCKIANS bested THE ALASKAN and THE BEAST.

RON REED * and GEORGE 'CATALINA' DRAKE defeated THE VIKING and FELIX LAMBAN.

STEVE BOLUS won from JACK VANSKY.

JACK VANSKY lost to NELSON ROYAL.

* RON REED later wrestled as BUDDY COLT.

TERRY TAYLOR

 

LARRY HAMILTON

THE MISSOURI MAULER

 

THE QUEEN OF JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS

 

It took Mary Ann Kostecki only one professional wrestling match to decide to change her name.

The transition in identification came not so many years ago in a small Ohio town where the shapely St. Louis blonde with the green eyes made her mat debut under the tutelage of the late Billy Wolfe.

"Sure, I was nervous until the bell rang, but you might say I was more embarrassed when I heard the ring announcer struggling with my name. I won the match and Billy agreed I had a name nobody could remember," said the statuesque young lady.

The new name...PENNY BANNER.

It has been written previously that Penny selected the name from the movie ARROWHEAD, a film she had seen that starred Charlton Heston, one of her favorite actors. "Heston's name in the movie was Banner, and my mother had always called me Penny as a little girl. So I became Penny Banner from my second wrestling match."

She didn't know it at the time but when Penny joined a judo class at a YMCA, it was her first step toward a pro mat career and eventually national stardom. Sam

Muchnick, president of the National Wrestling Alliance saw Penny giving a judo demonstration on television and was impressed with what he saw. Muchnick called her the next day after seeing the blonde flip a few Marines who were also on the TV show. The NWA President gave Penny a letter to Billy Wolfe, who ran an all-girl wrestling school in Columbus, Ohio, and she was on her way. And she was starting with the right man as Wolfe had been instrumental in the careers of the likes of Mildred Burke, Juanita Coffman, Therese Thiez, Mae Weston and The Fabulous Moolah.

When asked how long it took in training before she was assigned her first wrestling match, Penny replied, "When I first began training, Mr. Wolfe told me it usually took about six to nine months of serious conditioning before any girl got her first chance. But with my judo and physical education experience, I got the green light after one week."

.

As she gained experience, Penny sharpened her skills and rolled up an impressive string of wins while campaigning through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. Girl wrestling is very popular in these areas. She continued her march over some of the top female performers in the country and sought a match with June Byers, who had succeeded Mildred Burke as the NWA women's champion. "It started that Byers was taking on all comers, and I made up my mind that this was my big chance. I walked into the ring in Columbus one night and challenged her. She accepted my challenge." Penny surprised a lot of people that night by taking the highly-touted Texas lass to a ten-minute time limit draw. A later match for the title saw Byers winning the first fall, Penny the second, and time expiring before the third fall could begin.

June Byers was the victim of a serious automobile accident shortly after her last match with Penny and forced to retire. Banner then teamed up with Bonnie Watson for tag events and were highly successful until romance broke up the duo when Bonnie married. Betty Hawkins became Penny's partner, and they won the Western Canada girls' tag title and were undefeated for two years. Betty then married, and Penny was forced to again find a new partner. She was Lorraine Johnson. Together, they won the Women's World Tag Title in St. Joseph, Missouri and had a long winning streak until Cupid entered the picture again. But this time it was Penny who married...a popular Indianapolis wrestler, Johnny Weaver. The two would later have a daughter, Wendi, who at six months of age made Banner think differently about her career. "My wrestling schedule was keeping me away from Wendi and Johnny. Being a wrestler was thrilling but my family was more important to me."

As Wendi grew up, Penny and Johnny switched their home from St. Louis to Charlotte, North Carolina, where Johnny made his wrestling home. Penny wrestled a limited schedule, finding the balance between her career and being a good wife and mother.

When time permits, the Weaver clan enjoy golf and bowling plus Johnny's penchant for watching Sunday sports on TV and a good game of cards. Penny and Wendi, now twelve, love horses and are excellent riders. They own quarter horses not far from their home and compete in numerous shows in the Charlotte area. They have a roomful of ribbons and trophies in their home which they have won competing.

Penny enjoys simple tastes in cooking vegetables, mashed potatoes, roast beef, stuffed peppers and sauerkraut. She also believes every woman should take good care of their bodies. "Our bodies are like a house. If we take care of it, it will take care of us. I like to work out three times a week." Banner has had her share of injuries over the years, including a bad knee which is one of her main weaknesses right now. It has been dislocated five times with ligament and tendon damage.

But for now, Penny will continue to wrestle when she wants. And why not? Penny Banner still rates high among the top ten female wrestlers in the world today.

Taken from WRESTLING REVUE, January 1974 and written by GENE GORDON.

 

THE MICHIGAN WRECKING CREW

                                                                        July 31, 1965

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

JOHN and CHRIS TOLOS

RON REED

DALE LEWIS

THE VIKING

ABE JACOBS

LUTHER LINDSAY

Brothers JOHN and CHRIS TOLOS, known as 'THE MICHIGAN WRECKING CREW', will face tough competition in a LEXINGTON YMCA pro wrestling feature tonight.

This time out, the TOLOS brothers, victorious last Saturday over GEORGE 'CATALINA' DRAKE and RON REED, will be pitted against the stellar and spectacular duo of New Zealand's ABE JACOBS and former AAU and Olympic mat star DALE LEWIS. The two teams will go at it in a two-out-of-three falls encounter.

RON REED * will return tonight and will face THE VIKING, a rugged competitor, in the evening's semi-final. It's the best-of-three falls as well.

LUTHER LINDSAY, a local Negro star, and very popular with the fans, meets the Frenchman FELIX LAMBAN in one preliminary.

In the opening contest, young ROY DURAN will attempt to halt big bully GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS, who has been on quite a tear of late.

Action gets underway at 8:15 tonight.

* RON REED would later wrestle using the name BUDDY COLT.

SAILOR ART THOMAS