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

 

DEALING WITH DEMONS, RED ONES

                                                   LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

JULY 2, 1966

Two new tag team combinations will be seen in action against a pair of established duets on tonight's LEXINGTON YMCA pro wrestling card.

Action kicks off at 8:15 p.m.

Popular GEORGE 'CATALINA' DRAKE and LUTHER LINDSAY will combine their talents for the first time to meet the rugged twosome of THE MISSOURI MAULER and THE GREAT MALENKO. DRAKE and LINDSAY are quick and agile and wrestle by the rule book. Across the ring, MALENKO and the MAULER are both rough wrestlers and have never heard of a wrestling rulebook.

Polished operators PAUL DEMARCO and KEN HOLLIS, both young guys loved by the fans, will join ranks to face off against the MASKED RED DEMONS in the other tag contest of the evening. The RED DEMONS continue to create problems for their opponents. In the short time they have been wrestling in LEXINGTON, they have taken both GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER, as well as GEORGE & SANDY SCOTT to the limit, one match by a double disqualification, the other a sixty-minute draw. Their identities remain a mystery.

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

Two singles matches, both promising lots of action, will send KARL GOTCH against big JOHN GUDISKI and popular STEVE BOLUS facing the veteran CORSICA JEAN.

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.

 

WANTED: THE GREAT BOLO

 

I specifically remember THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO wearing this garb when they returned to the Charlotte Coliseum in the late 1960s to face JACK BRISCO and TIM (MR. WRESTLING) WOODS.

THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO work over one of THE KENTUCKIANS in one of the biggest money-making feuds in pro wrestling history.

THE GREAT BOLO (Renesto) reaches for his 'foreign object' while working on BIG BOY BROWN of THE KENTUCKIANS. (Note the tape under the mask to cover Renesto's mustache.)

Big TEX McKENZIE works over the masked man.

Even bigger HAYSTACK CALHOUN tries to physically rip THE GREAT BOLO's hood off, along with the head the mask covers.

A 1961 posed photo of BOLO and THE GREAT BOLO when the two were working for JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS.

From the time I first started pro wrestling on TV, I was fascinated by a mysterious man who wore a mask and went by the name THE GREAT BOLO. This rulebreaker was the top heel in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS and drew money like nobody's business.

Every week, all across the Carolinas and Virginia, droves of people tuned in and turned out to see the likes of GEORGE BECKER, 'Irish' MIKE CLANCY, CHIEF BIG HEART and GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT rip off the hood of this hoodlum so we could all find out who he was (not taking into account that just because we might see his face, we would automatically know his name), but that was a mute point.

The mask of THE GREAT BOLO was his championship belt. To lose the mask was to destroy his wrestling career. Many years after the fact, we now know that THE GREAT BOLO was a superb grappler named TOM RENESTO. But according to an interview the late Mr. Renesto gave a few years before his passing, at the time, the other wrestlers did not actually know who was under the mask of THE GREAT BOLO. Promoter Jim Crockett demanded that Renesto travel alone and don the hood before entering the wrestling venue.

Very similar scenario as the old-time movie serials in which the villains were named The Scorpion, The Wrecker, The Crimson Ghost , The Lightning, etc. Only in the last chapter would the identity of the evil doer be exposed to the audience.

But, ironically, the identity of THE GREAT BOLO would be revealed by only one person in the wrestling business. That person was...THE GREAT BOLO.

A number of years after leaving JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS, THE GREAT BOLO (Renesto) and his partner BOLO were wrestling in Georgia as THE ASSASSINS when Renesto decided it was time to leave the business as an in-ring combatant.

He removed his own mask, and THE GREAT BOLO was no more.

 

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.

 

RIP AND SWEDE FACE THEIR DEMONS

                                                                    October 1, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

PAUL DEMARCO

BOBBY SHANE

THE MASKED RED DEMONS

with GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

PENNY BANNER versus TAMMY JONES

A BATTLE OF THE BULLIES features professional wrestling tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA with super roughnecks RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON going against the rowdy duo of THE MASKED RED DEMONS.

Both teams are known for their rough natures and lack of respect for the rules, and meeting each other tonight should pack quite a wallop. Fans who like it rough and tough should really get into this two-out-of-three falls battle.

Girl wrestlers will meet in a special one-fall event with the area's foremost female grappler, PENNY BANNER, meeting newcomer TAMMY JONES. Scouting reports on Miss JONES suggest she sometimes acts very unlady-like.

Popular and speedy BOBBY SHANE goes against the heavyweight veteran GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS, and sometimes SHANE partner, PAUL DEMARCO, meets a tough one in the likes of 'BIG BOY' BLONDELL in supporting matches.

 

CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD

 To my knowledge, THE INFERNOS were never fully unmasked in the ring, nor were their identities revealed to the fans.

Jim Crockett actually offered J.C. Dykes and THE INFERNOS a huge bonus to be unmasked all around his territory before they headed for other areas, but the trio refused the cash offer.

Actually, there was more than one team of THE INFERNOS, not uncommon for someone who was THAT hot (pardon the pun) in the business to have their ring personas ripped off. (Just try to imagine how many masked ASSASSIN teams there have been. Actually, there are STILL masked ASSASSINS wrestling in local indy outfits all over the country.)

But, back to THE INFERNOS, that is, the original ones.

If you have read some of my previous postings, it should be apparent that THE INFERNOS and J.C. DYKES were (and still are) at the top of my all-time 'heel' team list, and I've have been a pro wrestling fan now for over sixty years.

When THE INFERNOS burst upon the JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS wrestling scene back in the mid-1960s, they were an immediate sensation. They quickly joined BOGNI & LUBICH, HAWK & HANSON, MAULER & MALENKO and BERNARD & MURPHY as main event nasties. They immediately were causing in-ring trouble for BECKER & WEAVER, McKENZIE & ROYAL, the SCOTT brothers and all our other favorite babyfaces.

All of a sudden, J.C. DYKES was generating as much heat as a manager as his peer HOMER O'DELL (and that is saying plenty).

J.C. had his metal canteen (which he often used as a weapon) and that blasted whistle, playing it like a trumpet to signal his men during their match.

Add to that the fact that mysterious 'fireballs' appeared from time-to-time scorching the faces of some good guys (you can ask LES THATCHER about that) and, of course, that dreaded built-up wrestling boot (which many wrestlers claimed contained items varying from horseshoes to the kitchen sink).

These boys were so 'hot' in the territory that when they faced other heel teams in ring battles, the RIP & SWEDEs and the BRUTE & SKULLs drew the cheers of the crowd (at least for that one night).

THE INFERNOS took their ring gimmick to other territories besides JCP (such as Florida and Texas), and did the same blockbuster business there as well.

Over the course of their long run, some changes occurred within the group. The originals were FRANKIE CAIN and JIMMY 'ROCKY' SMITH. At one point, ROCKY had a heart attack (down in Texas, I believe) and how to bow out for a while, but returned later. FRANKIE eventually left to become wrestling's GREAT MEPHISTO and was replaced by ROCKY's brother CURTIS SMITH. Other INFERNOS included DOUG GILBERT, RON GIBSON, STAN PULASKI and KARL VON BRAUNER.

Then, of course, there were the copycats. When DYKES and his boys left Florida, Eddie Graham put two guys together and tried to pass them off as the originals. And to this day, like THE ASSASSINS, one can find masked men in indy outfits wrestling as THE INFERNOS.

FRANKIE CAIN is still with us. J.C. 'JIMMY' DYKES passed away in 1993. ROCKY SMITH is also gone.

But I still remember THE INFERNOS.

THE original INFERNOS

ROCKY SMITH (left) and FRANKIE CAIN (right)

A bloodied (and nearly unmasked) FRANKIE CAIN is checked out by manager J.C. DYKES.

DYKES consoles one of his men during a wild match.

Why the headgear on INFERNO ROCKY SMITH? It's because boxing champion JOE LOUIS was refereeing the match.

THE INFERNOS fall victim to GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER's "row your boat".

J.C. and the boys celebrate another victory.

During their Florida campaign, J.C. and ROCKY took issue with JOSE LOTHARIO's being on the wrestling program instead of THE INFERNOS.

Another bloody night in the ring.

J.C. DYKES submits to an interview, but refuses to disclose his men's identities.

A young TERRY FUNK gets an INFERNO boot to the face.

INFERNO FRANKIE CAIN unmasked.

INFERNO ROCKY SMITH unmasked.