RONNIE GARVIN

 

WILD SIX MAN ACTION

                                                                JANUARY 31, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

A brief Christmas hiatus from wrestling ends tonight when four matches, including a SIX MAN TAG TEAM contest, helps ring in 1967 at the LEXINGTON YMCA.

Popular KLONDIKE BILL and young BOBBY SHANE will be joined by big and rough IKE EAKINS for six man action against rugged opponents ALDO BOGNI, BRONCHO LUBICH and "COLONEL" HOMER O'DELL, who will be making an infrequent appearance as a wrestler. These two threesomes will battle it out for the best two falls out of three, with a one hour time limit.

Three singles contests compliment the big main event.

JESSE JAMES battles tough PEDRO ZAPATA.

Rough operator BIG BOY BLONDELL clashes with fellow meany PEDRO GODOY.

TINKER TODD and EL GAUCHO kick things off at 8:15.

THE ROYAL KANGAROOS - LORD JONATHAN BOYD and NORMAN FREDERICK CHARLES III

 

BOLO IN TEXAS DEATH MATCH

                                                                      August 4, 1958

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

66 Years Ago

They're going to settle something, and someone is likely to get hurt really bad when ERNIE DUSEK takes on THE GREAT BOLO for the third straight week in the feature bout of tonight's PARK CENTER wrestling card, presented by promoter JIM CROCKETT.

The reason for the possible injuries - - this time the two roughnecks will go at each other under TEXAS DEATH MATCH rules. This means that the two vicious veterans will battle each other until one hollers "I'VE HAD ENOUGH," or one is injured and unable to continue.

"Falls will not count, and it's strictly dog-eat-dog," says CROCKETT. There will be NO DISQUALIFICATION - - such as the match that ended last week when it appeared that DUSEK would unmask the hooded BOLO. The match two weeks back ended in a one-hour draw with falls equal. Both bouts ended in blood flowing from both opponents. Tonight's clash may not be for the squeamish.

Three other bouts make up the card.

The main prelim pairs CYCLONE ANAYA and GORY GUERRERO in a tag team match against ANTONE LEONE and FRANK JARES. The scrap is set for one hour and two-of-three falls.

There is a styled-for-action singles contest which has popular GEORGE BECKER facing HANS SCHNABEL, the barrel-chested veteran from Milwaukee. It's carded for one fall and 45 minutes.

The 8:15 opener sends NICK ROBERTS against 'Crybaby' BOB CORBY for one fall and 30 minutes. ROBERTS is the handsome Atlanta grappler who gave WORLD CHAMPION DICK HUTTON such a tough bout here two months ago.

THE RUSSIAN ASSASSINS with MGR. PAUL JONES

 

Near the end of his NWA run, #1 Paul Jones became the manager of the RUSSIAN ASSASSINS, a team put together, for the most part, to work a program against IVAN and NIKITA KOLOFF.

I liked them. The last old school hooded combo I really recall.

During their run, a bunch of whining fans, announcers and wrestlers claimed that PJ would hand his ASSASSIN # 2 the dreaded "foreign object," who would quickly load his mask (making sure that everyone in the immediate area, except the referee, saw it) and headbutt his opponent into the Twilight Zone for a quick pin.

The foreign object gimmick was far from original but even after decades of use by probably hundreds of hooded workers, it still created heat.

I say HOGWASH.

Please examine the provided photos and make up your own mind. I, for one, don't believe a FO was utilized. I'm sure it got hot wearing a mask and working under strong lights. RA #2 was probably just letting in a little fresh air when he fiddled with the red covering. (LOL)

Take a closer look...

Let's look again...

OK. Let's examine things and see what turns up...

Ref Teddy Long finds nothing. See, I told you PJ and the RA wouldn't stoop to such levels to win their matches.

I'm glad we got this cleared up.

RASSLIN' RESULTS

 

RALEIGH, N.C. - 1968

LARS, GENE and OLE ANDERSON defeated RIP HAWK, SWEDE HANSON and NELSON ROYAL.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT topped ALEX MEDINA and JESSE JAMES.

ABE JACOBS won from FRANK HICKEY.

THE AMAZING ZUMA bested 'BULLDOG' LEE HENNING.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1969

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON lost to NELSON ROYAL and PAUL JONES.

JESSE JAMES and RANDY CURTIS beat PEDRO and PANCHO VALDEZ.

MATTI SUZUKI topped SONNY FARGO.

EL LOBO pinned RON CHARLES.

CHARLESTON, W.V. - 1969

SAILOR ART THOMAS, NELSON ROYAL and PAUL JONES bested ALDO BOGNI, BRONCHO LUBICH and GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS in six man action.

BOBBY RED CLOUD toppled BOB GRIFFIN.

PANCHO VALDEZ and GREG PETERSON wrestled to a draw.

RALEIGH, N.C. - 1969

NELSON ROYAL, PAUL JONES and SANDY SCOTT topped LARS, GENE and OLE ANDERSON in six man action.

BOB GRIFFIN won from BOBBY PAUL.

GEORGE SCOTT bested PEDRO VALDEZ.

KOA TIKI pinned EL GAUCHO.

ABE JACOBS

 

THE INFERNOS with Mgr. J.C. DYKES

 

SEE YOU AT RINGSIDE

                                                                 November 25, 1967

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

57 Years Ago

The wild man from the Pampas, PAMPERO FIRPO, and his rugged tag team partner, THE MISSOURI MAULER, will be out to halt the winning streak of the popular Indian duo of BOBBY RED CLOUD and CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE in tonight's wrestling main event at the LEXINGTON YMCA.

The Indians have been on the warpath lately with victories over highly-touted teams and have built up a loyal following. Their opponents tonight are extremely rough and powerful, and the best-of-three falls contest should be loaded with action.

"Back to the reservation to make moccasins," THE MISSOURI MAULER predicts. "When Mr. FIRPO and I are finished with them, their squaws will have to nurse them both back to health."

Another two-out-of-three falls tag encounter pits two new combinations against one another. Popular LES THATCHER joins RUDY KAYE to face "BULLDOG" LEE HENNING and the mysterious masked wrestler THE MUMMY.

TINY MILLS, a big operator, meets popular Negro star LUTHER LINDSAY, and young ALEX MEDINA takes on newcomer CHUCK STANLEY in the singles matches of the evening.

Bell time is 8:15.

PAUL JONES

 

CHARLOTTE'S PARK CENTER ACTION

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

wrestling card at CHARLOTTE'S PARK CENTER occurred nearly sixty-four 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.

THE INFERNOS IN CONTROL

 

SWEDE HANSON, PLAYBOY GARY HART, RIP HAWK

 

BECKER / WEAVER CONFRONT DEMONS

                                                                      June 18, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

They wrestled apart here last Saturday, but the fans' favorite duo, GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER, are back together as a unit tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA in pro wrestling action.

Bell time is 8:15 p.m.

And it looks as if they will have their hands full when they enter the ring to meet a newer team to this wrestling area, THE MASKED RED DEMONS.

Just as their name implies, this tag team hides their identities under red masks and are very rough in the ring.

BECKER and WEAVER issued the following statement concerning their main event match for tonight, "We don't know who these men are or where they come from, but since coming to the area, they've beaten some good teams. And just like HAWK and HANSON and BOGNI and LUBICH, they win any way they can, with no regard for the rule book. So we'll have our hands full. But we're going to try to put a stop to them before they can get a foothold here."

THE MASKED RED DEMONS had no comment.

Another tag team loved by the fans, TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL, will be on tonight's card and will face the rugged veteran duo of IKE EAKINS and EL GAUCHO.

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

GEORGE "CATALINA" DRAKE will return here after an absence to face LUTHER LINDSAY, North Carolina's own top Negro star. These two have teamed together in the past, so the match should prove interesting.

In tonight's opening match, up-and-coming star, young PAUL DEMARCO squares off against veteran JOHN GUDISKI.

LES THATCHER AND DANNY MILLER

 

THE FEUD OF ALL FEUDS

                                                                     January 7, 1963

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

61 Years Ago

It started out as what could be called an ordinary rough and tough wrestling feud, but last week, it escalated into hatred of gigantic proportions.

That's the background for the best two-out-of-three falls match that headlines tonight's PARK CENTER wrestling card. The contest tonight gives THE KENTUCKIANS team of BIG BOY BROWN and TINY ANDERSON another shot at the villainous and hated masked team of THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO.

THE KENTUCKIANS succeeded in ripping off one BOLO mask during a recent TV bout seen on WBTV, but the other BOLO quickly stripped off his shirt and hid his partner's identity. Tonight, BROWN and ANDERSON say they'll rip off BOTH masks, boots, shirts and even tights, if necessary.

In the evening's other tag battle, THE FLYING SCOTTS, GEORGE and SANDY, will face the rugged duo of THE SICILIANS, LOU ALBANO and TONY ALTIMORE. This one is also set for the best-of-three falls.

DON WHITTLER takes on FELIX LAMBAN, and "TIGER" JACK VANSKY meets DOUG KINSLOW in singles action.

Bell time is 8:15, and a huge crowd is expected.

RICK AND SCOTT STEINER

 

COWBOYS BATTLE DEMONS

                                                                 September 10, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

TONI ROSE

THE MASKED RED DEMONS

with MGR. GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

TEX McKENZIE

KLONDIKE BILL

NELSON ROYAL

ABE JACOBS

A lumberjack match has been scheduled to see if two top wrestling teams, TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL on one side, and THE MASKED RED DEMONS on the other, can settle their differences.

Six other big wrestlers will spot themselves around the ring to prevent any run outs of a type taken by the RED DEMONS two weeks ago. With one of the masked men dangerously close to having his identity exposed, the DEMONS bolted to the safety of their dressing room, and the Texans won that match on a count out.

The lumberjack match is set for the best two-out-of-three falls within a one hour time limit.

Huge KLONDIKE BILL, with lumberjack experience, will pair up with the fast New Zealand native ABE JACOBS to meet two big men, GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS and 'BIG BOY' BLONDELL in the other best-of-three falls tag match of the evening.

A special event will send girl grapplers TONI ROSE and DIXIE JORDAN against one another in what should be a crowd pleaser. These two ladies have a history.

Newcomer DON KENT, who debuted here last week, meets the veteran CORSICA JEAN in a singles match, which kicks off the card at 8:15.

KURT & KARL VON BRAUNER

 

TOP HEEL TEAM DEBUTS IN LEXINGTON

                                                                     JUNE 25, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

A speedy team of popular heroes meets brutal and deliberate opponents in featured tag team wrestling at the LEXINGTON YMCA tonight starting at 8:15.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT, the "FLYING SCOTTS" as they are known in the wrestling business, pit their spectacular offense against the skin-headed bullies SKULL MURPHY and BRUTE BERNARD in the main event match. These two teams are long-time rivals.

The other tag battle matches the flashy RUDY KAYE and ABE JACOBS against rugged ruffians THE GREAT MALENKO and THE MISSOURI MAULER, teaming here for the first time.

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

A special attraction tonight matches two top-ranked Negro girl stars, as SWEET GEORGIA BROWN takes on PRINCESS UBANGI.

Popular STEVE BOLUS meets big JOHN GUDISKI in the opening match.

PAUL JONES & RICK RUDE

 

MID-ATLANTIC RING ACTION

 

JAKE (pre-'The Snake') ROBERTS clamps a headlock on THE GRAPPLER (LEN DENTON).

JOHNNY WEAVER holds the leg of THE MISSOURI MAULER (LARRY HAMILTON) as GEORGE BECKER lays one in. Referee ANGELO MARTINELLI observes.

High-flying DINO BRAVO coming in for a landing.

(This is gonna hurt.)

'The Russian Bear' IVAN KOLOFF snears at his victorious opponent.

The rugged ART NELSON puts the boots to the back of TOMMY SIEGLER.

DOWNTOWN DENNY BROWN

 

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.