A HOT JANUARY NIGHT

                                                                   January 11, 1969

Lexington, North Carolina

MR. WRESTLING and SAM STEAMBOAT

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

TERRY and RONNIE GARVIN

JESSE JAMES

Professional wrestling's 'Blonde Bombers' --- RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON --- will take on the hero unit of Hawaiian star SAM STEAMBOAT and the masked man MR. WRESTLING in tonight's main event at the Lexington YMCA.

The Canadian brother duo of TERRY and RONNIE GARVIN will meet fan favorites BOB RAMSTEAD and JESSE JAMES in the semi-final tag team match.

Both tag contests will be decided under a best two-of-three falls stipulation.

Preliminary singles bouts will find rugged ROCK HUNTER meeting young BILLY SPEARS and TINKER TODD facing another masked man in the guise of EL LOBO.

The action gets underway at 8:15 p.m.

J.C. DYKES AND THE INFERNOS

 

SUPER SIXTIES WRESTLING

                           Great JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS action throughout the

                                              MID-ATLANTIC  CHAMPIONSHIP area...

SILENTO RODRIGUEZ

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - 1969

SAM STEAMBOAT and MR. WRESTLING defeated HIRO MATSUDA and THE MISSOURI MAULER.

PENNY BANNER defeated BELLE STARR.

GREG PETERSON and SILENTO RODRIGUEZ topped JIMMY and BILLY HINES.

LES WOLFF beat TINKER TODD.

THE INFERNOS with J.C. DYKES


CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1970

GEORGE BECKER, JOHNNY WEAVER and TERRY KAY topped J.C. DYKES and THE INFERNOS in six man action.

PENNY BANNER bested TAMMY JONES.

BOB RAMSTEAD and RONNIE GARVIN wrestled to a draw.

LES WOLFF shaded TERRY GARVIN.

TEX McKENZIE


CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1967

THE MASKED RED DEMONS defeated GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER on a disqualification.

TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL won over GENE and LARS ANDERSON.

PENNY BANNER bested PEGGY ALLEN.

ANGELO MARTINELLI topped TONY NERO.

THE MISSOURI MAULER

(LARRY HAMILTON)

CHARLOTTE - 1968

THE MISSOURI MAULER and HIRO MATSUDA defeated HAYSTACK CALHOUN and THE AMAZING ZUMA.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT won from LARS and GENE ANDERSON.

TANK MORGAN lost to BOBBY RED CLOUD.

CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE topped THE MATADOR.

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

ROANOKE, VA. - 1969

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON beat ALDO BOGNI and BRONCHO LUBICH in a slugfest.

TAMMY JONES bested BELLE STARR.

ABE JACOBS won from JOHNNY HEIDEMAN.

JESSE JAMES beat EL GAUCHO on a disqualification.

BOB BURNS toppled CARL GOSSLIN.

THE ALASKANS - JAY YORK AND FRANK MONTE

 

CHILLIN' WITH RIP AND SWEDE

 Anyone who ever saw RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON wrestle knows that when the rugged duo was in the ring, it was all business. Just ask their opponents.

But even JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS' "BLONDE BOMBERS" needed some 'down time' away from the squared circle.

Time to relax, refocus and just have a good time.

Here's how RIP and SWEDE spent their time away from the arenas.

First, they work on their tans...

Then, it's off to the links...


"Swede, I wish you would hit Becker and Weaver as hard as you hit that last drive."

Time for a bit of refreshment...

Perhaps, 'politically incorrect' by today's standards, but it was all in fun.

INFERNO CURTIS SMITH

 

A 1969 CHARLOTTE CHRISTMAS CARD

                                                                 December 25, 1969

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

55 Years Ago

Promoter JIM CROCKETT has slated another CHRISTMAS DAY spectacular for the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM, starting at 8:15 p.m.

It is a charity card with a FENCE MATCH set as the headliner.

This type of match takes place inside a seven-foot high steel barrier, which eliminates any escape routes by the combatants.

The two teams confined will be fan favorites GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER and the angry twosome of SKULL MURPHY and BRUTE BERNARD.

In their last meeting, MURPHY enlisted the aid of a steel chair, smashing WEAVER's head into a bloody mess, then bolting to the dressing room. The fence will prevent MURPHY (or anyone else) from doing it this time.

This main event is set for two-out-of-three falls, within a one-hour time limit.

"Two other tag team matches are booked on tonight's card," said CROCKETT.

ABE JACOBS and LES WOLFE will face KURT VON STROHEIM and ART NELSON in one of them.

In the other, SAILOR ART THOMAS and LUTHER LINDSAY will collide with GENE and OLE ANDERSON, the MINNESOTA WRECKING CREW.

"It's a wrestling card with something for everybody," said CROCKETT, pointing to the Christmas spirit of the event. "We'll also have midgets and girls as well."

THE MAN

 

CHARLOTTE CHRISTMAS WRESTLING - 1968

                                                                   December 25, 1968

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

A total of eighteen professional wrestlers will participate in a charity program at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM tonight, presented by JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS.

A FENCE MATCH is the top attraction this Christmas. SAILOR ART THOMAS, GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER face THE MISSOURI MAULER, HIRO MATSUDA and HOMER O'DELL in this specialty. A seven-foot chain link steel fence is to be rigged around the squared circle. Contestants will do-or-die to the finish in this match, as neither team will be able to escape before the match is over.

The MINNESOTA WRECKING CREW, GENE and OLE ANDERSON, will tangle with JIMMY and BILLY HINES in the semi-final best-of-three falls match. Fans may recall that the HINES brothers wrestled a few years back as THE MASKED RED DEMONS.

There will be a special ladies wrestling contest.

Midgets are also on this holiday variety card. LORD LITTLEBROOK will defend his mighty honor against THE MIGHTY ATOM.

"BULLDOG" LEE HENNING will be out to take down NELSON ROYAL in a one-fall contest.

The opener sends TINKER TODD against PAUL JONES.

Tickets are available at the NATIONAL HAT SHOP and the COLISEUM box office. Doors open at 7:00 and the matches begin at 8:15.

SANDY SCOTT, RONNIE GARVIN, THUNDERBOLT PATTERSON

 

BILLY AND BRONCHO BASH

                                                                      March 25, 1963

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

A renewal of a big feud between Indian great BILLY TWO RIVERS and rugged Yugoslavian BRONCHO LUBICH will headline tonight's PARK CENTER wrestling card presented by promoter JIM CROCKETT.

TWO RIVERS holds a win over LUBICH in their last meeting, a bout that generated hard feelings on both sides, and the rematch should be a honey. It's set for two-of-three falls, one hour time limit.

The semifinal squares off two brother teams for tag team action. Fan favorites GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT go against DOC and MIKE GALLAGHER. This one is set for 45 minutes, two-of-three falls.

Three singles bouts complete the card.

These have GEORGE BECKER facing FRANK VALOIS.

CRUSHER ANGELO goes against DALE LEWIS.

DON WHITTLER battles JIM GRABMIRE.

All are one fall contests, with the first beginning at 8:15 p.m.

MAGNUM TA (TERRY ALLEN)

 

HEAT UNDER THE HOOD

 

THE INFERNOS with Manager J.C. DYKES

JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS, throughout the 1960s, was known in the professional wrestling world as the top territory for tag team wrestling. Probably more than ninety percent of the time, a JCP card was topped off with a tag match.

The list of main event teams who worked the MID-ATLANTIC area is a 'Who's Who' of the greatest combos ever in the business.

Other than THE BOLOS, the best masked team to ever hit the Carolinas and Virginia was a couple of guys who went by the ring name of THE INFERNOS. Along side them was a red-headed manager J.C. (Jimmy) DYKES.

There were, through the years, several incarnations of the INFERNO team (and countless impersonators), but the original two 'blue tigers' (as Dykes often called them) were FRANKIE CAIN and ROCKY SMITH. Neither men were big in stature by wrestling standards, but could they ever work!

In interviews, DYKES claimed the duo was European and spoke little English. He was the only person who could really communicate with them well, and did much of it by the use of blowing a whistle during their matches to give them strategic commands.

The wrestling fans, to create problems for the evil trio, soon began bringing their own whistles to the matches. The areas would become deafening with several hundred whistles being blown at the same time. A great way for the fans to be involved in the match.

DYKES also carried a metal canteen to the ring, giving his men a needed refreshment between falls of their matches. Naturally, the metal canteen often found its mark on the noggins of many a 'babyface' opponent.

And it was not beneath the dignity of J.C. to throw an occasional fireball at their adversaries. I recall George Becker and Les Thatcher at the receiving end on two different occasions.

But the 'gimmick' of THE INFERNOS that got the most heat (and this team's heat was as hot as the sun) was the loaded boot.

THE INFERNOS and DYKES drew big money in every territory they appeared, be it the Carolinas and Virginia, Florida, Texas, etc. They headlined countless wrestling cards facing each area's top teams (including other 'heel' teams).

J.C. DYKES died in 1993. ROCKY SMITH has also passed away. FRANKIE CAIN was the first to leave the team when he became pro wrestling's THE GREAT MEPHISTO. Cain was replaced by Rocky's brother CURTIS, who has passed as well.

JOHNNY WEAVER and RIP HAWK - - REUNITED

 

LIKES & DISLIKES BY J.C. DYKES

 

A bloodied WEAVER after being kicked with the loaded boot of THE INFERNO.

Happy 'Birthday Suit' to you, J.C. DYKES

WEAVER takes a tumble to the floor.

A battered INFERNO receives medical care.

---

During the JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS terror tenure of J.C DYKES and THE INFERNOS, the weekly wrestling souvenir program at JCP arenas often contained articles written by the red-headed manager in which he expressed his personal opinions of the competition as it pertained to his blue-masked duo.

Without any doubt, the two wrestlers he despised the most were GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER, then the top 'babyface' team in MID-ATLANTIC WRESTLING.

THE INFERNOS battled BECKER and WEAVER all over the JCP territory in one of the 'hottest' feuds in 1960's pro wrestling history.

One evening, after a jam-packed house at Charlotte's PARK CENTER, Gene Gordon was able to corner DYKES and ask him a few questions.

J.C. had been shooting off his mouth about what his boys would do to that 'old bum' and his 'half-witted partner'. The match that night was thrown out by the referee for uncontrollable wildness. 'We beat them to a pulp tonight, and only the prejudiced referee saved their skins. They're as yellow as can be and will probably never sign to wrestle us again."

'BECKER is a low life, he eats berries and bugs,' shouted DYKES. 'As far as Weaver, he's on the silly side."

GEORGE and JOHNNY, however, rushed to the promoter, demanding their schedules be changed so that they could get THE INFERNOS back in the ring right away. 'That mouth without a brain and those two cowards who are afraid to let the public see their ugly faces, are in for a real surprise,' countered BECKER.

The following Monday night, the rematch took place, again at PARK CENTER. And again, the house was packed to see THE INFERNOS and DYKES 'get theirs'.

WEAVER recorded the first fall, putting one of the masked men in slumber land from his trademark 'sleeper' hold. DYKES yelled and screamed to the official that JOHNNY had choked his man unto he passed out. The referee was not impressed by J.C.'s protest.

The second fall started with a very groggy INFERNO trying to stay on his feet, still reeling from the 'sleeper'. But then DYKES distracted the referee while the other INFERNO kicked WEAVER square in the head with the 'loaded boot' for the pin.

Fans rushed handkerchiefs and tissue to BECKER to help stop the bleeding of his partner. One fan offered his shirt.

The match was even.

The bell rang for the deciding fall. WEAVER barely answered the bell, his face a Gordon Solie 'crimson mask'. But he managed to continue, finally making a tag to BECKER, who came in like a madman. He floored both INFERNOS, knocking one out to the floor. GEORGE followed his rival outside the ring, ran the 'loaded boot' masked man into the ring post. Soon, this INFERNO was as bloody as WEAVER.

JOHNNY had cornered the other INFERNO and had the blue mask about half off when DYKES jumped into the fray. Approaching WEAVER (from behind, of course) with his metal canteen, his path was cut off by BECKER who battered DYKES until he could barely stand.

BECKER and WEAVER weren't able to remove a mask that night, but maybe they did one better. They removed J.C.'s clothes almost down to his 'birthday suit'. At this point, he blew his whistle, and a half-nude manager and his masked men (one a bloody pulp) set sail for the dressing room, forfeiting the match on a count out.

On a tirade in the dressing room, while his bloodied INFERNO received medical attention, DYKES began his ranting again, 'We will get BECKER and WEAVER if it takes a lifetime. That bug-eating BECKER and mule ears WEAVER have disgraced, humiliated and shamed my INFERNOS and me. Can you image two grownup men like these two dolts tearing my clothes off out there in front of thousands of people? If they want to act like children, they should both be placed in reform school with the other dirty-minded brats! When we first came to JCP, BECKER took off and went into hiding in the mountains somewhere until WEAVER sent out a posse to bring him back. WEAVER told BECKER a lie when he came back. He said that one of my INFERNOS burned his face with a fireball or something ridiculous like that. That is not what made the scar on old mule ear's face. Sailor Art Thomas dropped WEAVER on his head carrying him out of the ring after we beat the two of them one night. They're both no-good liars, and we'll send them into retirement before we leave the Carolinas. That's a promise.'

Although the two teams battled many more times, that promise went unfulfilled.

SCOTT AND RICK STEINER

 

THE INFERNOS FIREBALL LES THATCHER

 

KLONDIKE BILL AND ANDERSONS DEBUT

                                                                        JULY 9, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

Fan favorite JOHNNY WEAVER gets another crack at the SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP when he meets title holder THE MISSOURI MAULER in tonight's LEXINGTON YMCA pro wrestling two-out-of-three falls main event.

It will be a rematch of a thriller here several weeks ago in which the MAULER was able to hang on to his title only by a thread.

WEAVER employed his famous "sleeper hold" for what would have been the deciding fall, but he was outside the ropes, and the brutal (and fortunate) champ was allowed to retain his belt when the referee was forced to disqualify WEAVER.

JOHNNY has promised a different outcome tonight.

In the evening's tag team battle, the popular duo of ABE JACOBS and RUDY KAYE will meet LARS and GENE ANDERSON, a rugged twosome from Minnesota, who are making their Lexington debut.

This match is also for two-of-three falls.

Another big man of wrestling, Kodiak, Alaska's KLONDIKE BILL, also makes his first appearance here when he faces the tough veteran EL GAUCHO in one of two supporting bouts.

The 8:15 opener will send two bullies, IKE EAKINS and TONY NERO, against one another.

DON KERNODLE and RICKY STEAMBOAT

 

THOSE BLAZIN' INFERNOS

 

THE INFERNOS and J.C. DYKES ready to work...

(Under the hoods are ROCKY SMITH and his brother CURTIS. ROCKY was an original INFERNO. CURTIS replaced original INFERNO FRANKIE CAIN.)

DENNIS HALL in command of his INFERNO encounter...for the time being. That's referee Sam 'Lucky' Roberts in the background.

Popular NELSON ROYAL attempts to remove the INFERNO's mask...

J.C. shouts instructions to his men, who seem to be in a bad situation.

One of the 'managerial' skills of J.C. DYKES.

ROCKY SMITH, J.C. DYKES, FRANKIE CAIN

NELSON ROYAL in a pinch.

DON CURTIS about to catch fire.

Right in the kisser.

J.C. DYKES, FRANKIE CAIN, LES THATCHER

Looks like a rough day at the office.

Incredible GENE GORDON photo of J.C. DYKES, GEORGE HARBEN and THE INFERNOS at Charlotte's Park Center.

(from the CARROLL HALL collection)