JUNE 1964 STATESVILLE, N.C. WRESTLING

June 19, 1964

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

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WRESTLING and the FOURTH OF JULY

Thinking back through all of my MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING memories, I recall that JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS was synonymous with our nation's INDEPENDENCE DAY.

The point during the summer season in which JCP held BIG shows all over their territory.

In the final years, it was THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH, a virtual month-long tour throughout the United States.

In the earlier years, the JULY 4th shows were limited to the Carolinas, Virginia and West Virginia. But they were still BIG cards at the big venues.

My territory was limited to Greensboro, Charlotte and Winston-Salem, N.C., so let's go back and revisit some of the great FOURTH OF JULY shows JCP provided...

GOD BLESS AMERICA

GREENSBORO, N.C.
July 4, 1963

GEORGE BECKER and ARGENTINA ROCCA topped BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI with HOMER O'DELL.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT bested DOC and MIKE GALLAGHER.

JOHNNY WEAVER and RIP HAWK wrestled to a draw.

LITTLE BOY BLUE stopped CHICO SANTANA.

BRENDA SCOTT pinned OLGA MARTINEZ.

GREENSBORO, N.C.
July 5, 1962

HANS SCHMIDT defeated PAT O'CONNOR to become the NWA U.S. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

GEORGE BECKER and ARGENTINA ROCCA whipped P.Y. CHUNG and TARO MYAKI.

RIP HAWK defeated JOHNNY WEAVER via DQ.

PENNY BANNER pinned ANN LAVERNE.

DICK STEINBORN topped ANGELO SAVALDI.

ABE JACOBS and ROCK HUNTER wrestled to a draw.

GREENSBORO, N.C.
July 4, 1964

HAYSTACK CALHOUN and JOHNNY WEAVER won over THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO via countout.

PENNY BANNER and JUDY GLOVER toppled CORA COMBS and KATHY O'BRIEN.

TIM WOODS defeated FRANK VALOIS.

NICK KOZAK and JOHN HEATH wrestled to a draw.

BOB BOYER and LORD LITTLEBROOK got past PEE WEE LOPEZ and PEDRO GODOY.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
July 1, 1967

THE INFERNOS with J.C. DYKES defeated GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER via DQ.

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON lost to THE KENTUCKIANS via DQ.

P.Y. CHUNG and HARU SASAKI topped DON CHUY and JERRY LONDON.

PENNY BANNER pinned DONNA CHRISTIAN.

LUTHER LINDSAY won over BULL RAMOS.

GREENSBORO, N.C.
July 3, 1975

JOHNNY VALENTINE defeated HARLEY RACE to become the NWA U.S. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

GENE and OLE ANDERSON topped ANDRE THE GIANT and PAUL JONES.

RUFUS R. JONES was the winner of the 21-MAN BATTLE ROYAL.

Winners of single matches were KEN PATERA, RUFUS R. JONES, BORIS MALENKO, STEVE KEIRN, KLONDIKE BILL, RON STARR and SANDY SCOTT.

GREENSBORO, N.C.
July 4, 1976

TERRY FUNK retained the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP over WAHOO McDANIEL.

BLACKJACK MULLIGAN lost to RUFUS R. JONES via DQ.

ANDRE THE GIANT and PAUL JONES topped GENE and OLE ANDERSON.

JOHNNY WEAVER won over 'CRUSHER' JERRY BLACKWELL.

STEVE BOLUS and ANGELO POFFO wrestled to a draw.

JOHNNY EAGLE topped DR. FUJIANI.

HANS SCHROEDER pinned KLONDIKE BILL.

GREENSBORO, N.C.
July 3, 1977

GREG VALENTINE retained the MID-ATLANTIC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP via DQ over WAHOO McDANIEL.

ANDRE THE GIANT and THE MIGHTY IGOR defeated THE MASKED SUPERSTAR with BORIS MALENKO and BLACKJACK MULLIGAN.

RICKY STEAMBOAT retained the MID-ATLANTIC TV CHAMPIONSHIP over RIC FLAIR.
(Flair won the match but not within the 15-minute TV time limit.)

BOBO BRAZIL and TIGER CONWAY JR. bested THE MISSOURI MAULER and KIM DUK.

BRUTE BERNARD lost to JOHNNY WEAVER.

DANNY MILLER (subbing for FRANKIE LAINE) topped 'CRUSHER' JERRY BLACKWELL.

STEVE KOVAKS wrestled the masked MR. X to a draw.


(Illustrations from CLASSIC CLIPS, compiled by MARK EASTRIDGE)

1962 STATESVILLE, N.C. WRESTLING - PART FIVE

November 16, 1962

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

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1962 STATESVILLE, N.C. WRESTLING - PART FOUR

June 29, 1962

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

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SPOTLIGHTING THE UNDERCARD GUYS

Not every wrestler who worked for JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS could headline the wrestling card.
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Someone had to work underneath at mid-card or lower level to fill out the show. But that certainly didn't mean that these guys didn't give their all, night after night, to give the audience their admissions' worth.
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And because of their efforts, I give recognition to five of the many guys who fit into this category, at least during their tenure with JCP.

JIM LANCASTER

ROBERTO SOTO

TOMMY SEIGLER

SGT. JACQUES GOULET

S.D. (SPECIAL DELIVERY) JONES

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race - May 16, 2009

Wrestling icon RIC FLAIR named Honorary Race Director for SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE...

To be the man, you've got to beat the man, so becoming Honorary Race Director at Lowe's Motor Speedway just became a whole lot tougher. Speedway officials announced March 13th that RIC FLAIR, 16-time WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT WRESTLING CHAMPION, will serve as Honorary Race Director for the 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 16, 2009.

Sometimes, things just work out.

Yesterday, March 18, 2009, was such an example.

Scheduling for the 'Nature Boy' to come to the studios of the PERFORMANCE RACING NETWORK (located at CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY in Concord, N.C.) to record his participation in the radio campaign promoting the April race were set for yesterday afternoon. It would take about an hour.

So how did I fit into all of this? I didn't. However, KENT BERNHARDT, my best friend of thirty-five years happens to be Production Coordinator of the PERFORMANCE RACING NETWORK. 

So I invited myself to just happen to be in the vicinity at around the same time the recording session was to take place, pending authorization from PRN.

Fortunately for me, permission was granted.

I arrived a bit early so that Kent and I would have time to go upstairs in the mammoth racing facility to have lunch at the SPEEDWAY CLUB. (Turns out, Ric and his party were doing the same.)

After eating, Kent gave me a neat tour, even to the roof where we watched several drivers (Casey Kaine and Jimmie Johnson) doing tire testing on the track.

Then back to the PRN studios where Ric would do his thing on the mic (and we all know his genius in that area).

Very soon, Ric arrived with his then-agent, Nola Armstrong, and a few other folks, and it was straight to work.

After close to an hour of recording his copy several times over (as well as some great ad-libbing), the work was done.

Everyone then went out into the lobby, where Ric signed some photos and posed for a few pictures.

I had the chance to express my appreciation to Ric for all the great times he had provided me since his entrance into JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS some forty years ago.

Then, everyone went their separate ways on to other adventures, but this time frame on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday afternoon is a moment that I'll treasure until the brain cells are all gone.

Mike Cline, Ric Flair, Kent Bernhardt

Kent Bernhardt has been the official "voice" of PERFORMANCE RACING NETWORK since 1988, and joined the PRN team in December 2000 as Production Coordinator. He produces much of PRN's feature material, and in 2005, Kent was a co-recipient of the prestigious Barney Hall Award for outstanding motorsports radio reporting. He was recently named MOTORSPORTS ANNOUNCER OF THE YEAR, a highly prestigious honor.

My sincere thanks to KENT BERNHARDT and DOUG RICE for allowing me to sit in on RIC FLAIR's recording session.

DOUG RICE is the President and General Manager of PRN, a co-anchor of all of the PRN race broadcasts and can also be heard on PRN's Fast Talk program.

TRULY A WORLD CHAMPION

JACK BRISCO

(1941-2010)

A real gentleman to his wrestling fans.

I must confess --- my wonderful wife was never a big pro wrestling fan. She attended matches with me, on occasion, to be nice. She tolerated wrestling.

But in the late 1960s, when Jack first came to the JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS territory from Florida, my wife loved Jack Brisco.

When I announced there was wrestling (mostly in Charlotte or Greensboro) coming up that I wanted to attend, she would ask, "Will Jack Brisco be there?"

If I answered, "Yes, Jack is wrestling so-and-so," she always replied, "Then I'll go with you."

Jack transcended the usual wrestling fan. His college wrestling reputation was good for the pro wrestling business. It added credibility.

A veterinarian opened his practice in my hometown in 1969. On my first visit to his office, I noticed his diploma on the wall. He had graduated from Oklahoma State University. I casually asked him if he had ever heard of their collegiate wrestling champion Jack Brisco.

"Are you kidding? EVERYBODY in the Mid-West knows Jack Brisco. He was in the class a year ahead of me," the vet told me. "I watch wrestling from Florida every week to see him."

JACK BRISCO was a royal ambassador to the professional wrestling business, and I'm sure the people who knew him well would say he was a royal ambassador to life.

SO MANY ARE GONE

"Time stands still for no man..."

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It's part of life. And none of us will get out of here alive.

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A large number of the JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS cast of characters of the last fifty years are no longer with us, but they left their trail and countless memories for all of us who plopped down our money for a wrestling ticket...

DANNY MILLER puts a boot to the noggin' of a pre-JOHN STUDD - then CHUCK O'CONNOR (deceased).

Has THE GREAT BOLO (TOM RENESTO-deceased) met his match in STEVE KOVACS (deceased)?

A young BOBBY SHANE (deceased) has HIRO MATSUDA (deceased) in a painful hammerlock.

Two wrestling generations - BOB ORTON JR. and 'BIG' BOB ORTON SR. (deceased).

ART NELSON (deceased) pulls at the mask of THE MENACE (could it have really been LARS ANDERSON under the hood?) as referee ANGELO MARTINELLI (deceased) looks on.

Two of my favorites go at it with NELSON ROYAL (deceased) about to lay one on GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS (deceased).

BACK TO THE 2009 NWA FANFEST

2009 NWA FANFEST

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

THE MID-ATLANTIC MAFIA

(David Chappell, Dick Bourne, Kyle and Tonya Rosser, Mike Cline, Peggy Lathan

--the first lady of MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING, Clay Sweet.)

Absent from the photo are Carroll Hall and Steve Hall.

Policy dictates we cannot be photographed all at one time - for security reasons.

Blake Arledge tried it once and later had both of his kneecaps broken.

NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS

HARLEY RACE and RIC FLAIR and the actual championship belt involved

in their classic battles.

(An annoying fan stands between the champs.)

There is only one OLE ANDERSON.

(I used to love to hate him when he wrestled. Now I just love him.)

The original FOUR HORSEMEN all together for the first time in twenty-three years.

Only time will tell if they'll all ever assemble again.

(OLE ANDERSON, JAMES J. DILLON, ARN ANDERSON, that guy again, RIC FLAIR and TULLY

 BLANCHARD)

And here's one taken at FANFEST a few years earlier...

The late 'ROUGHHOUSE' SONNY FARGO.

I wish SONNY could have been with us at this FANFEST for his induction into the

HALL OF HEROES.

(Ya know, maybe he was...)

FANFEST WAS FABULOUS.

LOOK - UP IN THE SKY

The JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS heavens were filled with stars...

ROBERTO SOTO

SUSAN GREEN

KOA TIKI

SGT. JACQUES GOULET

RIC FLAIR knows it was a smart move coming to JCP.

BEARCAT WRIGHT

PAUL ORNDORF