A HOT AUGUST NIGHT

August 5, 1967

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

50 years ago

THE SCOTT BROTHERS

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

HARU SASAKI

P.Y. CHUNG

NELSON ROYAL

THE AMAZING ZUMA

PEDRO GODOY

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Wrestling's 'BLONDE BOMBERS' RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON will be out to see if they can halt the winning streak of THE FLYING SCOTT BROTHERS, GEORGE and SANDY, in tonight's two-out-of-three falls main event at the LEXINGTON YMCA.

The SCOTTS, former WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS, have a victory string going, including a recent disputed win over HAWK and HANSON. RIP and SWEDE want another shot at GEORGE and SANDY and have predicted a win tonight.

The sizzling duo of NELSON ROYAL and THE AMAZING ZUMA face a tough test tonight when they face the crafty (some say sneaky) Oriental combo of HARU SASAKI and P.Y. CHUNG in the other best-of-three falls tag encounter.

In singles action, GENE DUNDEE will square off against JERRY LONDON, and in the 8:15 opener, two toughies, 'APACHE' BULL RAMOS and PEDRO GODOY will meet.

WE CALLED HIM SANDY

ANGUS MACKAY "SANDY" SCOTT

May 27, 1934 - March 11, 2010

What didn't Sandy Scott do in the world of professional wrestling?

Answer: Very little, I'd say.

Whatever task he tackled, he did it well. He was a great singles wrestler, a world champion tag team wrestler, a matchmaker, a road agent, a promoter, a TV announcer, a TV "management character" - and probably other jobs I'm not aware.

Besides George Becker and Johnny Weaver, SANDY SCOTT was the top babyface wrestler in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS for twenty years, then moving behind-the-scenes to help run the company.

We fans loved Sandy anytime we saw him, regardless of in what capacity.

TAKE HIS MASK OFF

At this point in time, this is certainly not startling information.

There are a number of websites on the net that contain long lists of past MASKED WRESTLERS and their real identities.

But I haven't seen any that show us what faces goes with what names.

Here are several that wrestled in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS...

BILL EADIE

THE MASKED SUPERSTAR

(photo from THE MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY)

LYNN DENTON

(THE GRAPPLER)

TOM RENESTO
(THE GREAT BOLO / ASSASSIN)

FRANKIE CAIN
(one of the original INFERNOS)

JODY (JOE) HAMILTON

(BOLO / ASSASSIN)

DON JARDINE

(THE SUPER DESTROYER / THE SPOILER)

THE WEAKER SEX?...NOT HARDLY

PENNY goes for a monkey flip...

TAMMY counters with a Boston crab...

Referee ANGELO MARTINELLI always had his hands full when he worked with the ladies...

PENNY gives TAMMY a free ride back into the ring...

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I don't recall there ever being a contest in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS in which a JCP Queen was crowned, but if there had been, the title would, without question, have gone to the wonderful PENNY BANNER.

I can't begin to estimate how many times I saw PENNY wrestle, either on TV or in the arenas, but the number wasn't a small one.

By far, PENNY's most frequent opponent, at least in the BANNER bouts I saw, was TAMMY JONES. I had to have seen these two go at it, at least, twenty-five times, so I can only imagine how many other times they worked each other (maybe as many times as Bambi has wrestled Peggy Lee Leathers).

I can recall PENNY and TAMMY colliding in Charlotte and Greensboro, and most likely Winston-Salem as well, and even the old semi-pro baseball park in Statesville, North Carolina, on a hot and muggy summer night in the late 1960s.

Unlike most of the current 'diva' matches on TV (in which every move is choreographed more than a Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers dance number --- AND LOOKS IT!), the lady grapplers from what I consider the "golden" age of pro wrestling could REALLY work...the Ole Anderson way...wrestle the match in the rings as it flows, not making it up in the dressing room beforehand.

PENNY and TAMMY could really go.

REMEMBER BOB GRIFFIN?

Fans who followed JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS in the late 1960s (I'm one) will certainly remember a fellow named BOB GRIFFIN.

His role in JCP was that of 'talent enhancer' and he was great in this position.

BOB and various partners couldn't defeat the likes of THE INFERNOS, BERNARD and MURPHY or HAWK and HANSON, unless the heels were disqualified, but in arenas, he could take the number of PEDRO GODOY, EL GAUCHO and PANCHO VALDEZ.

But even in a loss, BOB gave a great match.

BOB GRIFFIN

BOB GRIFFIN hammerlocks PEDRO GODOY.

HIRO MATSUDA takes one from GRIFFIN.

EL GAUCHO has BOB in a temporary disadvantage.

BOB kept in shape pumping the iron.

GRIFFIN has OLE ANDERSON in a headlock in this TV match taped at WBTV CHARLOTTE.

Out of the ring, BOB was an avid fisherman.

GRIFFIN's pride and joy - daughters DEBBIE and CATHY.

BOB samples some of wife PAT's home cooking.

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From Jacksonville, Florida, home of the GATOR BOWL, comes BOB GRIFFIN, a young wrestling sensation who is rapidly skyrocketing his way to fame and fortune on the mat.

Appearing in the Carolinas and Virginia under the promotional banner of JIM CROCKETT, this handsome, well-built 230-pounder, who stands six feet, one inch tall, has gained an army of fans since his professional debut.

"As far back as I can remember," BOB says, "I dreamed of being a professional wrestler. I really had the fever since the age of ten when I attended my first wrestling event in Jacksonville."

BOB credits DON CURTIS, a well-known grappler and the promoter there in Jacksonville, in helping him get started in the business.

After making his debut against none other than CURTIS, and losing in fifteen minutes, BOB was more eager than ever to make it in the wrestling business.

BOB has never regretted leaving his job as a mechanical engineer at IT&T. His wife PAT agrees that wrestling pays better and is glad BOB made the change, even if he is on the road a lot more.

A physical culturist, BOB works out with the weights and does a lot of running to stay in top shape.

For toughest foes to date, BOB picks KARL VON STROHEIM, RIP HAWK, SWEDE HANSON, TARZAN TYLER, BORIS MALENKO and SPUTNIK MONROE.

BOB's goal is to face NWA WORLD CHAMPION DORY FUNK JR. for the championship.

Since his arrival in Charlotte, BOB has wrestled mostly as a single, but has recently been teaming with fan favorite GREG PETERSON.

Here's hoping this popular youngster will remain in CROCKETT PROMOTIONS for a long time.

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Excerpted from the November, 1969 issue of WRESTLING REVUE

NELSON ROYAL THE HEEL

January 23, 1965

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

52 Years Ago

Professional wrestling at the LEXINGTON YMCA was called off last Saturday due to a heavy snowfall but is slated to return tonight with a banner card.

THE FLYING SCOTTS, popular GEORGE and SANDY, will mix it up with a long-time nemesis team in the likes of BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI. The battle will be for the best two-out-of-three falls. And when you have BOGNI and LUBICH in the ring, you also have manager HOMER O'DELL outside the ring, and he can be as dangerous as his wrestlers. So the SCOTT boys will have their hands full.

A rowdy rulebreaking team debuts in LEXINGTON tonight as "SIR" NELSON ROYAL and THE VIKING are matched up against RUDY KAYE and newcomer LORENZO PARENTE in another best-of-three falls tag contest.

Two supporting single matches open the card with PEPPI GOMEZ meeting "TIGER" JACK VANSKY and TONY NERO battles ANGELO MARTINELLI in the 8:15 opener.

FAMILIAR FACES and MASKS

Whether they were the guys we loved or the guys we hated, we bought tickets to see them...and they delivered the goods...

GREG 'THE HAMMER' VALENTINE during some down time.

Little guys COWBOY LANG and THE HAITI KID.

'THE MAGNIFICENT' DON MURACO.

FANFEST's greatest teller of wrestling stories, OLE ANDERSON, has ASSASSIN JODY HAMILTON in a bit of trouble.

Truly...one-of-a-kind...RIP 'THE PROFILE' HAWK.

'MR. NUMBER ONE' PAUL JONES points to his favorite wrestler.

THE SUPER DESTROYER / THE SPOILER DON JARDINE.

Two ORTONS at once...'THE BIG O' BOB ORTON SR. (center), BOB ORTON JR. (right)...young man on left unknown.

THANKSGIVING AT CHARLOTTE'S BIG DOME

November 27, 1961

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

---

55 years Ago

The outstanding wrestling card of Autumn takes place in the Queen City tonight at the "Big Dome" CHARLOTTE COLISEUM.

The first bell will ring promptly at 8:15, and fourteen of the nation's most sought-after grapplers will spring into action.

The arrogant German team of KURT and KARL VON BRAUNER will mix with LENNY MONTANA and the polished PAT O'CONNOR in the best-of-three falls main event.

"GENTLEMAN" SAUL WEINGROFF, the crowd-baiting, cane-bearing handler of the European tandem, has been "barred" from ringside unless he wears a straight jacket.

"I'll be there," promises Saul. "I feel I am being persecuted by this handicap, but my boys want me there, so I won't let them down."

The complete line-up of wrestling stars is impressive.

THE GREAT BOLO, the brutal masked villain, is back and collides with SWEET DADDY SIKI.

RIP "THE PROFILE" HAWK and New Zealand's ABE JACOBS will test one another.

Another tag match will take place when the popular duo of GEORGE BECKER and CHIEF BIG HEART face THE MASKED MEDICS in another two-out-of-three falls battle.

A ladies match featuring Miss RITA CORTEZ is scheduled.

An autograph session will take place starting at 7:00.

Tickets can be purchased at the NATIONAL HAT SHOP in downtown Charlotte or at the Coliseum box office.

THE SAILOR MAN...AND NOT POPEYE

July 13, 1968

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

SAILOR ART THOMAS

GENERAL HOMER O'DELL

THE MISSOURI MAULER

HIRO MATSUDA

THE AMAZING ZUMA

ABE JACOBS

LES THATCHER

JOHNNY HEIDEMAN

TINKER TODD

LES WOLFE

JESSE JAMES

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Wrestling fans attending the LEXINGTON YMCA tonight will see a newcomer to the area, SAILOR ART THOMAS, when he joins forces with THE AMAZING ZUMA to meet ruffian THE MISSOURI MAULER and his Japanese partner, HIRO MATSUDA, in a best-of-three falls tag team main event.

SAILOR ART has been a sensation since he entered the area recently, and fans have been asking to see him in action here in Lexington. THOMAS and ZUMA should make a dazzling combination. The rugged MAULER / MATSUDA duo is returning after an absence and will have their wiley manager, 'GENERAL' HOMER O'DELL in their corner.

In another two-out-of-three falls contest, young LES THATCHER and friend JESSE JAMES will tangle with JOHNNY HEIDEMAN and TINKER TODD.

LES WOLFE will attempt to extend his winning streak when he meets RICK MILLER in a singles bout.

ABE JACOBS and ALEX MEDINA square off at 8:15 in what should be a great scientific one fall match.