One of the greatest old wrestling venues in the Mid-Atlantic territory was the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, SC. It was affectionately known to locals as "the Big Brown Box."
Greenville hosted wrestling cards promoted by Jim Crockett Promotions almost every Monday night for decades.
 |
| The Greenville Memorial Auditorium (set up for basketball.) |
Peggy, a long time fan (and a great friend to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway) started attending wrestling matches at the Greenville Auditorium when she was a teenager in 1968 with her mother and grandmother.
"We had reserved 3rd row seats then," Peggy said. "They were originally my Dad's seats, but he started letting me go with my mother and Nannie."
It says a lot about a father's love that he would permanently give his regular seat to Mid-Atlantic Wrestling to his daughter. I mean, seriously - - that is real love!
If you know Peggy, though, you know she isn't satisfied for long on the 3rd row.
"We soon changed to front row seats," she said. "Section B, Row 1, Seat 8 - - that was my seat every Monday night until they shut down the Auditorium."
The building was imploded in 1997. Eighteen long years later, the lot still sits vacant where the Big Brown Box used to be.
Take a look at this larger image of the marquee from the exterior shot above. "All Star Wrestling" (as it was known then in the 1960s and early 1970s) was just one of many events in the very healthy business of the GMA.
We have a section still hosted on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway archive dedicated to the many classic old venues. Lots of memorabilia related to the old Greenville Auditorium there. Check it out when you have a chance.
Classic Venues on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway | Greenville Memorial Auditorium
Thanks to Brian Rogers for forwarding the exterior image of the GMA to us at the Gateway.