by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Ring announcer Boyd Pierce raises the hand of a triumphant Jack Brisco moments after Brisco defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight championship on July 20, 1973 in Houston, Texas. A dejected Race is seen in the corner behind them.
NWA President Sam Muchnick is at left. He had attended the card that night in Houston and brought the new NWA World title belt with him. It was presented to Race before the match, but he didn't have a chance to enjoy the new belt, as Brisco took the 2-out-of-3 fall match and the championship laurels that night.
Although hidden behind Brisco in this photograph so you can't see him here, it is Tiger Conway, Jr. who is strapping the belt around the new champion's waist.
A wonderful photograph, perhaps taken by promoter Paul Boesch who took many photos during the match and in the ring afterwards that night, featured in an issue of Gong Magazine in Japan.
(This post originally published on our sister website The Domed Globe.)
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