Mid-Atlantic Gateway
In the mid-1970s, one of the weekly rituals on "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" each week was when Bob Caudle or Les Thatcher would read over the list of current champions as recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance. Ed Capral would do the same thing on "Wide World Wrestling." It was one of my favorite parts of the program and was a tradition in those days. The practice ended sometime in the late 1970s.
In by the late 1970s when I finally got to attend some of the Crockett shows in Asheville, NC and Spartanburg, SC, I started buying "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine" which was published by the promotion and served as a program at the local arena events. I was delighted to see that each issue featured that same list of champions that they once read on television.
Below is a sample of that list which always filled a page of those magazines and featured photos of the champions, along with their height, weight, hometown, and who they defeated for their title.
It's usually the smallest things I miss the most, and the roll call of champions is near the top of that list. It was important who held the championships. The championships (and the belts that represented them) were important in those days, and presented in an important way.
