Classic Poster Friday: Harley Race Brings the NWA Title to Crockett Park

Brack Beasley Collection

The NWA World Champion came to Charlotte roughly four times a year, and usually would defend the title against the Mid-Atlantic area's top challenger in either the Charlotte Coliseum on Independence Blvd or the Park Center by Memorial Stadium.

But in the hot summer of 1977 Harley Race made not one, but two title defenses in Charlotte at the venerable Jim Crockett Memorial Park, otherwise commonly known as Crockett Park.

Both of Race's title matches at Crockett Park were against challenger Wahoo McDaniel, the first being on Memorial Day night, May 30, and the rematch on Saturday, July 2 as part of a big 4th of July weekend celebration.

This is a pretty rare poster. As we mentioned last week, posters from Charlotte are hard to come by in general, much less one for the NWA World Title in Crockett Park. This show also is the second big Charlotte card within the same week, as the Park Center had hosted a JCP event just five days earlier.

c. Eric and Wendy Pastore / DigitalBallparks.com

The outdoor venue was the baseball home to the Charlotte O's, the Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliate that was owned and managed by the Crockett family since bringing the team to Charlotte from Asheville a year earlier. Previously known as Clark Griffith Park, the facility was renamed Jim Crockett Memorial Park in honor of the patriarch of the Crockett family who had promoted wrestling and other entertainment events in Charlotte going back to the 1930s. Mr. Crockett died in April of 1973.

The wrestling card this night was pretty loaded for the relatively small venue (as compared to the Coliseum) with Race, Wahoo, Blackjack Mulligan, Bobo Brazil, Greg Valentine, Johnny Weaver, and even a special appearance by Andre the Giant.

Yes, NWA champ Harley Race and Andre the Giant on the same Crockett Park card. That was a special night indeed.

Race successfully defended the title that night at the ol' ballpark, while the team of Andre and Brazil topped Mulligan and Valentine in the second main event.

And check out these photos hosted on DigitalBallparks.com - - both are of the outfield fence at the ballpark, and if you look closely you will observer the Mid-Atlantic logo on one (in left field between the Budweiser and NCNB bank logos) and the Wide World Wrestling logo on the other (fourth from the left on the fence in right field.) Very cool to see that!

More information on Jim Crockett Memorial Park can be found on the Gateway Archives website.