Prom Night with Mid-Atlantic Wrestling

By David Chappell
from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives

I remember the day well, April 30, 1976, the night of my High School Prom. At that time I was a junior at Patrick Henry High School, about ready to finish up the 11th grade. Back in those days, the Prom was held on campus at our gymnasium. I remember helping with the decorations and the preparations for the gala event. Yep, I was VERY excited about that Friday night spectacular! However, a funny thing happened to me on the way to the Prom, and it was called Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling!

Jim Crockett Promotions obviously did not know that my Prom was on April 30, 1976 as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling visited the Richmond Coliseum on that same Friday night. What was a young guy to do? Then I heard Les Thatcher announce the main event for that Richmond card would be Rufus R. Jones, Wahoo McDaniel and "The Eighth Wonder Of The World" Andre The Giant against Ric Flair, and his cousin’s Gene and Ole Anderson. With that announcement, my decision was made—I was going to the Coliseum!

You see, that six man tag team match had one of the greatest buildups in Mid-Atlantic history. Throughout the month of April in 1976, a feud was built between Rufus R. Jones and Ric Flair and the Andersons. I will never forget the sight of Rufus having a chauffeur’s cap put on him by Flair and then Ric and the Andersons slapping Rufus while they pushed him down on his knees.

The two weeks leading up to that Coliseum match had some of the best promos that Jim Crockett Promotions ever put out. Rufus was swearing out revenge for what was done to him, and he went out and got Wahoo and Andre as his partners. Andre did not appear in the area often, and it was a real event when he came to your town. The Andre the Giant of April 1976 was Andre in his physical prime. Andre was huge of course, but he also had amazing agility and dexterity for a man his size.

Ric Flair and the Andersons did a great job of hyping this six man tag as well. Ole in particular did some of his best interviews ever. Listening to Ric and Ole, you almost wanted to believe they had a chance against Andre’s team. But despite the best efforts of the "bad guys," I believe the huge crowd that showed up at the Coliseum that night was there for one reason and one reason only. To see Andre The Giant destroy the team from Minnesota!

I remember talking to some other Coliseum regulars that night that the undercard looked kind of weak. There were only five matches, and usually Coliseum cards had seven matches. Sure enough, the first two matches were below average. The third match saw the first Richmond appearance of Italian star, Dino Bravo. Bravo beat one of my favorite all-time underneath guys, Bill White. Dino was impressive, but of course it was difficult to gauge just how good he was against an opponent like White. Watching that match, I was thinking that it ought to have been a TV match rather than one I paid to see. Sure enough, when I turned on Channel 6 the next afternoon, one of the TV matches was……..Dino Bravo versus Bill White!

The semi-final event was a tag team match between The Mongols and Roberto and Manuel Soto. The Mongols had Professor Boris Malenko in their corner. Interestingly enough, this same match was also on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV the next day! The Coliseum match was a solid one between these two mid card tag teams. The Soto’s got the victory when Malenko interfered on behalf of his Mongols.

The Main Event more than made up for an average undercard! I still remember how huge Andre looked when he entered the ring, and how he dwarfed the other five wrestlers. This was not your classic back and forth match. Flair and the Andersons had virtually no offense the entire match. It was clear early on that this was going to be a major butt-kicking by Rufus, Wahoo and Andre. And after all, that was what everybody came to see!

The crowd was one of the loudest I ever experienced at the Coliseum, a building with a reputation of being wild. The loudest single pop I have ever heard at a wrestling match was during this match, when Rufus, Wahoo and Andre put a chauffeur’s cap on Ric Flair and slapped him upside the face! I thought for sure the roof was coming off the building! Needless to say, the "good guys" emerged victorious, and I remember leaving the Coliseum that night feeling justice had been done.

I’ll always remember heading back to school the Monday morning after the Prom of 1976. There was no conversation about the Prom. Rather, all the questions were directed to me about the matches at the Coliseum! What did Andre look like, did Rufus get his revenge, etc., etc. Boy, did I ever have some stories to tell. Somehow, I’ve never regretted missing my Junior Prom. But to this day, I know a bunch of people who regretted not going to the Richmond Coliseum on April 30, 1976!

Originally published in 2001 on the original Mid-Atlantic Gateway website. Republished in April of 2015 and now again in 2023 as part of the "Best of the Gateway" series.
 

 

July 4th Flashback: Andre and the Andersons Headline Richmond (1975)

A GIANT 4th of July Card in Richmond

The Andersons Battle Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones in Richmond

by David Chappell

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Like most cities, Richmond, Virginia back in 1975 had its share of spectacular fireworks displays to commemorate the Independence Day holiday. But none of those displays held a candle to the “fireworks” that were unleashed on fans inside the Richmond Coliseum, watching a super spectacular card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the evening of July 4, 1975!

To those that have followed the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, you may recall that this card ranked #21 on my listing of Richmond’s greatest Mid-Atlantic cards. The most intriguing match to me going in was a rare Richmond appearance of Andre the Giant, going against the seemingly indestructible Super Destroyer, who was saying at the time that he had held onto his mask for thirteen years. But the match that really stole the show was a NWA World Tag Team Title bout between champions Gene and Ole Anderson against Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel.

About three weeks prior to this Richmond show, the Anderson Brothers had regained the World Tag Team Title belts on television in the dramatic “Supreme Sacrifice” match, where Ole ran Wahoo’s head into Gene’s head, knocking Gene out in the process. This return bout in Richmond had the big match feel of a title change, and the apparent sellout crown at the Coliseum was at a fever pitch anticipating a win for the challengers. But…it wasn’t meant to be on this night. An even bout turned the challengers way towards the end, but it was too little too late. The Andersons stalled out the final minutes, and escaped with a 60 minute draw. This match set up four return bouts between these four during the summer and fall of 1975, with the challengers coming tantalizingly close to winning back the belts.

In the semi-final, many in attendance thought Andre the Giant would finally be the man to unmask the Super Destroyer. After all, if a GIANT couldn’t do the deed nobody else had in 13 years, who possibly could? Andre physically manhandled the masked man to a degree that nobody could believe, but that didn’t stop the Destroyer’s active mind from escaping one precarious predicament after another. A disqualification win for Andre got the Giant’s hand raised and validated a dominating performance, but at the same time frustrated many fans who were expecting a hood to come off. However, the Super Destroyer haters were about to get the last laugh. As fate would have it, the masked man would wrestle only one more time in Richmond and within a month or so was out of the area under a cloud, never to return, with his unmasked face plastered all over the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television shows.

The supporting card, honestly, was not as strong as many Richmond saw, but it did have its moments. The “best of the rest” was a unique pairing of the Mid-Atlantic TV Champion Ric Flair and the underrated Doug Gilbert, against the “good guy” duo of big Swede Hanson and Sonny King. Flair was rising fast at this juncture, so I expected the “bad guys” would take this one. The big Swede was dropping down the cards, and Sonny King was being de-emphasized and would be leaving the area in about two weeks as time would tell. However, Flair and Gilbert couldn’t control their anger issues, giving Hanson and King a disqualification victory to the delight of the Richmond fans.

The other tag team match of the night saw Bob Bruggers and Sandy Scott dispatch the team of Charlie Fulton and the Blue Scorpion. The Bruggers/Scott combination was a smooth one, and they ran circles around their confounded opponents this night. Unfortunately for his many fans, Sandy Scott wrestled very little after this Richmond match, though he did continue to stay active with the promotion, primarily behind the scenes. And after a promising start as a main event performer a year and a half before, Bruggers continued to drop down the cards until the airplane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in early October of 1975 brought his wrestling career to an end.

Three single matches rounded out this holiday spectacular, and the curtain raiser was by far the best of the bunch! The good guys notched a couple of wins as Greg Peterson outlasted Larry Sharpe, and the highly popular Klondike Bill took the measure of Joe Soto. But the first bout of the night stood out, and was really outstanding. 1974 NWA rookie of the year Steve Keirn and veteran Art Nelson wrestled to a 20 minute draw, which was a battle of contrasting styles and youth versus experience. Nelson, the aging veteran, was still in exceptional condition, but had trouble dealing the speed of Keirn. Conversely, the strength of Nelson gave the youngster Keirn fits. Each man had their chances at victory, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. As clearly Keirn was going up the “Mid-Atlantic ladder” as Nelson was going down that same ladder, it was befitting that they would meet in the middle of that proverbial ladder in this early July 1975 confrontation. But to show how this trend continued over the next few months for both, by October of 1975 Keirn was in a main event program with Tiger Conway, while Nelson was set to depart the Mid-Atlantic area, and would never return.

Originally published July 4, 2015, and republished in July of 2018, and 2021
on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Poster: Andre the Giant part of Explosive Six Man Tag in Hampton, VA

by Jody Shifflett
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This poster is from 1976 and originated from the Hampton Coliseum and happened just two nights after the Thanksgiving spectaculars at the Greensboro Coliseum and the nearby Norfolk Scope.

 

What an epic card this was, headlined by none other than Andre The Giant, Paul Jones and Rufus R. Jones taking on and defeating the dream team of Ric Flair, Greg Valentine and Blackjack Mulligan! 

The poster features great sunrise colors and took place at the legendary Hampton Coliseum which is often referred to by concert-goers as the 'Mothership' because of its unique design.

The Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

Hampton was truly a hotbed for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as this was where Flair defeated Wahoo the year before in 1975 for his first Mid Atlantic Championship.

NO. 2 IN THE SHIFFLETT POSTER SERIES

Poster: Andre the Giant in big Six Man Tag in Salem VA

by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor 

This poster takes us back to the Commonwealth of Virginia and promotes a card held on Saturday, November 29th, 1975 at the Salem Civic Center (referred to as the Salem Coliseum here). 

It boasts an attractive horizontal layout with all black print over a two tone orange and bright yellow background. 

Whenever Andre the Giant was scheduled to appear on a card that usually meant a packed arena. I'm confident that was the case in Salem this particular night with a main event six man tag featuring Andre, Tim Woods, and Rufus R. Jones versus the Anderson Brothers, Gene and Ole, and newcomer to the area Steve Strong. 

Other exciting matches included Swede Hanson versus Angelo Mosca (misspelled Moska here), strongman Ken Patera versus Jerry Blackwell, and Mike "The Judge" DuBois and partner Bill White took the challenge of Johnny Weaver and rookie Tony Atlas. Tony Rocca wrestled Don Serrano in the opening bout. 

NO. 28 IN A SERIES

 ***

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Notes
by Dick Bourne

Andre the Giant was in for the big Thanksgiving week for Jim Crockett Promotions, including this six-man tag in Salem VA as seen in the poster above. Here is how Andre's big week shaped up in the Mid-Atlantic area:

• Monday 11/24/75 - Greenville SC - Andre & Tiger Conway, Jr. vs. Gene and Ole Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team championships.
• Tuesday 11/25/75 - Columbia SC - Andre & Rufus R. Jones vs. Gene and Ole Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team championships
• Wednesday 11/26/75 - Raleigh NC - TV Tapings at WRAL-5 Studio
• Thursday 11/27/75 (Thanksgiving) - Norfolk VA - Andre, Rufus R. Jones and Ken Patera vs. Steve Strong and the Anderson Brothers, plus Andre vs. Superstar Billy Graham in an arm wrestling contest.
• Friday 11/28/75 - Richmond, VA - Andre & Paul Jones vs. Blackjack Mulligan and Steve Strong
• Saturday 11/29/75 - Salem VA - Andre, Rufus R. Jones, and Tim Woods vs. Gene and Ole Anderson and Steve Strong (poster seen above)
• Sunday 11/30/75 - Asheville NC - Andre, Tim Woods, and Paul Jones vs. Gene and Ole Anderson and Blackjack Mulligan
• Monday 12/1/75 - Charlotte NC - Andre & Ken Patera vs. Blackjack Mulligan & Steve Strong
  
  

Poster: Flair and Valentine Battle for the U.S. Title in Greensboro

What better way to end a long July 4th holiday weekend than a spectacular night of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the Greensboro Coliseum? 

This poster promotes an event held on Sunday July 6, 1980 and it's beautiful red, white, and blue layout reflects the Independence Day theme. The blue print stands against a solid white background with the date and 4 main event participants in high impact red. 

In the main event U.S. Champion Ric Flair continued his bloody feud with former ally Greg Valentine. Although Valentine fell short in his title quest on this night, he would finally capture the U.S. belt from Flair three weeks later in Charlotte, NC, to commence his first reign as US champ.

The semi was a good ol' Texas Street Fight between Blackjack Mulligan and Enforcer Luciano while Ricky Steamboat tied up with Ray Stevens.

Andre the Giant headlined a 14 man $7,500 Battle Royal which also included Jimmy Snuka, the Iron Sheik, Sweet Ebony Diamond, Johnny Weaver, Ox Baker, and Pedro Morales, amongst others. As it says at the bottom of the poster there were seven big matches in all.

 Not surprisingly Andre would win the Battle Royal and while $7,500 doesn't really sound like a huge amount, it computes to roughly $25,000 in today's money, not too bad for a night's work. 

NO. 17 IN A SERIES

Poster: Wahoo and Andre challenge Flair and Valentine in Charlotte

 
by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

The old Charlotte Coliseum, nowadays named the Bojangles Coliseum, was and still is an awesome venue for live events. On Sunday March 27th, 1977 it hosted a great card of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling with a tag team main event of NWA Worlds Tag Team champions Ric Flair and Greg Valentine defending against Andre the Giant and Wahoo McDaniel. 

The odds would seem to be on the Giant and the Chief and sure enough they walked out of the arena this night with a victory, but by disqualification, allowing the champions to retain their titles.

Blackjack Mulligan continued to defend his U.S. title against Dino Bravo and the Hollywood Blondes defended their Mid-Atlantic tag team titles vs. Ron Starr and Rick McGraw. The undercard included young Ricky Steamboat who would soon catch fire in the territory. 

The poster itself has a seldom seen off-white background with black print and the venue, date, and main event in high impact red, along with 5 great images of the main event participants and Jerry Brown of the Blondes. 

NO. 11 IN A SERIES

4th of July Flashback: The Andersons Battle Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones in Richmond

A GIANT 4th of July Card in Richmond

by David Chappell

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Like most cities, Richmond, Virginia back in 1975 had its share of spectacular fireworks displays to commemorate the Independence Day holiday. But none of those displays held a candle to the “fireworks” that were unleashed on fans inside the Richmond Coliseum, watching a super spectacular card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the evening of July 4, 1975!

To those that have followed the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, you may recall that this card ranked #21 on my listing of Richmond’s greatest Mid-Atlantic cards. The most intriguing match to me going in was a rare Richmond appearance of Andre the Giant, going against the seemingly indestructible Super Destroyer, who was saying at the time that he had held onto his mask for thirteen years. But the match that really stole the show was a NWA World Tag Team Title bout between champions Gene and Ole Anderson against Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel.

About three weeks prior to this Richmond show, the Anderson Brothers had regained the World Tag Team Title belts on television in the dramatic “Supreme Sacrifice” match, where Ole ran Wahoo’s head into Gene’s head, knocking Gene out in the process. This return bout in Richmond had the big match feel of a title change, and the apparent sellout crown at the Coliseum was at a fever pitch anticipating a win for the challengers. But…it wasn’t meant to be on this night. An even bout turned the challengers way towards the end, but it was too little too late. The Andersons stalled out the final minutes, and escaped with a 60 minute draw. This match set up four return bouts between these four during the summer and fall of 1975, with the challengers coming tantalizingly close to winning back the belts.

In the semi-final, many in attendance thought Andre the Giant would finally be the man to unmask the Super Destroyer. After all, if a GIANT couldn’t do the deed nobody else had in 13 years, who possibly could? Andre physically manhandled the masked man to a degree that nobody could believe, but that didn’t stop the Destroyer’s active mind from escaping one precarious predicament after another. A disqualification win for Andre got the Giant’s hand raised and validated a dominating performance, but at the same time frustrated many fans who were expecting a hood to come off. However, the Super Destroyer haters were about to get the last laugh. As fate would have it, the masked man would wrestle only one more time in Richmond and within a month or so was out of the area under a cloud, never to return, with his unmasked face plastered all over the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television shows.

The supporting card, honestly, was not as strong as many Richmond saw, but it did have its moments. The “best of the rest” was a unique pairing of the Mid-Atlantic TV Champion Ric Flair and the underrated Doug Gilbert, against the “good guy” duo of big Swede Hanson and Sonny King. Flair was rising fast at this juncture, so I expected the “bad guys” would take this one. The big Swede was dropping down the cards, and Sonny King was being de-emphasized and would be leaving the area in about two weeks as time would tell. However, Flair and Gilbert couldn’t control their anger issues, giving Hanson and King a disqualification victory to the delight of the Richmond fans.

The other tag team match of the night saw Bob Bruggers and Sandy Scott dispatch the team of Charlie Fulton and the Blue Scorpion. The Bruggers/Scott combination was a smooth one, and they ran circles around their confounded opponents this night. Unfortunately for his many fans, Sandy Scott wrestled very little after this Richmond match, though he did continue to stay active with the promotion, primarily behind the scenes. And after a promising start as a main event performer a year and a half before, Bruggers continued to drop down the cards until the airplane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in early October of 1975 brought his wrestling career to an end.

Three single matches rounded out this holiday spectacular, and the curtain raiser was by far the best of the bunch! The good guys notched a couple of wins as Greg Peterson outlasted Larry Sharpe, and the highly popular Klondike Bill took the measure of Joe Soto. But the first bout of the night stood out, and was really outstanding. 1974 NWA rookie of the year Steve Keirn and veteran Art Nelson wrestled to a 20 minute draw, which was a battle of contrasting styles and youth versus experience. Nelson, the aging veteran, was still in exceptional condition, but had trouble dealing the speed of Keirn. Conversely, the strength of Nelson gave the youngster Keirn fits. Each man had their chances at victory, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. As clearly Keirn was going up the “Mid-Atlantic ladder” as Nelson was going down that same ladder, it was befitting that they would meet in the middle of that proverbial ladder in this early July 1975 confrontation. But to show how this trend continued over the next few months for both, by October of 1975 Keirn was in a main event program with Tiger Conway, while Nelson was set to depart the Mid-Atlantic area, and would never return.

As everyone celebrates July 4, 2015, I hope there are Independence Day Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling memories that will find their way into those festivities. For me, a GIANT Richmond Coliseum card 40 years ago will always without question be part of my 4th of July remembrances!
 

Originally published July 4, 2015, and republished July 4, 2018
on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Poster: Andre the Giant's First Night in Greensboro (1974)

by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This poster is from the famed Greensboro Coliseum and dated June 6, 1974. It represents Andre the Giant's first appearance in Greensboro, during his first tour of the Mid Atlantic territory. 

Can you imagine the reaction of the fans that night to seeing the Giant in person? I know I'll never forget the first time seeing Andre in the late 1970s, also in a battle royal. 

The layout is pretty simple on this one with black print standing out against a light orange background but as usual, it promotes a loaded Greensboro card. 

While Johnny Valentine is most remembered for his singles work, the team of himself and the Super Destroyer Don Jardine appears quite intimidating. Other Mid-Atlantic legends such as Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson, Johnny Weaver, Abe Jacobs, Sandy Scott, and Danny Miller are also featured.

Andre the Giant, announcer Big Bill Ward, and Andre's friend,
driver, and interpreter Frank Valois.

 

Notice Frank Valois is in an early match vs. Sandy Scott. Valois was Andre's driver and interpreter (and great friend.)

My apologies in advance if any of these posters have been posted on the Gateway in the past but maybe some of the newer visitors will see them for the first time. 

* * * * 

For more on Andre the Giant's first tour of the Mid-Atlantic area, see the following articles by Dick Bourne and Les Thatcher:

• Andre The Giant's First Tour Through the Mid-Atlantic Area - Part One
• Les Thatcher's Lost Opus: Andre the Giant Arrives - Part Two
• Andre The Giant's First Tour Through the Mid-Atlantic Area - Part Three
• Andre the Giant's First Night in Charlotte

Previous poster: Flair/Valentine vs. Wahoo/Steamboat (Winston-Salem 1977)

NO. 2 IN A SERIES

Best of the Gateway: Andre the Giant's First Night in Charlotte (1974)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Awhile back I posted a series on Andre the Giant's first tour of the Mid-Atlantic area in June of 1974. The story was inspired by a submission to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway by Les Thatcher of some photographs that he took and a wonderful story he had written then when he was tasked to take Andre on several promotional stops around the territory.

The can check that series out here:

Part 1: The Tour (includes a photo with Joe, Elliot, and Carl Murnick.)
Part 2: Les Thatcher's Opus: Les Thatcher's "lost story" about taking Andre on tour (including photos with Charlie Harville, Nick Pond, and Joe Murnick.)
Part 3: Context (Including additional photos with Scott Casey and Bill Ward, plus other Mid-Atlantic history that week.)

As I mentioned in the series, I was amazed out how much memorabilia seemed to exist from that one week in 1974. And now I've come across a bit more.

Scooter Lesley, who owns the vast photo archives of the late Gene Gordon, recently sent me a photo Gordon took of Andre in the locker room at the old Charlotte Coliseum (aka, Independence Arena, now Bojangles Coliseum.) I immediately thought of Les Thatcher's story and his photographs.

Nelson Royal, Swede Hanson, and Andre the Giant in Charlotte, June 10, 1974

The photograph, seen here, is of Nelson Royal and Swede Hansen looking up in awe at Andre. Although clearly staged, Nelson and Swede were no doubt legitimately in awe of the "Eight Wonder of the World" as they spent the week with him on his first tour of the area.

I knew the photo had to be from that week in June 1974, just based on some quick tell-tale signs. Nelson Royal still being in the area at the same time Swede Hansen was a babyface pegged it to those months in 1974, and this was likely Andre's only tour through that time. I knew that Nelson had teamed with Andre on Andre's first card in Charlotte. I looked up the newspaper clipping of that 6/10/74 Charlotte Coliseum show in Mark Eastridge's vast clipping archives, and confirmed that Swede Hanson was indeed on that same show, too.

That night in Charlotte, where Andre teamed with Royal to defeat Mr. Ota and Mr. Hiashi, was part of an 11-day tour that stretched from 6/3 to 6/13/74.

• Mon 6/3 - Greenwood SC - Andre beat Pedro Godoy and Mike Paidousis
• Tue 6/4 - Raleigh NC - Andre defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/5 - Anderson SC -Andre & Sandy Scott def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Thu 6/6 - Greensboro NC - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Fri 6/7 - Richmond VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Sat 6/8 - Roanoke VA - Andre def. Chuck O'Connor and Mike Paidousis
• Sun 6/9 - Rocky Mount NC - Andre def. O'Connor/"Two Ton" Harris
• Mon 6/10 - Charlotte NC - Andre & Nelson Royal def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Tue 6/11 - Columbia SC - defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/12 - Raleigh NC - Studio TV Appearance
• Thu 6/13 - Norfolk VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal

Andre was also one of the "lumberjacks" in the main event that night, a Lumberjack Match between the Super Destroyer (Don Jardine) and Swede Hanson. That match ended in a "no decision" when at one point all of the lumberjacks found themselves in the ring in swinging away at each other until Andre cleared the ring of everybody!   

No doubt Andre made a big impression on wrestling fans as well as his peers that first week in the area. Gene Gordon's photograph, added to Les Thatcher's photos and "lost story" documented earlier, are a lasting record of that memorable period of time.

Originally published September 22, 2019 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Rare Mid-Atlantic Footage from Houston TV

Bob Caudle, David Crockett, and Joe Murnick join Paul Boesch in signing Harley Race vs. Andre the Giant in a rare video clip from WRAL in Raleigh

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Another rare piece of Crockett-related footage has surfaced from Houston TV on YouTube. Houston promoter Paul Boesch flew from Texas to Raleigh, NC, in the fall of 1978 to film a contract signing segment with Andre the Giant.

The video is actually two separate segments that would have aired separately on the Houston television show, and are likely presented here in reverse order.

In the segments, Boesch signs Andre the Giant to challenge NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race at the Summit Arena in Houston on 10/13/1978. Paul Boesch is introduced by "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" host Bob Caudle. Representing the NWA for the contract signing are David Crockett and Joe Murnick of Jim Crockett Promotions in Charlotte.

The segments were taped at the studios of WRAL TV in Raleigh, NC, home of Jim Crockett's weekly television tapings.

Both David Crockett and Joe Murnich got a few words in. I especially liked Murnich's well-wishes to fellow promoter Boesch and the fans of Houston:

"I think the fans of Houston are very, very fortunate because I know this bout could be held anywhere in the world and your fans are most fortunate in having it. Good luck to you." 

David Crockett noted that the bout would be held on Friday the 13th, and suggested it might be unlucky for some (Harley Race perhaps?) but hopefully not for Andre.

The real rarity here is seeing and hearing Joe Murnick. What a special treat. Murnick was the local promoter for Jim Crockett based in Raleigh, NC, and he promoted the Raleigh area, as well as most of eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia, including Richmond and Norfolk. Murnick was co-host of a Raleigh-only version of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" in the 1960s and early 1970s, and when that Raleigh-only version was discontinued and all of the area's TV tapes were consolidated to WRAL in Raleigh, Murnick was still seen as the ring announcer on Crockett shows until his sons Elliot and Carl took over those duties toward the end of 1977 or early 1978. Joe Murnick had a deep, classically-southern voice that was just so perfect for the times and one of my favorite ring announcers ever. 

Very cool to be able to go back in time this far and see Murnick, Caudle, and Crockett in the old WRAL studio. Crockett Promotions didn't start keeping and archiving their old tapes until the early 1980s, so seeing this is very rare. The backdrop used in this tape was one frequently used in the early 1970s for local promotional spots for the various towns, but by 1978 wasn't used that frequently anymore. Nice to see it here.

These videos are bound to be pulled down soon, so we should enjoy them while we have them.

 

Originally published 10/3/17 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
and 10/10/17 on our Studio Wrestling website.

Article copyright © 2017 Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Andre the Giant vs. The Wright Brothers

SOUTHEASTERN WRESTLING DETOUR

It was always an exciting time when the "Eighth Wonder of the World" Andre the Giant came into your territory two or three times a year. Andre was a special attraction that toured the world of pro-wrestling much like the touring world champions of that era did.

The image in this ad was similar to an image used on a big stand-up poster of Andre that was always featured on television during the local promo segments when he was coming to our town.

This newspaper ad, from Knoxville, TN, in September of 1974, touts Andre in a handicap match with the top heel brother combination in Tennessee wrestling history - Ron and Don Wright.

Chilhowie Park was the traditional weekly home to some of Knoxville's greatest pro-wrestling cards. This one was so big, they only needed to advertise one match. The main event in Knoxville that night was the only match that mattered!

This was right around the time Ron Fuller bought the Knoxville territory. You will notice that the TV is still listed as "Wide World of Wrestling" which was the name of the small studio show taped at WTVK channel 26. It wouldn't be long before promoter Ron Fuller would move to the powerful WBIR channel 10 (CBS affiliate) and rename the show Southeastern Championship Wrestling.

Edited from a post originally published June 24, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Andre the Giant's First Night in Charlotte

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Awhile back I posted a series on Andre the Giant's first tour of the Mid-Atlantic area in June of 1974. The story was inspired by a submission to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway by Les Thatcher of some photographs that he took and a wonderful story he had written then when he was tasked to take Andre on several promotional stops around the territory.

The can check that series out here:

Part 1: The Tour (includes a photo with Joe, Elliot, and Carl Murnick.)
Part 2: Les Thatcher's Opus: Les Thatcher's "lost story" about taking Andre on tour (including photos with Charlie Harville, Nick Pond, and Joe Murnick.)
Part 3: Context (Including additional photos with Scott Casey and Bill Ward, plus other Mid-Atlantic history that week.)

As I mentioned in the series, I was amazed out how much memorabilia seemed to exist from that one week in 1974. And now I've come across a bit more.

Scooter Lesley, who owns the vast photo archives of the late Gene Gordon, recently sent me a photo Gordon took of Andre in the locker room at the old Charlotte Coliseum (aka, Independence Arena, now Bojangles Coliseum.) I immediately thought of Les Thatcher's story and his photographs.

Nelson Royal, Swede Hanson, and Andre the Giant in Charlotte, June 10, 1974

The photograph, seen here, is of Nelson Royal and Swede Hansen looking up in awe at Andre. Although clearly staged, Nelson and Swede were no doubt legitimately in awe of the "Eight Wonder of the World" as they spent the week with him on his first tour of the area.

I knew the photo had to be from that week in June 1974, just based on some quick tell-tale signs. Nelson Royal still being in the area at the same time Swede Hansen was a babyface pegged it to those months in 1974, and this was likely Andre's only tour through that time. I knew that Nelson had teamed with Andre on Andre's first card in Charlotte. I looked up the newspaper clipping of that 6/10/74 Charlotte Coliseum show in Mark Eastridge's vast clipping archives, and confirmed that Swede Hanson was indeed on that same show, too.

That night in Charlotte, where Andre teamed with Royal to defeat Mr. Ota and Mr. Hiashi, was part of an 11-day tour that stretched from 6/3 to 6/13/74.

• Mon 6/3 - Greenwood SC - Andre beat Pedro Godoy and Mike Paidousis
• Tue 6/4 - Raleigh NC - Andre defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/5 - Anderson SC -Andre & Sandy Scott def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Thu 6/6 - Greensboro NC - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Fri 6/7 - Richmond VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Sat 6/8 - Roanoke VA - Andre def. Chuck O'Connor and Mike Paidousis
• Sun 6/9 - Rocky Mount NC - Andre def. O'Connor/"Two Ton" Harris
• Mon 6/10 - Charlotte NC - Andre & Nelson Royal def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Tue 6/11 - Columbia SC - defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/12 - Raleigh NC - Studio TV Appearance
• Thu 6/13 - Norfolk VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal

Andre was also one of the "lumberjacks" in the main event that night, a Lumberjack Match between the Super Destroyer (Don Jardine) and Swede Hanson. That match ended in a "no decision" when at one point all of the lumberjacks found themselves in the ring in swinging away at each other until Andre cleared the ring of everybody!   

No doubt Andre made a big impression on wrestling fans as well as his peers that first week in the area. Gene Gordon's photograph, added to Les Thatcher's photos and "lost story" documented earlier, are a lasting record of that memorable period of time.

Republished as part of the Best of Series on December 7, 2020.

Andre The Giant's First Tour Through the Mid-Atlantic Area (1974) - Part Three

PART THREE - CONTEXT
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Andre in Joe Murnick's Office

PART ONE: THE TOUR
PART TWO: THE STORY


Some of the interesting things that crossed my mind when putting this feature together from Les Thatcher's memorabilia were the other things happening both on the day of Andre's trip with Les as well as the day following.

Preserved documentation of events back in those days is hard enough to come by at all, much less several events within 48 hours of each other. But along with Les's story and photographs of his trip with Andre on June 4, 1974, there exists video footage of two other bits of Mid-Atlantic history that took place at the exact same time. That these recordings and photographs all exist from those two days when very little else does, is almost a matter of divine grappling kismet!

Here are the three bits of documented history from June 4 and 5, in 1974:

(1) Andre the Giant's first visit to the Mid-Atlantic area
The story and photographs of June 4, 1974 that you've already read, written and preserved by Les Thatcher, now published all these years alter.

Andre, Bill Ward, and Frank Valois

(2) Andre's interview with Big Bill Ward at WBTV
In the late 1980s when Jim Crockett Promotions was moving their offices from Charlotte to Dallas, dozens of reels of 16mm film footage were to be thrown away as they were cleaning out storage. Jim Cornette rescued and saved a majority of this footage, which he currently sells on DVD sets through his web business and personal appearances. One of the clips is an interview that Andre did with Charlotte's "Championship Wrestling" host Big Bill Ward on Wednesday, June 5, 1974 before the taping of the wrestling show at the WBTV studio that night. This was the day after Andre's trip with Les Thatcher as recounted in Les's story in Part Two. That interview with Bill Ward can be found searching YouTube.

(3) Wahoo McDaniel and Johnny Valentine fight on WGHP TV
As Les wrote about in his story, and as we observed in a rare photograph that he took that day, Andre did a prerecorded interview in High Point, NC, with channel 8 sports director Charlie Harville on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 4 in the parking lot outside the studio. After that interview concluded, Andre then traveled to Raleigh to do a similar prerecorded interview with Joe Murnick at WRAL-TV and then on for a wrestling match at Raleigh's Dorton Arena.

But while Andre was in Raleigh that Tuesday night, the regular weekly TV taping of "Championship Wrestling" took place that same evening in the studio of WGHP-TV, which Charlie Harville hosted. That show aired every Saturday on WGHP channel 8, as well as on a delayed basis in a few other select markets. (This was at the very end of the era where Jim Crockett Promotions taped three different TV wrestling shows in High Point, Charlotte, and Raleigh.) On that taping that night at WGHP, legendary wrestler Wahoo McDaniel made a special appearance in our area, a couple of months before beginning his long 13-year run as a Mid-Atlantic regular in August of 1974.

Wahoo defeated Gene Lewis in a typical TV match that night, but sitting at ringside doing commentary with Harville was Wahoo's longtime nemesis Johnny Valentine. The two were bitter rivals from their days in Florida and Texas going back to 1968.

Wahoo McDaniel and Johnny Valentine square off
moments before one of the most brutal TV brawls
ever witnessed.

Wahoo took exception to Valentine being at ringside during his match and challenged him to climb in the ring with him on the spot. Valentine obliged and what resulted is to this day one of the most brutal slugfests ever seen on Mid-Atlantic TV. They exchanged blows and chops for the better part of the next five minutes with poor referee Angelo Martinelli trying to break it up to no avail. The matches between these two over the years, especially in Texas, were notorious for their brutality as both men enjoyed working very stiff. It was no different here, and in front of the small WGHP TV studio audience, they weren't going to let any light shine between them.

A tape of this altercation was shown six years later on a 1980 "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" highlights show. It has been seen only one other time, presented at a tribute to Wahoo McDaniel at a show in Mooresville NC in October of 2005 promoted by George South. The entire confrontation was shown on a large projection screen to the lucky folks in attendance that night. While there are highly edited (and poor quality) versions of this that still float around online, the full complete unedited confrontation hasn't been seen since.

It's fun to think that while Andre was in the ring making his first appearance in Raleigh, and only his second appearance at all for Jim Crockett Promotions, this lost classic between Wahoo McDaniel and Johnny Valentine was happening the very same night. And amazing that a record from both of these days exist.

* * * * * * *

I'd like to share one other photo taken by Les during his day with Andre the Giant. It was taken outside in the parking lot of WGHP TV in High Point while Andre was waiting to do his interview with Charlie Harville. Scott Casey had accompanied Les and Andre that day.

Andre the Giant and Scott Casey

Once again, we want to thank Les Thatcher for sending his story and photographs to us, and allowing us to publish them all these many years later on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. It brought back great memories, as well as resulting in the look at some other things happening at that time.

Les Thatcher's Lost Opus: Andre the Giant arrives in the Mid-Atlantic Area (1974)

PART TWO - THE STORY
As we mentioned in Part One, Les Thatcher sent us an amazing package of memorabilia related to Andre the Giant's first visit to the Mid-Atlantic territory, including never before published photographs and a story Les wrote that has never seen the light of day. Until now.

Rarely are we fortunate enough to get such a detailed inside glimpse of a day in the life of an international star making his first tour in a territory. But that's what Les story gives us, a rare and special gift because this story was never published as originally intended, stored away for over four decades.

So now, we proudly present Les's lost article, likely originally intended for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine (which he published for Jim Crockett Promotions), rediscovered all these years later, like hidden treasure now for all of us to enjoy. Exclusive to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, originally written in June 1974, and published for the first time.

Andre the Human
Story and Photographs by Les Thatcher
Charlotte/High Point/Raleigh NC, 1974

What do you think it would be like to be a seven-foot, four inch, four hundred plus pound Superstar in the world of wrestling? Well, I got the chance to find out. No, I didn’t have my fairy Godmother turn me into a giant. I just had the chance to spend the day with one!

Running late as usual, I bounded up the steps of Jim Crockett Promotions in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, my friend and tag team partner, Scott Casey, right on my heels. As we entered the door and rounded the corner, I was almost knocked over by the “Great French Wall”.  Andre the Giant.  A large size smile looked down at me and an enormous right hand was extended. I put a meek smile on my face and stuck my hand into what appeared to be a flesh covered baseball glove. I muttered the only French word I knew, meaning hello, as my hand was engulfed by his. His smile was warm and the English hello came from down deep, but was soft and matched the smile.

On this beautiful June morning, Casey and I were to take Andre on a nice Tuesday drive. It would take us up to High Point, North Carolina for a television interview, and then on to the State Capital of Raleigh for still another interview and a wrestling match that night. After a few words with the promoters, I loaded my cargo into my car and we began our trip. As we sped through the North Carolina countryside, Scott and I both talked to the big man. His command of the English language was not great, but he made himself understood. In the hour it took us to reach our first stop, the three of us had become well acquainted.

Charlie Harville and Andre outside the
WGHP studios in High Point, NC.

We arrived at High Point’s WGHP, Channel 8, where we were greeted by their sports director, Charlie Harville. The TV crew was setting up their equipment in the parking lot below their studios. They weren’t quite ready for us. During the wait, Andre was patient and watched the goings on with great interest. He stood quietly off to one side until he was called before the camera. The whole affair took only about 20 minutes and then we headed across the state toward the Capital. On this second leg of our trip, Andre sat without speaking in the back seat, watching the small towns and trees roll by.

Our trip made Raleigh in time for lunch, which we were all in need of. Our meal consisted of four steak dinners.  Yes, four! One each for Scott and myself and two complete meals for our friend. The two dinners were joined in that massive body by at least seven glasses of iced tea and a couple of glasses of water. While we ate, we talked to “The Giant” and he told us of his travels around the world and how he enjoyed being in the United States. He was looking forward to a trip in the near future to Japan. We were pressed for time and had to hurry on to the TV station, but I was left with the impression that my recently made friend, Andre, was not full and could have eaten more.

As we pulled to the entrance of WRAL, Channel 5, a welcoming committee consisting of wrestling promoters, station officials and cameramen awaited us. They filmed Andre stepping from the car and talked with him briefly. It was all over until six o’clock when we were to return for an interview on the news program and another interview filmed.

WRAL Sports Director Nick Pond and Raleigh promoter Joe Murncik escort
Andre the Giant into the studios of WRAL TV for an interview.
(Pond was also the Raleigh-only host of  "Championship Wrestling" in the 1960s and early 1970s)

We had two hours to kill so we strolled off through a shopping center nearby. We window shopped and finally found ourselves in front of a movie theater. Andre said the tickets were on him, so inside we sent to settle down and watch Goldie Hawn in “Sugarland Express”. “The Giant” made himself comfortable in the theater seats and seemed to get the whole plot of the movie. The sight gags broke him up and the laughter would pour out. As we left the theater, Andre made the comment, “It was a good movie.”

Casey and I both agreed. Meanwhile, back at Channel 5, it was time for more interviews. Again, we met with news director Nick Pond and Raleigh’s family of wrestling promoters:  Joe Murnick and sons Elliott and Carl. The tapes were made in short order. Andre smiled and made the comments that he must have repeated a thousand times before. We piled back into the car and made our way to Dorton Arena.

Andre the Giant with Raleigh's First Family of Promoters: Joe, Elliot, and Carl Murnick

We were at the arena one and a half hours before bell time, but “The Giant” busied himself getting reach for his match. As other wrestlers arrived, Andre introduced himself and shook hands. He joined in the normal dressing room chatter and took a lot of good-natured kidding about his size. Around 9:30 he entered the ring and some 12 minutes later, was back in the dressing room, having wiped out two opponents!

Joe Murnick prepares to interview the Eighth Wonder of the World" Andre the Giant

On the return trip to Charlotte, the big man seemed more at ease than he had all day, laughing and telling stories about his travels. Upon our arrival in Charlotte, Andre put away another large size meal, had a few beers and said good night.

It had been a long day for me, but after talking to this friendly Frenchman, I didn’t feel too bad. Since rising to the top of the pro wrestling wars, Andre has been following this pattern seven days a week, wrestling from coast to coast. He is up early every morning appearing on TV shows, making interviews and wrestling someplace that night. It’s a tough pace and lonely life. My overall impression of the man was this:  His mind is as strong as the over-sized body in which it lives. In my day with him, I saw him happy, sad, moody, friendly and lonely. At the end of that day, he put it all together and was a fine human being. He patted the children on their curly heads, he smiled at the lovely ladies, he answered the same questions over and over, and above all, he was tolerant of his fellow man. As I dragged myself home to bed, I felt refreshed that I had a chance to spend some time with this wrestling Superstar and I had been touched to find him to be a super human as well.

[For a look at Andre's full tour of the Mid-Atlantic area in June 1974, visit PART ONE of this series.] 

ONE THOUGHT AS TO WHY THIS STORY WAS NEVER PUBLISHED

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine was the in-house publication of Jim Crockett Promotions that began in 1973 when Les Thatcher talked the office into letting him put together a "program" that could be sold at matches across the territory. Prior to that, Charlotte was the only town in the territory that had it's own program for its weekly events.

Those first issues in 1973 and early 1974 were printed in black and white and were only eight pages, but included a wealth of information for fans, including articles, photos, a station list, early t-shirts, and Les's own signature column that would be included in all the issues he would publish over a five year period - "Wrestler's Eye View."

Around the time Les wrote this story on Andre's first visit, JCP temporarily ceased production of the newsletter and instead published two photo albums during that year. This may be the reason that the Andre story didn't appear - - there was no magazine at that moment for it to appear in.

If you are a regular visitor here at the Gateway, you know of our deep respect and affection for Les Thatcher. It's hard to imagine a more versatile, multi-talented person in the history of the wrestling business. Wrestler, writer, photographer, publisher, commentator, host, producer, booker, promoter, trainer, podcaster - - he literally has done it all. We are eternally grateful to Les for sharing this lost story with us, as well as his photographs from that day in 1974.

Coming up in the third and final part of this series, we'll take a look at couple more of Les's photos, as well as put the whole day in t he context of the times. We'll highlight a few other things going on in the territory, including a famous (unrelated) confrontation on TV that took place at WGHP the very same day Andre visited there involving one of wrestling's greatest (and most brutal) rivalries.

Stay tuned for PART THREE.

Andre The Giant's First Tour Through the Mid-Atlantic Area (1974) - Part One

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

PART ONE - THE TOUR
Recently Les Thatcher sent us an incredible package of memorabilia related to Andre's first tour of the Mid-Atlantic territory, including never before published photographs and a story Les wrote for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine that was never published.

Andre the Giant with Raleigh's First Family
of Promoters: Joe, Elliot, and Carl Murnick
(Photograph by Les Thatcher 1974)
 

If you are a regular visitor here at the Gateway, you know of our deep respect and affection for Les Thatcher. It's hard to imagine a more versatile, multi-talented person in the history of the wrestling business. Wrestler, writer, photographer, publisher, commentator, host, producer, booker, promoter, trainer, podcaster - - he literally has done it all.  

Les's story "Andre the Human" chronicles his day with Andre as they left Charlotte on the morning of June 4, 1974 to make television appearances in High Point and Raleigh, NC, as well as a wrestling show at Raleigh's Dorton Arena. Along the way there were some adult beverages consumed and even a movie at a local movie theater! More on all that later.

Andre would make many tours for Jim Crockett Promotions over the years from 1974-1984, until he became exclusive to the WWF. But this was history in the making because this was the first. In years to come, Andre would come in as part of a main event, involved in one of the top storylines or feuds. But on this first tour, it was simply the time to introduce Andre to the fans. On all of these shows on this first tour, he either wrestled in mid-card handicap matches, tag team matches, or participated in battle royals. 

This first tour through the Mid-Atlantic territory in 1974 lasted 11 days. Here is a brief run-down of that schedule:

• Mon 6/3 - Greenwood SC - Andre beat Pedro Godoy and Mike Paidousis
• Tue 6/4 - Raleigh NC - Andre defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/5 - Anderson SC -Andre & Sandy Scott def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Thu 6/6 - Greensboro NC - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Fri 6/7 - Richmond VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Sat 6/8 - Roanoke VA - Andre def. Chuck O'Connor and Mike Paidousis
• Sun 6/9 - Rocky Mount NC - Andre def. O'Connor/"Two Ton" Harris
• Mon 6/10 - Charlotte NC - Andre & Nelson Royal def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Tue 6/11 - Columbia SC - defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/12 - Raleigh NC - Studio TV Appearance
• Thu 6/13 - Norfolk VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal

Although Andre is remembered as the "King of the Battle Royals," he didn't win a single one on this first tour through the Mid-Atlantic area. He competed in three Battle Royal events: 6/6 in Greensboro won by Bob Bruggers, 6/7 in Richmond won by Tiger Conway Jr., and 6/13 in Norfolk won by Johnny Weaver. In all three cases, it took several wrestlers ganging up on the "Eighth Wonder of the World" to eliminate him mid-way through. A photograph in the Greensboro newspaper the following day showed Chuck O'Connor and Rip Hawk (along with a couple of others unidentifiable) forcing Andre over the top rope.

It's also interesting to note the Saturday 6/8 card in Roanoke, VA. This is very likely the first time Big John Studd (then known as Chuck O'Connor) and Andre the Giant faced each other in the ring, a match-up that would achieve legendary status eleven years later at the first WrestleMania. (Late edit: Not so! Our friend Chris Owens, who is knowledgeable in all things Andre, let us know that Andre and Studd first met in the ring back in September of 1972 in a six-man tag match in Quebec City. Thanks Chris!)

In PART TWO of this 3-part feature, we will proudly present Les Thatcher's never before published story of Andre's full day in the territory, June 4, 1974. Thatcher, along with pal Scott Casey, accompanied Andre on two media appearances and a card in Raleigh. This will include never-before-seen photographs Les took that day, including Andre with Joe Murnick, Nick Pond, Charlie Harville, and Scott Casey. Plus a look at how they killed some time in between stops that day. An incredible day, for sure, and one captured in great detail in Les's marvelous account.

Then in PART THREE, we'll put the events of that day in the context of the times, including a look at the whole card in Raleigh that night, as well as a famous (unrelated) confrontation on TV that took place at WGHP the very same day Andre visited there involving one of wrestling's greatest (and most brutal) rivalries.

Stay tuned!

Thanks to Mark Eastridge and Carroll Hall.

4th of July Flashback: The Andersons Battle Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones in Richmond

A GIANT 4th of July Card in Richmond

by David Chappell

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Like most cities, Richmond, Virginia back in 1975 had its share of spectacular fireworks displays to commemorate the Independence Day holiday. But none of those displays held a candle to the “fireworks” that were unleashed on fans inside the Richmond Coliseum, watching a super spectacular card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the evening of July 4, 1975!

To those that have followed the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, you may recall that this card ranked #21 on my listing of Richmond’s greatest Mid-Atlantic cards. The most intriguing match to me going in was a rare Richmond appearance of Andre the Giant, going against the seemingly indestructible Super Destroyer, who was saying at the time that he had held onto his mask for thirteen years. But the match that really stole the show was a NWA World Tag Team Title bout between champions Gene and Ole Anderson against Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel.

About three weeks prior to this Richmond show, the Anderson Brothers had regained the World Tag Team Title belts on television in the dramatic “Supreme Sacrifice” match, where Ole ran Wahoo’s head into Gene’s head, knocking Gene out in the process. This return bout in Richmond had the big match feel of a title change, and the apparent sellout crown at the Coliseum was at a fever pitch anticipating a win for the challengers. But…it wasn’t meant to be on this night. An even bout turned the challengers way towards the end, but it was too little too late. The Andersons stalled out the final minutes, and escaped with a 60 minute draw. This match set up four return bouts between these four during the summer and fall of 1975, with the challengers coming tantalizingly close to winning back the belts.

In the semi-final, many in attendance thought Andre the Giant would finally be the man to unmask the Super Destroyer. After all, if a GIANT couldn’t do the deed nobody else had in 13 years, who possibly could? Andre physically manhandled the masked man to a degree that nobody could believe, but that didn’t stop the Destroyer’s active mind from escaping one precarious predicament after another. A disqualification win for Andre got the Giant’s hand raised and validated a dominating performance, but at the same time frustrated many fans who were expecting a hood to come off. However, the Super Destroyer haters were about to get the last laugh. As fate would have it, the masked man would wrestle only one more time in Richmond and within a month or so was out of the area under a cloud, never to return, with his unmasked face plastered all over the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television shows.

The supporting card, honestly, was not as strong as many Richmond saw, but it did have its moments. The “best of the rest” was a unique pairing of the Mid-Atlantic TV Champion Ric Flair and the underrated Doug Gilbert, against the “good guy” duo of big Swede Hanson and Sonny King. Flair was rising fast at this juncture, so I expected the “bad guys” would take this one. The big Swede was dropping down the cards, and Sonny King was being de-emphasized and would be leaving the area in about two weeks as time would tell. However, Flair and Gilbert couldn’t control their anger issues, giving Hanson and King a disqualification victory to the delight of the Richmond fans.

The other tag team match of the night saw Bob Bruggers and Sandy Scott dispatch the team of Charlie Fulton and the Blue Scorpion. The Bruggers/Scott combination was a smooth one, and they ran circles around their confounded opponents this night. Unfortunately for his many fans, Sandy Scott wrestled very little after this Richmond match, though he did continue to stay active with the promotion, primarily behind the scenes. And after a promising start as a main event performer a year and a half before, Bruggers continued to drop down the cards until the airplane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in early October of 1975 brought his wrestling career to an end.

Three single matches rounded out this holiday spectacular, and the curtain raiser was by far the best of the bunch! The good guys notched a couple of wins as Greg Peterson outlasted Larry Sharpe, and the highly popular Klondike Bill took the measure of Joe Soto. But the first bout of the night stood out, and was really outstanding. 1974 NWA rookie of the year Steve Keirn and veteran Art Nelson wrestled to a 20 minute draw, which was a battle of contrasting styles and youth versus experience. Nelson, the aging veteran, was still in exceptional condition, but had trouble dealing the speed of Keirn. Conversely, the strength of Nelson gave the youngster Keirn fits. Each man had their chances at victory, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. As clearly Keirn was going up the “Mid-Atlantic ladder” as Nelson was going down that same ladder, it was befitting that they would meet in the middle of that proverbial ladder in this early July 1975 confrontation. But to show how this trend continued over the next few months for both, by October of 1975 Keirn was in a main event program with Tiger Conway, while Nelson was set to depart the Mid-Atlantic area, and would never return.

As everyone celebrates July 4, 2015, I hope there are Independence Day Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling memories that will find their way into those festivities. For me, a GIANT Richmond Coliseum card 40 years ago will always without question be part of my 4th of July remembrances!

(This story was originally published on July 4, 2015.)

The Giant Comes to Charleston County Hall

 by Andy McDaniel
Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

It is without a doubt that most lifetime professional wrestling fans have a favorite arena where they went to the matches. For Mid-Atlantic fans, there are many to pick from. While I was blessed to travel and have been to Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheville, and many others, for me, my all-time favorite place to witness the matches was Charleston County Hall. It was must-see and if it were at all possible, it was the place to be on Friday nights at 8:15.

Mr. Henry Marcus, the promoter, was known to be near the door and the entering fans would hear his famous words, “hold your own ticket.” The last matches held in the historic building was nearly 20 years ago. I had the honor of promoting that final show. As I have been reflecting on the upcoming 20th anniversary of the final wrestling show ever held at County Hall, I have been thinking of the history of the events that were held there.

I started going in 1974, but long before that, the biggest stars in pro wrestling would make the journey to the home of the Battery and the place where the Civil War started, Charleston, SC. In my current place in life, I serve as a minister. I love words, and often key in on certain ones when I am searching for a message. As I am thinking about all the big stars that came through County Hall, I can say I was there, the night the biggest star -- and I mean literally, the “biggest” star -- entered the hallowed Hall. Yes, I was there the night Andre the Giant came to town. It was the first time seeing him in person and as a young kid, I was in total awe. He looked way bigger in person than he did on TV. It was one of those moments you just don’t forget.

Andre was in town to face the dastardly Masked Superstar. The card was announced during the "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" television program when they aired the local promos, and I knew I wanted to be there if there was any way possible. I mean this was Andre the Giant. I had seen the posters, read the magazines, but now for a chance to see him in person, wow, I couldn’t wait.

The Masked Superstar has been running over everyone and now he would face an opponent that would not be so easy to dispatch, the undefeated Giant. I had seen Superstar in other battles against Mighty Igor, Blackjack Mulligan and many top stars of the area, but never did I imagine they would bring in Andre the Giant to try and bring justice. Superstar was certainly no small guy, but when Andre entered the ring it was just awesome. When he walked under the balcony on the way to the ring, he reached up to touch the hands of the fans leaning over the railing. He was sporting the big hair, often seen in his pictures, and that night, he left a larger than life impression with this young fan.

The match was back and forth between these two, but I was blown away when Superstar locked in his famous “Cobra hold” on Andre. Such did not seem possible, but he did it and Andre went to the mat. The referee continued to check the arm to see if it would drop for the third time, but Andre kept holding on. As the hold seemed to be wearing down the giant, the fans began to rally and it would not be long before he made his way back to his feet and broke the hold. After a few more exchanges, Andre hit the headbutt and made the pin much to the joy of the crowd. It was something to see, that is for sure.

Later in life, I met Andre at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, GA. This was near the end of his life and he was not in great shape, but he was still that legendary figure, the one I saw in person, all those years before in Charleston. In 1997, Superstar would work the main event of the very first wrestling show I ever promoted and was nothing but a class act to me. I also got to be the ring announcer, one night, for a match between Superstar and my dear friend George South.

I am so grateful for all the things I have been able to be a part of in wrestling. The memories are almost too many to count. I was blessed to see so many of my pro wrestling heroes come to County Hall, but I will always remember the night Andre and the Masked Superstar came to town in one “giant” showdown.

Oh, there is the time Masked Superstar faced Rufus R “Freight Train” Jones, but that’s another story with one really funny twist.

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Order your copy of "Reunion at County Hall" on Amazon.com
Black & White Version   |   Color Version

Read the review by Mike Mooneyham of the Charleston Post & Courier

Wrestling Book Takes a Look at County Hall