Ricky Steamboat Returns to Norfolk (2015)

Ricky Steamboat made a return to Norfolk, VA recently in an appearance for Big Time Wrestling at the Norfolk Scope.

Prior to the event Eric Stace and Eddie Cheslock met Ricky in front of the famous Scope Coliseum, site of so many great Mid-Atlantic Wrestling events over the years, including yearly cards on Thanksgiving night in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. They took some photographs of the former NWA world champion with a replica of the belt he wore in 1989.

Thanks to those guys for allowing us to post this great photograph here on the Gateway. Thanks also to promoter Tony Hunter who helped make all that possible.

Ricky Steamboat with the book
"United States Championship"

George Pantas interviewed Ricky Steamboat for the Norfolk Navy Flagship in advance of his appearance in Norfolk. You can find links to that interview (which contains lots of Mid-Atlantic discussion) here.

Also, our buddy George South had a chance to spend some time with Ricky before the Norfolk event and show him our new book on the United States Championship. He posted some comments about that on his website. George reports that Ricky loved the book and asked for a copy, which you just better believe is on the way soon. (You kidding me?)

George wrote:

We spent 30 minutes talking about the U.S. belt! He remembered that "heavyweight" was misspelled on the belt and loved seeing all those photos of it again. He marked out a little remembering working with Buddy Rogers in one of the U.S. tournaments. And got mad that Slaughter put new leather on the black belt! haha

Steamboat held the U.S. championship on several occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, trading the title with the likes of Ric Flair, Blackjack Mulligan, Wahoo McDaniel, and Dick Slater.

For more information on the book about Jim Crockett's United States Championship and the five belts that represented it, click here.

Originally published  in November 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Eddie Cheslock - Rest in Peace

By Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

David Chappell and I were very sad to learn this morning of the passing of our friend and Gateway contributor Eddie Cheslock. Eddie's family posted on Facebook this morning that Eddie died peacefully and comfortably at 3:30 AM Wednesday morning (January 25, 2023). We send our heartfelt condolences to Eddie's wife Janie and his son Michael, and to all of Eddie's friends and family.

David Chappell with Eddie Cheslock (R) in Charlotte, 2005.
Eddie is rocking his 1970s-style Anderson Brothers sideburns.

Eddie was a ringside photographer in the Mid-Atlantic area for Bill Apter in the 1980s, based out of Richmond, VA. His work was seen regularly in the wrestling magazines you bought on the newsstands in that era. His work has been featured frequently on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and in the Gateway books. Eddie also provided many of the wrestlers in Jim Crockett Promotions with photos they could use for publicity purposes or autograph signings, and this continued well into the following decades as he maintained relationships with many of the stars he had befriended in the 1980s, 1990s, and on into the 2000s.

Eddie was perhaps more familiarly known for his regular attendance to the many wrestling conventions and independent supershows held in and around Virginia and the Carolinas, most notably the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest and The Gathering in Charlotte, and Wrestlecade in Winston-Salem, NC. He and Janie and Michael traveled a lot of miles over the years and enjoyed seeing friends and "Mid-Atlantic mafia" members at many of these shows along the way.

A collage of some of Eddie's great photography as featured in the book "Four Horsemen."

 

I personally want to remember Eddie for his incredible generosity to me over the years with regards to his wrestling photo archives, both on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and in my various book projects. I met Eddie at the first Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest at the University Place Hilton in Charlotte, NC, in 2004. When I checked into the Hilton that Thursday night, Eddie was sitting in the lobby with George South looking at a huge three-ring binder of 8x10 photographs that Eddie had taken during the 1980s JCP glory days. These weren't his ringside photos for the magazines, these were posed photos from his personal collection. George introduced us and Eddie had nice things to say about the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and before an hour had passed he had pulled out about a dozen or more 8x10s and gave them to me hoping I could use them on the website. I still have those original 8x10 photo prints in a special notebook portfolio. Over the years he provided me with dozens of photographs digitally that we used in Gateway articles and more prominently in the books I published on the Four Horsemen, the Big Gold belt, and the Mid-Atlantic title histories. As soon as Eddie heard I was working on a new project, he would call and ask, "What do you need?" His photographs greatly enhanced my books and all our work on the website.

Whenever Eddie would call in recent years, he would always ask about my Dad, remembering that the only Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest I ever missed was when my Dad was having heart surgery. Eddie was always thoughtful in that way.

Our best to Janie and Michael, and I hope they will know how much David and I will miss our friend Eddie. Rest in peace.

* * * * *
This article also featured as a guest post on Steve Oliver's SlamWrestling.net

Ricky Steamboat Returns to Norfolk (2015)

Ricky Steamboat made a return to Norfolk, VA recently in an appearance for Big Time Wrestling at the Norfolk Scope.

Prior to the event Eric Stace and Eddie Cheslock met Ricky in front of the famous Scope Coliseum, site of so many great Mid-Atlantic Wrestling events over the years, including yearly cards on Thanksgiving night in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. They took some photographs of the former NWA world champion with a replica of the belt he wore in 1989.

Thanks to those guys for allowing us to post this great photograph here on the Gateway. Thanks also to promoter Tony Hunter who helped make all that possible.

Ricky Steamboat with the book
"United States Championship"

George Pantas interviewed Ricky Steamboat for the Norfolk Navy Flagship in advance of his appearance in Norfolk. You can find links to that interview (which contains lots of Mid-Atlantic discussion) here.

Also, our buddy George South had a chance to spend some time with Ricky before the Norfolk event and show him our new book on the United States Championship. He posted some comments about that on his website. George reports that Ricky loved the book and asked for a copy, which you just better believe is on the way soon. (You kidding me?)

George wrote:

We spent 30 minutes talking about the U.S. belt! He remembered that "heavyweight" was misspelled on the belt and loved seeing all those photos of it again. He marked out a little remembering working with Buddy Rogers in one of the U.S. tournaments. And got mad that Slaughter put new leather on the black belt! haha

Steamboat held the U.S. championship on several occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, trading the title with the likes of Ric Flair, Blackjack Mulligan, Wahoo McDaniel, and Dick Slater.

For more information on the book about Jim Crockett's United States Championship and the five belts that represented it, click here.

Originally published  in November 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Great American Bash 1986

Behind the Scenes at The Great American Bash 1986

Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

 All Photographs © Eddie Cheslock

Originally posted July 3, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Late Edit: The WWE Network has just added this complete show from 7/5/86 to the Hidden Gems section of the Vault, as well as the complete Greensboro show from 7/26/86.

Magazine Memories: U.S. Champion Roddy Piper (1983)

A few weeks back we started posting some pages from old wrestling magazines in a series we call "Magazine Memories."  This time, it's "Rowdy" Roddy Piper being featured, proudly holding above his head the United States Heavyweight Championship he won from Greg Valentine on 4/16/83 in Greensboro, NC. The photograph was taken by Eddie Cheslock, who was a regular photographer for the "Apter" wrestling magazines of that era. He shot in Richmond, Norfolk, and Greensboro, as well as many other smaller towns in between. (See another Piper photo by Cheslock, battling Ric Flair, in an earlier post in the Magazine Memories series.)

Note: Only the first page of the story is posted. You have to use your imagination to finish it out! More "Magazine Memories to come."

CLICK HERE FORALL OF OUR "MAGAZINE MEMORIES" POSTS

Magazine Memories: Roddy Piper and Ric Flair

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

From time to time we will pick out a favorite single page or clipping from one of the old newsstand wrestling magazines and post it here to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. I think most of us (old folks, anyway) remember a time when we couldn't wait for the new wrestling magazines to arrive at our local newsstand or magazine shop. For me it was a convenience store called the Garden Basket in Kingsport, TN, which I believe at one time in the late 1970s must have carried every single wrestling magazine that that was published - seemingly dozens of them!

These pages are intended, as most everything here on the Gateway is intended, to evoke memories of great times and great wrestlers in the past.

This time we feature a full-page photo taken by our friend (and Mid-Atlantic Gateway contributor) Eddie Cheslock. It features what appears to be Roddy Piper about to get thrown into a ring post by then arch-rival Ric Flair. The two battled over the U.S. title for most of 1981, until Flair won the NWA world title, and then then they fought over it as well. I loved the kayfabed stories and headlines in these magazines.

Eddie Cheslock was a regular photographer for the "Apter mags" in the early-to-mid 1980s. His posed work (wrestlers shot against the bricks backstage of the Richmond Coliseum) is very familiar to any wrestling fan who ever attend the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfests in Charlotte as his photos were staples on the photo tables that promoter Greg Price made available for autographs. But many don't realize the great work Eddie did taking action shots during some of the greatest bouts in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history. These appeared in all the Weston (Apter) magazines of that era including "Inside Wrestling", "The Wrestler", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" and many others. Some were credited (as you see above), and some were not. All of them were great shots.

Eddie primarily shot in Richmond, Hampton, Norfolk and other towns in eastern Virginia, but also occasionally shot in Greensboro, Charlotte, and other major Crockett towns. His work has also been featured prominently in my books including "Four Horsemen", "Ten Pounds of Gold", "Big Gold", and "Jim Crockett Promotions' United States Championship." That U.S. title book chronicles all the battles for Crockett's U.S. title over the years including the wild feud featured in this memorable photo by Eddie that was featured in "Inside Wrestling" magazine.

More Magazine Memories to come! 

Crockett Foundation Releases Second Pro Wrestling Book

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

The Crockett Foundation has released its second pro wrestling book in their online store.

"Old School Rules Vol. 1" features photographs taken by veteran wrestling photographer Eddie Cheslock, supplemented by articles taken from Mid-Atlantic Wrestling magazine published by Jim Crockett Promotions from back in the day, as well as contributions from Mike Mooneyham, Bill Apter, and David Chappell.

Volume 1 of "Old School Rules" focuses on four of the biggest "babyface"stars of Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s: Ricky Steamboat, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, and Magnum T.A.

Eddie Cheslock provided photos from his archives of these great stars that also include cameo appearances by Terry Taylor, Don Kernodle, Manny Fernandez, Jimmy Valiant, and many others.

Cheslock photographed wrestling in the 1980s in the Richmond area. His photographs were featured in "The Wrestler", "Inside Wrestling", and "Pro Wrestling Illustrated."

The book also includes contributions from New York Times best selling author Mike Mooneyham, as well as from David Chappell of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. David's Gateway interview with Magnum T.A. from 2016 has been edited and republished in the new Crockett Foundation book.

Mooneyham's contributions include previously published works that appeared in his award winning column in the Charleston Post & Courier newspaper.

The book is on sale now exclusively from the Crockett Foundation. A portion from the sale of every book goes to support the charitable work of the Crockett Foundation. Learn more on their website at CrockettFoundation.com.

Behind the Scenes at Bash '86

Behind the Scenes at The Great American Bash 1986

Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

All Photographs © Eddie Cheslock