The Infernos and The Loaded Boot (1967)

JULY 1, 1967 - "THE LOADED BOOT"
By Carroll Hall, All-Star Championship Wrestling

My two brothers and I were really wanting to go to the wrestling matches on that Saturday night in Winston-Salem. It didn't look too promising early in the week leading up to the card because Dad wouldn't be getting off work until 10:00 p.m. that night and I was not
quite old enough to drive yet.

By mid week we got lucky and worked out a deal with Jimmy, a close friend of the family. My brothers and I would help Jimmy chop the weeds out of his tobacco field in exchange for him driving us down to the Coliseum. He loved wrestling too.

My mom had never learned to drive at this point but she had made up her mind to do so. She had just bought a 1957 Dodge with the big fins on the back for $200. She let Jimmy drive that old Dodge to wrestling because the only thing that would run on his farm that day was his tractor. Well, Jimmy must never have driven anything so powerful as that old Dodge. He flew past every vehicle we came upon that night between Mt. Airy and Winston-Salem. Just imagine if you will three kids and one nut(just kidding Jimmy) flying down U.S. 52 in a "Batmobile" going to wrestling!

The old Coliseum was hot that night as it was nearly a full house and I don't believe that grand old building ever had air conditioning.

George Becker had made a promise on "Championship Wrestling" the previous week.....

Read the entire story on the All-Star Championship Wrestling website. >>

Les Thatcher's Burning Issues Come to a Head on Christmas Night (1967)

As you know if you have followed the Mid-Atlantic Gateway over the years, Les Thatcher is one of our favorites, both as a broadcaster and a wrestler. The following article was written by Mike Cline at the "Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats" website, one of our favorite blogs here at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. The article was originally published there as a 4-part series. It is republished here with Mike's kind permission, and all in one single post. It documents one of the most memorable angles from 1967 for Jim Crockett Promotions, a huge Christmas night for the promotion, and one of Thatcher's biggest matches ever in the area.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

LES THATCHER'S BURNING ISSUES
By Mike Cline
Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats

PART ONE - 
WHAT THE PUBLIC SAW

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER were the top 'babyface' team in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS for most of the 1960s.

J.C. DYKES and THE INFERNOS, on the flipside, were one of the top 'heel' teams during the late1960s.

"It was one of the highlights
of my entire career."

And, somehow, not by sheer happenings or fate, a twenty-seven year-old wrestler, who had recently been named the ROOKIE OF THE YEAR while working in the NWA Florida territory, found himself in the middle of a top JCP wrestling program that stretched over a nearly four month time frame.

This young man was LES THATCHER.

The year was 1967. It was the annual LABOR DAY WRESTLING card in CHARLOTTE, N.C., one of but a handful of shows held each year at the original CHARLOTTE COLISEUM on Independence Boulevard.

The main event that night featured BECKER and WEAVER going against THE INFERNOS, managed by J.C. DYKES. These two teams had a violent history, so the fans expected this match to be something special.

Folks who remember this bitter rivalry will recall that a central issue with THE INFERNOS was the 'loaded boot' that one of them wore. Time after time, the boot would come into play in their matches with the end result often being their opponents being kicked into oblivion, giving the masked men many victories.

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER

THE INFERNOS with J.C. DYKES

BECKER and WEAVER had vowed to remedy this problem, themselves being previous victims of the boot. And, indeed, they did take action. On the night of July 1, 1967, in WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (and maybe in other towns as well), GEORGE and JOHNNY were successful in removing the boot from the foot of THE INFERNO who wore it. Each subsequent time the heroes had faced DYKES and his men, BECKER had worn the boot himself as an equalizer.

The Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte NC

The CHARLOTTE match started out as the fans had expected, which each team taking it to the other. Near the end of the first fall, referee ANGELO MARTINELLI was knocked down and shaken up, but able to make the count on the 'good guys', giving THE INFERNOS a one fall advantage.

ANGELO called for assistance. He couldn't continue. JCP employee GEORGE HARBEN went to the ring and rendered assistance to the injured MARTINELLI. After calling to the back for a replacement official, HARBEN learned that the other referees who had worked the card had already left the building.

LES THATCHER had already wrestled his match earlier and had already showered and changed to his street clothes. Seeing LES standing near the back of the arena, HARBEN signaled for THATCHER to come to the ring. After a brief discussion, LES removed his suit jacket and took over as the official for the remainder of the match.

Les Thatcher raises the hands of
George Becker and Johnny Weaver

Naturally, DYKES and THE INFERNOS protested, "He's a friend of BECKER and WEAVER. There's no way we will get a fair shake." The rantings and ravings fell on unsympathetic ears. THATCHER signaled for the bell, and the second fall began.

GEORGE and JOHNNY took fall number two, squaring the match.

The deciding fall immediately became hot and heavy. The end came quickly when one of the hooded heavies gave LES a shove. THATCHER got in the masked man's face, reminding him he was an official and was not to be touched. At this point, WEAVER 'schoolboyed' THE INFERNO, LES counted to three, and the match was over.

LES raised BECKER and WEAVER's hands in victory. GEORGE and JOHNNY left the ring, with LES closely behind them. But THATCHER was stopped by the sore losers who were claiming LES stole the match from them. A bit of a rhubard started, then suddenly THE INFERNOS grabbed the substitute referee, and J.C. DYKES incinerated THATCHER's face with a fireball.

LES hit the mat, rolling around, screaming in anguish. GEORGE and JOHNNY ran back into the ring, DYKES and THE INFERNOS ran out of the ring (their damage had been done). WEAVER wrapped a towel around THATCHER's face, and he and BECKER got LES back to the dressing room.

Weaver and Becker check on Les Thatcher after J.C. Dykes burned Les with a fireball.

Only time would tell how badly LES was injured and how long he would be out of action.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

PART TWO - 
WHAT THE PUBLIC DIDN'T SEE

LES THATCHER related to me that those participating in the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM main event of September 4, 1967 met at the CROCKETT office on Morehead Street that same morning.

Those present included LES, GEORGE BECKER (also the booker at the time), JOHNNY WEAVER, J.C. DYKES, both of THE INFERNOS (FRANKIE CAIN and ROCKY SMITH), GEORGE HARBEN, and 'BIG' JIM CROCKETT himself.

'BIG' JIM instructed HARBEN to make sure that by the time the main event started that evening, that all referees working the show (except ANGELO MARTINELLI, who was assigned the main event) were to be out of the building. This way no one would spot any other refs hanging around, thus spoiling credibility to HARBEN's ringside plea for LES to come to the ring to officiate the remainder of the match.

CROCKETT told LES to wear his very best suit and to be visible at the back of the COLISEUM arena, so word would reach LES to come to the ring when HARBEN called for him. "If your clothes get damaged or ruined during the match, I'll pay to replace them", CROCKETT would say.

Near the end of the first fall, referee MARTINELLI would be knocked down, injured, but able to count to three in favor of THE INFERNOS.

HARBEN would go to ANGELO's aid. Determining that the official could not continue, MARTINELLI would be helped to the dressing room. With no other ref available, HARBEN (without the use of a microphone) would call out for LES to come to the ring. The fans would actually become involved in the proceedings by relaying the message back to THATCHER, who then went to the ring and received instructions from HARBEN.

THATCHER would referee the second and third falls of the match, amidst the protests of DYKES and his two men. GEORGE and JOHNNY would even the match, winning the second fall. WEAVER would 'schoolboy' one of THE INFERNOS for the third fall victory. LES would raise GEORGE and JOHNNY's hands, who would then leave the ring and start for the dressing room.

RUDY KAY

LES was to drop back a bit, so before he could leave the ring, he would be accosted by the sore losers. A little scuffle would ensue climaxing with DYKES igniting THATCHER's face with a fireball. LES would hit the mat, screaming in pain, and BECKER and WEAVER would jump back into the ring. GEORGE was to run off the 'heels' (their dastardly deed fulfilled), and WEAVER (who had conveniently worn a towel around his neck for the match) would wrap it around the burnt younster's face and help him back to the dressing room.

Once inside the dressing room, LES wouldn't even take the time to change his clothes. He would cover his head and slip out the back of the COLISEUM, where RUDY KAY would be waiting in his automobile. LES would slouch down on the floorboard of the back seat, and RUDY was to quickly drive LES home to the THATCHER apartment.

One more detail to cover---the hired ambulance drivers who would be at the COLISEUM in case they would really be needed during the evening. WEAVER was assigned the task of telling the ambulance guys that THATCHER had a 'phobia' with ambulances, and that GEORGE and JOHNNY would take LES to the hospital themselves, thus relieving the medics of participating. The medical personnel could not be involved, in order to 'protect the business'.

"That's how meticulous the program was laid out...every detail was taken care of," LES said.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

PART THREE -
SELLING THE PROGRAM

Safely back in his apartment, LES THATCHER kept a low profile for several days.

He did his own facial make-up to show the effects of the 'burning'. LES shaved off his left eyebrow, then used a coarse Turkish towel to rub up the skin around his eye to give it an irritated look. He applied what is known as 'New Skin' to the area to give his injured area a wrinkled effect, then painted the area with merbromin (household name: mercurochrome) and tinted Vicks Vapor Rub which gave an oozing appearance.

Then it was on to his bookings. For the time being, most would be in the general CHARLOTTE TV area as this was the target area for the 'burn' program. LES didn't wrestle for a couple of weeks, but instead appeared in all of his scheduled cities going into the ring, showing his burned face and explaining how the injury had occurred. (Before each appearance, 'BIG' JIM CROCKETT personally instructed LES to what degree he was to reduce the size of the 'burn', giving the illusion that the injury was heeling.)

After a week or two, every wrestling fan in the area was aware of the heated battle that had been touched off.

LES then appeared on the WBTV-CHARLOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING program hosted by BIG BILL WARD. During his interview with WARD (the interviews were always conducted in front of the ring apron), THE INFERNOS and DYKES were in the ring awaiting their match. At some point, while he was being questioned, LES was assaulted by one of the masked men (LES believes FRANKIE CAIN), who ripped at his injured face, causing THATCHER extreme pain and discomfort, thus (and pardon the pun) adding fuel to the fire. GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER came rushing to LES' aid, preventing even more damage.

During their tenure with JCP, J.C. DYKES often wrote a column in the weekly CHARLOTTE wrestling program which was handed out (or sold--- I can't recall which) entitled LIKES AND DISLIKES BY J.C. DYKES. During the time frame after LES was burned, a number of the DYKES articles were directed at young THATCHER for concocting such a ridiculous "lie" that J.C. had hit him with a fireball.

Later in the mid-70s, LES wrote an editorial in each issue of MID-ATLANTIC WRESTLING MAGAZINE entitled WRESTLER'S EYE VIEW. LES still uses that trademark to this day. But even before his editorials of the 1970s, LES originated that banner during this INFERNOS program. In a later-to-come 60 MINUTES POINT / COUNTERPOINT style, LES was given a rebuttal column in the programs giving his side of the 'burning" incident. (One will appear in tomorrow's wrap-up entry of this story.)

LES chases one of THE INFERNOS
during a CHARLOTTE PARK CENTER encounter.

NEXT...the final chapter...LES THATCHER GETS SATISFACTION.


* * * * * * * * * * *

PART FOUR - LES GETS SATISFACTION

There was no wrestling in CHARLOTTE, N.C. on December 18th, 1967 as JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS was on its CHRISTMAS break.

Therefore, the WBTV-CHARLOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING TV program which aired on Saturday, December 16th included the announcement of the annual WRESTLING card which would be held at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM on CHRISTMAS night. This holiday card was always one of the top shows of the year and brought attention to the CHARLOTTE NEWS EMPTY STOCKING FUND, a charity to provide for the needy during the holidays. (The CHARLOTTE NEWS was, at the time, the evening newspaper of the Queen City, the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER was and still is the morning paper.)

Headlining the big holiday card was the match many had been hoping for...and none more than young LES THATCHER. The match would feature LES teaming with GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER opposing THE INFERNOS and, in the ring as a participant, manager J.C. DYKES in SIX MAN action.

LES went home to Ohio for a few days during his holiday break. Returning back to CHARLOTTE the day of the match, he was picked up at the airport by his good friend and wrestling 'cousin', ROGER KIRBY.

Roger Kirby

During the drive to his apartment, LES confided to KIRBY that he was nervous about the upcoming match, now just hours away. Nervous not because of his participation in the match, but rather because he feared if the crowd wasn't a good one, he would be blamed for the lower-than-expected attendance. THATCHER had worked main events while in Florida, but never in a building as large as the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM. And not on a wrestling card of this magnitude.

As it turned out, he need not have worried. Before the show started, while in the dressing room, JCP employee GEORGE HARBEN came in and said, "They're really pouring in."

At the end of the evening, the card had drawn the largest CHRISTMAS house for WRESTLING in CHARLOTTE to that time.

THE INFERNOS and DYKES await BECKER, WEAVER and THATCHER's ring entrance.

Finally, a chance for LES to even the score with the men who had injured him so badly. And here he was...teaming with the company's top twosome against a 'heel' team that drew big money wherever they worked.

Things went well for the 'good guys' that CHRISTMAS night. After splitting the first two falls, BECKER, WEAVER and THATCHER had DYKES a bloody mess when his men decided it was way too hot, even for INFERNOS. They grabbed their bludgeoned leader and headed for their dressing room, but before their getaway, one of the hooded 'heels' lost a most precious possession...his mask. Although his identity was concealed, this was the only instance I am aware that one of THE INFERNOS was unmasked while in the MID-ATLANTIC territory.

Referee SAM 'LUCKY' ROBERTS raises the hands of BECKER, WEAVER and THATCHER after DYKES and THE INFERNOS deserted the ring. Look closely at THATCHER's right hand and you'll see a just-removed INFERNO mask, quite a holiday stocking stuffer.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, December 26th

The LIKE AND DISLIKES column which appeared in the CHARLOTTE PARK CENTER wrestling program the week after the CHRISTMAS night match...

....and LES THATCHER's response in the same program.

A four-month program came to a close CHRISTMAS night of 1967. This 'feud' was a great example of how to create, build and sell a program to the fans that was both believable as well as entertaining (something sorely lacking in today's product).

And as LES has said, "It was one of the highlights of my entire career."

- Mike Cline

Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats

* * * * * * *  

Credits at the end of Mike Cline's Original article:
●  My thanks to my very good friends DICK BOURNE of the MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY and CARROLL HALL for their research assistance and to a true gentleman, LES THATCHER, for sharing his personal reflections on this wonderful look back to some great days of the wrestling business. 
●  Illustrations from wrestling programs courtesy of DICK BOURNE.  
● Photographs of LES THATCHER from his personal collection and used with his permission.

* * * * * * * 

 

Gateway Notes: Our special thanks to Mike Cline for allowing us to publish this story in its entirety here on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. It's one of our favorites. 

Originally published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway September 17, 2017.
Article is copyright Mike Cline/Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats, and published here with permission.

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling on Thanksgiving: 1966 in Greensboro, Norfolk, and Charleston

Click here for more Thanksgiving Memories 1966-1987 on the Gateway Archive site.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 1966
GREENSBORO NC, NORFOLK VA, AND CHARLESTON SC
Newspaper clippings courtesy of Mark Eastridge.

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

Newspaper Ad for Thanksgiving Night in Greensboro

Southern Tag Title is the draw, but the NWA World Champion also
headlines the big holiday card.

NORFOLK, VIRGINA

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

A rare Thursday Night card for Charleston, SC, especially for Thanksgiving.
Their normal night for wrestling was Friday night.

* * *

Click here for more Thanksgiving Memories 1966-1987 on the Gateway Archive site.
Newspaper clippings courtesy of Mark Eastridge.

Bobby Becker's Silver Dollars

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

One of the cool things that occasionally happens here at the Gateway is we hear from someone who has an interesting connection to wrestling's past.

Such is the case with a nice fellow named Gary J. Grieco who wrote to tell us about his connection to one of the famous brother combinations in wrestling's long-ago past - - George and Bobby Becker.

George and Bobby Becker
The famous brother team were big drawing
cards for Jim Crockett in the early 1950s
   

Gary found our website searching online for info on Bobby Becker and stumbled across our post from May of 2016 about a cool promotional postcard featuring the Becker Brothers used back in the 1950s by Richmond area promoter Bill Lewis. (See that post here.)

Gary grew up around wrestlers. His father, Mike Grieco, was an amateur wrestler prior to World War II at the Cooper Athletic Club in Ridgewood, Queens NY and then wrestled professionally from 1949-1955 under the ring name Mighty Mickey Cartolano. One of his father's best friends was also a wrestler, a fellow by the name of Johhny Emerling, whose ring name was Bobby Becker. In fact Emerling was Gary's godfather.
 
The Becker name is nearly synonymous with Crockett wrestling in the 1950s and 1960s. George Becker was a fixture in the Carolinas and Virginias during those two decades, also booking the territory during some of that time. Bobby Becker was sure to be a star here, too, but he died at a relatively young age after a short and sudden battle with leukemia.

The Becker Brothers were a very successful team here from 1951-1955, up until the time of Bobby Becker's death. The two were only brothers in wrestling lore; they were not related in real life. Richmond promoter Bill Lewis, who became a business partner with Jim Crockett, is credited with bringing the Beckers to our area.

A 12 year old Gary Grieco with Edouard Carpentier,
Skull Murphy, Magnificent Maurice, "Handsome"
Johnny Barend, and Jolly Cholly, the Wrestling Hobo.
Sunnyside Garden, Queens, NY circa 1963

Being a wrestler's kid occasionally has its advantages. Gary got to hang around locker rooms with his Dad, and he met lots of wrestlers such as Magnificent Maurice, Handsome Johnny Barend, Edouard Carpentier, Skull Murphy and others. Another wrestler, Al Smith (real name Al Alexander), was such a close friend of his father's that Gary called him "Uncle Al."

Gary has a large collection of memorabilia that his father kept from that era including early photos of the Becker brothers and other wrestlers, newspaper clippings featuring his father Mighty Mickey Cartolano on the bill (one seen below), as well program bills, etc.

But of all the memories and memorabilia Gary was nice enough to share with us via email, the one that struck me most was a poignant memory he shared related to Bobby Becker. Gary was born in 1951 and Bobby Becker (John Emerling) died in 1955, so Gary never really got to know his father's close friend. But there is one particular memory of Becker he still fondly recounts today.

Johnny Emerling, aka Bobby Becker
circa 1940s

"My memories of Bobby Becker are from when I was a three year old kid," Gary wrote. "He always gave me a silver dollar when he visited the house, and a three year old kid never forgets that kind of stuff!"

There is something very special and warm about that, those silver dollars a tangible token of a close friendship. Those simple acts speak to character and affection for folks you consider almost family. And what a cool thing to give to young kid. I just love that story.

While Gary didn't have much of a chance to get to know Bobby Becker because of Bobby's death in 1955, he was fortunate enough to meet and get to know Bobby's older wrestling-sibling, George.

A 1949 newspaper ad for a show that
included Gary's father (3rd match down.)

"I got to meet George Becker on several occasions as a teenager," Gary wrote, "and he was cut from the same bolt of cloth -- Bobby and George could have been brothers in real life."

That was particularly nice to hear. 

Gary's dad was also a sandlot baseball player and he had another neighborhood friend -- a diminutive shortstop named Phil Rizzuto. "I have a boatload of information and signed photos of Phil also," Gary wrote. "But that's a whole other story."

Sounds like Mike Grieco, aka Mighty Mickey Cartolano, led a fascinating and full life. A special thanks to his son Gary for sharing some of the memories of that fascinating life that have a connection to the area we cover here at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

(All photos courtesy of Gary J. Grieco)

Becker and Weaver vs. The Andersons (Norfolk 1967)

Here is some rare vintage audio: a 45 sec. clip from Norfolk, VA, promoting an upcoming card on October 26, 1967 at the Norfolk City Arena (as seen in the newspaper ad above.).

The promo aired during "All Star Wrestling" on WAVY-TV channel 10 in Norfolk. We don't know who the narrator is, perhaps an employee of the station. He's likely local, though, as he clearly has that eastern Virginia accent...."Nawfolk." Love it.

What a great looking newspaper ad, too, we love this design. Take a look at those 1967 ringside prices.

George Becker and Johnny Weaver vs. Lars and Gene Anderson in a two-of-three falls main event. The dynamic team of Les Thatcher and Rudy Kay in support. Didn't get much better than that in 1967.

All Star Wrestling in 1968

While the Mid-Atlantic Gateway's main focus is on the 1970s and 1980s in the old Mid-Atlantic territory, we occasional drift back into the 1960s, too. We call it the All Star Wrestling era. (You can click the 1960s tag at the bottom of this post and scroll through everything we've posted on that great decade.)

Check out the newspaper ad on the right. It's from the May 11, 1968 edition of the Grenville News in Greenville, SC, and spotlights "All-Star Wrestling" airing at its traditional time slot of 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon on WFBC-4.

"All Star Wrestling" was the name of the wrestling show taped Wednesday nights at WRAL in Raleigh and was hosted by Bob Caudle. Several years later, at some point in 1972, it would be renamed "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling."

Check out the two matches that took place on that one hour program featuring two of the top tag teams in the area. The Infernos, managed by J.C. Dykes, were one of the most hated teams at that time. The other match featured the top babyface team of the era in George Becker and Johnny Weaver.

Both matches were likely 2-of-3 falls, as most of them were at the time, which made it possible to fill up the one hour show. It was certainly a different time then. Something tells me that before that hour was over, the Infernos and the Becker/Weaver team got into a little altercation to help sell tickets to an upcoming card on Monday night at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium.

And a relatively new twist to "All Star Wrestling" in those years - - the matches were in color!

Special thanks to the Mark Eastridge and his research which makes the vast majority of the newspaper clippings on this website possible.

Texas Ranchers and Charlotte Wrestling

A longtime friend of my father's, who has always been thoughtful of me, mailed to me a Vince Staten column about wrestling from the Kingsport Times-News in Kingsport, TN. I went to the Times-News website in hopes of linking to the column, but the article appears not to be there. So I've transcribed the whole thing here.

I love finding references to "Charlotte Wrestling" and "studio wrestling." And how many folks in the mainstream media write about the great George Becker anymore? Not many, that's for sure.

I've added a couple of photos below that were not part of Staten's original article.   - Dick Bourne

How did Texas ranchers know about Charlotte Wrestling?
by Vince Staten, Kingsport Times-News

I was a thousand miles from Kingsport, sitting by myself at a table in the Dove Creek Café — Roanoke, Texas' answer to Kathy's Korner. There wasn't a female customer in the place. All the men seemed to know each other. I munched on my country ham biscuit and eaves-dropped on the conversations.

First they dissected the Warriors-Cavaliers' basketball series. Pretty much everyone in the house had been for Golden State but they appreciated what Cleveland had done.

Studio #2 at WBTV-3 in Charlotte,
home of "Championship Wrestling"

Then my mind was jolted into another time when one of the old men took the conversation in a different direction.

"What was his name, George Becker? What was it he did, the Figure-Four Grapevine Hold? No, that's not it. It was the Abdominal Stretch."

How in the name of Big Jim Crockett did these fellows in Roanoke, Texas — ranchers, most of them from the tenor of their other conversations — know about George Becker, the cleanest of the clean-cut wrestlers of my youth? George was a regular on "Studio Wrestling," broadcast live every Saturday from the studios of WBTV in Charlotte.

That is a thousand miles away from Texas. Apparently George and his signature hold, the Abdominal Stretch, got around.

I was late getting into wrestling. I was 10. We had just got-ten cable and I was fascinated with "Studio Wrestling," a regular Saturday afternoon show from Charlotte. I didn't know at the time that it was really just a promo for a regular Monday evening wrestling card at the Charlotte Coliseum.

I had seen wrestling before we got cable. Johnson City carried "Texas Rasslin'," a show that was filmed in a big arena in Dallas. It didn't seem real. The major player was Gorgeous George, and even at 10, an age when I pretty much believed anything, I didn't believe Gorgeous George. He be-longed in an arena, an arena for show dogs.

George Becker (center) applies his famous
abdominal stretch in the ring at WBTV.

But Charlotte wrestling, I knew that was the real thing. Large, sweaty men who threw each other around and, my favorite part, wrapped each other up in signature holds.

Like George Becker and his Abdominal Stretch. I can still see him pulling on his opponent until he started screaming, "Give! Give!"

I never could figure out how the Abdominal Stretch was supposed to hurt. But I could understand the Figure-4 Grapevine Hold. That was Buddy "Nature Boy" Rogers' signature hold. I used to practice it on kids in the neighborhood. It didn't take much pressure to get them to scream, "Uncle." Of course, I usually practiced it on kids half my age.

I was about to interject myself into the conversation, tell them it was Buddy Rogers who had the Figure-4-Grapevine, tell them about Charlotte wrestling, when they started talking about the upcoming bull sale.

I would have literally been out of my league. So I paid and left.

But it did get me doing a little Googling. And I discovered, much to my amazement, that Gorgeous George had wrestled in Kingsport, at the Civic Auditorium, three times: in '51 (he defeated Herb Welch); '55 (he defeated Tex Riley); and '58 (he lost to Angelo Martinelli).

When he died in 1963, the Times-News put his obituary on the front page.

Next time I'm in Roanoke, Texas, I'm going to see if I can get those old men talking about Gorgeous George instead of George Becker.

Columnist Vince Staten can't be blamed for not getting every detail right about TV wrestling from the 1960s, but one thing needs to be clarified here:

The wrestling program on WBTV-3 from Charlotte was never called "Studio Wrestling", although it certainly did take place inside the cozy confines of WBTV studio #2. The show was called "Championship Wrestling" from its inception in January of 1958 until it ended in the fall of 1974.

However, Staten's memory of Gorgeous George on "Texas Rasslin'" was pretty accurate. If Gorgeous George and George Becker had ever met in the ring, Becker would have mopped the floor with him.

And lastly, just to set the record straight on my all-time favorite rasslin' hold, one demonstration of the abdominal stretch by George Becker would have demonstrated to Mr. Staten just how much it really hurt. Just sayin'.

For more information on wrestling from WBTV channel 3 in Charlotte, click here.

For more on the Dove Creek Cafe in Roanoke, TX, click here. Alternatively, for more on the Texas Tavern in Roanoke, VA, click here.

You can contact Vince Staten at vincestaten@timesnews.net. His blog can be found at vincestaten.blogspot.com.

The Becker Brothers - Promotional Postcard

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Back in the 1950s the local NWA wrestling office out of Richmond, promoted by promoter Bill Lewis (who was affiliated with Jim Crockett in Charlotte) sent postcards out to regular fans reminding them of the upcoming shows at the arena at Strawberry Hill, the venue on the State Fairgrounds of Virginia just outside Richmond. Lewis ran weekly shows there.

Seen here is one of those vintage postcards, featuring a photograph of the Bobby and George Becker, one of the great tag teams in the early 1950s.

The postcard is very cool in its own way. I love the reference to the locations for tickets - Adam Hat Store at 8th and Broad Streets in Richmond. Interesting how a hat shop was place for wrestling tickets; the same was true in Charlotte for over four decades where tickets to Charlotte events could be purchased at the National Hat Shop. 

George Becker was a fixture in the Carolinas and Virginias in the 1950s and 1960s, also booking the territory for Jim Crockett Sr. for nearly a decade. Bobby Becker died at a relatively young age after a short and sudden battle with leukemia.

Carroll Hall, who publishes the All Star Championship Wrestling blog, once wrote of the Becker Brothers:

The late Bill Lewis, promoter from Richmond,VA is credited with bringing George and Bobby Becker to Virginia and the Carolina's in 1951. They were extremely popular, so much so that sometime during their time as a team here (1951-1954),the Mayor of Charlotte, Victor Shaw, presented them with the keys to the Queen City.

They feuded with Al and John Smith, Ernie and Emil Dusek, Hans Schnabel and Mr. Moto, Freddie Blassie and Billy McDaniels and many others.

The story about Bobby Becker dying in the ring is a myth. He wrestled his last match in Nov. 1954 in
Greenville SC. No one in the wrestling business knew that he had been sick except George. Bobby Becker passed away on Thanksgiving day 1954 in a New York hospital. This was two weeks after his last match. 

Steve Johnson, co-author of the book "Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams", added:

Did a chapter on the Beckers in our book on tag teams. I spent nine months trying to find a surviving relative of Bobby (John Emmerling, also wrestled as Ray Schwartz) without luck.

As Carroll noted, he died of leukemia and it came on very quickly. Lewis tried to get to NY to see Bobby before he died but did not make it in time. Box office gold in the early days of tag teams, not just here but also in California.

This wonderful postcard is a relic of an era long gone in professional wrestling.

Postcard part of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Collection.

Meeting Abe Jacobs

by Don Holbrook
Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Originally published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in April 2013 

Last weekend my wife and I were in Charlotte for some shopping. I was sitting on a bench inside the mall and suddenly I saw a familiar face. It was Abe Jacobs.

I said aloud, "Well, if it isn't Abe Jacobs."

He stopped, looked at me and smiled. I knew he had no idea who I was, but he stepped toward me with his hand extended. I introduced myself and told him I remembered him from Greenville Memorial Auditorium. He said it had been a long time and I said to him, "Abe, you look just like you did 20 plus years ago." He smiled and said, "I still work out, lift weights and I try to stay in shape."

Main event: Gene Kiniski vs. Abe Jacobs
June 6, 1966  Greenville, SC

I asked if he ever saw any of the guys and he said, no not very much. He said he saw Rene Goulet at a charity golf tournament, and Nikita Koloff.

He talked to me for probably 15 minutes about the old days and the guys he worked with. He said that he had both his knees operated on but otherwise was in good health. I jokingly said to him, "Abe, I guess you had to have those knees done because of all those "kiwi rolls" you did all those years." He laughed!

He told me about making an appearance at a wrestling convention someplace and a guy was in the autograph line and handed him a big copy of a newspaper ad for a wrestling show he was on. He said it was a big card with Johnny Weaver and George Becker against Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson and a lot of other big matches and the main event was Gene Kiniski defending the NWA title against Abe Jacobs!

He said he looked at it and showed it to his wife and said, "Well, I will be the next to go." She asked, "What do you mean?" Abe said, "I will be the next to die." His wife asked, "How do you know that for sure?" He replied to her, "Because everyone else on the card is already dead."

Abe was really a nice guy and I enjoyed our brief visit.

Newspaper clippings from the collection of Mark Eastridge.

Additional research by Carroll Hall.

Original article published April 7, 2013