Jaws: The Mystery of Charlotte's Land-Shark

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

JAWS
Photograph by Jackie Crockett
© Crockett Foundation.
Used with permission.

Back in January of 2017, we posted on the Gateway about an unusual wrestler in the Mid-Atlantic area in 1977 by the name of JAWS. He was (for a very short period of time) under the managerial direction of "Professor" Boris Malenko, who, as head of 'The Family', managed the Masked Superstar and the "Korean Assassin" Kim Duk.

In the spring of 1977 Malenko's "family" was in the middle of a big feud with the Mighty Igor, and Malenko brought in a paid assassin in an attempt to eliminate Igor from the wrestling scene. He was a masked wrestler named Jaws.

You can read all about Jaws in our original post, including info on the movie on which this whacky character was based. There are rare photographs of him in the Crockett Foundation's book "When Wrestling Was Wrestling."  

Recently, we even thought we had figured out who he was under that mask. But that mystery remains. 

A fellow on Facebook by the name of Barry Hatchet posted a photo of Jaws wrestling in Japan on our Facebook page and informed us it was the legendary Danny Miller under the hood. A quick text to Danny's daughter Corinna from mutual friend Peggy Lathan confirmed it was indeed Corinna's father in the photo from Japan.

Danny Miller as Jaws in Japan
(Photo courtesy of Corinna Miller)

"Yes," she replied to Peggy in a text message, "it was Dad. He was Jaws."

So we momentarily thought we had solved the mystery of who was under the mask in the photo taken by Jackie Crockett in Charlotte in 1977 (seen above.)

But Corinna poured cold water on us when she also told Peggy that the man in the photo from Charlotte wearing the Jaws mask was not her father. She and her mother Karin said the Charlotte Jaws had a different physique than Danny. "He always had his gear with him, though" she told Peggy, "and might have loaned that to someone else."

She forwarded on another photograph of her father (seen at right), a shot that she found in his personal scrapbook wearing the Jaws gear while in Japan.

Despite the fact that the identity of Jaws in the Charlotte photo remained a mystery, this was some exciting news for us. We never knew that Danny Miller wrestled in Japan as a land-shark!

Danny Miller

The legendary Danny Miller wrestled here in the 1960s and 1970s and was one of our childhood favorites. He held championships here, including the Eastern Heavyweight Championship that was the forerunner to the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title. He was a frequent tag partner of Les Thatcher and Jerry Brisco, and later worked for Jim Crockett Promotions as one if its local promoters on the ground in Greenville, SC.

Thanks to Barry for the tip and Corinna for the information regarding her Dad and his secret alter-ego in Japan. We will, however, continue to seek out the identity of the man who wrestled under that hood in Charlotte - - one of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's most obscure and long forgotten characters - - JAWS!

Originally published in February 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Jackie Crockett Steps in Front of the Camera

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Fans who attended TV tapings in the arenas for Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW in the 1980s and 1990s became familiar with Jackie Crockett as one of the important men behind the camera.

Not many people realize that for a short period of time in 1985, Jackie stepped in front of the camera, too, hosting selected local promos that were inserted into the syndicated programs such as "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" and "World Wide Wrestling." These segments were taped at the makeshift studio in a garage in the rear of the Crockett offices on Briarbend Drive. 

The above image is from a local promotional segment for the Columbus GA TV market. Jim Crockett's affiliate for the "World Wide Wrestling" show at that time was WRBL-3 in Columbus, with Fred Ward acting as the local promoter on the ground, just as he had been for decades for the Georgia Championship Wrestling office in Atlanta.

As we build our roster of on-air talent for Jim Crockett Promotions from the 1950s-1980s, we are happy to finally locate this image and add Jackie Crockett to that list. The complete list of on-air talent for all of the various shows and studio locations during the Crockett years can be found on the right-hand side of this website. Click on any name to bring up posts related to that person.

This post was originally published on our sister website Studio Wrestling in November of 2016.

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Jackie played many important roles in the family business, which also included photographer. He took photos at shows primarily in Charlotte over many years, from the mid-1970s through around 1983. Some of those wonderful photos are found in a new book of his photos sold by the Crockett Foundation, the family's charitable organization run by Frances Crockett's daughter Debbie Ringley Mrozinski. (Click the graphic link below for more information.)

Crockett Night at Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark Sunday 9/3

BaseballParks.com    

On Sunday, September 3, it's Crockett Night at the ol' ballgame.

This coming Labor Day weekend, make your plans to head out to BB&T Ballpark, home of the Charlotte Knights baseball team, for a great evening of baseball and to visit with some of the great legends of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions.

It's the 2017 Crockett Foundation Night at the ballpark, part of the final weekend of the regular season for the triple-A Charlotte Knights.The event is organized by the Crockett Foundation, the charitable organization run now by Jim Crockett, Sr.'s granddaughter Debbie Ringley.

Crockett Foundation

DATE: Sunday evening, September 3, 2017
WHERE: BB&T Park, 324 South Mint Street Charlotte, NC (Parking & Directions)
TIME: Gates open at 6:00 PM, First Pitch at 7:05 PM (Wrestlers available before the game)
SPECIAL EVENTS: NWA Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends plus Fireworks after the game!

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INTERVIEW WITH DEBBIE RINGLEY

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Debbie about what's planned for Crockett Night this year.
  
Dick Bourne: How did "Crockett Night” at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte come about?

Debbie Ringley: It came about as a way to celebrate the 85th anniversary of Jim Crockett Promotions, both baseball and wrestling, last year. I had to come up with a way to put what Granddaddy created and the things that came after his death. Hosting wrestlers at a baseball game seemed to be the perfect way of bringing the two together. Last year’s event went so well that the Knights asked us back and we are going to make it a staple of both the Foundations and Knights events schedule each year.

Bourne: So the purpose for the event is to help raise awareness for the Foundation?

Ringley: It is to raise awareness. The wrestlers will not charge for their picture or autograph but they will be asking fans to throw some money in a jug towards a donation.

Bourne: You guys have some very cool wrestling-related merchandise that you sell on the Crockett Foundation website. Will some of that be available for fans to purchase at this event?

Ringley: We will have shirts, including our new "TBS 6:05" shirt, for sale and we will also have both of our wrestling books.

Bourne: I've seen the new "TBS 6:05" shirt - - very cool, it immediately conjures up memories of so many Saturday evenings where I wouldn't miss "World Championship Wrestling" out of Atlanta with David Crockett and Tony Schiavone.

Crockett Foundation / Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Ringley: The back of the shirt is awesome, too, with our Crockett Foundation logo and signatures of many of the wrestling personalities that are "tag team partners" of the Crockett Foundation.

Ringley: Jackie will be there to autograph his ["When Wrestling Was Wrestling"] and our second book contains stories about three of the wrestlers that will be there that night so it would be a great opportunity for a fan to get the books autographed by the subjects in the books. Both the books and the shirts will be on sale for $15.00

Bourne: Nice to have Jackie Crockett there to sign his book of photographs. He took some really amazing photos in the late 1970s and early 1980s. That is a wonderful collection.

Ringley: Both the books and the shirts will be on sale for $15.00

Bourne: What wrestling celebrities will be there?

Ringley: Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock n Roll Express, Magnum T.A., J.J. Dillon, Baby Doll, Tommy Young, and Jackie Crockett.

Bourne: Wow, that's a great line-up and a small "who's who" of some of the big names of Jim Crockett Promotions in the hot period of the mid 1980s.

Ringley: It is, and since there was no [Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends] Fanfest this year, it may be the only gathering of this type in the Charlotte area this year. I don’t know of any opportunity like this around.

Bourne: I always enjoy seeing these guys get recognized and for fans to be able to show their appreciation for all they gave to the wrestling business. Will there be a special introduction of your special wrestling guests that evening at the game?

Ringley: All of the attendees will be introduced on the field prior to the game and just like last year Baby Doll will arrive on her Harley. I will be throwing out the first pitch but don’t expect much from that!

Bourne: Excellent! No pressure there, right?

Ringley: No, not at all!

Bourne: How will fans be able to interact with your special guests that night?

Ringley: They will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. All they will ask is a donation of some kind. Or a swag purchase from our merchandise table will get them pictures and autographs.

Bourne: Will Frances be there? Your mom [Frances Crockett] is such an important part of both the family history and baseball history in Charlotte.

Ringley: Yes, she should be. I think one of my sisters is bringing her. I have my hands full with all the others!

Bourne: I'll bet! Debbie, thanks for filling us in on Crockett Foundation Night 2017. I know both wrestling fans and baseball fans will have a blast.

Ringley: Thanks! Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

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DATE: Sunday evening, September 3, 2017
WHERE: BB&T Ballpark, 324 South Mint Street Charlotte, NC (Parking & Directions)
TIME: Gates open at 6:00 PM, First Pitch at 7:05 PM


If you are in the Charlotte area over Labor Day weekend, come out and support the Crockett Foundation and Charlotte Knights baseball. Buy some peanuts and some Cracker Jack and spend some time with the great legends of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling.

JAWS: Prof. Boris Malenko's Forgotten Assassin

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

If you've hung around the Mid-Atlantic Gateway for very long, you know we like to seek out the obscure. Hard to argue that we haven't succeeded in that quest with this.

First, it was David Chappell's look back at Enforcer Luciano. Now we take a look at Boris Malenko's henchman JAWS.

JAWS
Photograph by Jackie Crockett
© Crockett Foundation. Used with permission.

In 1977, the Mighty Igor was embroiled in a bitter war with the camp of Professor Boris Malenko -- which included The Masked Superstar and the "Korean Assassin" Kim Duk. Malenko liked to call his group "the Malenko Family." Despite the Professor's best efforts, he had continually failed to eliminate the Polish strongman from the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling scene. Igor remained a perpetual thorn in Malenko's side.

During a brief few weeks in the spring of 1977 when the Masked Superstar was on a tour of Japan, Malenko brought in a third member to his family, a masked wrestler named JAWS. With this new masked assassin, he hoped to finally rid the territory of the Mighty Igor.

Now I can't seem to remember important things about work from last week, yet I typically can remember the smallest little details about Mid-Atlantic Wrestling from 40 years ago. However, even I had completely forgotten about Jaws until I was sorting through the photographs Jackie Crockett had taken back in the late 1970s and early 1980s that I was helping prepare for the Crockett Foundation's book "When Wrestling Was Wrestling."

There among the photos of legends like Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair, and the Brisco Brothers were two photographs of a masked wrestler I didn't recognize at first. But something about the mask looked familiar - - my goodness, it was the open mouth of a shark - - these were photographs from 1977 of the long forgotten henchman in the family of Professor Malenko. This was JAWS!

We have never known there to be any pictures of Jaws before, none in the Crockett publications of that era, and none in the news stand magazines. These photographs were a rare find, indeed.

There is no mistaking the mask, though; the open jaws of a shark surrounding the front face of the mask, with a small emblem of a shark on the side.

It's unknown who thought up the idea of Jaws as a wrestler, but it wasn't unusual for pro-wrestling to play off something very hot in popular culture. In 1975, Steven Spielberg directed his first massive theatrical hit, the Academy award winning film "Jaws", an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley. "Jaws" was a massively popular movie, setting all-time box office records that stood until toppled by "Star Wars" a few years later. "Jaws" was so popular in the summer of 1975, it was re-released again in the summer of 1976 to huge business. It is widely considered one of the greatest movies of all time.

Even further, playing of the popularity of the film, a character was created for the 1977 James Bond motion picture "The Spy Who Loved Me", a steel-toothed villain called Jaws, played by actor Richard Kiel.

So why not in wrestling? And Jaws was born.

I asked David Chappell if he also remembered Jaws, and he quickly confirmed that not only did he remember him, but he had a brief bit of an audio recording where Boris Malenko was talking about him on TV.

So from Chap's archival audio recording straight from the TV broadcast, here is Prof. Boris Malenko extolling the virtues of Jaws to Bob Caudle and David Crockett on "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" taped 4/20/77:

Prof. Malenko: "I have imported this fellow Jaws here, and he's going to take care of Igor for once and for all! He's gonna get rid of him, I don't want any more menacing of the Malenko Family."

David Crockett: He's not doing a very good job of it right now, he's laying on his back!"

Jaws wasn't around long, apparently for only a matter of weeks, and he did not headline against Igor as best we can tell from exploring newspaper ads from that time. He did wrestle on TV (as heard here) and wrestled mid-card on a few house shows and in tag matches against Igor that spring of 1977.

So how's that for the rare and the obscure? Only on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. We celebrate this kind of stuff.

And if you're interested in more rare photographs from that era, this photo of the wrestler Jaws is but just a small example of the amazing collection of rare pictures to be found in "When Wrestling Was Wrestling", a collection of photographs taken by Jackie Crockett of the famous Crockett wrestling family. Proceeds from the sale of the book support the charitable work of the Crockett Foundation. The book can be purchased on their website (click here for their online store) or in person at selected fan conventions.