Evel Knievel's Closed-Circuit Snake River Canyon Jump: A Ringley & Crockett Promotion

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

EvelKnievel.com

On September 8, 1974, legendary daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls County, Idaho, in a self-designed rocket. As a 13 year old kid, this was a seminal moment in my childhood. I had just started getting interested in wrestling, and I always thought Evel Knievel would have made a great pro wrestler. Or maybe a a great pro wrestling manager. Either way, Evel could give as good a promo as anyone in pro wrestling.

I was already a huge Knievel fan, eagerly anticipating his next motorcycle jump over cars or buses that would regularly be televised on ABC's Wide World of Sports. I knew he had aspirations of one day jumping the Grand Canyon. This was apparently to be a warm-up to that bigger feat. Or perhaps the National Park Service had no interest in him attempting something like that at the Grand Canyon. Regardless, I was seriously into the hype surrounding the Snake River jump, even if it was the semi-final to some future main event.

The event drew national attention and was promoted on pay-per-view around the country. The Knievel organization established partnerships with local promoters, one of which was Ringley & Crockett, Inc. in Charlotte.

Ringley & Crockett, Inc. was the non-wrestling arm of Jim Crockett Promotions, run by Jim Crockett, Sr.'s son-in-law John Ringley until the end of 1974. Ringley promoted rock concerts, Harlem Globetrotters basketball, fishing tournaments, and all sorts of other events. They were also the promoters for the Evel Knievel Snake River Canyon jump to be telecast on giant-screen closed-circuit television at the Charlotte Coliseum on Independence Blvd., also the home of many big Mid-Atlantic Wrestling events in the Queen City. 

Sadly, the jump failed. A good description of what happened, as well as info on the jump-site (where Evel's dirt take-off ramp still stands as a tourist attraction), can be found on a favorite website of mine, RoadsideAmerica.com. An except:

With much media fanfare, daredevil Evel Knievel tried and failed to leap the mile-wide chasm of the Snake River Canyon on his specially engineered rocket motorcycle. His drogue parachute malfunctioned and opened on take-off. Evel and his contraption floated to the bottom of the canyon, landing on the riverbank directly below his launch ramp (If he'd gone into the river, his safety harness probably would have drowned him). It was a less-than-auspicious milestone for Evel and the city of Twin Falls, but Evel's fans loved him for at least trying.

Where I grew up, the closest closed-circuit location for the jump was in Johnson City, TN, and despite my ongoing pleading, my father had no interest in paying to see Evel Knievel climb into a rocket. 

Carroll Hall at the All Star Championship Wrestling website came across the clipping and forwarded it here. It was nice to discover the Crockett connection to this event after all these years.

For more on Evel Knievel, visit EvelKnievel.com.

The "Red Cover"

This is the cover of a photo album sold at the wrestling events in 1974, one of two distinct issues that year with this theme. Known to collectors as "the Red Cover", there was also a second photo album released that year (known as "the Blue Cover").

The album featured about 16 pages of black and white promotional photos of the wrestlers of that era including Johnny Valentine, Rip Hawk, Swede Hansen, Johnny Weaver, Jack Brisco, Jerry Brisco, and many others. Even a very young Ric Flair, his first year in the territory.

One of the distinguishing features of this issue that makes it special to collectors is the designation on the cover "Produced by Ringley and Crockett." John Ringley, then married to Frances Crockett, had been pegged to run the company following the death of Jim Crockett Sr. in 1973. Up until that point, the company Ringley & Crockett, Inc. had handled all the non-wrestling related promotions of Jim Sr.'s empire including concerts, Globetrotters basketball, fishing tournaments, etc. It appeared that perhaps now that company name would absorb the wrestling related business as well, or maybe not. Perhaps it was just going to undertake the publishing of the photo albums, magazines, and programs.

Regardless, it wasn't long after this particular album was published that John Ringley and Frances Crockett divorced, and the wrestling business was known from that point forward solely as Jim Crockett Promotions, Inc.

Gone Fishing Again: Butch Harris Lures

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Back in a 1977 issue of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine, there was a two-page spread titled "On the Lake with Wahoo" that featured wrestling legend Wahoo McDaniel and fishing legend Butch Harris out on the lake for a day of fishing.

R. K. "Butch" Harris was a hall of fame bass fisherman and ran a business called Butch Harris Bass Lures, which was under the umbrella of Ringley & Crockett, Inc., an arm of the Crockett promotional empire in Charlotte.

Wahoo McDaniel, in addition to being a former professional football standout and champion pro-wrestler, was an avid outdoor sportsman in general, excelling at both fishing and golf.

The feature in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine, authored by Les Thatcher, displayed an array of photographs taken during Wahoo and Butch's day on the lake.

"Even when you are one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling you have to have some time off to relax," wrote Thatcher. "Wahoo spent the day with close friend Butch Harris. They have been fishing buddies for several years."

The advertisement at right is from a 1973 issue of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine. The info at bottom gives contact info for Butch Harris at the old Morehead Street address for Jim Crockett Promotions and Ringley & Crockett, Inc.

John Ringley explained to us a few years back that Ringley & Crockett promoted everything non-wrestling (concerts, Harlem Globetrotters, fishing tournaments, and other ventures) while Jim Crockett Promotions handled everything wrestling related. After Jim Crockett Sr. died in 1973 and Ringley left the company in 1974, professional wrestling became the sole focus for the company, although the family also owned a minor league baseball franchise. Frances Crockett was baseball's first female general manger, running the Charlotte O's in the mid-to-late 1970s, a Baltimore Orioles farm league team.

Also fun to come across this old retail counter display of fishing worm lures sold by Butch Harris Bass Lures.At bottom the display reads "Butch Harris Bass Lures, a Division of Ringley & Crockett, Inc., Charlotte, NC."

The Crockett Lieutenants - Notes from a Conversation with John Ringley

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I was looking through some notes that I had made during a casual conversation I had with John Ringley back in 2016. There were some tidbits about some of the Crockett lieutenants and local promoters that I had not included in earlier posts resulting from those conversations. I thought I would tie up those loose ends now.

THE LIEUTENANTS
We talked about some of the key people working for Crockett when Ringley was with the company. These notes are taken from Ringley's reflections back on those days:

Leo Voss 
A referee and a good lieutenant for Crockett. He would go on the road and handle a lot of local spot towns (gate receipts, etc.) From Oklahoma, a big fisherman.

George Harbin
An ex-wrestler, who ran Lexington and did ring announcing there and Charlotte TV. Did lots of small things for JCP. An important lieutenant.

Wally Dusek
Ex wrestler, perhaps the most important lieutenant of all. Crockett trusted him completely. Like Voss, would handle gate receipts, and also receipts from outlet ticket sales (for example The Hat Shop in Charlotte.) Built rings, delivered them to arenas, with his crew set them up, tore them down. Was also an agent.

There were two other guys Ringley relied heavily on - -  Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson, whom Ringley said were also his close personal friends.


THE LOCAL PROMOTERS
Then there was a discussion we had of the local promoters Crockett partnered with. These weren't technically Crockett's lieutenants, and they were also independent. I would give them a higher rank like captain or major. But they were the guys on the ground that made things work outside of Charlotte.

The local promoters were:

Joe Murnick - Raleigh, Richmond, Norfolk (and surrounding towns)
Pete Apostolou - Roanoke, Salem, Lynchburg (and surrounding towns)
Henry Marcus - Charleston, Columbia (and surrounding towns)
Paul Winkhaus - Greenville, Asheville (and surrounding towns)

Mr. Ringley told me these local guys were all independent operators, considered business partners to Jim Crockett Promotions, who originally booked talent from Jim Crockett for their towns but then later were basically just sent talent from the office. As these guys retired or died, they were replaced by “agents” (for example Sandy Scott, Danny Miller, and Wally Dusek.) Of all the local promoters, Ringley said Paul Winkhaus was his favorite.


GREENVILLE TV
Another little tidbit we discussed was related to my work on studio wrestling history for JCP, specifically the early TV tapings that took place at WFBC in Greenville, SC. in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ringley remembered announcer Bob Poole, but oddly did not remember Bill Krieger. But the main voice he remembered was that of Billy Powell, who not only did local wrestling promos and ring announcing for Greenville for decades, but also did all the voice overs for radio and TV spots for the concert and other entertainment events Ringley and Jim Crockett promoted. He called Billy Powell "the voice of Ringely and Crockett Promotions." This was the name of the separate company incorporated in 1970 that promoted all non-wrestling events for the Crockett promotional empire, which include concerts, Globe Trotters basketball, etc. Jim Crockett Promotions, Inc. was still the company that handled everything wrestling.


Ringley also made these comments regarding his ex-wife Frances Crockett, unsolicited:

"I thought a lot of Frances, I still do. She had the best business mind by far of any of the children. She proved it with baseball. She loved baseball. When I met her, she had baseball posters in her bedroom."

Again, my many thanks to Mr. John Ringley for taking the time to talk with me back in 2016. I'm happy to tie up these "loose ends" from those conversations.