Ric Flair: "And then it was my turn."

By Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

On Monday night May 8, 2000, Ric Flair appeared on WCW Monday Nitro on TNT and brought with him the old NWA World Heavyweight championship belt that he wore beginning in 1981 when he defeated Dusty Rhodes until February of 1986 when the belt was replaced by the famous "Big Gold" version of the NWA title.

It was a big surprise and a very nostalgic moment for fans from the 1970s and 1980s who so connected with the "ten pounds of gold", which was the top title and top belt in all of professional wrestling during the territory years.

Nitro was in St. Louis, MO, that night, historically the most important city on the National Wrestling Alliance map. Flair spoke generally about how important it was to work there for Sam Muchnick if you wanted to become NWA champion one day. He also spoke eloquently about seeing that belt for the first time.

That had to be a very cool moment for old-school fans of St. Louis wrestling.

Here is a transcript of Flair's remarks as they pertained to the "ten pounds of gold."

"In the year nineteen hundred and seventy eight, Terry Funk told me if I wanted to be a star in this business I had to get to St. Louis on Friday night. You know what I'm talkin' about. I had to be at the Kiel or The Arena, I had to be live at the Chase, I had to be in St. Louis if I wanted to be a star.

And then I saw this for the first time. It was around the waist of the legendary Jack Brisco. And I said, "Jack, do you think I could ever be World champion?" He said, "Kid, keep workin'. Work at it every day and every night and maybe by the grace of God you might get it some day.

And then there was Terry Funk, and then it was Harley Race, and then it was Dusty Rhodes.

And then it was my turn.

And this is what we all desired to have and be, the World Heavyweight championship. We gave up everything. We gave up life, we gave up our families, we worked every day, we partied all night. We were the champions of the World. The best this sport had to offer."

That episode of WCW Monday Nitro is available on demand on the WWE Network. The interview with Flair is at approximately 25:20 into the program.

A very bright moment during a really sad time in WCW.

This post was originally published on our "Domed Globe" website in May of 2019.

Figures Friday: Ten Pounds of Gold

Mike Simmerman's Action Figures

The NWA Champions that wore the original "Ten Pounds of Gold" (1973-1986)
L-R: Terry Funk, Giant Baba, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Ric Flair,
Kerry Von Erich, Jack Brisco, and Tommy Rich

 

Originally published April 2013.

NWA Belt Art Revisited (David Williams)

The fourth and final version of the original 1973-1986 NWA World Championship belt, the "Ten Pounds of Gold."
The final version featured new leather with a slightly different cut around the center plate
and a fourth and final different flag configuration.

PART 5
by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Art by David Williams

ORIGINAL ARTICLES FROM 2019
PART ONE : Introduction & History of the Project
PART TWO: The Red Velvet
PART THREE: Black Leather and Dented Globe
PART FOUR: New Globe, Refurbished Plates
PART FIVE: The Final Version of a Classic

We pick up where we left off in Part 4:

Not long after Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the title in Toronto in February of 1977, the refurbished and repainted plates were attached to a brand new cut of leather. This new leather strap had a different style of lacing and was cut slightly different, the main change being that the cut of the leather did not follow the shape of the main plate as closely as the old leather did, which tightly hugged the upper edge of the main plate (as seen in the image at the top of Part 3.)

Pretty soon, however, the plates began to show the same wear and tear as the earlier version of the belt did. The globe was badly dented again, and paint began flaking off the plates in different areas. Most noticeably, some of the segments of ornamental "beads" around the edge of the main plate began to break off as well.

The look of the belt in its last years: dented globe (again), missing beads, missing paint, missing eyelets.

Let's face it, after several years of observation, it was clear that this type of construction for a ring used title belt just didn't make much sense. Those bead-sections were each attached individually with 4-6 beads to a section. And many of them were getting broken off the belt.

In addition, some of the faux eyelets and snaps broke away from the belt, too. By the time Jim Crockett had the new "Big Gold" belt made in 1986, the old Ten Pounds of Gold was in pretty rough shape.

An illustration of the shape the belt was in at the end, with the busted lacing and missing paint.

Artist David Williams has done an incredible job of recreating every version of the belt, with sub-versions illustrating the damage to the belt in later years.

The following chart shows the progression of the belt from its original configuration in 1973 to it's final look in 1986.

The final progression chart.

The book "Ten Pounds of Gold" that I authored with Dave Millican lays out in great detail all four versions of the NWA "domed-globe" belt. (There is a detailed flow chart summarizing those versions in pp. 70-71 of the book.)

My thanks to computer artist extraordinaire David Williams for the amazing work he did on all the different versions of the famous domed-globe belt.

PART ONE : Introduction & History of the Project
PART TWO: The Red Velvet
PART THREE: Black Leather and Dented Globe
PART FOUR: New Globe, Refurbished Plates
PART FIVE: The Final Version of a Classic
Final Progression Chart

 Originally series published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in July of 2019

A Close Encounter with the Ten Pounds of Gold

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I suddenly realized the referee in the ring was walking towards my position. I thought, well this is it, someone is finally going to ask me to leave. But as I looked up, he reached out with the NWA world title belt - - the beautiful "ten pounds of gold" 

- - and waited for me to take it.

The year was 1982. I was 21 years old. I had just moved from Tennessee to begin work for Russell Corporation in Alexander City, Alabama. For the first time ever, I was isolated from Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, unable to watch the weekly adventures of my favorite group of wrestlers in my favorite wrestling territory.

I had settled in to my shabby little apartment on Highway 280 and hooked up local cable. I could get "Georgia Championship Wrestling" on the Superstation out of Atlanta, and saw some of my guys there -  Roddy Piper, Ole Anderson, Ray Stevens, and Ric Flair. I was getting familiar with the NWA promotion based out of Pensacola, Florida that ran the panhandle of Florida and the lower two-thirds of the state of Alabama. This would be my new home territory. Their TV show aired twice every Saturday - once in the afternoon out of Montgomery, and again late Saturday night out of Birmingham. People in the business called this territory the Pensacola territory. But most fans called it the Southeastern territory, taken from the name of their television show for so many years, "Southeastern Championship Wrestling."

I liked their TV show well enough. Charlie Platt and Ric Stewart were excellent studio hosts. I was familiar with a lot of their wrestlers who used to be regulars in the Southeastern promotion based out of Knoxville, TN, in the 1970s - - guys like Ron and Robert Fuller, Bob Armstrong, and Jimmy Golden. But nothing was ever going to quite replace Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions for me. That was the wrestling I had grown up on. And I missed it terribly.

However, that fall, Southeastern Championship Wrestling was running a tour called "October Fest" and the NWA World champion Ric Flair was coming to the territory to put his title up against a different challenger in a different town in the territory each night of that week. Ric Flair was a "Mid-Atlantic guy," having cut his teeth in the Carolinas beginning in 1974 and eventually becoming the NWA World champion in 1981.  he was the first ever wrestler in the 46 year history of Jim Crockett Promotions to have ever developed through the territroy and been selected by the NWA to be their champion. As fans, we were proud of that! And even though he was now the world champion and just passing through to defend the title, having him come through my new home state of Alabama made me feel a little less homesick.

My first decision was where to go see him. The closest towns where Flair would be were Montgomery and Birmingham, AL. We received most of the TV stations on our local cable from both markets. Flair was scheduled to defend against "The Tennessee Stud" Ron Fuller on Monday 10/25 in Birmingham, and "the Universal Heart Throb" Austin Idol two nights later on Wednesday 10/27 in Montgomery.

Montgomery was a little bit closer, a little over an hour's drive away, and the Montgomery Civic Center was a little easier to get to than Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham. So I chose to go to Montgomery for that stop on the "Southeastern Wrestling October Fest" tour.

The Montgomery Civic Center in Montgomery, AL. Circa 1960s. "Wrestling Tonite" on the marquee!

Another factor in that decision was the opponent for Ric Flair. I had always been a big Austin Idol fan, and had always wanted to see what would happen if these two guys ever met each other in the ring. It was a dream-match of sorts - - a battle of Austin Idol's "Las Vegas leglock" against Ric Flair's "figure-four."

I hadn't made any wrestling friends in my new hometown yet, so I decided to go to the matches alone. I got off work early that Wednesday and drove down to the Montgomery Civic Center box office as soon as it opened to get the best tickets possible. I was able to secure seats in the ringside area, although I was about four rows back. I took my camera and hoped to get a few good photos up near the ring.

There was surprisingly little security at this show. When Flair and Idol had entered the ring, I was able to sort of stoop low, scoot up and kneel down next to the ring with my camera. Surprisingly, no one said a word to me. I couldn't believe how lucky I was.

The ring announcer introduced Idol first and then introduced Flair. Ric opened his robe, took the NWA belt from around his waist and handed it to the referee. He then handed his big heavy robe over the top rope down to the ring attendant on the floor who was already holding Idol's full-length heavy robe in his arms as well. He left the ringside area to take the robes back to the dressing rooms. I watched all this and again, nobody said a word to me as I knelt at ringside.

I suddenly realized the referee in the ring was walking towards my position. I thought, well this is it, someone is finally going to ask me to leave. But as I looked up, he reached out with the NWA world title belt - - the beautiful "ten pounds of gold" - - and waited for me to take it.

I couldn't figure out what was happening. Like in a movie, everything sort of started to go in slow motion and I couldn't hear a thing.

I've always thought that the referee had turned to give the title belt to the ring attendant, but the ring attendant had failed to wait for the belt, having two large heavy robes to carry to the back. Looking back on it, I have no idea why he wouldn't have just handed the belt to the ring announcer who I think had already exited on the other side of the ring at this point after his introductions. But he didn't. Instead, incredibly - - perhaps thinking I must be at ringside for a reason - - he was trying to hand the belt to me.

So I took it.

And I want to tell you that for one brief moment - - one fleeting, crazy, impulsive, irresponsible, disrespectful, do-I-dare, moment - - I thought about walking right back down the aisle with that belt, right out the back door, never to be seen or heard from again!

I wouldn't really have done that. Even at age 21, I had so much respect for the belt, for the championship, for Ric Flair and all the others that had held it. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit I thought about it! For one brief second....

Ring attendant with the NWA title in Dothan, AL.
This wasn't me, this wasn't Montgomery, it just
reminds me of that moment in my life.

Instead, I just looked at it. I couldn't believe what I had in my hands. This was the famous domed-globe belt; the Lombardi trophy and the Stanley Cup and every championship trophy in every major sport all wrapped up into one. Ric Flair's world title. The same world title that had been held by Brisco, Funk, Race, and Rhodes. And now I was kneeling at ringside in Montgomery, Alabama with that belt in my hands.

If I had really wanted to run away with the belt (which I did not), my window of opportunity quickly closed as the ring attendant had returned and I suddenly realized he was right behind me. He snatched the belt from my hands.

"You need to get back to your seat, bud," he said with a cold stare. And so without a word, I complied.

Can you imagine how badly this might have ended otherwise? I'm guessing the boys in the back would have had a field day with the young punk who tried to steal the champ's belt. More likely, I would have been arrested and spent the night in the Montgomery county jail.

My pulse was still racing as I thought about what had just happened. It was my one brief moment to touch history, to touch this belt I would have never thought I would have a chance to get anywhere near.

Many years later, however , on October 28, 2008, Dave Millican and I had the opportunity to photograph this very same belt. These photographs would later wind up in our book "Ten Pounds of Gold."

I would have never dreamed I could have gotten that close to it again.

 

Edited from a story originally published in October of 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Figure Friday: Harley Race and Ten Pounds of Gold

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Our good friend Jeff Jewett put together a great photo for Action Figure Friday that we featured several years ago. It features a figure of the 8-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion (and "greatest wrestler on the face of God's green earth") Harley Race, complete with miniature domed-globe belt and his classic 1980s red and blue robe. He's standing in front of the original 8x10" hardcover edition of the book "Ten Pounds of Gold", a close look at the 1973-1986 NWA World championship title belt and the eight champions who held it during that time period. (You will notice that the original version of the book I wrote with Dave Millican even contained a brief foreword from the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, which was subsequently removed. You can learn all about that here.)

Jeff had his copy of the original "Ten Pounds of Gold" book signed by Harley Race, which you see in the bottom left corner of the slipcover in the photo above. I just think the whole thing is very cool and loved this, and I appreciate Jeff's thoughtfulness in putting this photo together for me.

As it relates to Race and the "Ten Pounds of Gold" book, I was fortunate enough to have several phone conversations with Harley Race in 2012 when working on the second edition of the book. He loaned me a notebook that promoter Paul Boesch had given him after the historic NWA title change match with Jack Brisco on July 20, 1973 in Houston. That notebook contained dozens of 8x10" photographs taken by Boesch himself that night. Many of those photos appear in the second edition of "Ten Pounds of Gold" and I've always appreciated Harley's generosity and kindness in allowing me to use them. 

In what turned out to be the third and final phone call during that time, Harley suggested I change the title of the book. At first I thought he was joking. But he was dead serious. Change the name of the book to "Ten Pounds of Pure Gold." And then it hit me - - that's the way Harley usually referred to the belt. "Ten pounds of pure gold, buddy." 

That's a wonderful memory, and all these years later I begin to wish I had done just that.

Thanks again for the photo, Jeff!

Edited from an original post published April 2020 as Part of Action Figure Friday on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Adam Pearce's Bookcase

Twitter @ScrapDaddyAP

 

Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce apparently has extraordinarily good taste in books, especially one we noticed up on the top shelf of his bookcase.

That's the rare, original 10 x 8" hardcover edition of Ten Pounds of Gold by Dick Bourne and Dave Millican.

The image is from a video that Pearce posted to his social media.    

You can put the Ten Pounds of Gold in your bookcase, too. Visit the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.

 

Texas Sized Memories of the NWA Tilte

Memories of Texas Stadium 1984:
Ring jacket, replica belt, Texas flag, and yellow roses.

 

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

The month of May in 2022 marks the 38th anniversary of the brief NWA World title exchange between Kerry Von Erich and Ric Flair. Kerry won the title on May 6, 1984 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. He dropped the title back to Flair in Yokosuka, Japan on May 24, 1984.

Kerry's victory was at the "Parade of Champions" show that honored Kerry's brother David, who had passed away earlier that same year.

The photograph above contains several iconic elements, not the least of which is the original ring jacket Kerry wore in the ring the day he won the title. The belt is a Dave Millican replica of the National Wrestling Alliance world championship belt, affectionately known as the "domed globe" or "the ten pounds of gold." The belt and jacket are adorned with the Texas flag and yellow roses, all of which call back to that memorable and emotional day in Texas Stadium.

The book "Ten Pounds of Gold" features dozens of photos of the original NWA belt shot especially for the book, one with the original Kerry Von Erich ring jacket paying tribute to his late brother David, the belt and the jacket reunited at the time of the photo in 2008 for the first time in 24 years. I've always loved this photo above, though, taken the following year that featured the flag and the yellow roses with Dave's replica. I've always regretted not thinking to do that when I shot the original belt and robe together for the book.

Republished in edited form in May 2022 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

The Domed Globe Blog

Check out one of our sister-blogs which focuses on everything related to the domed-globe NWA world heavyweight championship belt 1973-1986, better known as "the ten pounds of gold."

The Domed Globe
http://tenpoundsofgold.blogspot.com

The blog focuses on the eight men who wore and defended the domed-globe version of the belt that was in service from 1973-1986: Harley Race, Jack Brisco, Giant Baba, Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rich, Ric Flair, and Kerry Von Erich.

Recent posts focus on the Jack Veneno title controversy of 1982, Terry Funk winning the NWA title from Jack Brisco, Harley Race's wicked smile, and Tom Prichard's story about the night Brisco beat Race for the title in Houston.

There are video clips, photographs, memorabilia, etc. Check it out and help celebrate the most respected world title belt of all time.

Super Bowl Winning Quarterback Brad Johnson and Ten Pounds of Gold

Super Bowl XXXVII winning quarterback
Brad Johnson

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

What a great photograph of former NFL (and Super Bowl winning) quarterback Brad Johnson with his copy of our book Ten Pounds of Gold. 

Turns out Brad is a big fan of (and was a friend of) former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco, the legendary collegiate and pro wrestling champion in the 1970s who is spotlighted in the book.  The two became friends while both lived in Tampa. Jack had retired from wrestling and was running the famed Brisco Brothers Body Shop with brother Jerry. Brad had just won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.   

Mutual friend Bill Murdock, who wrote Brisco's biography, sent me this photo from Brad. 

Bill actually introduced Brad and Jack to each other in 2003 in Tampa at a dinner Bill organized at Flemming's Steakhouse. It was an appropriate spot to have dinner: the restaurant just happened to be a in close proximity to both the Brisco Brothers Body Shop as well as Raymond James Stadium, the NFL home of the Tampa Bay Bucs. 

Brad and Bill both grew up in the Asheville, NC area and had been friends for some time. When Bill was in Florida working on Brisco's book with Jack, they decided to all get together. Bill related that as much as Brad had wanted to meet childhood hero Brisco, Jack was equally excited to meet Brad. The Brisco brothers had owned Bucs season tickets since 1976, when the team was first established in the NFL. There was obviously great excitement that summer of 2003 over the Bucs win of the Super Bowl just a few months earlier.

Brad is a 17-year veteran of the National Football League and was the winning quarterback for Coach Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Bucs in Superbowl XXXVII in January of 2003. In that game, Brad threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the 48-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

Not only did he quarterback for the Bucs, he also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, and the Dallas Cowboys. His NFL career stretched from 1992 through 2008. In fact, I saw him play in person when he was quarterback for Washington, along with my buddy David Chappell and his cousin Jamie, on a road trip to see the Redskins play the Carolina Panthers at Fed-Ex Field on a very warm day in September of 2000. (Redskins won 20-17. The Gateway was barely a month old at the time!)

Brad played his college ball for Coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State University back in the days when FSU was a perennial top-5 independent powerhouse before joining the ACC. During Brad's four years there (1988-1991), Florida State was a combined 42-7, and had bowl victories all four years including the Cotton, Fiesta, and Sugar Bowls. He was the back-up for Casey Weldon in those years, but it is a testament to the level and depth of quarterback play at FSU during that time that the back-up quarterback goes on to have a 17-year career in the NFL, including a Super Bowl win. 

It's actually a really great story. 

My thanks to Bill Murdock, and especially to Brad Johnson for a photograph I will treasure always.  

* * * *

Utterly Amazing!
You can follow "Big Bad" Brad Johnson on Twitter at @Brad_Johnson_14, where you will find some of the most amazing trick basketball and football shots you have ever seen. The guy is a magician. Check out the compilation in this recent Twitter post:

 

Tuesday Trick Shot “Compilation” @espn @overtime @barstoolsports @Gatorade #bradjohnson #challenge #tryit pic.twitter.com/AVMQWkWCsT

— Brad Johnson “BigBadBrad14” (@Brad_Johnson_14) September 7, 2021

Check out Ten Pounds of Gold in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store. Written with "Ace of Belts" Dave Millican, it is a close look at the fabled championship belt that represented the NWA World Championship from 1973-1986, worn by champions like Jack Brisco, Harley Race, and Ric Flair. 

TenPoundsOfGold.com

NWA Champion Harley Race and Sylvester Stallone (1978)

This is one of or favorite images from the late 1970s in the Stanley Weston ("Apter") magazines. NWA World Heavyweight champion Harley Race stands with "Rocky" franchise star Sylvester Stallone. Sly looks like he's ready to take on the champ right then. He knows a good lookin' championship trophy when he sees one.

There are certain photos from the old wrestling magazines that have always stuck out in my mind. This is one of them.

The photo is thought to have been taken in Houston, TX in 1978.


(Originally posted in Feb. 2018 on our sister-website The Domed Globe.)

Figures Friday: Harley Race and the Ten Pounds of Gold

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Our good friend Jeff Jewett put together a great photo for Action Figures Friday. It features the 8-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion (and "greatest wrestler on the face of God's green earth") Harley Race, complete with domed-globe belt and his classic 1980s red and blue robe. He's standing in front of the original 8x10" hardcover edition of our book "Ten Pounds of Gold", a close look at the 1973-1986 NWA World championship title belt and the eight champions who held it during that time period. The original version of the book even contained a brief foreword from the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, which was subsequently removed. (You can learn all about that here.)

Jeff had his copy of the original "Ten Pounds of Gold" book signed by Harley Race, which you see in the bottom left corner of the slipcover in the photo above. I just think the whole thing is very cool, and I appreciate Jeff's thoughtfulness in putting this photo together for me.

I was fortunate enough to have three separate phone conversations with Harley Race in 2012 when working on the second edition of the book. He loaned me a notebook that promoter Paul Boesch had given him after the historic NWA title change match with Jack Brisco on July 20, 1973 in Houston. The notebook contained 8x10" photographs taken by Boesch himself that night. Many of those photos appear in the second edition of "Ten Pounds of Gold" and I've always appreciated Harley's generosity and kindness in allowing me to use them. On our third and final phone call, he suggested I change the title of the book. At first I thought he was joking, but he was dead serious: change the name of the book to "Ten Pounds of Pure Gold." After all, that's the way Harley usually referred to the belt -- "ten pounds of pure gold, buddy." 

An edited version of this post appeared in September 2022 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

My First Close Encounter with the Ten Pounds of Gold

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I suddenly realized the referee in the ring was walking towards my position. I thought, well this is it, someone is finally going to ask me to leave. But as I looked up, he reached out with the NWA World title belt - - the beautiful "ten pounds of gold" - - and waited for me to take it.

The year was 1982. I was 21 years old. I had just moved from Tennessee to begin work for Russell Corporation in Alexander City, Alabama. I suddenly found myself isolated from Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, unable to watch the weekly adventures of my favorite group of wrestlers in my favorite wrestling territory.

I had settled in to my shabby little apartment and hooked up cable. I could get "Georgia Championship Wrestling" on the Superstation out of Atlanta, and saw some of my guys there - Roddy Piper, Ole Anderson, Ray Stevens, and Ric Flair.

I was getting familiar with the NWA promotion based out of Pensacola, Florida that ran the panhandle of Florida and the lower two-thirds of the state of Alabama. This would be my new home territory. It was known as "Southeastern Championship Wrestling."

I liked their TV show well enough. I was familiar with a lot of their wrestlers who used to be regulars in the Southeastern promotion based out of Knoxville, TN, in the 1970s. Guys like Ron Fuller, Bob Armstrong, and Jimmy Golden. But nothing was ever going to replace Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions for me. That was the wrestling I had grown up on. And I missed it terribly.

However, that fall, Southeastern Championship Wrestling was having a tour called "October Fest" and the NWA World champion Ric Flair was coming to the territory to put his title up against a different challenger in a different town in the territory each night of that week. Ric Flair was a "Mid-Atlantic guy" and even though now he was World champion and just passing through to defend the title, having him come through my new home state of Alabama made me feel a little less homesick.

My first decision was where to go see him. The closest towns where Flair would be were Montgomery and Birmingham, AL. We received most of the TV stations on our local cable from both markets. Flair was scheduled to defend against "The Tennessee Stud" Ron Fuller on Monday 10/25 in Birmingham, and "the Universal Heart Throb" Austin Idol two nights later on Wednesday 10/27 in Montgomery.

Montgomery was a little bit closer, a little over an hour's drive away, and the Montgomery Civic Center was a little easier to get to than Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham. So I chose to go to Montgomery for that stop on the "Southeastern Wrestling October Fest" tour.

The Montgomery Civic Center in Montgomery, AL. Circa 1960s. "Wrestling Tonite" on the marquee!

Another factor in that decision was the opponent for Ric Flair. I had always been a big Austin Idol fan, and had always wanted to see what would happen if these two guys ever met each other in the ring. It was a dream-match of sorts - - a battle of Austin Idol's "Las Vegas leg lock" against Ric Flair's "figure-four."

I hadn't made any wrestling friends in my new hometown yet, so I decided to go to the matches alone. I got off work early that Wednesday and drove down to the Montgomery Civic Center box office as soon as it opened to get the best tickets possible. I was able to secure seats in the ringside area, although I was about four rows back. I took my camera and hoped to get a few good photos up near the ring.

There was surprisingly little security at this show. When Flair and Idol entered the ring, I was able to sort of stoop low, scoot up and kneel down next to the ring with my camera. Surprisingly, no one said a word to me. I couldn't believe how lucky I was.

But here is where things got really interesting for me - - 

The ring announcer introduced Idol first and then introduced Flair. Ric opened his robe, took the NWA belt from around his waist and handed it to the referee. He then handed his big heavy robe over the top rope down to the ring attendant on the floor who was already holding Idol's full-length heavy robe in his arms as well. He left the ringside area to take the robes back to the dressing rooms. I watched all this and again, nobody said a word to me as I knelt at ringside.

I suddenly realized the referee in the ring was walking towards my position. I thought, well this is it, someone is finally going to ask me to leave. But as I looked up, he reached out with the NWA World title belt - - the beautiful "ten pounds of gold" - - and waited for me to take it.

I couldn't figure out what was happening. Like in a movie, everything sort of started to go in slow motion and I couldn't hear a thing.

I've always thought that the referee had turned to give the title belt to the ring attendant, but the ring attendant had failed to wait for the belt, having two large heavy robes to carry to the back. Looking back on it, I have no idea why he wouldn't have just handed the belt to the ring announcer who I think had already exited on the other side of the ring at this point after his introductions. But he didn't. Instead, incredibly - - perhaps thinking I must be at ringside for a reason - - he was trying to hand the belt to me.

So I took it.

And I want to tell you that for one brief moment - - one fleeting, crazy, impulsive, irresponsible, disrespectful, do-I-dare, moment - - I thought about walking right back down the aisle with that belt, right out the back door, never to be seen or heard from again.

I wouldn't really have done that. Even at age 21, I had so much respect for the belt, for the championship, for Ric Flair and all the others that had held it. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit I thought about it! For one brief second....

Ring attendant with the NWA title in Dothan, AL.
This wasn't me, this wasn't Montgomery, it just
reminds me of that special moment.

Instead, I just looked at it. I couldn't believe what I had in my hands. This was the famous domed-globe belt; the Lombardi trophy and the Stanley Cup and every championship trophy in every major sport all wrapped up into one. Ric Flair's World title. The same title belt that had been held by Brisco, Funk, Race, and Rhodes. And now I was kneeling at ringside in Montgomery, Alabama with that belt in my hands.

If I had really wanted to run away with the belt (which I did not), my window of opportunity quickly closed as the ring attendant had returned and I suddenly realized he was right behind me. He snatched the belt from my hands.

"You need to get back to your seat, bud," he said with a cold stare. And so without a word, I complied.

Can you imagine how badly this might have ended otherwise? I'm guessing the boys in the back would have had a field day with the young punk who tried to steal the champ's belt. More likely, I would have been arrested and spent the night in the Montgomery county jail.

My pulse was still racing as I thought about what had just happened. It was my one brief moment to touch history, to touch this belt I would have never thought I would have a chance to get anywhere near.

Many years later  - - in fact exactly 26 years later plus one day - - October 28, 2008 - - Dave Millican and I had the opportunity to photograph this very same belt. These photographs would later wind up in our book "Ten Pounds of Gold."

I would have never dreamed I could have gotten that close to it again.

 Edited from a story originally published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway October 27, 2015.

NWA Title Art: The Final Version of a Classic (Part 5)

The fourth and final version of the original 1973-1986 NWA World Championship belt, the "Ten Pounds of Gold."
The final version featured new leather with a slightly different cut around the center plate
and a fourth and final different flag configuration.

PART 5
by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Art by David Williams

We pick up where we left off in Part 4:

Not long after Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the title in Toronto in February of 1977, the refurbished and repainted plates were attached to a brand new cut of leather. This new leather strap had a different style of lacing and was cut slightly different, the main change being that the cut of the leather did not follow the shape of the main plate as closely as the old leather did, which tightly hugged the upper edge of the main plate (as seen in the image at the top of Part 3.)

Pretty soon, however, the plates began to show the same wear and tear as the earlier version of the belt did. The globe was badly dented again, and paint began flaking off the plates in different areas. Most noticeably, some of the segments of ornamental "beads" around the edge of the main plate began to break off as well.

The look of the belt in its last years: dented globe (again), missing beads, missing paint, missing eyelets.

Let's face it, after several years of observation, it was clear that this type of construction for a ring used title belt just didn't make much sense. Those bead-sections were each attached individually with 4-6 beads to a section. And many of them were getting broken off the belt.

In addition, some of the faux eyelets and snaps broke away from the belt, too. By the time Jim Crockett had the new "Big Gold" belt made in 1986, the old Ten Pounds of Gold was in pretty rough shape.

An illustration of the shape the belt was in at the end, with the busted lacing and missing paint.

Artist David Williams has done an incredible job of recreating every version of the belt, with sub-versions illustrating the damage to the belt in later years.

The following chart shows the progression of the belt from its original configuration in 1973 to it's final look in 1986.

The final progression chart.

The book "Ten Pounds of Gold" that I authored with Dave Millican lays out in great detail all four versions of the NWA "domed-globe" belt. (There is a detailed flow chart summarizing those versions in pp. 70-71 of the book.)

My thanks to computer artist extraordinaire David Williams for the amazing work he did on all the different versions of the famous domed-globe belt.

PART ONE : Introduction & History of the Project
PART TWO: The Red Velvet
PART THREE: Black Leather and Dented Globe
PART FOUR: New Globe, Refurbished Plates
PART FIVE: The Final Version of a Classic

NWA Title Art: New Globe, Refurbished Plates (Part 4)

David Williams's spot-on artistic depiction of the new globe on Version 3 of the belt in 1977.CLICK HERE for a larger detailed image in a new browser window.

PART 4 
by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Art by David Williams

We pick up where we left off in Pt. 3:

By the time Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the NWA World Championship on February 6, 1977 in Toronto, the belt had been completely refurbished. The base of the center plate appeared to be the same, but several key features had been replaced. All of the plates had been repainted. The plates, however, were mounted on the same black leather strap that had replaced the red velvet strap in 1974.

This refurbished belt would be the third version of four of the domed-globe belt.

Version 3 of the Domed-Globe belt, featuring a new globe design, alternate color lettering for the flags, and more.

 In video of Race putting the belt on after the victory, the belt looked magnificent, almost brand new. The only sign of wear was on the back of the leather strap. As Race holds the belt over his head moments after the victory, you can see the creme colored backing loose and coming apart. It isn't clear why they wouldn't have gone ahead and had new leather cut of these newly painted and refurbished plates, but that was yet to come.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE in new window.

There were several noticeable changes this time around.  The color of lettering over the flags on the side plates as well as over the U.S. flag on the main plate was now black on a white background. It was the opposite on the first two versions of the belt. The globe was also new, with a slightly different map outline. The most noticeable difference though was the large red "NWA" letters were now curved on the globe rather than straight across. (See David Williams's incredible detail of the globe in a large image that will open in a new window.)

The flag side plates were also arranged in a different order, making it the third different configuration of the flags for the third belt. This time they were (L-R) Mexico, Canada, Australia, Japan.

The final significant change was the installation of black onyx panels to either side of the globe. These areas had previously been painted black, but the paint continued to flake off the gold plate. The black onyx was somewhat reflective when new, and you can see it sparkle as Race straps it on in Toronto.

The following chart illustrates the progression of the belt through three of the four versions, from red-velvet to new globe. 

The book "Ten Pounds of Gold" that I authored with Dave Millican lays out in great detail all four versions of the NWA "domed-globe" belt. (There is a detailed flow chart summarizing those versions in pp. 70-71 of the book.)

Next in Part Five, we will take a look at David Williams' incredibly detailed rendering of the 4th and final version of the belt on it's new leather strap.

NWA Title Art: Black Leather and Dented Globe (Part 3)

PART 3
by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Art by David Williams

Last time in PART 2, we looked at the red velvet domed-globe belt as beautifully and accurately recreated by digital artist David Williams. That version of the belt (Version 1) was in use from July 1973 through sometime in early 1975. More info here.

In 1975, while Jack Brisco was still champion, the NWA did away with the red velvet-wrapped lather strap and had the plates installed on a new black leather strap (Version 2), which gave the belt a more traditional look. The shape of the strap closely followed the shape of the main plate on the belt. The side plates with the flags were arranged differently. A different nameplate showed up on the belt as well, this time with the champion's last name in all caps - - "BRISCO." (Version 2-A)

When Terry Funk defeated Jack Brisco for the NWA World Heavyweight title on December of 1975, the "BRISCO" name plate was removed of course (Version 2-B), but no replacement nameplate for Terry Funk ever appeared on the plate. In fact, no champion following Brisco ever had their name on a nameplate on the belt. The reasons for that remain lost to time.


The rough and tumble Terry Funk treated the belt in a rough and tumble way throughout his 14-month reign, and during that time the round globe on the center of the main plate was badly dented (Version 2-C), and paint began to come off the black panels on either side of the globe (Version 2-D). By the end of Funk's reign, most of the black paint on those side panels was gone. (Late edit: Mark James reminded me that the original dents in the globe actually took place when Brisco had the belt. He's right, as you can you see them in interview footage of Funk after his Miami Beach victory over Brisco, something I had noted before on the Domed Globe website, but failed to correlate here. Regardless, that globe was obviously hollow and relatively fragile.)

Each of the four versions of the belt had their own unique characteristics while also sharing some characteristics to other versions. I'll detail them for the belts covered in the each specific installment of this series.

 Characteristics that made Version 1 of the belt unique:

• Original strap encased in red velvet.
• "Jack Brisco" Nameplate
• Flag configuration on side plates: Japan, Australia, Mexico,  Canada 

Characteristics common to Version 1 and Version 2 of the belt:

• NWA letters on the globe straight across (curved on versions 3 and 4)
• Names of countries in white lettering on black background.
• Black paint on side panels to either side of the globe. (Black onyx used for ver. 3 and 4.)

Characteristics that made Version 2 of the belt unique:

• "BRISCO" name plate until Jack Brisco lost the title to Terry Funk 
• Flag configuration on side plates: Mexico, Australia, Canada, Japan

Characteristics common to Version 2 and Version 3 of the belt:

• Black leather strap cut close to the shape of the center plate. 
• Cream color backing

The book "Ten Pounds of Gold" that I authored with Dave Millican lays out in great detail all four versions of the NWA "domed-globe" belt. (There is a detailed flow chart summarizing those versions in pp. 70-71 of the book.)

In February of 1977, Harley Race defeated Terry Funk to win the NWA title. Just prior to that, the belt received somewhat of an overhaul. We'll take a look at David William's recreations of that version of the belt (Version 3) in PART FOUR next time.