Hope For the Future

This young lady has her priorities in order when it comes to pro wrestling. Do you?

What are you waiting for? "Four Horsemen: A Timeline History" is waiting for you at the Gateway Bookstore or on Amazon.com.

Bob Caudle's New Full Time Job in 1978: Bumper Stickers!

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I remember how thrilled I was in early 1978 when it was announced on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television programming that the promotion was giving away Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling bumper stickers! It was something novel at the time, as Jim Crockett Promotions had never done a giveaway of any kind to the fans that I could remember.

The wrestlers were even assisting in getting the word out about the giveaway, as I recall Ric Flair once telling the fans how great the bumper stickers looked, and that he had put several on the wing of his new airplane!

On the March 8, 1978 taping of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV show during a tag team bout pitting Bobo Brazil and Johnny Weaver against Charlie Fulton and the Russian Stomper, the giveaway was teased by announcer Bob Caudle. Bob commented:

"By the way David, right here let's tell everyone to get their pencil and paper ready, and in a minute or so we'll be telling them how they can get a Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling bumper sticker!"

Color commentator David Crockett added, "That's right, so hurry up and get your pencil and paper."

True to their words, Bob and David revisited the bumper sticker giveaway in a couple of minutes time. And a couple of things would soon become crystal clear. One, that the Mid-Atlantic fans had great difficulty in grasping the concept of a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and two that the response to the giveaway was massive in the volume of bumper sticker mail that was flooding the WRAL TV5 studios mail room!

Caudle exclaimed as a graphic of an address hit the TV screen, "All right fans right there, send to me, Bob Caudle, WRAL TV, Post Office Box 12000, Raleigh North Carolina 27605. Send it to me...a self-addressed stamped envelope, inside your envelope, and I'll send you free of charge a Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling bumper sticker."

Bob then took pains to explain the process in detail, "Now don't forget, just send the letter to me...you gotta send a letter, a postcard will not do. And inside your envelope you gotta have a return self -addressed envelope with a stamp on it. So that all I gotta do is just drop that bumper sticker in it, put it in the mail and send it right back to you."

A cackling David Crockett then chimed in, "That sounds fair enough!"

There was a slight pause, and Caudle then chuckled, "David you talk like...when you say that's fair, you're sort of ribbing me a little bit because you've seen the MANY boxes of mail we've had coming in!" David answered excitedly, " Oh, have I!" Bob concurred, "And I tell you, it's a full time job just putting bumper stickers in there!"

I vividly recall how terrific I thought it was for the promotion to be giving away Mid-Atlantic bumper stickers. And I concede I was one of those fans that initially had trouble wrapping my head around the concept of a self-addressed, stamped envelope! But when I mastered that concept and finally received the bumper sticker in the mail, I still remember how excited I was to own a small but special piece of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

And the fact that Bob Caudle, as part of his new full time job, had likely placed that bumper sticker in my envelope made it the most special of all.

Ric Flair and Greg Valentine Defend Their NWA World Tag Team Titles at the "Parade of Champions" in Texas

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Ric Flair and Greg Valentine head to Texas
with the NWA World Tag Team titles!

In December of 1977, NWA World Tag Team champions Ric Flair and Greg Valentine left their Mid-Atlantic home territory and headed to Corpus Christi, TX to defend their title belts.

Last November, I wrote a series on the Texas Connections with Jim Crockett Promotions, and PART TWO of that series focused on JCP's relationship in 1977 and 1978 with promoter Joe Blanchard in San Antonio. His fledgling "All Star Wrestling" promotion would later be known as "Southwest Championship Wrestling."

Recently, researcher Mark Eastridge came across newspaper material related to the big Corpus Christi "Parade of Champions" show on 12/15/77. It was on this show that several Mid-Atlantic stars made their way down to the Lone Star State to make this almost a combined Blanchard/Crockett show.

The headliner was one of the biggest wrestling stars to ever come out of the state of Texas, Wahoo McDaniel. The Midland, TX high school standout and Oklahoma University all-American and AFL/NFL football legend had been a ring warrior in both the Amarillo and Houston territories in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was making a big return to Texas on this night.

This "Parade of Champions" show had a strong Mid-Atlantic flavor to it:

• Wahoo McDaniel was one of the top full-time singles stars in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, in the middle of the memorable feud with Greg valentine over the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship that months earlier had cost Wahoo a broken leg.
• Blackjack Mulligan was another favorite son of Texas, and was in middle of a big headlining feud with Ricky Steamboat in the Mid-Atlantic area. In fact, only a couple of weeks after this "Parade of Champions" show in Corpus Christi, Mulligan regained the United States title from Steamboat in Greensboro, NC. 
• Ric Flair and Greg Valentine brought their NWA World Tag Team championships to Corpus Christi to face Tully Blanchard and Tiger Conway, both familiar mid-card faces in the Mid-Atlantic area. Blanchard would stay in the San Antonio territory and become a headliner for his father's promotion over the next few years. 

Results from the show:

• Wahoo McDaniel defeated Ox Baker in what was originally billed as an American Championship title match. However, three days before the big Parade of Champions show, Baker had lost his title to Fritz Von Erich in Fort Worth, Texas, on 12/12.
• Ric Flair and Greg Valentine defeated Tully Blanchard and Tiger Conway, Jr. in a 2-of-3 falls contest to retain their NWA World Tag Team championships.
• Alberto Madril defeated Blackjack Mulligan by DQ to retain his Texas Heavyweight championship.
• Killer Karl Krupp defeated Dennis Albert in the opener.

It's fun to go back and see the Crockett promotions stars making special appearances, and even title defenses, in another area. In this case, it was Crockett and booker George Scott lending a helping hand to promoter Joe Blanchard who was just getting his San Antonio office started. Corpus Christi was one of his towns.

Note: This post corrects an earlier error on the location of this card.

* * * * * * * *

Check out the earlier installments of the "Texas Connections" series published last fall on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

PART ONE: Mid-Atlantic Wrestlers Hailing from the Great State of Texas
PART TWO: Crockett's Connections with Joe Blanchard's Southwest Wrestling
PART THREE: Crockett TV in Texas
PART FOUR: Terry Funk Takes the U.S. Title Back to Texas
PART FIVE: Sound Clips!
PART SIX: Bonus: Big Ratings in Austin, TX

Action Figures Friday: U.S. Champ Ricky Steamboat

This is Mike Simmerman's depiction of Ricky Steamboat as U.S. champion in 1984, wearing the 4th version of the U.S. title belt that was in service from 1983-1986. Early on, the plates were painted, but later all paint was removed and the belt was sometimes known as "the ten pounds of silver."

Steamboat defeated Dick Slater for the title in April of 1984 and lost the title to Wahoo McDaniel in June of 1984. It was Steamboat's third and final reign as U.S. champion.

Paul Jones and Peggy Lathan

Paul Jones and Peggy Lathan

There is a little known story about the two of them. Peggy once saved Paul's life. That story is true. Paul Jr. will confirm it. And "Number One" would never forgot it. Maybe she'll let us tell that story one day.

That was in the late 2000s. Back in 1976, she also helped save Ole Anderson's life when he was stabbed by a fan as he was leaving the ring in Greenville, SC. That makes two Mid-Atlantic legends who owed a debt of thanks to "Miss Mid-Atlantic Wrestling" Peggy Lathan.

She was Paul's good friend. We're proud to call her our friend, too. Thanks for all you do for the Gateway, Peggy Sue!

A Visit With "Number One" Paul Jones & George South (2003)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Originally published May 2003

When George South was ten years old, his brother would drop him off right in front of the Charlotte Park Center every Monday night. He would wait in line, ticket in hand, ready to continue his forays into the exciting world of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. Those Monday nights at that venerable old building that sat in the shadow of Charlotte Memorial Stadium would form the foundation of a lifetime of adventures in the world of professional wrestling.

George South (circa 1984)

Wrestling was what kept George South on the straight and narrow. Born in Boone, NC, his parents died in an automobile accident when George was six years old, and he would move to Charlotte, living at different times with his brothers and his grandmother. Largely unsupervised, every opportunity presented itself for George to find himself in a lot of trouble, but what kept him on course was his love of wrestling. If he got in trouble, he wouldn't be allowed to watch Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling that Saturday on TV on channel 3, and he wouldn't be allowed to go to the Park Center on Monday night. Worse yet, he wouldn't be able to follow the exploits of his childhood hero, "Number One" Paul Jones.

George South loved Paul Jones. He celebrated when Paul won the U.S. belt from Terry Funk; he missed three days of school when Paul lost the U.S. belt to Blackjack Mulligan. "What do you mean, why don't I have my homework?" George would ask his teacher. "Don't you know? Paul Jones lost the belt!" Anyone ought to understand how such a traumatic and disastrous event could disrupt one's life for days at a time. Or so George thought.

It was only a matter of time, though, before Paul Jones won that belt back. And all would be right with the world.

With Paul Jones in Charlotte in 2003

Now here we were 28 years later (in 2003), George South inviting David Chappell and me to Charlotte to meet and have dinner with "Number One" Paul Jones. Paul wears the scars of over 30 years in the ring. He moves pretty slowly, the pain of all those bumps showing in every step he takes. But he still has that twinkle in his eye when you get him to talk about drawing a sold out house in Greensboro to beat Terry Funk for the U.S. Championship. Or shocking a sold out Charlotte Coliseum by turning on Ricky Steamboat (which he insists was really Steamboat turning on him.) Or once working a 90-minute time-limit "broadway" with Wahoo McDaniel against the Anderson Brothers in Richmond. Get him talking about those glory days, and it seems as though "Number One" is ready to get in the ring again at that very moment.

Heck, George wants him to! It's George South's dream to have Paul put the Indian Death Lock on him in the center of the ring. It's not going to happen, but that doesn't stop George from talking about doing what in his mind would be the ultimate tribute doing the ultimate job.

After our dinner, we close out the evening by taking a "Mid-Atlantic" tour of Charlotte, with Paul taking us by the old Crockett offices on Carmel Road and Briarbend Drive, the old Charlotte Coliseum, and of course the old Charlotte Park Center, where 28 years ago George South bought his ticket and took his seat.

George South's van in front of the Charlotte Park Center in 2003

As we came to a slow stop, George has come full circle. As he did all those years ago, he waits in front of the Charlotte park center, but this time his childhood hero isn't getting in the ring, he is sitting beside him in his van parked right in front, right at the spot where he used to patiently wait, ticket in hand. Paul Jones is telling us about all of those Monday nights in that jam packed smoke-filled auditorium. These days it sits empty, bruised and battered. George South has tears in his eyes.

We sit quietly for a moment, and then pull away from the curb. Paul Jones smiles and starts in on one more story. 

(Originally published May 2003. This story is rededicated to the memory of Paul Jones who passed away in April 2018.)

Missed Opportunities: The Lost Tournaments of 1982

The 1982 NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament
PART EIGHT
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

If you missed earlier posts in this series, check them out in the links below, especially the INTRODUCTION, which puts the whole tournament in a perspective that serves as a launching point for the following discussions. 

PART ONE: Introduction
PART TWO: Greensboro
PART THREE: Charlotte
PART FOUR: Richmond
PART FIVE: Atlanta
PART SIX: Fayetteville 
PART SEVEN: St. Petersburg


PLANS UNFULFILLED
Now that we have completed a review of all six city tournaments that actually took place in the NWA World Tag Team tournament in the late winter and early spring of 1982 (links above), it's time to take a look at some of the cities where tournaments were initially planned but, for various reasons, never took place.

When the tournament concept was originally conceived by booker Ole Anderson and Jim Crockett Promotions, the thought was that they would have several tournaments outside of the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory in other areas where they had promotional ties and good relationships.

I talked with Ole Anderson twice about these tournaments, once in 2008 (with mutual friend Peggy Lathan visiting Ole and Paul Jones outside Atlanta) and again in 2011 (at the NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest in Atlanta.) Based on those conversations, here is where I believe those tournaments were to have taken place.


TORONTO: Maple Leaf Wrestling
There is little doubt that the original plan was to have a tournament in Toronto, Ontario in Canada for Frank Tunney's "Maple Leaf Wrestling" promotion.  Toronto was frequently mentioned by Sandy Scott during his early appearances pumping up the tournament as a whole. The Crockett's had been booking talent into Toronto for Tunney since 1978. But that Toronto tournament never came together.

"I can tell you that it was one of the biggest disappointments that it never happened here," Andrew Calvert told me via email. Andrew publishes the excellent Maple Leaf Wrestling history website and was a fan attending matches regularly in Toronto at that time. "There were rumors on Wood Street, the street behind Maple Leaf Gardens where all the fans congregated, that it would happen here."

Mosca and Khan teamed in the U.S. but likely would not have teamed
in Toronto. Mosca was a very popular Canadian champion.
__________________________________

Andrew pointed out that there was a Cadillac tournament scheduled for Toronto on January 31, just before the tag tournaments began in earnest in the Mid-Atlantic area, but it was cancelled due to a huge snowstorm. "We figured we might have gotten the tag tournament instead," he said.

But it never happened.

"It would have been a natural, as times were good here then," Andrew continued, "and Tunney had been praised over the years for having 'popularized tag team wrestling in North America.' We had Adonis and Ventura here, too, for their only appearance as a tag team on January 17, 1982 and they were a huge hit." Adrian Adonis and Jessie Ventura were constantly mentioned on Mid-Atlantic TV as possibly entering several tournaments, and did participate in the Greensboro show.

One of the key wrestlers discussed for the tournament early on during Mid-Atlantic TV broadcasts was Angelo Mosca, who was Canadian Heavyweight champion at the time and one of top stars in Toronto. Who his partner for a tournament in Toronto would have been, had one been held there, isn't exactly clear. His partner in the United States was Killer Khan. They wrestled as a team on Mid-Atlantic TV and were in the finals in Charlotte. But Mosca was "good guy" at the time in Toronto and Khan decidedly was not. We'll never know, as a Toronto tournament regrettably never took place.


KNOXVILLE
NWA Southern Championship Wrestling
In 1981, a group of partners affiliated with Jim Crockett promotions bought the Knoxville  territory, which ran towns in east Tennessee, southwest Virginia and West Virginia.  Blackjack Mulligan was the primary partner, running the territory as a way to help season the skills of his son Barry Windham, who was wrestling as Blackjack Mulligan, Jr. at that time. Along with local Knoxville area talent, Mulligan booked a number of wrestlers regularly from Jim Crockett Promotions including John Studd, Jay Youngblood, Terry Taylor, and Johnny Weaver, Weaver helped Mulligan book the territory.

Blackjack Mulligan Sr. and Jr. would have surely been a
favorite if a tournament had been held in Knoxville.
__________________________________

Ole Anderson said plans were definitely to have a tournament in Knoxville, but they never could work out the schedule to get enough teams there to get it done, and Knoxville was just about too small a territory at that time to have an 8-team tournament on its own. Time passed, there was no urgency, and it just never happened.
 
Mulligan Sr. and Jr. appeared for both the Knoxville group and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling during this time. Their only tournament appearance was in Charlotte.


COLUMBUS/MACON
Georgia Championship Wrestling/Fred Ward Promotions
Ole also told us that plans were to have a second tournament in Georgia in addition to the huge tournament held at the Omni in Atlanta. Promoter Fred Ward, who ran Columbus, Albany, and Macon, was to have hosted the second tournament in one of his towns, but for any number of reasons, it just never happened.


THE SUNSHINE STATE
Championship Wrestling from Florida
When the idea of the tournament was first conceived, Florida was in on the action and Florida promoter Eddie Graham was chosen as the figurehead tournament director, and introduced the tournament in a special video recorded on the set of "Championship Wrestling from Florida" with Gordon Solie. The video was seen both on "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" and "Georgia Championship Wrestling."

The Bayfront Arena in St. Petersburg hosted a tournament that was part of a big "Bayfront Spectacular" show. Ole Anderson confirmed there was to be at least one other tournament in Florida, perhaps more, but had no idea where. JCP was willing to send talent, but all of that was left up to Eddie Graham. St. Petersburg wound up being the final city tournament all together, and the only tournament to take place in Florida.


THE PALMETTO STATE
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Certainly there had to have been thoughts of having more tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic area, which only had four total. North Carolina got three tournaments (Greensboro, Charlotte, and Fayetteville) and Virginia got one (Richmond) but the third big state in the Mid-Atlantic territory, South Carolina, did not have one city with a tournament. It's hard to believe that one of the regular towns there (such as Greenville, Spartanburg, Charleston, or Columbia) weren't figured in the plans when the idea of the tournament was first conceived. But for whatever the reasons, there regrettably wasn't one in the Palmetto State.


* * * * *

Coming Up in PART NINE:
A look at the fictional tournaments that were created as part of the larger tournament story, including the entire Western Division tournament which had its mythical finals in the state of Hawaii. And as part of that story, it would eventually be a "beach bum" wrestler from Hawaii that would throw a huge wrench in the works as the tournament neared its conclusion.

Major Leaguer: Terry Funk Insists "It's My Moment!"

"I am a major leaguer. 

I am just like Nolan Ryan; 42 and tryin' 

to teach you people what a true hero is today. "

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

We usually don't stray much past 1988 on this website, but this is one of my favorite Terry Funk interviews ever during his 1989 run in the early days of Ted Turner's WCW.

During the spring of 1989, Funk had some very memorable interviews and TV matches setting him up as the wild and unpredictable challenger to NWA World champion Ric Flair. WCW had initiated the "Top 10" concept and Terry hadn't made into the top 10 yet and was very frustrated by that fact. This was in the weeks following his "pearl harbor" attack on Ric Flair in Nashville.

Frustrating Funk further was the fact that Lance Russell interrupted him to go to the ring for the "Rookie Challenge" where two young competitors would have a shot at "their moment" on national television.

But a protesting Funk insisted it was HIS moment, and he made sure he stole that moment from rookies Lee Scott and Dwayne Bruce. Mayhem ensues.

My favorite visual is near the end of this video when Funk piledrives Lee Scott and you see Funk between Scott's extended legs with a big grin on his face screaming "It's my moment!"

Sidebar: Funk evoked the name of Nolan Ryan in this interview, a reference to the Major League Baseball Hall of Famer who in this same year of 1989 for the Texas Rangers would lead the American League in strikeouts with an incredible .615 winning percentage and would be voted to the All-Star game that year - - amazingly all at the age of 42. The same age as Funk.

The clip is from an episode of "NWA Pro Wrestling" taped at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta (also regular home to "World Championship Wrestling" on WTBS.) Commentary is by my favorite 1989 broadcast team of Lance Russell and Bob Caudle.

Action Figures Friday: U.S. Champ Sgt. Slaughter

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Photograph by Mike Simmerman

Another great photo by Mike Simmerman from his custom collection of figures. This one depicts United States Heavyweight Champion Sgt. Slaughter on the set of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" with host Bob Caudle.

Slaughter was a two-time U.S. champion during the years 1981 and 1982 and had a memorable series of matches with Wahoo McDaniel over the championship.

Slaughter's entire run as U.S. champion is well documented in the shows currently available in the VAULT section of the WWE Network streaming service.

He first won the title in a tournament held on 10/4/81 in Charlotte, defeating Ricky Steamboat in the finals. The title had been vacated following former champ Wahoo McDaniel's inability to defend it following an injury suffered at the hands of Abdullah the Butcher and Roddy Piper. Wahoo got redemption when he defeated Slaughter for the title on 5/21/82 in Richmond, VA. But in a cruel twist of fate, the title was again stripped from McDaniel when he was injured by Slaughter and temporary rules in place by the NWA at the time required the title to be forfeited to the challenger if the champion was unable to defend on any given night. Wahoo again redeemed himself by beating Slaughter for the title a second time on 8/22/82 in Charlotte.

The entire history of Jim Crockett's U.S. championship from 1975 until the company was sold to Ted Turner in 1988 is chronicled in great detail in the book "United States Championship" available on Amazon or from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Paul Jones Will Always Be "Number One" To Me

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When Dick Bourne called me recently to relay the sad news that "Number One" Paul Jones had passed away, I was stunned, feeling as though I had been hit squarely with one of Paul's famous football tackles. In the ring, Paul would normally follow up his football tackles with one of his equally famous finishing submission maneuvers. Much like one of Paul's many vanquished wrestling opponents, I was down for the count after learning of his death, and submitted to a period of profound sadness. But unlike most of Paul's ring conquests, I was back up quickly, as my wonderful Mid-Atlantic memories of "Number One" thoroughly defeated thoughts of his passing away faster than a Tommy Young three-count.

Paul Jones was a major force in Jim Crockett Promotions from his arrival in 1968 until the demise of the promotion at the end of 1988. While Paul ventured away from the Carolinas on occasion during those two decades, the Mid-Atlantic states were his primary wrestling home without a doubt.

In my evolution as a fan of Jim Crockett Promotions, Jones was front and center of my most enduring professional wrestling memories. Those earliest and foggiest memories for me as a child younger than ten years old go back to the late 1960's, where I saw a young "Number One" teaming with Nelson Royal to battle truly scary villains the likes of Gene and Lars Anderson, Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson and the masked Infernos.

When the calendar turned over to the year of 1974, my interest in professional wrestling was surging and Paul Jones was right there in the middle of it. My first solid recollection of a Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling card in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia was on August 23, 1974 and included a bout between Paul and the "Mad Russian" Ivan Koloff. At the time the two were battling over the Mid-Atlantic Television Title. A stipulation in that Richmond match stated that if Jones lost the match, he would give 1000 silver dollars to the fans! Even with $1000.00 on the line, I couldn't find it within myself to root against "Number One." Paul went on to conquer the "Russian Bear" that night.

As was the case with Dick Bourne, the "supreme sacrifice" TV angle on June 11, 1975 hooked me on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for life. Paul and Wahoo McDaniel dropped the NWA World Tag Team Titles to Gene and Ole Anderson in that televised bout, where Ole slammed Wahoo's head into Gene's head knocking them both goofy but getting Wahoo pinned in the process. But Jones' role in this match was the most noteworthy for me, as Paul's storytelling while getting brutalized by the Andersons and trying to make a tag to Wahoo had me spellbound and even prompted announcer Bob Caudle to note during the bout that Wahoo was "almost in tears" as he desperately reached for Paul's tag.

Soon after the World Tag Team Title loss, "Number One" went on a run for the remainder of 1975 that saw him win the Mid-Atlantic TV Title and later the United States Heavyweight Championship, becoming the number one contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in the process. Throughout 1976 Paul battled Blackjack Mulligan over that coveted  U.S. belt, and Jones finished the year with arguably the best two year run as a "good guy" ever in the storied history of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

The following two years saw Paul still playing a major role on the babyface side of the Mid-Atlantic roster, but several notches below his torrid 1975-76 run. Jones teamed up with newcomer Ricky Steamboat, and the two captured both the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles and the World Tag Team Titles. But by the end of 1978 the unthinkable happened, as Jones and Steamboat split in Charlotte during a two-ring Battle Royal and Paul went over to the dark side!

1979 was the year of Paul Jones as a rulebreaker, and "Number One" clearly relished the role and embraced it in ultra entertaining ways. Jones teamed up with former rival Baron Von Raschke to form a dominating duo that captured the World Tag Team Titles. After the inevitable split between Paul and the Baron in early 1980, Jones took a hiatus from the Mid-Atlantic area and when he returned in the summer, he apologized to the Mid-Atlantic fans for his rulebreaking actions and began wrestling as a fan favorite again.

For roughly the next two years Paul wrestled as a good guy but never recaptured the spark that he generated during prior years as a fan favorite. Because Paul played the "bad guy" role so superbly in 1979, the fans could never fully reinvest in him again as a fan favorite. With that handwriting on the wall, Paul flipped one final time to the rulebreaking side of the talent ledger, and finished the second half of 1982 with a noteworthy feud with Jack Brisco, becoming the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion in the process.

Paul's in-ring career ended at the beginning of 1983, and many fans that began following wrestling in the 1980's remember Paul only as a manager. "Number One" was exceedingly entertaining as a manager, despite rarely being given a stable of top-of-the-card wrestlers to guide. But Jones found a way to make it work, and his feud with Jimmy "Boogie Man" Valiant continued to capture the imagination of fans for years well into the 1980's.

Fast forward to the year 2003, and the Mid-Atlantic Gateway had only been up and running for several years. In one of those rare moments where you know exactly where you were and what you were doing at a significant moment in time, I got a call from Dick Bourne that we had a chance to meet the one and only "Number One" Paul Jones! I was floored with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness, as I had never once met in-person one of my Mid-Atlantic heroes. Those emotions were heightened when the Gateway's friend George South made that meeting with Jones a reality in Charlotte.

On that hot day in Charlotte, Paul put the "Gateway Boys" though a bit of a hazing which ratcheted up my nervousness almost to the breaking point. Paul saw firsthand probably the two biggest Mid-Atlantic "marks" on the planet in Dick and I , and I don't think he quite knew what to make of us at first. As we traveled around Charlotte that day and saw any number of wrestling related sights, I believe "Number One" respected the way the "Gateway Boys" wore unabashedly our love of Mid-Atlantic wrestling on our sleeves for all to see, and that we weren't out to make a quick buck off of the boys with our website. At that point, Paul accepted us and established a friendship that lasted until he died.

In recent years, seeing Paul Jones was the highlight of any wrestling related get-together for me. When talking to Paul about wrestling, it was hard for him to avoid complaining about how Ricky Steamboat turned on him on that fateful night in Charlotte in December of 1978. It got so bad that I purposely avoided making any references to "the turn" in my Gateway pieces about Paul. It was not worth the fallout if Paul would read anything under my hand that dared implied he was the one that turned on Steamboat!

While he was always willing to talk wrestling, Paul was genuinely interested in me, my work and my family which meant a great deal to me. Paul was up to date on current national news and politics, and was not shy about voicing his opinions on the same! "Number One" also had a sharp and biting sense of humor, that he didn't mind unleashing on those closest to him. It took me a while to get used to Paul's "zingers," but I eventually realized that Paul never "zinged" anybody in a mean-spirited way and it was normally done with a wink and a smile. I received email from Paul nearly every day, and while much of it was non-consequential forwarded jokes and the like, it still was surreal to me that my Mid-Atlantic hero would take the time to send me anything.

Over the last year or so, Paul enjoyed receiving emails from me that contained photos of "Number One" references that I came across in everyday life. For instance, I recently sent him a photo from Fuddruckers when my order number was "No. 1" and one from my county dump where a sign said "Go To Number 1" for the numbered receptacle that was open to dump my trash into.

Just a couple of days before Paul's death I went to a college baseball game with my Dad, and when a batter late in the contest approached the plate the first thing I noticed was that he was wearing the number 1. Forgetting about the game itself, my first instinct was to get a good view of this player's number so I could send a photo of it to Paul! I in fact snapped a good photo, but I unfortunately didn't get to send that final "Number One" salute to Paul before he passed away. While I'll always regret that I didn't send that last remembrance out to Paul in a timely manner, I am sure Paul knew, and knows, that Paul Jones will always be "Number One" to me.

Rest in peace my Mid-Atlantic hero, and my friend.