Georgia Championship Wrestling...34 Years Ago To The Day

Often we look back on the events in wrestling's past that will never be forgotten.  The WrestleMania's, the Starrcade's, and Monday Night Raw's that will linger in the back of our minds as long as we're fans.  But what about the forgotten shows?  The shows that, for decades and decades, could be found somewhere in the world on any given night of the week.  No record of these shows may exist aside from a card rundown, results, or sometimes even less, but these are the events that kept the business going.  Before the advent of supercards and pay-per-view, these shows were where the money was made, as were the memories.

One of those very shows took place thirty-four years from the date of the publication of this article.  It was a Georgia Championship Wrestling card in Athens, GA on Thursday night, July 17, 1980.  The cover of the program at the time, the weekly Ringsider (Vol. 80 No. 14, to be exact) featured Ole Anderson in a familiar pose.  The gruff grappler is shown on the set of the Georgia Championship Wrestling television program, making a heated point as he is interviewed by Gordon Solie. 

Inside on the first page we are treated to photos and a listing of the then-current champions.  Harley Race was the (NWA) World Heavyweight Champion, while Ivan Koloff and Alexis Smirnoff held the Georgia Tag Team Championship, Tommy Rich was the National TV Champion, and Austin Idol was the Georgia Heavyweight Champion.  Promoter Paul Jones, a man often confused '60s-'80s star wrestler and manager of the same name, is pictured as is Freddie Miller.  Known for his "Beeeeee There!" catchphrase when promoting local cards on television, Miller was also the editor of The Ringsider.

A separate piece of paper is included with the rundown of the night's card.  Fans in Athens were scheduled to be treated to The Assassins versus Ole & Lars Anderson, Bob Sweetan versus Mike George, Tony Atlas versus Dennis Condrey, and Jay Strongbow versus Eddie Mansfield.  In addition to the classic NWA Wrestling logo, a special greeting is included at the bottom.  It seems that the W.F.I.A. (Wrestling Fans International Association) was in Atlanta with their annual convention at the same time that this show was held.  There is no doubt that many W.F.I.A. members attended this card.  Anyone who wanted to be as "inside" to the wrestling business as you could be at the time was a member of that organization.  Even Juanita "Sapphire" Wright belonged to the club!

Next in the program is a full-page ad where Dusty Rhodes declares that he, indeed, "can tell you about pain."  It seems that "The American Dream" was a spokesperson for Stanback Powders at the time.  Grab a boxtop, $4.95, and this filled-out coupon and you would receive a shirt just like the one that Big Dust is shown wearing.  While the shirts are assuredly long gone, a quick Google search shows that this brand of headache powders does in fact still exist.  If only Dusty's magical fro still existed, too.  Nevertheless, this is a great example of the connection with the fans that "The American Dream" had throughout his career.

The next two pages are full shots of Tommy Rich and Austin Idol, the TV and Georgia Champions, respectively.  Rich was less than a year away from the brief peak of his career when he took the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Harley Race.  Idol would go on to make his mark in several wrestling territories, including Memphis, but never seemed to attain the level of fame and success that his talent deserved.  Looking at both men today, they certainly seem to have lived different lifestyles.  Idol looks almost identical as he did in his wrestling days, while Rich is almost unrecognizable.


Our next page is a recap of some recent tv action.  In this case, it seems that a tag team known as "The Avengers" recently appeared on the Georgia Championship Wrestling scene.  I wonder how many fans knew that these two masked bulks were actually Ole and Lars Anderson.  Apparently they unmasked in a scuffle with Koloff, Smirnoff, and manager Rock Hunter.  I guarantee that Ole's often commanding promos convinced many a fan into buying a ticket to see this feud play out.

On the last inside page, we have a half-page action shot of two men who would go on to much greater fame.  "The Boston Battler" Kevin Sullivan has Tenru in a chinlock.  The young Asian star is better known as "Tenryu" and became a legend in Japan in addition to being a well-known name here in the United States.  The second half of the page is an ad for rentals at Grove Park Apartments.  For just $125 per month, fans of GCW could rent an apartment right on 1401 Bankhead Highway, named for U.S. Senator John H. Bankhead, grandfather of the outrageous actress Tallulah Bankhead.  Apartments are still located at the address, but they no longer bear the same name nor the same low monthly rate.


We end the program with a great shot of "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd.  Ladd would begin to wrap up his career in the 1980's, and by the middle of the decade was working behind the scenes with the WWF.  So what happened at the matches that night?  Strongbow defeated Mansfield, Atlas defeated Condrey, Sweetan defeated Mike Sharpe, and The Assassins defeated The Anderson's.  Whether or not it was actually Mike Sharpe as listed in the results or Mike George as listed on the card may forever be up in the air.  Both men were active in the territory at the time.  The results were obtained from GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com, an invaluable tool for any fan of territorial wrestling.

I would imagine that like with many of these shows, a good time was had by all that night.  It was a time when wrestling truly was wrestling.  The stereotype of smoke-filled armories come to life.  Pro wrestling will never be like that again.  It's a different business in a different time.  But shows like these will always be the roots of the modern-day product.  In the end, it's about entering a different world for a couple of hours and letting the in-ring action take over.  That's something that, no matter the era, the industry will always provide.

Memphis Wrestling Memorabilia Comes To A Bookshelf Near You

Let's face it, Memphis Wrestling had it all.  The stars, the action, and entertainment value that no other promotion or territory could quite match at the time.  Despite being a Yankee and born just as much of the hottest Memphis action was taking place, I've often listed the territory as my favorite of the old wrestling hotbeds.  I'll go as far as to say that if any one territory would be able to succeed in today's wrestling world, it would be Memphis.  The whole package transcends the time in which it occurred, and any wrestling promoter would kill for those insane crowds that can still be marveled at on old tapes from the Mid-South Coliseum.

Another way in which Memphis Wrestling stood out was in the early concepts of merchandising.  As I often point out here, the action figures, bedsheets, stickers, and lunchboxes that we now associate with wrestling memorabilia didn't truly take off until the "Rock n' Wrestling" era of the mid-1980s.  In Memphis and the other towns included in the territory, however, fans, wrestlers, and promoters alike knew just how much souvenirs and "gimmicks" could add to the overall product and profits of wrestling.

If you're even on this blog, I'm fairly sure that you have an interest in the memorabilia and merchandise surrounding professional wrestling.  If you've ever wanted a fully illustrated history of some of the earliest examples of these treasured collectibles, then the newest book from the legendary Jim Cornette and Memphis Wrestling historian Mark James is right up your alley.  The book is titled "Rags, Paper, & Pins--The Merchandising Of Memphis Wrestling," and was tailored made for fans/collectors like you and me.

Works from both Cornette and James have been featured here before.  Cornette's 25th Anniversary Scrapbook meticulously recalling the fantastic run of his Midnight Express tag team met glowing reviews here and just about anywhere else it has been discussed, as have Dutch Mantell's "The World According To Dutch" and George South's "Dad You Don't Work, You Wrestle."  The latter two books were co-productions with Mark James.  By mixing Cornette's direct involvement with Memphis wrestling merchandising and James' knowledge of the territory captured in his other publications and website, "Rags" promised to be a winner even before the first page was turned.

Making its public debut at Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest, convention goers flocked to the Cornette's Collectibles booth where both Cornette and James were present to sell and sign the books.  Although the book was already on my own shopping list, I'm not sure how any fan could have passed it up.  The cover is plastered with original Jim Cornette photography of Jerry Lawler, Jackie Fargo, Jimmy Valiant, Lance Russell and Dave Brown, Bill Dundee, The Fabulous Ones, and even a young Hulk Hogan.

At 342 pages it is by no means a small book.  Part of that is because many of the programs, photos, and other memorabilia discussed is reproduced right in the book.  The other half is because Cornette and James follow a pattern that's near and dear to my heart: telling the history of wrestling through its memorabilia and merchandising.

It's no secret that Jim Cornette began his association with Memphis Wrestling as a young photographer.  What's less known is that so much of the Memphis merchandising sold at the "photo table" is also a direct result of Cornette's involvement.  The greatest wrestling manager of all-time?  I'd certainly be inclined to agree.  One of the fathers of wrestling merchandising and memorabilia?  Who knew?

From the '50s through the '80s, Memphis Wrestling history and merchandising is not just covered, but presented in the way that it deserves to be.  From Sputnik Monroe, Tojo Yamamoto, and The Fabulous Fargo's to Jimmy Hart, Austin Idol, and The Gibson Brothers, they're all here.  Maybe you've just always wanted to see the infamous "Mama Cornette."  Even she makes an appearance here, along with the mother of Jerry Jarrett, Christine, herself an integral part of the territory.  Speaking of one of the most influential men in wrestling history, Jerry Jarrett provides the foreword for this treasury of his territory.

Perhaps my own favorite portion of the book is a complete reprinting of the six-issue run of Championship Wrestling Magazine.  A collaboration between Cornette and Norm Kietzer's Pro Wrestling Enterprises, CWM is prized due to its short run, great Cornette photography, and complete dedication to the Memphis Wrestling product of the time.  Cover-to-cover, each issue is presented here in anthology form, complete with Cornette's behind-the-scenes stories from the magazine's birth to untimely end and even his original hand-penciled layouts.  This section is worth the price of the book alone.

I learned so much from the book that I would love to repeat here, but that's where you come in.  With my highest recommendation, if you have any appreciation for classic Memphis Wrestling or the memorabilia that is discussed every week right here, you need to pick up the book for yourself.  Information on the various ways that you can obtain a copy for yourself is at Mark James' MemphisWrestlingHistory.com website.

I couldn't put this one down, and I won't be doing so anytime soon.  I continue to comb over the hundreds of photos in the book, wondering how I'll be able to find many of the items that I don't already own.  Some pieces that I'm sure I will own are the future Cornette-James collaborations hinted at in this book.  We all miss James E. Cornette screaming at the top of his lungs on television and whacking people with his tennis racket.  That being said, if this is the kind of product that we're going to get from the "away-from-the-industry" Cornette of 2013 and beyond, I think we're in for many more grand slams from "The Louisville Slugger" himself.