December 2013 The Ear

DECEMBER 2013 Issue

IN THIS ISSUE, BRIAN BLAIR DISCUSSES

HIS LIFE AND CAREER IN THE CAC INTERVIEW

Also in this issue…

J.J. DILLON rediscovers a signed photo of CAC co-founder MIKE MAZURKI……five decades later

GREG OLIVER looks back at the career of “Puppy Dog” FRED PELOQUIN……and the Puppy Dog offers a few memories of his own

DAN MURPHY enters a tournament at THE DESTROYER’s new Japanese-style Golf Park in upstate New York……and wins an award

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NEWS FROM AROUND THE CAULIFLOWER ALLEY CLUB

Congratulations to CAC members Steve Ogilvie and Stacey Ngawhika, who recently tied the knot in Australia. Steve works as a ring manager under the name “Mr. 100” Gary Davis. He and Stacey are natives of New Zealand who are currently residing Down Under. In recent years, they’ve been making the long, 13-hour flight halfway around the world to make it to the CAC reunion in Las Vegas, and they plan to be there again next year. Guys, here’s to many years of blissful matrimony!

A warm welcome goes out from The Ear and the entire Cauliflower Alley Club to great ring veteran Bob Cook, who is now part of our organization. Since making his ring debut in 1981, Bob has done it all, including making numerous TV appearances for WCW and WWE. He was widely acclaimed as having the best punch in wrestling, and almost everyone who has called one of his matches pointed this fact out on the air, including CAC members like Jim Ross and the late Gordon Solie. Welcome aboard, Bob!

HBO’s “Real Sports” program did a segment by noted Stacey and Steve on their wedding sports journalist Frank DeFord about 2013 CAC Honoree day (photo by Steve Ogilvie) Jake “The Snake” Roberts and the man who presented him with his award in Vegas, Diamond Dallas Page. The focus was on Page’s role in helping Roberts stay clean and sober, and how Roberts’ life is now coming together after years of struggling with addiction. Also featured in the piece was Scott Hall, who currently lives with Page and Roberts at Page’s house in Georgia. Page is now helping to point Hall down the right path in life as well. Great to see all three guys doing well.

Last issue, The Ear did a story on longtime CAC member Al Burke and his career as an actor and stuntman. As a follow-up, we’re happy to report that Al’s schedule has not slowed down one bit. In recent months, he’s filmed roles in music videos by the rock bands Fall Out Boy and Skillet, appeared in a commercial for Nestea, and made the movie “Lost in Darkness.” Al may be the hardest working man in show business! He’s already got more projects on tap for 2014. The Ear is delighted to see Al making his mark on in Hollywood.

CAC staple Mike Lano has been working with a documentary team on a project spotlighting what pro wrestling legends do with their lives once they retire from the ring. Mike has been involved in the filming of several interviews for the film with noted CAC members like Ted DiBiase, Superstar Billy Graham, Greg Valentine, Wendi Richter and Don Leo Jonathon. You can also see Mike’s regular Ear column in this issue.

It’s been a whirlwind ride for our own Cheerleader Melissa, who almost everyone in this club has bought a raffle ticket from at a reunion. This standout grappler cemented her spot as perhaps the premier female performer in the business when Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Dan Murphy—himself a contributor to this issue—presented her with a plaque naming her number one on PWI’s 2013 “Women’s Top 50” list. It was quite an honor. But just hours later at a TV taping in Illinois for the SHIMMER group, an in-ring mishap saw Melissa suffer a nasty wound after being Ouch! Melissa displays her battle scar slammed to the mat face-first, resulting in a 12-stitch cut. We (photo by Dan Murphy) congratulate Melissa on her award, and hope she’s healing fast.

Correction: The cover of the last issue plugged an article by noted author Dale Pierce about the history of pro wrestling in Dayton, OH. But inside, the article itself was actually about the history of wrestling in Akron, OH, not Dayton. Our apologies for the mix-up!

CANVAS CAVITY

By Mike Lano

---One of the CAC's favorites is the incomparable Wild Bill White, who we honored in 2006. A great hand in the ring, Bill worked for nearly every circuit including the NWA, WWWF, AWA and the outstanding Mid-Atlantic territory back when George Scott was transforming it to brilliance. Just ask him about his days wrestling in Nashville for Nick Gulas, or in my homebase territory of Los Angeles, or for Roy Shire from 1965 to 1967, and watch Bill smile. Bill returned to work in Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1981 along with friends like Bob Armstrong, Kevin Sullivan, Mark Lewin, Jay Strongbow and Don Muraco, all the way up to a young Dr. Death Steve Williams. Bill is always an asset to the industry and to the CAC, where he remains a cribbage master.

---My longtime pal Earl Maynard has rejoined the CAC. When he made the trek to Vegas for our reunion several years back, everyone was thrilled to see him. He still had the physique, the sense of humor and the love for all his sisters and brothers in wrestling and bodybuilding. Earl is like Sailor Art Thomas, the colorful Sweet Daddy Siki (who still packs them in for his Ontario music shows), Dory Dixon and of course Bobo Brazil, in that he’s pro wrestling’s Jackie Robinson. And, he was among the few with a truly "ripped" body who just had the great genes and did it naturally. This was years before performance enhancing drugs. Gene LeBell used to announce Earl on our Los Angeles territory television program as "Mr. Universe, Earl the Pearl Maynard,” and Earl really was one of the most popular athletes in our circuit for years, as well as in San Francisco for Roy Shire. Earl credits the CAC’s own Bob Geigel and his Kansas City crew for helping him get his first territory work in the U.S. back in the 60's, and he went on to have runs all over the South, East and of course in Texas and the WWWF. In L.A., Earl held the “Beat The Champ” TV title back when it really meant something. He had main events with John Tolos, Fred Blassie, Killer Kowalski, Black Gordman, Superstar Graham and others and wore our area tag straps with Brazil, Dixon, Rocky Earl Maynard at his most recent CAC reunion in 2010, Johnson, Raul Mata and others. He had the posing with Dan Kroffat (photo by wrealano@aol.com) most unique headbutt, which I always enjoy reminding him about. He'd rear back and jam it from the side in spectacular fashion. Earl seamlessly made the switch from bodybuilding to wrestling. Dan "King Krow" Kroffat, for one, would be delighted to see Earl at another reunion, as they both worked in Japan as gaijin stars for Baba and Inoki. He’s owned some beautiful rental properties in his home of Barbados and speaks several languages.

---Look for WWE to reportedly finally induct The Russian Bear and former WWWF champ Ivan Koloff into their own Hall of Fame, after Ivan was our very popular top CAC honoree this past April. Bruno Sammartino finally giving in to their request to be part of the Hall certainly didn't hurt, as Ivan is a "Bruno guy." WWE brass certainly took notice after his warm CAC induction speech. Like Billy Robinson, Ivan was truly an uncrowned AWA champ due to all his great matches with Verne Gagne. That's besides his many accomplishments in the NWA, especially in Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic, as well as in the All Japan and IWE promotions based in Tokyo. And of course, he had a great run in Montreal for the Vachon Brothers’ Grand Prix Wrestling, where he started. His WTBS bouts teaming with Ole Anderson against Wahoo McDaniel and Tommy Rich are still remembered as classics, as are his bouts with Dusty Rhodes. The CAC tops itself each year with amazing honorees, plus surprises like Edge and DDP this past year. We can't wait to see what happens in Las Vegas in 2014 for Cauliflower Alley Club!

Mike Lano co-hosts “Legends”, a weekly nationally-syndicated sports and entertainment radio show where he interviews wrestlers, MMA stars, boxers, musicians, actors and politicians including notables like Lou Ferrigno, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rudy Giuliani, Joan Rivers, Howie Mandel, Drew Carey and many more

R.I.P. CHRIS KELLY, WIFE OF BOB KELLY

By Eric Chmiel

We here at The Ear, and indeed the entire Cauliflower Alley Club, are greatly saddened by the recent death of Chris Kelly, the beloved wife of longtime CAC member and current board member Cowboy Bob Kelly. Chris passed away on October 26, 2013.

Chris and Bob have been a real force behind the acclaimed Gulf Coast Wrestlers Reunion, which has been held annually each spring in Mobile, Alabama for years now, and the pair have been a staple at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunions in Las Vegas for as long as anyone can remember. Many readers probably met Chris at a reunion, as she often sat with Bob at their usual spot with Bobby Simmons and Charlie Smith, or perhaps from when she filled in working the registration desk at the front door of the hospitality room, as she did so often over the years.

Chris was a wonderful, giving woman with a big heart, and she will be fondly remembered by everyone she came into contact with. She’s leaves behind not only her loving husband Bob, but also the couple’s five children.

PLANNING ALREADY UNDERWAY FOR NEXT REUNION

The Cauliflower Alley Club Executive Board is already deep in the planning stages for the 2014 CAC reunion. Nominations for awards are being collected, special events are being arranged and superstar guests are being lined up. Don’t forget, the event is moving to June next year, which is expected to allow for a more robust list of big names to attend.

Our annual event returns to the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas from June 2nd to June 4th next year. Reunion organizer Morgan Dollar is hard at work making sure the reunion maintains its high standard from past years, and maybe adds in a few new and exciting wrinkles.

We’re expecting a lot of reunion news in the next couple issues. From the few tidbits that have leaked so far about

at the what’s in the works, the 49th year reunion is going to be 2012 reunion

an absolute must-attend event!

The CAC is building an email database of our members in order to create a “Special Announcement List.” As part of this list, you’ll receive important information via email regarding Cauliflower Alley Club events and business. It would be very helpful to us if you’d assist us in this project.

Please send your email address to us at cacdean@hotmail.com to get on the list.

The communications that will be sent to members on the Special Announcement List will go to CAC members ONLY and will not be released to the general public. Thanks!

THE CAC INTERVIEW: BRIAN BLAIR ON HIS LIFE AND WRESTLING CAREER

by Eric Chmiel

Brian Blair is the newest member of the Cauliflower Alley Club general board of directors, and what an addition he is! He has stepped up as a recruiter for the Club, generating interest in the CAC among his peers from his many years in the business. He’s also been a fountain of fresh ideas and new concepts for the club, acting as a voice to help lead the CAC into a new era.

But most readers would know Brian Blair by another guise: standout professional wrestler. He came up in the 1970’s as a product of Eddie Graham’s Florida Championship Wrestling and quickly established himself as one of the great up-and-comers in wrestling. By the 1980’s, he was headlining as a singles wrestler in the old territories. And when the territories fell by the wayside, he starred in Vince McMahon’s then-WWF as B. Brian Blair, working as one-half of the classic tag team The Killer B’s with Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell. Even today, he remains a fine worker between the ropes, and he proved it to the Cauliflower Alley Club earlier this year when he had a great match with CAC honoree Matt Riviera during the annual wrestling show at our reunion at the Gold Coast.

On top of that, Blair has been an amazing achiever outside of wrestling. He’s been a force in Florida politics, having been elected as a County Commisioner in

Hillsborough County, FL. He’s consorted with U.S. Presidents, and is currently mulling another run for public office. He’s also had repeated success as an entrepreneur. He’s owned and operated several Gold’s Gym fitness centers, and more lately is the co-owner of a soft drink company called “CelebriTea,” which sells delicious tea drinks as a healthy alternative to sugary sodas (see their website at “www.drinkcelebritea.com”).

Blair was kind enough to take some time to talk about his life and career with Ear editor Eric Chmiel in what turned out to be an excellent interview. We hope you enjoy it!

The Ear: I know you live in the Tampa area. Is that where you’re originally from?

Brian Blair: Well, I was actually born in Gary, Indiana, but we moved to Tampa when I was in the fifth grade so I’ve lived here for almost all of my life.

Ear: You seem to be a really driven person, not just in wrestling but in everything. Was that instilled in you as child?

Blair: Yes, I think so. I was that way in middle school and high school. I went to college even though my family couldn’t afford it. My mom and dad were divorced when I was twelve. I lived on my own since I was sixteen. When I was a little boy, I went to church for the first time. The sermon that day was on the power of prayer. I’ll never forget it. The pastor was saying if you prayed and you were a good, righteous person, then God would answer your prayer. It might not be today or tomorrow, but eventually it would happen, even if took years. That sermon hit me

so hard, when I got home I couldn’t wait to pray for something. But I couldn’t think of what I wanted to pray for. I thought about praying for a million dollars, but at that age I didn’t know what I’d even spend it on. I thought about praying for a red Corvette, or maybe two Corvettes, one red and one blue, but I didn’t have a driver’s license yet. So finally, I closed my eyes and I said, ‘Dear God, please make me Superman.’ Well, I kept waiting for something to happen. I’d hit my head, but it would still hurt. I’d jump off the bed, but I couldn’t fly. I had this friend Billy, he lived on Arizona Street with me. He’d say, ‘Man, that’s foolishness! Superman lives on TV. He outruns locomotives. He wears a fancy costume. He’s not real.’ But you know what? And I tell this story to kids sometimes. When I became a wrestler, I started living on TV, when I’d wrestle on TV. And I’d run the ring ropes like a speeding bullet, and a leapfrog over a man with a single bound. And I’d wear a fancy costume. I’d have 350-pound men jump on my chest and I’d live to tell about it. So you should be careful what you wish for, because in a way,

God really did answer my prayer, and I became sort of like Superman when I became a wrestler.

Ear: That’s a great story! Do you remember the first match you ever saw?

Blair: Absolutely. It was Eddie Graham against the Great Malenko. I think it was around 1972 when Jack Brisco came in to Florida. He just really convinced me that I wanted to be a wrestler. And also watching guys like Steve Keirn, Mike Graham and all the great talents that came through Florida, which back then was a real hotbed for wrestling. Don Muraco, Bob Orton Jr., even Orton Sr., guys who really knew their craft. They had me convinced that wrestling was 100% real. There was nothing but kayfabe in the Florida territory. Sometimes I’d go to the Imperial Lounge where they’d all hang out, and they’d kayfabe each other in that place, because that was Eddie Graham’s rule. That was the way it was back then. I’d sneak in when I was about 16 years old. In fact, I sneaked into a bar once at 16 and I saw Hulk Hogan’s band play. He was in a band called “Ruckus.” He actually had his first match with me.

Ear: Yes, I’ve heard you tell that story.

Blair: Yeah. I just wanted to be like these guys. I worked out real hard in college, and at the time I was able to get in with Florida Championship Wrestling. Eddie Graham let me start, because he knew I was a good amateur wrestler in college. I

was kind of like a hometown hero in athletics, the papers would do stories on me and stuff. Eddie had the Boys’ Ranch and Girls’ Villas, where they would teach amateur wrestling. Mike Graham and Steve Keirn were involved, and Bob Roop. It only made me even more determined to become a professional wrestler. Eddie came to a few of my matches and introduced himself. Well, I went with him to train and we exercised like crazy, and then we started wrestling. I was just in my standard gear that I’d wear for a high school match. Hiro Matsuda was there. This was at the Sportatorium at 106 North Albany Street, where they did the TV. He was making me holler, putting me in all these holds. I got so tired, my tongue was sticking out. Finally I rolled out of the ring, and the heaves just started coming over me, and I threw up. Hiro said to me, totally expressionless, ‘Tomorrow, 9 o’clock. Maybe I see you, maybe I don’t.’ I told him, ‘I’ll be here.’

Ear: Yeah, they were notorious in Florida. Matsuda, Graham, Roop….when they trained you, they would run you ragged

Blair: The next day, I went back. I got all ready, and I did it. But it was the same thing. We exercised like crazy and then we wrestled. Hiro beat me to death until I rolled out of the ring and started throwing up again. It was completely different than the amateur wrestling I was used to. It was like shoot wrestling. So Hiro came to me while I was puking and he said once again, with no expression, ‘Tomorrow, I be here again at 9 o’clock. Maybe I see you, maybe I don’t.’ I said, ‘Thank you, Mr. Matsuda.’ He just stared at me. He would call me “boy-san.” Well, the third day I went again, and it was the same stuff. Bing-bam-boom, he was beating on me again. I was totally drained, and I rolled out of the ring on that cold concrete floor at the Sportatorium. My head was down, I was just too tired to lift it. Matsuda was just staring at me. Finally, he took his bare foot and put it under my chin and lifted my head so he could look at me. He said, ‘What

the matter, boy-san? You no puke today?’ And said, ‘Mr. Matsuda, I haven’t eaten since I threw up yesterday. I just don’t have anything left to puke.’ And that was the first time he cracked a smile. I think from that point on, he liked me. He started going easier on me a little bit after that.

Ear: You earned his respect.

Blair: Yes, I was okay with him after that.

Ear: I don’t think Matsuda was the type of guy who gave you anything for the heck of it. If he liked you, you know it was because you earned it.

Blair: After that, I was there for three summers, wrestling all kinds of guys who came through Florida. You know, other guys that wanted to become wrestlers. A lot of these guys never made it, but some did. Danny Spivey was there, and Scott Hall. Paul Orndorff came through. Paul was extremely hard to stretch, because he was so strong. They liked him. In fact, he was one of my heroes when I was working selling sodas in Tampa Stadium, and he was number 40 for the Tampa Spartans.

This great pic shows the wrestlers’ softball team in Florida in the early 80’s. That’s Brian in the middle on top, but if you look closely, you’ll also spot such stars as Jesse Barr, Magnum T.A., Reggie Parks, Butch Reed, Dusty Rhodes, Skip Young, Jerry Lawler, Mike Graham and—mask and all—Mr. Wrestling II (photo courtesy of Brian Blair)

Ear: Football, at the University of Tampa.

Blair: Yes. We became good friends, and we’re still friends. During the third summer, Hulk Hogan came and we hit it off. But they wanted to run him off. They put him in a mask as Super Destroyer. But he had the look and the charisma. We became pretty good friends too.

Ear: And Hogan would be part of your career later on in the ‘80’s, when you went into WWE back then it was the WWF—and he was on top of the world at the very time when you and Jim Brunzell took off as the Killer B’s.

Blair: Yeah, that was such an amazing time. It

really was. When we got Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC, and wrestling was back on network television after decades, you knew it was going to be a huge success. Dick Ebersol and Vince co-produced Saturday Night’s Main Event. We took over Saturday Night Live’s time slot, and we were beating all their records for viewers. We still have the record for the largest audience, per available television sets, in that time slot.

Ear: It must have been incredible to be a part of all that.

Blair: Eric, it was. I used to ride with Vince and fly with Vince a lot, because Hogan was one of my best friends. I would always be there traveling with Vince, because Hogan would travel with Vince and I’d go along. It was by circumstance, I guess. I would always be hanging around with Hogan, so I was always hanging out with Vince. I also got to be friends with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. It was a great fraternity to be a part of. You have guys you could call in the middle of the night, if you really needed something. Some of the guys were there for themselves, and you knew who they were. But all in all, it was a great time and a great bunch of guys. I still have some close friends that I made during that era.

Ear: You seem to have gotten along pretty well with just about everyone. I see it in the CAC even today, everyone thinks a lot of you. I guess you didn’t get a lot of heat from people back in the day either, and not a lot of fights with people.

Blair: No, but I remember getting into a heck of a fight with Matt Borne once at a bar. Dirty Dick Murdoch was there. Ric Flair once called it the greatest fight he’s ever seen. Matt was thinking I was screwing around with his girlfriend. He had just come into the territory. He’d been there about two weeks. I didn’t even know who his girlfriend was. I have a feeling someone may have been playing a rib on him, but he thought I was messing around with his girl. I was talking to Murdoch when Matt came over and hit me in the head. He grabbed me from behind and was trying to back suplex me. I rolled over toward him and he started trying to bite my nose, because I wound up on top of him. When he did that, I bit some of his lip off.

Ear: Oh, man! That sounds like it was a pretty nasty scrap.

Blair: We went fisticuffs for awhile. He’d leave and then come back in five minutes and go right back at me, and we’d start again. It was just unbelievable. Ivan Koloff was there. If you see Ivan, you should ask him about it. The bar was closing, and here comes Matt again, he jumped on my back. Fists are flying, and we were right by the door. There was a seat there, and

somehow we rolled down onto the floor. He was on the bottom, but he reached his hand up and went for my eyeball. I felt him trying to gouge my eye. I was holding his arm. I remember Uncle Ivan came and kicked Matt’s hand away, and said, “No eyes! No eyes!” That was close to the end of the fight.

Ear: That’s a pretty intense story. Your first match in the business actually was against Ivan Koloff, wasn’t it?

Blair: Yes it was.

Ear: You started off with a pretty high caliber of competition, right at the top.

Blair: It was a tag team match, Pat Patterson and Ivan Koloff against me and Skip Young. I remember they wound up throwing me out of the ring and they pinned Skippy. They gave us a really good match. I was friends with Ivan when he came into Florida back then, and we’re still friends today. Ivan Koloff is a great man, he does a lot for the Lord. Amen. I couldn’t say a bad word about him. I really don’t know anyone else who could.

Ear: You’ve actually been in the ring with a lot of guys who are active members of the CAC. Not just Ivan, who we just honored this past year at the reunion, but also guys like Stan Hansen, Killer Tim Brooks…..

Blair: Killer Brooks! From Waxahachie, Texas! I worked with him mostly in the Von Erichs’ territory, World Class. That’s where I worked with him for the most part. Tim was a good guy. People like him helped me become a much more versatile worker. I had so many different guys who showed me so much. Hiro taught me how to shoot, and so did Gordon Nelson and Karl Gotch. Jack and Gerry Brisco and Eddie Graham taught

me how to work. Bob Backlund. All these guys would come down to Florida and you’d learn from them. So much diverse talent came through. I had some great matches with guys like Jimmy Garvin and Ravishing Rick Rude, Kabuki and Jesse Barr. I worked with Bruiser Brody. It pushed me. It turned me into the worker I was, because one night you’d be in with Jack Brisco having his style of match, and the next night you’d have to face Bruiser Brody and he was a brawler. You had to be versatile. I was in the ring with so many great, classic wrestling stars. Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr. I went an hour with Ric Flair.

Ear: You really had a heck of a career even before you went to the WWF and had that great run with Brunzell.

Blair: You know, I love my singles career probably more than my tag team career. I was in singles a lot longer, even though everyone remembers me from the Killer B’s. I love the Killer B’s, but I wouldn’t want anyone to forget my singles career. I wrestled with pride. I held a lot of titles and drew a lot of money in Florida. We sold out a lot of buildings. After I did Eddie Graham’s last angle, when I jumped out of the chicken suit with Jesse Barr, we sold out night after night. When Kendo Nagasaki blew the green mist in my face, we sold out night after night. I chased Jimmy Garvin for the Florida championship. I chased Rick Rude for the Southern title. Jake the Snake was another guy I was around a lot. He was one of the great workers, one of the top ten workers in the business, in my opinion.

Ear: You also did a lot in Japan.

Blair: I spent two-and-a-half years of my life in Japan. A lot of time over there Abdullah was my partner. I’ve wrestled in probably 50 countries. I

wrestled in a lot of places people have never even heard of it. I wrestled on the island of Saba.

Ear: You’re right, that’s a place I’ve never heard of. I understand you’re involved with a soft drink business now.

Blair: Yes. I’m the Director of Distribution for ‘CelebriTea.’ It’s just awesome. It’s a tea along the lines of Honest Tea. Bishop Jason Sanderson bought some of our stuff at ThirstMonger.com and loved it. We’re in about a thousand stores now, we’re really taking off. I’m co-owner of the company, along with two other partners. It’s a great drink. It’s so much healthier than drinking sodas. We’re at drinkcelebritea.com.

Ear: You’re always busy with one project or another, it seems like you never stop.

Blair: Well, what I am at heart is a businessman. I built up four Golds Gyms and I sold them at the right time. That’s how my involvement in politics really came about. People don’t realize, but being a businessman is so important in politics. When I was County Commissioner, I dealt with a four billion dollar budget, including funding the sheriff’s and fire department. You have to know how to handle money.

Ear: George W. Bush once complimented you on your job as County Commissioner. Isn’t that right?

Blair: What he said was that some of the best people in politics are County Commissioners, because people don’t realize it’s just about the hardest job. This was something he told me faceto-face. During his last tour in office, he stopped in Tampa and had a big function at the Airport. I got to speak to him for awhile, it was an honor.

Ear: So you’ve even met a U.S. President in your travels too. You’ve done it all.

Blair: I actually also met Jimmy Carter. I flew on an airplane with him once and we talked politics.

Ear: Man, you never know who you might meet on an airplane! (laughs)

Blair: (laughs) You really don’t! One time I was flying to Japan with Orndorff, business class. Phyllis Diller was on the plane. We’d just taken off from New York. She had bought the entire first class area for herself. Well, she was a big wrestling fan. When she found out Paul was on the plane, she called him up there and he rode the whole trip with her all the way to Japan. He never came back. I had to fly all by myself.

Brian and Jim Brunzell as the famous “Killer B’s” tag team in the 1980’s (photo courtesy of Brian Blair)

Ear: When Orndorff was a heel in the WWF, he’d get lots of trouble from fans. Not Phyllis Diller!

Blair: I was working with Orndorff once at the old Boston Garden. Before the match, the ref, Dick Woehrle, was giving us instructions and this thing shot by us like a streak. It was a big elbow pipe someone threw from the crowd. It hit this wooden barrier they had outside the ring. Bam! It sounded like somebody shot a shotgun. If it would’ve hit one of us, it would’ve killed us. About two minutes later, we’d just gone through a couple arm drag spots and I grabbed an arm bar. I had him down. All the sudden another streak flies by my eyes and I hear Orndorff go “Ugh!” He grabbed his mouth. I looked at the mat and I see one of those miniature alcohol bottles you’d get on an airplane. It hit him right in the mouth. It busted his teeth and split his lip. He was bleeding and he had to go get stitches after the match. After that, he was so mad, it was like I was in a shoot! I told him, ‘I didn’t do it, Paul! Lighten up!’ He was just irate.

Ear: I’ve heard you tell some funny stories at the reunions about the stuff that you saw during your career. Can you tell a rib story? You probably only have about a million of them.

Blair: Hah! Sometimes it seems like that’s all we did was rib each other. Lord knows how we got away with half the stuff we did.

Ear: Some of those stories I don’t think we can print in The Ear! (laughs)

Blair: (laughs) You’re right! Once, when I was probably in the business about a week, Pat Patterson gave me a beautiful purple sequined ring jacket as a gesture of friendship, or so I thought. I was riding with Jack and Gerry Brisco in Gerry’s Lincoln, heading to a shot in West Palm Beach. On the way, I was tired as heck and I fell asleep in the back seat. When I woke up, I saw the clock in the car and it was about five minutes before the matches were scheduled to start, and we were ten minutes from the building. I was like, ‘Oh no! We’re gonna be late!’ The Briscos were acting all worried. They said, ‘Brian, you’re in the opener, you better get dressed right now!’ So right in the car, I started getting my gear on as fast as I could. In West Palm Beach, the arena had an overhang where the wrestlers went in. The fans would come early and stand on this overhang and watch the wrestlers as they walked into the building. Well, Gerry came pulling up, tires screeching, right to where this overhang is. They’re telling me ‘Go! Go!’ I jumped out of the car all dressed in my gear, wearing the purple sequined jacket, and I go running up to the doors as fast as I could. All these fans are watching me. Well, the doors were locked! I stood there panicking, trying to get in. It turns out, the Briscos had moved the clock in the car up by an hour. They hadn’t even opened the doors yet! They got a big kick out of that one.

THE SCOWL: TOM ANDREWS

Just look at this scowling face!

It’s tempting to say this is a face only a mother could love. But actually, during a large part of Tom Andrews’ career, it was a face wrestling fans never saw.

Tom Andrews had his greatest success in the ring as a masked man. He had a legendary run as one-half of the famed Interns tag team, which was managed by the great Dr. Ken Ramey. The team worked on top in numerous territories over several years and had tremendous success, but it wasn’t Tom’s only memorable run under a hood. There was another team, the Medics, where Tom also made his mark wreaking havoc throughout the wrestling world and winning many titles. As a singles talent, Tom won the Pacific Northwest title for promoter Don Owen while wrestling as yet another masked heel, The Claw. In that guise, he had a feud with Moondog Mayne that fans in the Northwest remember even today.

Tom has been involved with the Cauliflower Alley Club for many years and was honored by the club in 2003. In recent times, he’s been a standout amateur wrestling coach for kids and has led to his teams to championship seasons on several occassions.

AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF MIKE MIZURKI

by J.J. Dillon

When I first started to follow professional wrestling as a fan, I was 15 years old. Back then, you could mail order 8x10 black and white publicity photos of wrestlers from a company called TV Sports, which I think was linked to one or more of the wrestling magazines of that era. Many of the poses you received appeared in the magazines at that time. I would carry my photos with me when I attended matches and would try to get my pictures autographed by the various wrestlers. It was before Sharpie pens of course, so most of my photos were signed in blue ballpoint pen. I had Argentina Rocca, the Graham Brothers, Mark Lewin & Don Curtis, Haystacks Calhoun, Bobo Brazil, The Kangaroos with Wild Red Berry, etc. And I even had one signed by Gorgeous George, who I ran into on a train returning to Trenton (where I lived) following a show in Philly and I guess George was going to NYC. All my autographs were obtained in person.

Over the years I had two albums filled with signed photos that were in plastic sleeve inserts. They were stored in a foot locker for many years. At one point a bottle of cooking oil spilled into the storage locker and some of the photos were stain damaged.

I moved to Delaware in 2003, and decided that I had to clear out some of the things I had stored and hauled around for years. I decided to sell my old photos. I did an autograph show in Carteret, NJ, probably in 2004. I took my collection with me. J.J. Dillon (photo by Scott Romer) A couple fans picked out individual photos, but one guy came along and bought nearly the entire collection. I didn't even have his name or contact information.

I came to regret parting with two of the photos. One was the Gorgeous George shot, and the other was of the late Iron Mike Mazurki. I parted with the Mazurki photo only after I became a lifetime member of CAC in 2006 and learned the history of Mike Mazurki.

I met Mike Mazurki one time. I don't recall the date or the year (it was probably between 1958 and 1960). He was never on TV at the time and I have no idea why he was on the East Coast. I saw him at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ. I remember that he stepped out of the dressing room for a few minutes to watch the matches. I approached him and he signed my photo. It is signed "To Jimmy, Good Luck, Mike Mazurki.” His was one of the photos that ended up with a stain on it from the spilled cooking oil.

Since coming to the CAC, I often wondered whatever happened to my Mazurki signed photo.

Well, recently I was in Amsterdam, New York for the PWHF Induction Weekend. Longtime CAC member Scott Teal, who helped me write my book “Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls,” introduced me as I was inducted into the Hall as part of the Class of 2013. We had a table at a small memorabilia room in the hotel. Directly across from our table was a dealer named Bud Carson. At least, I thought that was his name, as far as I could recall. He had some beautiful framed pieces. I happened to mention my old collection, and this guy Bud told me he’s CAC co-founder Mike Mazurki, a photo of friends with the guy that bought the bulk of my collection way whom J.J. Dillon found, five decades later back when. I mentioned the Mazurki photo, and the guy told me that his frie nd was just now listing individual photos on eBay and that the Mazurki photo was one of about fifteen listed. Scott Teal had his laptop and we tried

to find the listing on eBay, but with no success. I got home late Sunday night and there was an e-mail from another friend of Bud Carson. In this email was the link to the photo. I went on eBay and there were a bunch of my old pictures. He had Buddy Rogers, Wild Red Berry, etc.

And the last photo in his listing was…..the Mazurki photo.

It was listed for at a starting bid of $99.99 with no bids on it, and just under two days remaining on the listing. Up to this point all I had was the name Tennessee Jedd, which was his eBay name. If you have a question, you can e-mail a seller through eBay. At the bottom of each listing in the description he had put that the photos were part of the personal collection of J. J. Dillon from the 50's and he put “(Jim Morrison)”, my real name, in brackets. So, I e-mailed a simple "Please call me" message, included my number and I signed it “Jim Morrison.”

The next day I got a call. The seller’s name was Michael Elliott, and he lives in New Tripoli, PA. He told me that the guy at the New Jersey show picked out some individual photos and Gorgeous George was one of them. He told me he has kids in college and the tuition is adding up, which is why he decided now to try and sell the collection. I told him that I didn't want to spend $100 to get the Mazurki picture back, but if the listing expired without any bid to call me and see if we could work out a better price. He then told me that he was a big fan and had watched me as far back as Amarillo when I was still working as “Jim Dillon.” Then he said to me that he was a lifetime member of the CAC, but hadn't been to a reunion in five years. He also had my signed book. Then he told me that because of all the years of entertainment I had given him, he wanted to give me the photo as a gift. I told him that to show my appreciation, I would send him signed copies of my current publicity pictures including two with the Horsemen. He said he appreciated the gesture on my part.

I now have the signed Mike Mazurki photograph in hand. What are the odds that I would have ever had this photo in the first place? What are the odds that I would’ve been able to meet Iron Mike Mazurki only that one time, and manage to get that photo signed by him, a few years before he ever started the CAC? Then there’s the fact that I saved that signed photo for over forty years, only to sell it, and I had no real idea who the buyer was. What are the chances that in Amsterdam, NY I would happen to mention my collection to someone that personally knew the guy who bought it, and to have him tell me that it was currently listed on eBay for sale? And then to have the guy call me, and it turns out he’s a CAC member, plus he’s kind enough to give the photo back to me as a gift after all these years.

Over fifty years down the road, I once again

This is the signed photo of Mike Muzurki that J.J. Dillon owned have that one photo that was signed to me as a teen, then got it back decades later (photo by J.J. Dillon) by Iron Mike Mazurki, the founder of the Cauliflowe r Alley Club. I often talk about having a storybook career and how fortunate I have been. You could not make up a story like this one. I shared the story with Karl Lauer. Karl found the guy in the CAC directory and personally called him to thank him for giving the photo back to me, and expressing his hope that this guy would come back for our 50th Reunion.

I think this is a such great story because of how it unfolded over a period of 50 years. I’m going to get the photo professionally framed and hang it on my wall next to my CAC Lifetime Membership certificate. J.J. Dillon is one of the great wrestling personalities of all-time, having been a star wrestler and later a superstar manager, managing the legendary Four Horsemen. He is a lifetime member of the Cauliflower Alley Club.

DESTROYER HITS HOLE-IN-ONE WITH GOLF PARK

By Dan Murphy

Dick Beyer has made a career out of exceeding expectations, from captaining the 1952-1953 Syracuse Orangemen to their first Orange Bowl appearance to drawing more than 70 million television viewers for his epic clash with Rikidozan in 1963. On the surface, his latest endeavor may sound equally implausible: introducing America to park golf, a game popularized in Japan which combines elements of traditional golf with croquet.

With the help of his daughter Kris and her husband Chris Jones, The Destroyer has succeeded once again, establishing the first official park golf course in the United States, right next door to his home in Akron, New York. The aptly-named Destroyer Park Golf officially opened on June 22, 2013. The 18-hole course was inspected and certified by Japan’s NIPPON Park Golf Association.

Developed in Japan in 1983, park golf is a more relaxed game than traditional golf. Only one club is used throughout the entire game; the same club used for driving is also used for putting. The ball is about the same size as a billiard ball. The holes are eight inches in diameter. The longest hole is just 104 yards, and a full round of 18 holes can be played in about two hours. Players of all ages and experience levels

The Destroyer, his daughter Kris and her husband can enjoy the game. Chris in front of Destroyer Golf Park in Akron, NY (photo by Dan Murphy)

But that doesn’t mean that things can’t get competitive.

On September 28, more than 20 competitors (myself included) took part in the inaugural Destroyer Park Golf Open tournament. The event attracted duffers of all ages, from pre-teens to senior citizens, on an unseasonably warm and sunny autumn day in Western New York. As the golfers played two 18-hole rounds, The Destroyer wheeled around the course on a golf cart, dispensing equal parts advice and trash-talk.

“Hey Coach, I could really use some advice on this putt,” one golfer (a former swimmer under Beyer’s tutelage at the Akron Central School District) called out.

“I recommend you put it in the hole,” Beyer helpfully responded, in his gruff, unmistakable inflection.

“Great shot,” The Destroyer chirped as my ball

careened over the green and 15 meters past the

Dan Murphy, posing with the Destroyer

hole. “Well, really not a good shot for this hole, I mean, but maybe on another hole, you know, it would have been a great shot.”

Beyer has been a fixture at the course that bears his name, greeting golfers and chatting with them about golf, wrestling and anything else under the sun.

In addition to the 18-hole course, destroyer Park Golf features a museum and gift shop. Classic photos of The Destroyer and Dr. X adorn the walls, along with title belts and framed articles on Beyer and

his daughter Kris, once a standout swimmer at Syracuse University. Tee shirts and copies of Beyer’s biography, “Masked Decisions: The Triangular Life of Dick ‘The Destroyer’ Beyer,” are available for sale. For wrestling fans, a walk through the Destroyer museum is a must.

According to Kris, there are more than 1,300 park golf courses in Japan, and the sport has spread to eight countries, with the U.S. being the most recent.

It took two years to construct the course in Akron. With its opening season in the books, Destroyer Park Golf has built up a sizeable following, including “regulars” who frequently visit the course and continuously set course records for lowest scores as they adapt to the nuances of the surprisingly hard-to-read course (built and maintained by Dick’s son-in-law Chris).

Having played the course four times now, I can personally attest to the fun and challenges park golf presents. While I didn’t win the Destroyer Park Golf Open (that honor went to Phil Kosobucki, who

A sampling of some of the incredible wrestling memorabilia on just missed out on setting a new course display in the museum at Destroyer Golf Park (pic by Dan Murphy) record by bogeying on the final hole), I DID win an award for “M ost Likely to Improve Next Time” (otherwise known as the “Wow, You’re Terrible Award.”) But practice makes perfect, and I’ll definitely be back to challenge for the trophy next year.

For more information on Destroyer Park Golf, please visit www.destroyerparkgolf.com. There, you can find a host of great resources, including a primer on the history of Park Golf, articles on how the game is played, more photos and info about the Destroyer himself.

Dan Murphy has been a CAC member since 2010 and is a Senior Writer for Pro Wrestling Illustrated He shares his home with his wife, two rescued cats, two rescued ferrets and a golden retriever

TAKE A LISTEN TO THE CAC RADIO PROGRAM

CAC Radio has now been on the air for nearly three years! CAC Radio is the official radio program of the Cauliflower Alley Club, and like the CAC itself, the radio show pays homage to various notables involved with wrestling, boxing and the silver screen. Each episode of CAC Radio highlights important information about the club, including membership updates, reunion details and awards nominees, as well as featuring a special guest interview. In the first year of CAC Radio, many big names such as J.J. Dillon, Dan Haggerty, “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant, Brian Blair, Rock Riddle the late Paul Bearer and many more have appeared.

CAC Radio is hosted by actor/producer David Buckler, a veteran of the Washington, DC film scene, and CAC Executive Director Morgan Dollar, who has been honored by the Gulf Coast Wrestlers Reunion with the Speedy Hatfield Referee of the Year award. David has over ten years of communications training and media experience, while Morgan, a CAC board member since 2006, is also the banquet coordinator for the CAC Reunion held in Las Vegas each year.

Go to the CAC website for more about CAC Radio, and hear the shows at www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/category/radio. The site contains all past episodes, so you can catch up on any you may have missed. To hear inside stories from some of the greatest stars in wrestling history, listen to CAC Radio!

WHETHER HE’S A “MAD DOG” OR A “PUPPY DOG,” FRED PELOQUIN HAD A HECK OF A CAREER IN THE RING

By Greg Oliver

Looking like Mad Dog Vachon—short, stocky, bald, bearded and hairy—was both a blessing and a curse for Fred Peloquin. In the early days of his career around Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he was “Mad Dog” Freddy, and a budding star for Tony Condello's West Four Matchmakers promotion around town. But when he started making the nine-hour drive to Minneapolis to work as enhancement talent for the AWA, he found himself downgraded to “Puppy Dog” Peloquin. The name stuck.

At age 29, Peloquin was late to the wrestling business. Born November 1, 1939 in St. Boniface, Manitoba, he grew up working on a dairy farm, milking 60 cows twice a day, seven days a week. He was a wrestling fan, and would regularly trek to the matches at the Madison Club in town. He was good friends with “Bulldog” Bob Brown, another Winnipegger. The Madison Club was a hotbed for semi-pro action, and a number of names graduated from there to the international circuit, like Bill Dromo, Gordon Nelson and Moose Morowski.

In 1968, Condello advertised that he was opening a wrestling school. “That really got my attention. That was what all my dreams were, to become a professional wrestler,” said Peloquin, who was working small spot shows within a year. Soon he was working regularly

An imposing-looking Fred Peloquin sports the around Manitoba, and quit his job as a welder to open a West Four Matchmakers belt in Winnipeg, 1973 home renovation business that would better (photo courtesy of Greg Oliver) accommodate his in-ring schedule. “I was losing my day job be cause I was missing too much time,” he said. “Having my own business, I could control my time.”

Though working in the AWA changed his name and, to some degree, his ability to headline in Winnipeg, Peloquin gained fame from the TV tapings that saw him lose weekly. “Even today, people recognize me, the older generation,” he said. “A lot of them say I'm the pride of the Winnipeg wrestling game. They ask me, 'Are you that Puppy Dog from TV that would take a beating and then come back?'”

A car-load of wrestlers would leave Winnipeg late on a Friday night and drive overnight to Minneapolis. Names like Bobby Jones, Scotty Campbell, Crybaby Wilf Caron, Hank Meadows, Ivan Crankovic, Kerry Brown and Buddy Lane would make the trek. Besides the challenges of the weather and just keeping the car running, there was the international border to contend with.

"Sometimes the border would give us trouble,” Peloquin said. “That was the problem with Verne Gagne, he didn’t want to get us working visas, so we had to smuggle ourselves in over the border."

Peloquin got to participate on many tours of remote northern Manitoba, where the wrestlers would fly into small communities in the summer and drive the perilous frozen roads in the winter. “If you survived those things, nothing else mattered. They were rough trips,” Peloquin said.

“French Mad Dog” retired for good in 1994, his body telling him it was time. In 2001, he sold his home renovation business. He and his wife raised three boys and one girl. When his daughter would tell a suitor “My dad's a pro wrestler,” Peloquin said it made an impact. “So her boyfriends were really, really good to her,” he laughed. “The boys, they were just proud of their father being a pro wrestler back then. People were proud to have a friend who knew Puppy Dog Peloquin”

Greg Oliver is the author of several books, including the excellent “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons,” co-written by Steven Johnson and Mike Mooneyham, with a foreward by J.J. Dillon. Get it on Amazon.com.

(

FRED PELOQUIN REMEMBERS

By Fred Peloquin

Editor’s Note: As noted in Greg Oliver’s feature on the previous page, Canada’s Fred Peloquin spent a quarter-century in wrestling, headlining around the province of Manitoba before going on to fame as enhancement talent in the old AWA. A longtime CAC member, he was kind enough to share a few memories of his time in the ring for this issue of The Ear, for which this publication is very grateful).

I was trained by Tony Condello, who wrestled and promoted, but he also trained wrestlers around Winnipeg. At first he told me, “Fred, this isn’t going to work. You have two left feet. You can’t dance with us up in that ring.” But I told him no, I’m going to become a wrestler. It was my goal, it was my dream. I was disappointed when Tony turned me away, but a few months later I went back and asked him for another chance. Well, this time I made it. He trained me for six months, three times a week. Every day I’d be black and blue, he really worked me hard. But I wanted to be a wrestler so bad, and eventually I made it. My first match was in Winnipeg against another one of Tony’s students named Scotty Campbell. We had a good match except for one thing: I don’t even know how it happened, but he broke his ankle that night. How’s that for your first match, breaking your ankle to start your career! But Tony was happy with us, because we had a good match.

Tony had a lot of rookies that he trained who would work the Winnipeg circuit, but a few old-timers would come in and work too. A lot of times, Stu Hart’s boys would come in from Calgary to work for us. We had Bret and Owen Hart come through. There were others too. One time, Bill Cody came in. He was a veteran who was very well-established working in Calgary. He started looking at my ears. He said, “Hey rookie, how come you don’t have cauliflower ears?” I said, “What’s that?” He told me, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll show you in our match tonight.” That night, I remember he hit me so hard in the ear that it puffed up really bad. I had to go to the doctor to get it drained. Later, after I gained a little knowledge and experience, we crossed paths again. I gave him two cauliflower ears that night. I got a little revenge on him!

When I first started going to Minneapolis for the AWA TV shows, my first match was with Joe LeDuc. He was a big, solid lumberjack type of guy from Montreal. I was still a rookie. When I found out I was going to be wrestling Joe LeDuc, I started sweating. He was a big boy, Fred Peloquin, viewing some photos and striking a pose and mean. He would really pound you. But I at this past April’s reunion (photo by wrealano@aol.com) figured I needed to learn, so I just got in there with him and I took the punishment because I wanted to make it in wrestling so bad! He was a true believer in laying it into you. He wanted it to look good. When he dropped you, he would really drop you. Thankfully, the match only went seven minutes. But with LeDuc, that was enough. He would make the fans believers, and every match you had with him was a real battle.

Throughout almost my entire career in wrestling, I also had a full-time job running my own home renovation business. I would work with my business during the day, and in the evenings I started running the local wrestling school in Winnipeg with Tony Condello. We had a lot of guys come through that school. We trained Roddy Piper and also Ron Ritchie, to name a couple. Then we’d work a lot of nights, and also weekends. It was a very busy time. Later, Edge and Christian came out from Toronto to work tours with us, to gain experience early in their careers, and they were able to go on to be huge stars with WWE.

I was 53 when my body told me it was time to retire from the ring. I have a few injuries. I had both shoulders operated on. My knees are finished. If I sit down too long, they cramp up on me. If I stand too long, they hurt. But I’m doing pretty good on the whole, because I sleep fine. I still go to the gym and I try to run three times a week. The doctor says I should exercise, and it really helps me a lot. I’m completely retired from home renovation now, and just enjoying life.

PASSAGES

Compiled by Bob Leonard

In this issue, sadly, we say goodbye to 19 of the boys who traveled the roads with us and made their mark, however big or small, on the business. For more on those below (and for bios of all those who have passed from the wrestling fraternity going back to 2005), you can find detailed obituaries on the CAC website, www.caulifloweralleyclub.org, under 2013 Finishes (RIP) on the home page.

Frenchy Bernard

September 16, 2013

Age 77

Mini L.A. Park

Vic Coleman

August 2, 2013

Age 93

Big Joe LaCreta (Simon Tapia)

June 30, 2013

September 16, 2013 Cancer

Heart Attack

Age 25

“Hardbody” Calvin Knapp Rasputin II

October 20, 2013 (John Howard)

Age 43

August 19, 2013

Age 70

Gene Lewis “The Lawman” Don Slatton (Gene Petit) (Donald Stewart Slatton)

September 29, 2013

Age 63

Angelo Savoldi

August 23, 2013

Age 78

Dennis Hall (Mario Louis Fornini Sr.)

September 20, 2013

Age 99

Cosmic Commander (manager)

October 20, 2013

Age 76

Silent George Hubert (Howard Saunders) (George L. Hubert)

August 18, 2013

Age 51

Paul Duval

August 22, 2013

Age 86

Jimmy Redding (Harry Duvall) (William James McLeod)

September 7, 2013

Age 76

March 8, 2013

Also passing away since the last “Passages” column……

Red Rhymer (Ralph Rymer), June 1, 2013, age 64

‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Marty Gibson (Marty Doyle), age 53

Jeffrey James, September 28, 2013, age 43

T. John Thibodeaux (Michael Richard), age 64

Charles “The Natural” Hairston, Aug 10, 2013, age 52

EDITOR’S NOTES: Frenchy Bernard is probably best known as one of Andre the Giant’s handlers who would travel with Andre on his often hectic schedule to help make sure the Giant made all his ring dates. The two became close friends, and after Andre died, it was Bernard who scattered his ashes on Andre’s North Carolina ranch. Vic Coleman was a star in Europe during the 40’s and 50’s and once held the old British Empire middleweight crown. Do not confuse Simon Tapia, aka Mini L.A. Park, with the numerous other minis who have done the mini La Parka gimmick, including several who have used the name “La Parkita.” Calvin Knapp had a stint in the old Texas-based Global Wrestling Federation. Gene Lewis wrestled for years as the faux “brother” of amateur standout Dale Lewis and later gained some fame during the WWF expansion years in the 1980’s doing a Hillbilly gimmick as “Cousin Luke,” in a group that also spawned the hillbilly personas of Hillbilly Jim (James Morris) and the late Uncle Elmer (Stan Frazier).

Another faux “brother” was Angelo Savoldi, who worked as the brother of Joe Savoldi as far back as the 1930’s, although the two were not really related. Angelo had several sons in the business with whom he partnered to run International Championship Wrestling, an indie league that got some play on various cable systems in the late 80’s. Dennis Hall was a star throughout the South for years, often teaming with Ken Lucas, Les Thatcher and/or Roger Kirby (Thatcher talks about Dennis Hall in his CAC interview in the last issue of The Ear). T. John Thibodeaux was an extremely large Cajun man who emulated Haystack Calhoun in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

DON SLATTON RIB: In hearing of the passing of Don Slatton, who was not only a talented worker but also promoted the town of Abilene, Texas for the Funks (whose promotion was based in Amarillo), the Editor is reminded of one of his favorite rib stories, which originally came from Dory Funk Jr. One time, Jerry Kozak, another wrestler/promoter who worked for the Funks, somehow convinced Slatton to go hunting with him, even though Slatton had never had any interest in hunting and knew nothing about it. In a pre-planned rib, Kozak took Slatton to a spot where he had secretly propped up a deer that had already been dead for so long that rigor mortis had begun to set in. After pointing out the dead deer, Kozak implored Slatton to shoot it, since Slatton, not knowing any better, thought it was still alive! Slatton shot it once. And twice. And three, four and five times. He could not understand why the deer wouldn’t go down. Kozak actually had Slatton re-load, crawl closer to the deer and keep shooting it again and again. It was only after his shot count got into the double digits that Slatton realized he was shooting a deer that was already deceased. As the story goes, Slatton begged Kozak not to tell the boys. Of course, all the boys heard the story within hours. Here’s to you, Don Slatton!

REMEMBRANCES OF REUNIONS PAST

Steele, Drasin, Einhorn and Swayze at the 2004 CAC reunion

Here’s a cool photo, as usual contributed by Mike Lano, showing a scene that I believe is from the 2004 Cauliflower Alley Club reunion.

You probably recognize the folks in this picture, but from left to right, we’ve got the legendary, turnbuckle-eating, green-tongued 70’s/80’s WWF star George “The Animal” Steele, longtime manager and historian of the Sheik’s old Detroit territory Dave Drasin, former owner of the 1970’s outlaw group the IWA and still co-owner of the Chicago White Sox Eddie Einhorn, and longtime manager/wrestler Beautiful Bruce Swayze (who himself once worked for Einhorn’s IWA).

Seeing pics like this only makes the Editor (photo by wrealano@aol.com) look forward even more to the next reunion.

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