This Week’s Flashsback Highlights: The Mid-South Coliseum
If you’ve ever been in Memphis during the last week of Sept, you probably know that this is the time of year they hold the Mid-South Fair. The Fair has been around for over 150 years and for many decades has been located at the fairgrounds, which also contains Liberty Bowl Stadium and more importantly to me, the Mid-South Coliseum.
Over the years, Memphis Wrestling had a hot and cold relationship with the Mid-South Fair. Some years wrestling had their cards at the Coliseum and held it in unison with Fair. Other years, for whatever reasons, wrestling was moved to the Cook Convention Center downtown.
One of the most memorable wrestling events that happened at the Mid-South Fair didn’t even happen in a wrestling ring. Way back in Sept 1959, the legendary Sputnik Monroe had a few too many to drink on a Sunday afternoon and started to give some of the rodeo cowboys some grief. One of the cowboys, Ray Marley took offense and knocked the drunk wrestler out. Monroe ended up with a large cut under his blackened, left eye, a sore jaw and a visit to the hospital. When the doctor asked him what happened, Sputnik quickly told him a Brahma bull had kicked him. Memphis promoter Buddy Fuller quickly tried to do damage control and offered Marley $1500 to wrestle Sputnik in a rematch in the ring. The cowpoke turned the offer down and nothing more came of it.
In the late 1970s through the 1980’s, if it was Monday night in Memphis, there was wrestling at the Coliseum. You counted on it. If you missed the Saturday morning show on Channel 5, you checked with your friends, (or looked up the card in the Sunday newspaper’s sports section), to see who was fighting.
Being lucky enough to grow up during these “glory days”, the Mid-South Coliseum was considered hallowed ground. As my buddy Scott Bowden has mentioned before, there was no NFL, MLB or NBA sports team to cheer for in Memphis. We did have Jerry Lawler and his field was the Mid-South Coliseum.
Even though the Coliseum was opened in 1964, it didn’t become the home to weekly wrestling until June 07, 1971 (image below).
Over the years, there were so many great cards and matches held there, it would take pages to list them all. Besides Jerry Lawler, some of the names that run through my mind include: Jackie Fargo, Lance Russell, Tojo Yamamoto, Al and Don Greene, Jerry Jarrett, Bill Dundee, Dutch Mantell, Jimmy Hart, Sam Bass, Jimmy Valiant, Eddie Marlin, Tommy and Eddie Gilbert, Tommy Rich, Plowboy Frazier, Sputnik Monroe, Terry Funk, Harley Race, Nick Bockwinkel, Jack Brisco, Joe LeDuc, Buddy Landell, the Mongolian Stomper, Ricky and Robert Gibson, Ricky and Paul Morton, Jerry Calhoun, Andy Kaufman, Koko Ware, Phil Hickerson, Dennis Condrey, Jim Cornette and so many more.
I took the above pictures while at the Mid-South fair this week. This is the last year it will be held at the Fairgrounds. Sadly, I expect the Mid-South Coliseum to be gone this time next year. Memphis Mayor, Willie Herenton has little use for both the Coliseum and the fairgrounds, (and can’t wait to sell the land off. )
Classic “Memphis Wrestling” has been gone for many years. Whenever I see the Coliseum, I immediately remember all those great matches of the past. When the day finally arrives and the Coliseum is no longer around, it will be a very sad day indeed.
----Mark James is the author of “Memphis Wrestling History – Cards, Matches, Results, Newspaper Clippings” Vol 1 and "Vol 2: The Programs 1972 - 1976" James also is the webmaster to the BEST Memphis Wrestling site in the area – memphiswrestlinghistory.com - Click on his site and order his books!!
