- Peter Staniforth

I’m absolutely thrilled to have this interview, and it’s one of those occasions where I’m going to keep my input to a respectful minimum; and let the man in question do all the talking. I remember when I first saw pictures of him, and I remember when I first saw him wrestle; still to this day. This man is truly a class act, and professional wrestling could dearly use more like him today. With a past and present that is truly both fascinating and inspiring, I proudly bring to you; an interview with a man who to me personifies the term ‘legend’ – D.C. Drake. 

PETER : Thank you for this interview, and the time taken to do it. Can I start by asking you about your childhood? 

D.C. : I was born and raised in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. At the age of 8 years old, I was diagnosed with ulcer disease that eventually led to bleeding ulcers in my adolescence. This disease kept my weight very low and led to a number of other illnesses.  Despite being sickly as a child, I was still able to participate in amateur wrestling and played American Legion baseball. It was my dream as a youth to play professional baseball, however as I moved into high school, my father suffered a serious back injury in his workplace leading to many years of surgery and disability for him. Being the oldest child of four, I felt a responsibility to go to work and help to contribute to the family income. Throughout high school, I worked 40 hour weeks at a gas station in an attempt to do my part in keeping our family stable. These work hours put an end to any thoughts of organized high school team sports which led me into the gym and working out with weights to get my ‘athletic fix’. Throughout all of this, I remained a huge fan of professional wrestling, especially enjoying the matches televised on Channel 29 from Philadelphia that featured Florida Championship Wrestling and Gordon Solie. 

PETER : These must have been difficult times. I find wrestling is a wonderful release in times such as these. So, how did life progress from here? 

D.C : After graduating high school, I went to college; initially as a criminal justice major. This led to my employment with the New Jersey Department of Corrections where I stayed for nearly 10 years. During this time, I had a continued fascination with pro wrestling, continued to work out, and also enrolled in a wrestling training school in Jersey City; New Jersey. Educationally, I completed college; switching from criminal justice to psychology and mental health major and went on to get my graduate degree in counseling psychology and eventually licensed as a certified addictions counselor. Because my enthrallment with professional wrestling never waned, I started the Continental Wrestling Alliance in the Lehigh Valley in the early 1980’s; securing Twin County Cable as our television outlet. I used money I earned in a part time job to help fund this effort, which eventually became financially overwhelming. Bob Raskin, a New Jersey promoter approached me and offered to take over the financial and administrative operations of the organization and I was more than happy to relinquish this responsibility. I then moved into the booker role and concentrated on the television production. The CWA later became the National Wrestling Federation. In the mid 1980’s, Raskin brought in an entertainment booking agency out of Philadelphia to do the promotions and selling of NWF shows. At this point, the NWF began to grow. 

PETER : Which must have been exciting, to watch the promotion grow and become larger.