- Mike Norris

Welcome to the latest Kayfabe Memories look at the Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling promotion. This month we will look at the year 1955. The Southern Tag Team Championship is introduced in the area. And the Welch and Fields families continue to dominate.

Before we begin I would like to take the time to express my extreme sadness at the lost of the one and only King of Men, Classy Freddie Blassie. Blassie made many, many appearances in the Gulf Coast area during his long reign as Southern Heavyweight Champion. He was a true legend and will be missed but never, ever forgotten. R.I.P. Freddie, we all loved you.

Now on to our look at the year 1955.

JANUARY:

A tag team tournament to crown Southern Tag Team Champions had been in progress as 1954 ended. The two remaining teams met on the first card of 1955 with the winning team to be declared the champions. These two teams were those of Mario Galento & Rowdy Red Roberts and Herb Welch & Lee Fields.

The match was a wild one with Fields & Welch winning two out of three falls to become the Southern tag team champions. A rematch was scheduled and another wild melee ensued. This match was so wild that a near riot occurred at the Shrine Auditorium. Both teams were disqualified and the match was declared a no contest. Afterwards, Roberts accused Galento of carrying less than his weight and the team split. Roberts took Rube Wright as a partner and they defeated the team of Lee Fields & Buddy Fuller.

Freddie Blassie made an appearance in the area and defended his Southern Heavyweight championship against the strong challenge of King Karl Kowalski.  Freddie beat the powerful Pole two falls out of three to hang onto his title.

Southern Jr. Heavyweight champion Ray Piret also made some appearances. He teamed with Lee Fields to defeat the tough team of King Karl  Kowalski & Rowdy Red Roberts. Piret also made a title defense against the popular Oklahoma cowboy, Lester Welch. Welch had earned the title shot by defeating "Fearless" Al Getz. Welch actually won the match with Piret but not the title. Lester pinned Piret to win the first fall, but the match went to the sixty-minute time limit with neither man able to win another fall.

Therefore, Welch won the match, but not the title since it was ruled that the championship could not change hands in one fall.

FEBRUARY:

Southern heavyweight champion Freddie Blassie made another successful defense in the area by taking on and defeating Rowdy Red Roberts.

Lester Welch and Rube Wright crossed paths in February. Initially they faced off in a tag team match that saw Wright teaming with Karl Kowalski to defeat Welch and Lee Fields. Lester then challenged Wright to a singles match that was fought to a no contest. The rematch saw Welch come out on top by defeating the rough Wright in a two out of three-fall match.

Babe Zaharias, one of the famous Zaharias Brothers "The Crying Greeks from Cripple Creek, appeared in the area in February. He lost to Buddy Fuller in a fantastic match. Babe's real name was Chris Davros and was in fact a nephew of George, Chris & Tom Zaharias (real last name Vetoyanis).

It was announced that Ray Piret had lost the Southern Jr. Heavyweight championship on February 21st in Birmingham to Sonny Myers (Harold Myers).

Lady wrestlers Vicki Lynn and Patty Neff made a swing through the area. Lynn defeated Neff.