Title changes and controversies during January-March 1967 

March 8

·        Jackie Fargo & Len Rossi capture the World tag titles in a Nashville match against Tojo Yamamoto & Professor Ito.

March 16

·        Following a Chattanooga match between champions Jackie Fargo & Len Rossi and The Masked Blue Infernos, the World tag titles are held up.

March 23

·        The Masked Blue Infernos win the held-up World tag titles in Chattanooga by defeating Jackie Fargo & Gene Dundee. Dundee was a substitute for Len Rossi.

Spotlight on Area Cards January-March 1967

Memphis, January 9

·        Tojo Yamamoto & Professor Ito (World tag champions) vs. Lou Thesz & Jackie Fargo

·        Nine man blindfold battle royal featuring Don Greene, Al Greene, Herb Welch, Young Anaya, Saul Weingeroff, The Masked Blue Inferno I, Billy Wicks, Ray Lopez, Bill Sky

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Saturday, February 4

·        Corsica Joe & Chin Lee (Southern tag champions) over Chuck & Rip:  The Scufflin' Hillbillies managed by Cousin Alford

·        Nine man 'rassle royal featuring (advertised): Tojo Yamamoto, Rocket Monroe, Eric Von Brauner, Cousin Alford (substitute for Jackie Fargo), Al Greene, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gee (substitute for Ray Lopez), Don Kent, Jim Osborne.  Winner:  Don Kent

·        Matches paired according to 'rassle royal elimination: Cousin Alford (substitute for Jackie Fargo) over Eric Von Brauner

·        Jim Osborne over Rocket Monroe

·        Tojo Yamamoto over Bobby Whitlock

·        Al Greene drew with Jim Gee (substitute for Ray Lopez)

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Thursday, March 23

·        World tag title tournament featuring Jackie Fargo & Len Rossi, The Masked Blue Infernos, Don Kent & Jim Osborne and Corsica Joe & Chin Lee

·        Tournament match 1: Corsica Joe & Chin Lee over Jackie Fargo & Gene Dundee (substitute for Len Rossi)-Joe & Lee advance, Fargo & Dundee eliminated

·        Tournament match 2: The Masked Blue Infernos over Corsica Joe & Chin Lee-Infernos advance to finals, Joe & Lee eliminated

·        Final:  The Masked Blue Infernos over Don Kent & Jim Osborne to win the World tag titles

·        Tojo Yamamoto over Steve Kovacs

·        The Great Yamaha drew with Battleship Johnson

April-June 1967 

The Blue Infernos swapped the World tag titles with Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines several times during this time period. Len Rossi worked some cards billed as Southern Junior Heavyweight champion around this time also. The Southern tag titles reappeared by June with Rip Tyler & Tim Tyler wearing the belts. The Tylers would drop the tag titles to Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines during June. 

In the area during the second quarter of 1967 were such stars as Tojo Yamamoto, The Great Yamaha, Jackie Fargo, Corsica Joe, Chin Lee, Don Kent, Jim Osborne, Joe Vega, The Ozark Mountaineer, NWA champion Gene Kiniski, Eric Von Brauner, Rowdy Red Roberts, Bob Hamby, Ed (Hoss) Younger, Billy Garrett, Bill Sky & Joe Sky, Mario Galento, Treacherous Phillips, Billy Spears, Jack Rico, Lou Thesz, Rocky Cookson, Tamaya Soto, Oki Yamaha (billed as The Great Yamaha's brother), Tom Bradley (billed in some cities as ex-Medic), more. 

Female stars such as Cora Combs, Carmen Monge, Mae Goodner, Sarah Lee (also known as Mrs. Corsica Joe), Diann Lynn, Emma Wright, The Black Venus and others were featured during this time. 

Rip Tyler (real name Dean Vaughn) worked for the promotion during much of 1967. Tyler, a barrelhouse of a competitor, is most well known for his numerous runs in the Gulf Coast region (Mike Norris' excellent articles here at KM highlight this terrific region). Tyler also worked some for Gulas & Welch over the years but also in the Northwest and in Leroy McGuirk's territory. A few years after 1967, Tyler formed a great team with Eddie Sullivan that not only wreaked havoc stateside but was also in Japan. During his stay in the area at this time, Rip most often teamed with Tim Tyler. 

With the area's emphasis on tag team wrestling, a constant stream of tag teams were needed to keep the interest of the fans. While various mix and match combinations were used successfully over the years, tag teams that were composed of family members were also popular. 1967 seemed to be a year when tag teams composed of family members were a real hit in the area. Joe Sky and Bill Sky were billed as brothers and had a long successful run in the area in 1967. In reality, Joe and Bill were half-brothers. Joe worked other territories billed as Joe Turner while Bill worked as Bill Bowman in other territories. Often "brother" or "family" tag teams were not blood-related at all. Another "brother" tag team in the area during 1967 was the combination of Billy Hines and Jimmy Hines. Other "brother" or "family" combos in the area during the year included Oki Yamaha & The Great Yamaha, Ron Dupree & Paul Dupree, Rip Tyler & Tim Tyler and Ron & Don Carson.

Title changes and controversies during April-June 1967

April

·        Len Rossi is recognized as Southern Junior heavyweight champion.

April 27

·        In Chattanooga, Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines win the World tag titles by upending the Masked Blue Infernos.

May 11

·        The Masked Blue Infernos regain the World tag titles from Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines in a Chattanooga rematch.

May 27

·        Chattanooga was the scene again of another World tag title switch as The Hines Boys, Billy & Jimmy, take the belts from the Masked Blue Infernos.

June

·        Rip Tyler & Tim Tyler are recognized as Southern tag champions.

June 12

·        Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines topple Rip Tyler & Tim Tyler in Birmingham to claim the Southern tag titles.

Spotlight on Area Cards April-June 1967

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Thursday, April 13

·        Gene Kiniski (NWA champion) vs. Alex Perez

·        No time limit, no DQ, if Fargo & Rossi do not win they must throw $300 to the crowd:  Jackie Fargo & Len Rossi vs. Tojo Yamamoto & The Great Yamaha

·        Eric Von Brauner vs. Don Kent

·        Chin Lee vs. Jim Osborne

·        Rowdy Red Roberts vs. The Ozark Mountaineer

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Thursday, May 11

·        No DQ, no time limit, titles vs. masks:  Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines (World tag champions) lose titles to The Masked Blue Infernos

·        Alex Perez & Eric Von Brauner (Southern tag champions) lose to Billy Garrett & Bill Sky (advertised as Perez & Von Brauner vs. Billy Garrett & Treacherous Phillips)

·        The Great Yamaha over Billy Garrett (advertised as Yamaha vs. Bill Sky)

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Thursday, June 8

·        Lou Thesz, Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines over The Masked Blue Infernos & Rocky Cookson

·        Bill Sky & Joe Sky over Rip Tyler & Tim Tyler

·        Mario Galento over Joe Vega (substitute for Luis Garcia)

July-September 1967 

Tamaya Soto & The Great Yamaha topple Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines to win the World tag championship. About a month later the team of Ron Carson & Don Carson were working the area billed as World tag champions. How the title went from Soto & Yamaha to the Carsons isn't clear although there is some evidence to suggest Jackie Fargo & Len Rossi may have briefly held the titles also. The Carsons would drop the World tag belts to Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines. 

The Great Yamaha downed Len Rossi to claim the Southern Junior Heavyweight title. Rossi would regain the title but would then lose the strap to Tojo Yamamoto.

Tamaya Soto & The Great Yamaha are recognized as Southern tag champions during this time frame although the lineage of the title at this time is unclear. 

The third quarter of the year saw such stars as Billy Garrett, The Masked Blue Infernos, Steve Kovacs, Luis Garcia, Herb Larsen, Oki Yamaha, Billy Spears, Bill Sky & Joe Sky, , Jimmy Jones, Rowdy Red Roberts, NWA champion Gene Kiniski, Rip & Chuck: The Scufflin' Hillbillies, Johnny Long, Jack Vansky, Bobby Whitlock, Koa Tiki, Corsica Joe, Sputnik Monroe, Sam Steamboat, Don Greene, Al Greene, Treacherous Phillips, Ron Dupree & Paul Dupree, Danny Dusek, Herb Welch, Rip Collins, Rick Miller, Jesse Morales, Bull Montana, Bob Hamby, Jack Vansky, Mack York and others. 

Don & Ron Carson are another set of brothers who worked the area who really weren't brothers. Don was originally from within the territory. The tall blonde with the raspy voice was from Cleveland, Tennessee, a twenty minute drive from Chattanooga and a frequent Friday night stopover for the Gulas-Welch promotion over the years. Carson would have a successful ring career as a wrestler and then as a ringside manager with runs in many territories including Georgia, the Gulf Coast, Knoxville, Southwest and Florida. Carson would shake up the west coast in the late 1960s and into the early 1970s as he first teamed with, and then feuded against, the legendary Freddie Blassie. 

Ron Carson was a raw-boned blonde with good size and agility. Ron Carson would gain most all his ring fame working as Dick Murdoch. Murdoch was the son of famed mat star Frankie Hill Murdoch, a legendary figure in the Amarillo mat scene. In Amarillo, Murdoch would spend time with Dory Funk, Sr.'s sons, Dory, Jr. and Terry. Not long after his stopover in the area, Murdoch would pair elsewhere with another Texan, Dusty Rhodes, to form the rowdy heel combo known as The Texas Outlaws. Murdoch, of course, would have a storied ring career in the U.S. and Japan. His time in the area was the only time Murdoch worked in the area with the exception of occasional WWF and Crockett, and later, WCW cards in the 1980s and 1990s, until he worked a USWA title tournament in the fall of 1990 and then later in the 1990s when he popped in the area and worked for Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling. 

Matt Jewell continued to work the area off and on during 1967. Jewell would become the first African-American wrestler Gulas and Welch would use on a regular basis. Jewell would then be known as Bearcat Brown. Often teaming with Don Carson, who would turn into a fan favorite, and Len Rossi, Jewell helped break the racial barrier that existed in some cities in the area. Prior to this groundbreaking event, most African-American wrestlers were relegated to wrestling other African-American wrestlers. 

Also making his presence known at this time was a young grappler hailing from Marietta, Georgia. Bob Armstrong first worked for Gulas & Welch during this time. It was a foreshadowing of big times ahead as Armstrong would become one of the biggest draws ever in the territory over the next decade.

Title changes and controversies during July-September 1967

July 1

·        Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines lose the World tag titles to Tojo Yamamoto & The Great Yamada in Chattanooga.

August

·        Tamaya Soto & The Great Yamaha are recognized as Southern tag champions.

August 9

·        Don Carson & Ron Carson are recognized as World tag champions.

August 19

·        The Great Yamaha wins the Southern Junior heavyweight title by downing Len Rossi in Chattanooga.

August 31

·        Len Rossi regains the Southern Junior heavyweight title in Chattanooga by whipping the Great Yamaha.

September 14

·        Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines slip past Don Carson & Ron Carson in Chattanooga to gain the World tag titles.

September 19

·        Tojo Yamamoto trips Len Rossi to win the Southern Junior heavyweight title in Chattanooga.

Spotlight on Area Cards July-September 1967

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Thursday, July 27

·        Gene Kiniski (NWA champion) over Steve Kovacs

·        Lumberjack match:  Len Rossi, Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines over Tamaya Soto, The Great Yamaha & Oki Yamaha

·        Don Carson over Luis Garcia

·        Rowdy Red Roberts over Spiro Kontos

Birmingham, AL, August 21

·        Don Carson & Ron Carson over Oki Yamaha & Tamaya Soto

·        The Scufflin' Hillbillies over Mack York & Treach Phillips

·        Herb Larsen drew with Jimmy Hines

Memphis, September 13

·        The Masked Blue Infernos vs. Sputnik Monroe & Sam Steamboat

·        Don Greene & Al Greene vs. Steve Kovacs & Treach Phillips

·        Ron Dupree & Paul Dupree vs. Joe Sky & Bill Sky

October-December 1967 

Motoshi Okuma & Shinya Kojika down Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines to lay claim to the World tag titles. Late in the year, Len Rossi & Tamaya Soto would down Okuma & Kojika to win the titles. 

 The lineage of the Southern Junior Heavyweight championship falls into the shadows after September, 1967 and won't become clear again until 1970. Meantime, the Southern tag title lineage is also unclear during part of 1967. In August, 1967 Tamaya Soto & The Great Yamaha are billed as champions but by October Len Rossi & Tamaya Soto are billed as champions. There is some evidence to support a tag title run by Ron Carson & Don Carson during this time period but that isn't totally clear. 

The fourth and final quarter of 1967 brought the following stars into the area: Herb Larsen, Billy Garrett, Carlos Mendoza, Jesse Morales, Mario Galento, Chief White Eagle, Tarzan White, Joey Corea, Bobby Jones, Eddie Graham, Sam Steamboat, Duke Keomuka, Lester Welch, Alex Perez, Antonio Marino, Luther Lindsay, Matt Jewell, Jackie Fargo, Haystack Calhoun, Crazy Luke Graham, Buddy Fuller, Rip Tyler, Randy Tyler, Frank Martinez, Johnny Long, Young Atlas, Mario Milano, Joe Sky, Jose Morella, Al Greene, The Masked Mighty Yankees and more. 

In a rather unusual move WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino made a handful of appearances in the area at the end of October. Sammartino worked shows in Nashville and Memphis. For a time in 1966, the wrestling business in Nashville was so hot that Gulas-Welch ran two shows weekly for a few months. Appearances by the WWWF champion outside the WWWF were rare in the 1960s and likely show how successful Nashville and Memphis, in particular, were at the time since Sammartino stopped over there. Sammartino's ventures outside the Northeast during his WWWF title reigns added up to include such territories as Florida, Georgia, California and St. Louis. 

Veteran Tuffy Truesdale, who had brought in a wrestling alligator in 1966, returned near the end of 1967. This time around Truesdale brought along an altogether different animal. Truesdale was the keeper of Victor the Wrestling Bear who made some appearances in the territory at this time. 

While wrestling bears were a fixture on many wrestling cards at the time so were unusual characters. While many fans roll their eyes and sigh at the mention of wrestling gimmicks that stretch the limits of believability, professional wrestling has roots in the carnival sideshows, where oddities are at home. Two bizarre characters popped up late in the year for the promotion. The Mummy and Dr. Frank (short for Frankenstein) worked the area for a few weeks. Under the masks at this time were Nick Adams (Dr. Frank) and Eddie Marlin (The Mummy). Adams would later be known as the trainer and keeper of a wrestling bear while Marlin would of course have a great run in the area. It should be noted that at this time, Marlin often worked as a referee in some cities in the area. 

A young competitor passed through the area at this time who was on the verge of major things in the business. Bobby Shane, who would have major runs in the next few years in Georgia, Florida and the Gulf Coast. 

It is also interesting to note that the idea of using masked tag teams continued even late into the year. As the Blue Infernos were unmasked (and revealed to be Frank Martinez and Gypsy Joe of late 1970s Gulas fame) a new masked team appeared on the horizon as The Masked Mighty Yankees strolled into the area.  

Another note of interest related to masked wrestlers in the area is that The Blue Infernos were closely watched by at least one wanna-be wrestler at the time. Jerry Lawler has often cited that the Blue Infernos were one of his favorite tag teams.

Title changes and controversies during October-December 1967 :
 

October

·        Len Rossi & Tamaya Soto win the Southern tag titles in Birmingham by downing Don Carson & Ron Carson.

·        Motoshi Okuma & Shinya Kojima are recognized as World tag champions.

December

·        Tamaya Soto & Len Rossi are recognized as World tag champions after downing Motoshi Oluma & Shinya Kojika in Huntsville, Alabama.

Spotlight on Area Cards October-December 1967

Nashville, Tennessee Fairgrounds Coliseum, October 31

·        Mario Galento over Joe Sky

·        The Mummy over Antonio Marino

·        Luther Lindsay over Matt Jewel

·        Len Rossi over Dr. Frank

·        Jackie Fargo & Haystack Calhoun by DQ over Motushi Okuma & Shinya Kojika-2/3 falls

·        Bruno Sammartino (WWWF champion) over Crazy Luke Graham-13:00

Nashville Fairgrounds Coliseum Tuesday, November 21

·        Motoshi Okuma & Skinya Kojika vs. The Mummy & Dr. Frank

·        Alex Perez & Mario Galento (Tennessee tag champions) vs. Len Rossi & Jackie Fargo

·        Plus two other matches

Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium, Thursday, December 14

·        Texas tornado rules:  Len Rossi & Tamaya Soto over Rip Tyler & Randy Tyler

·        Indian chain strap match:  Billy Garrett over Mario Galento

·        Motoshi Okuma & Shinya Kojika (World tag champions) lost to Mario Milano & Frank Martinez

·        Alex Perez drew with Young Atlas

NEXT MONTH:

1968

Special thanks

Edsel Harrison and David Williamson

Title Histories

Courtesy of Duncan & Will's Wrestling Title Histories