I hope you all enjoyed my first column.   I want to thank everyone for the kind words about my piece... I am not a writer by any means, but maybe I can tell you all more memories that would otherwise be lost!! 

I remember some of the first matches I went to. Dick Murdock was in a match with Karl Kox.  Dick flipped him outside the ring and Karl went flying into me, and several other fans.  He was wailing away and I was just trying to get out of his way. He looked at me, and I KNEW he remembered me, from being at his house...(it had just been about 2 weeks since I was there with dad).  Anyways, after the matches when I was waiting outside for my ride, he came out and said that when he saw me, it startled him.  I thought WOW! I startled Killer Karl Kox! 

Another funny story was when dad and I were at Steve's service station. Dick Murdock was there putting a wrestling poster in the window.  I asked him what they do with them after each week. He said they threw them away.  I did not ask him right then if I could have them, but I did ask Steve.  He said that I had to ask Dick.  Well the next time we were there I got the courage up to ask that "big" man!  He not only gave me the ones from Steve's place but the next week, when I was over there he drove up, and unloaded what I thought was 10,000 posters. It ended up being about 200 to 300... he did this for about a year.  I told him I really only wanted one or maybe two if they were different!  I had a closet FULL of posters. 

Another wrestler I had a brush with was James J. Dillon.  I remember when he first came into the territory. He had that big cigar, vest and cowboy hat.  He and dick Murdock were arch enemies.  One time at the channel 10 studio TV tapings, JJ attacked Dick from behind when he was showing off his newly won International championship.  Boy, did that make me mad!  He hit Dick with the crutch Dick was using to get around.  I told him he was a low life for doing that.  Well, the next week back at Steve's station, I saw Dick there (with no crutch and he was not limping).  The angle was that Dillon had broken his leg and he could not defend the championship.  When I saw Dick had all of sudden been cured, I again thought that this stuff HAD to be made up.  I think in latter years I was one of the first fans who started to cheer for JJ Dillon... don't ask me why but it was just fun going against everyone else. 

I remember when Bobby Jaggers came to town.  He and Dick were the next ones to always be at odds end.  Bobby would wear the cowboy get-up, pink vest and pink hat... that always made Dick mad!  I was soooo into Bobby's character that I made a coat that had his name on the back and sleeves, and I was telling everyone that I was bobby's long lost son.  I don't know if he ever found this out, but it made me feel REAL important.  I would go to the sports arena wearing my idols get-up, and cheer for him.  At that time I soooo much wanted to be a part of the wrestling business, but back then it was so much of a closed door that it never worked out. I think that watching JJ,   Killer Brooks and others that had the cigars, it made me want to do that too.  I started smoking those cigars latter in life.  Those guys were so much of an influence that I would have done just about anything, if it was legal! 

NEXT MONTH:

Next month I will tell you about what Dennis Stamp meant to me, with his matches, and latter in life after he got out of the wrestling business, and about me getting to go into the locker room!