He was very popular in his appearances in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and the Mid-West. But with his entrance into the Gulf Coast, with his valet Cherie, Shane had a new attitude. He was now the hated villain that he would be the rest of his career. He defeated Dick Dunn in his debut in the Gulf Coast. However, Kelly managed to successfully defend the Gulf Coast title in their first match. Shane had used his "Japanese Sleeper" hold on Kelly and rendered him unconscious. Shane then refused to wake Kelly up and was disqualified. It took Ken Lucas, another expert with the sleeper, to wake Kelly up.

The new team of the Wrestling Pros made their mark on the area. The original Wrestling Pro had done well as a single since his arrival nearly a year ago, even holding the Gulf Coast title. Now with his new partner, he wanted to make a mark on the tag team scene. They immediately ran afoul of Don Carson by pulling a switch on him during a match between he and the original Pro. Carson enlisted Ken Lucas to combat the two masked men in white. The two teams had several matches with neither team coming out the clear winner.

Another new team was making waves in the area. It was the team comprised of Dandy Jack Morrell and Eddie "the Masked Man" Sullivan. The two had actually been a team in Tennessee in the late sixties. They wore masks and were called The Mighty Yankees. They held Tennessee versions of the Mid-America, Southern and World tag team titles. Now in the Gulf Coast, they took on a manager in Colonel Sam Bass (Fred Bass). They started running up a string of impressive wins with Bass at their side.

Others in the area at the beginning of the year were Don Seranno, Bob Boyer, Greg Peterson, Flash Monroe and referees Speedy Hatfield and Tommy Hatcher.

FEBRUARY:

In order to get another match against Bobby Shane to avenge the sleeper incident, Cowboy Bob Kelly agreed to put up his City of Mobile championship. Again Shane used the sleeper and Lucas had to wake Kelly up. Kelly was so groggy in the third fall that he fell out of the ring and was unable to return. Shane was declared the winner and new Mobile champion. This win by Shane forced Kelly to defend his Gulf Coast title against the "Wonder Boy". This time Kelly figured out away to combat the sleeper. When Shane put him in the hold, Kelly feigned being asleep. When Shane let him go, Kelly jumped to his feet and bulldogged Shane for the win. Shane was so upset over the loss, that he took the Mobile trophy and left the area.

The Wrestling Pros continued their reign of terror. They continued beating Don Carson and various partners. Towards the end of the month they faced off against Bob Kelly and Ken Lucas. Lucas had outlasted the Pros in a battle royal and won $500. The Pros attacked Lucas after the match, and Kelly had come to his aid. They put the money up in a match against the Pros saying that they could beat the masked men in two straight falls within 30 minutes. They failed to do so, so the Pros won the money.

Eddie Sullivan and Dandy Jack Morrell continued their winning ways under the guidance of manager, Colonel Sam Bass. They defeated they impressive team of Ken Lucas and Roberto Soto early in the month.

Young Johnny West continued to improve and move up in the ranks. He also teamed some with Soto.  Rocket and Flash Monroe made one of their short ventures into the area, only to lose to Kelly and Lucas.  Rough Frank Dalton (Gene Stevens) returned to the area after a lengthy absence. He made it hard on his opponents in each match. Others in the area were Don Seranno, Dick Dunn, Greg Peterson and referees Speedy Hatfield, Tommy Hatcher and Lynn Sasser.

MARCH:

Bob Kelly's feud with the Wrestling Pros took an odd twist in March, when his partner Ken Lucas had prior commitments to fill and was unable to team with Kelly. Bob knew that he would need someone as rugged as the Pros, so he asked Mike "Hippie" Boyette to return to the area and be his partner. Boyette, remembering that Kelly had cut his hair his last time in the area, reluctantly agreed. Boyette and Kelly made a surprisingly great team, despite the Pros trying to goad the Hippie into turning on Kelly. The Pros wanted a rematch, but this time it was Kelly who was reluctant. He thought that he got away with teaming with Boyette once without incident, but didn't want to risk it again. Boyette was more than anxious to get his hands on the Pros again, but Kelly kept refusing. Finally the Pros dangled a carrot that he couldn't refuse. The Pro #1 had beaten Kelly for the Gulf Coast title earlier and he offered Kelly a stipulation that if Kelly pinned him during the tag match, he could have the title back and Pro #1 would leave the area. It was all set. It was a rough battle and Boyette stayed a faithful partner to Kelly. They battered both Pros from post to post. However, Kelly was unable to get the pin on Pro #1. As it was Pro #2 lost the fall and was forced to unmask. The man under the mask was reportedly Tim Tyler (but probably not the Tim Tyler (Marvin Hickman) that had wrestled in the area in the sixties).

Bobby Shane had not been heard from since losing to Kelly in early February. He had left the area but took with him the City of Mobile trophy. Shane did not want to return to the Gulf Coast so he sent in Terry Garvin (Terry Joyal) with his manager/brother Jim Garvin (James Williams). What's more, Shane had given the Mobile trophy to Garvin to defend. Promoter Lee Fields, took the title away from Garvin and threatened Shane with suspension if he did not return to the area and defend the trophy against former champion, Cowboy Bob Kelly. Shane did return, but was up to his old tricks and refused to wake Kelly up after putting him out with the Japanese sleeper hold. In the second fall, Shane was disqualified again by referee Ron Wright (not the Tennessee wrestler) for the Garvins' interference. Kelly was declared the winner and new champion without even winning a fall under his own power. Bob wasn't satisfied with getting the Mobile trophy back; he wanted Shane's head. Ken Lucas had fulfilled his commitments and was back, so Kelly asked him to team up against Shane and the Garvins. Kelly and Lucas won the first match between the two teams when Lucas put Shane to sleep while Garvin argued with the referee. The rematch went to Garvin and Shane when they beat Kelly and Lucas in a "Kamikaze" match. In this type match, the wrestler that loses the first fall must return to the dressing room, leaving his partner at the mercy of the other team. Lucas lost the first fall and Shane and Garvin beat Kelly to a bloody pulp. But the problems between these four men were far from solved.

The Wrestling Pro #1 maintained his grip on the Gulf Coast title, but did so by avoiding matches with Cowboy Bob Kelly. He did have some rough matches with Dick Dunn, but managed to get the win.  Johnny West continued to impress with dsqualification wins over Terry Garvin and by beating rugged Frank Dalton by pin fall.  Eddie Sullivan and Dandy Jack Morrell continued their winning ways with several victories over the wily team of Dick Dunn and Greg Peterson.  Others in the area in March were Don Serrano, Francisco Flores, Pepe Gomez, Bob Boyer, Jim Kutsulis, Rocket & Flash Monroe, Don Carson, and referees Speedy Hatfield, Lynn Sasser and Tommy Hatcher.

APRIL:

Bob Kelly and Ken Lucas continued to have their problems with the team of Bobby Shane and Terry Garvin, along with their manager Jim Garvin. Shane also got a new valet, Beauregard, who replaced Miss Cherie. Jim Garvin got a little more than he bargained for in a special challenge match between the two teams. In this match, all four men were in the ring at the same time, no tags needed. Jim got a little too close to the action and was bulldogged and pinned by Bob Kelly, costing his team the match.

The Wrestling Pro defended his Gulf Coast title against Don Carson early in April. It was a rough match that went back and forth before the Pro managed a win.

The second week of April, Lee Fields presented his very first "Spring Wrestling Festival". Fields would continue to hold various Festivals over the next few years with great success. For this Festival, the matches were moved into the Mobile Municipal Auditorium due to the expected crowd response. It proved to be a smart move as 9000 fans packed in to see the Festival. Here's the way the matches went:

.       In a mixed tag match - Darlin' Dagmar & Johnny West defeated Diamond Lil &   Frank Dalton.
.       Another mixed tag match - Greg Peterson & Sharon Joyce won over Oki Shikina & The White Venus (Peggy Patterson)
.       Don Carson & Dick Dunn defeated The Infernos (Rocky & Curtis Smith) w/Mgr. J.C. Dykes.
.       Eddie Sullivan & Dandy Jack Morrell defeated Herb & Lester Welch.
.       The Japanese Rising Suns, The Great Ota & Mr. Koma won over Bearcat Brown (Matt Jewel) & Sonny King.
.       The Fabulous Moolah defeated Marie Dannell in defense of the Ladies' World Championship.
.       Cowboy Bob Kelly, Ken Lucas & Mike "Hippie" Boyette defeated Bobby Shane, Terry Garvin & The Wrestling Pro. The end of          this one came about as the Pro turned on Shane and Garvin, allowing Ken Lucas to pin Shane for the win.

The Rising Suns (Ota & Koma) were the reigning United States Tag Team Champions upon their arrival. The U.S. belts had been in the area in the late sixties, brought in by Jack and Frank Dalton. The U.S. titles would more or less replace the Gulf Coast tag titles for the next couple of years in the Mobile/Pensacola and Mississippi ends of the promotion. The Gulf Coast titles were still defended on the Dothan end. In many cases, the team that held the U.S. belts also held the Gulf Coast belts. This has lead to much confusion concerning the tag team titles in this area. Therefore, I will differentiate between which tag title was being defended throughout my reports. But for the next couple of years, the U.S. belts were the main ones defended.

Shane and Garvin challenged Kelly and Lucas to another "Kamikaze" match. Lucas and Kelly agreed and brought contracts out on television for Shane and Garvin to sign. The blondes were so confident after the way they won the first such match that they didn't read the contract before signing it. After it had been signed, they were informed that instead of Lucas and Kelly they would be facing the Rising Suns, Ota & Koma. During the match, Garvin was eliminated first and had to return to the dressing room. This left Shane at the mercy of the Japanese team. They were giving Shane quite a beating when Garvin came out of the dressing room and interfered in the match. Garvin's actions cost them the match.

Shane and Garvin's problem with the Wrestling Pro weren't over, either. The Pro recruited his old running buddy, the Blue Yankee to face off against the two blonde bullies. The Pro and Yankee were victorious, but not until they had been battered and the Pro bloodied.

Bob Kelly made a successful defense of his City of Mobile trophy against the Great Ota of the Rising Suns. Kelly had also regained the Gulf Coast tile.  Others in the area during the month were Rocket & Flash Monroe, Bob Boyer, and referees Speedy Hatfield, Lynn Sasser and Paul Morton (father of Ricky Morton).

MAY:

Due to prior commitments, the Blue Yankee was unable to stay in the area to help the Wrestling Pro with his continuing feud with Bobby Shane and Terry Garvin. But the Pro was not one to give up easily, so he asked former rival Cowboy Bob Kelly to help. Kelly, who certainly had no love for Shane or Garvin, readily agreed and the match was set. When the night of the match rolled around, Terry Garvin was unable to compete due to an injury the previous night. Shane got a replacement in Eddie "the Masked Man" Sullivan, but promoter Lee Fields would not allow the substitution. Instead, he made Jim Garvin, the teenage manager of the Shane/Garvin team take his brother's place. Shane, in trying to protect his young manager, carried most of the match himself and was badly beaten. Things were going badly for the villains until Sullivan interfered on their behalf. This brought Mike "Hippie" Boyette out to even up the sides. He ended up clamping a "Hippie" hold onto Jim Garvin and injuring the young manager. This injury to Jim, along with Terry's injury led the Garvins to return to Canada, never to return to the Gulf Coast.

 
Shane, now alone, took exception to the fact that Mike Boyette had caused the injury to Jim Garvin. He also felt that the Hippie was a traitor for teaming with people such as Kelly. He challenged Boyette to a match to settle things. Prior to this match, someone else was out to settle things with Shane. On Wednesday night, May 12, 1971 in Mobile, it was announced prior to the introductions of the Shane/Boyette match that the next week's card would include a special match between Shane and promoter Lee Fields. Fields had had enough of Shane's mouth and was coming out of retirement for one match and one match only. That match would be with Shane. Shane was so upset by this announcement that he attacked Boyette before the bell and rendered him unconscious with the sleeper. It took Bob Kelly to come out and revive him, as Shane refused to do so.

Saturday May 15, 1971 - A date that would go in history in the annals of Gulf Coast Wrestling! During a television program, Lee Fields was explaining to announcer Don Griffith that he was turning the promotion duties over to Cowboy Bob Kelly for the upcoming Wednesday night in Mobile. This was because he was coming out of retirement to face Bobby Shane in a one fall to a finish match. During this discussion, Shane came out and interrupted Fields. He started in with his usual insults, not only to Fields, but the fans and the promotion in general. He went on about how he was the "King of Wrestling" and that it was beneath him to wrestle a washed up old man like "Leroy" Fields. Then he slapped Fields and knocked him to the floor, after which he turned back to Griffith and continued his tirade. What he hadn't expected was for Lee Fields to get back up. But he did, and when he did he tore into Shane with a fury that was unequaled. He beat the "Wonder Boy" all over the studio. When Shane regained his senses he began to fight back. The dressing rooms emptied, with all of the wrestlers trying to pull the two men apart. Fields' 12 year old son Ricky even came out and grabbed Shane around the leg and bit him. Finally, order was restored and the show went on. That Wednesday, May 19th the demand was so large for tickets, that the matches were moved to the Municipal Auditorium. The placed was packed. The match itself was a wild one. Lee battered Shane about and bloodied his blonde head. In fact he wasted so much energy beating on Shane that he soon was exhausted. This made him easy prey for the "King of Wrestling". Shane soon had Fields bleeding as well. Shane then slammed Fields and fell on him for the pin. Referee Lynn Sasser counted Lee out and his comeback had ended. Shane had to fight his way back to the dressing room through a throng of angry fans.

On the same evening, Mike "Hippie" Boyette teamed with the Wrestling Pro to defeat the Great Ota & Mr. Koma for the United States tag team titles. But there was a problem. Before the match, the crowd was informed that the Pro would begin serving a six-week suspension the next day. So even though they won the belts, Boyette was left without a partner. But it was decided that Boyette shouldn't be punished by the Pro's suspension, so he was allowed to pick a new partner to defend the titles with. He chose the very capable Ken Lucas. However, the two didn't really gel as a team and they lost the belts back to the Rising Suns. Boyette, unhappy with Lucas' performance as a partner, battered Lucas after the match and put him in his "Hippie" hold. Boyette also punched referee Sasser when he tried to keep Boyette away from Lucas. Boyette's actions did not effect his popularity, though. He continued to hear the cheers of the fans. He and Lucas would eventually patch up their differences.

On Wednesday May 26, a special ceremony was held in Mobile. The current Gulf Coast title belt, which dated back to 1957, was being retired. It was also decided that the retired belt would be presented to the current champion, Cowboy Bob Kelly, to keep. Kelly had had the longest reign of any champion and had made the most defenses, including 156 consecutive defenses at one stretch (this belt can be seen if you go to the Belt Gallery and look under the Southeastern region). Kelly was also presented with a new title belt to defend. Unfortunately, his first defense of the new belt resulted in a loss to the returning Rip Tyler.

The team of Eddie Sullivan and Dandy Jack Morrell came to an end, when Morrell left the area and returned to Tennessee at the end of May. Their last match as a team was a loss to old rivals Don Carson and Dick Dunn.  Others in the area in May were Gentleman Jim, Flash Monroe, Nikita Mulkovich, Greg Peterson, Bob Boyer, Frank Dalton, Johnny West and Carlos Parades.

JUNE:

The crowds in Mobile had grown so large that the Gulf Coast Wrestling promotion abandoned Ft. Whiting and moved permanently to the much larger Municipal Auditorium in June. This move was part of a deal the promotion made with the city to start presenting shows in the Expo Hall, which was under construction adjacent to the Auditorium. It would be over a year before the Hall would be complete, so the matches took place in the 10,000 seat Auditorium.

Ken Lucas, unsuccessful at teaming with Mike Boyette, got a measure of revenge when he and Johnny West teamed to defeat the Rising Suns and win the U.S. tag team titles. This was a bit of a surprise because Lucas and West hadn't been teaming that long and had lost a match to the Japanese team previously. They also won the match by winning two straight falls. This upset Ota & Koma so much that they left the area without getting a rematch. Lucas and West made an immediate defenses of the title against the team of Eddie Sullivan (without a partner since the departure of Dandy Jack Morrell) and newcomer Mark Starr, and the returning Jim and Jack Dalton. They also defeated a new masked team on the scene, the Untouchables. Sullivan, not to be outdone formed a team with Rip Tyler. This is significant because Tyler and Sullivan would go on to form arguably the best team ever to compete in the Gulf Coast. Their partnership would go on to last off and on for the next 16 years. After defeating Bob Kelly and Mike Boyette to become the #1 contenders, S&T managed to defeat Lucas and West for the first of their many U.S. tag title reigns.

Tyler wasn't as lucky on the singles front. He lost the Gulf Coast title back to Cowboy Bob Kelly. Kelly also continued to team with Mike Boyette. After losing to Sullivan and Tyler in a rough match, they bounced back to defeat the Untouchables, leaving the masked team zero for two in their matches.

The sons of long time Gulf Coast favorite Lester Welch, Roy Lee and Jackie, made their debuts in the area.

There were now three Daltons in the area, but there certainly wasn't any family reunions going on. Frank Dalton claimed that Jim and Jack Dalton were impostors. He said that the only Daltons were he and his brothers Jack and Bob, and that there never was a Jim Dalton. And furthermore, this Jack Dalton was not the real Jack Dalton. Actually, the original Dirty Daltons were Jack (Don Kalt) and Jim (Jim Baggis) who began teaming in 1961 in Texas. Jim left the team in 1965. Jack "became" Jack Dillinger and teamed with Kenny Mack (Lawrence McMullen) to form "The Chain Gang". Later on, Jack teamed with Frank (Gene Stevens) and Bob (Johnny Long) to reform the Dirty Daltons, with Mack as their manager. Jim found a new Jack in the form of Randy Colley, and this was the team that was now making life difficult for Frank. Confusing, isn't it. Anyway, since Frank wasn't the most popular guy around he was having difficulty finding a partner to fight his family feud with him. He tried taking them on one at a time, but always ended up on the losing end as both double-teamed him.

Bobby Shane had been conspicuous in his absence since defeating Lee Fields in May. He had been booked to wrestle Dick Dunn, but refused to show up for the match. He informed Lee Fields that it was either main events or nothing for him, so Lee Fields made sure it was nothing.

Others in the area in June were Gentleman Jim, Greg Peterson, Tiny Frazier, and lady wrestlers Toni Rose and Sharon Joy,

JULY:

Eddie Sullivan & Rip Tyler continued to dominate the tag team scene. They made successful U.S. title defenses against Mike Boyette and Bob Kelly early in the month.

The Fabulous Donnie "Nature Boy" Fargo (Don Kalt) made his return to the area after an absence of several years. He defeated popular "Dynamite" Dick Dunn in his first match back. He made his intentions very clear. His goal was to defeat Cowboy Bob Kelly and win the Gulf Coast title.

Tom Drake made a special appearance in the area. Tom was a very popular mat star in the Gulf Coast and other parts of the South in the early sixties. Tom was (and still is) serving as an Alabama State Representative in 1971. He is currently campaigning to become the second former pro wrestler to win a governor seat. He is running for the top office in Alabama.

Newcomer Ken Lusk arrived on the scene. Although he was only here for a short time and had very few wins, Lusk would go on to make his mark in the wrestling world as Ken Mantel, holding the NWA World's Jr. Heavyweight title.

July 14th saw Lee Fields present his "Summer Festival" The card was presented to over 9,000 screaming fans. The following matches were on the card:

.       Jim & Jack Dalton lost via disqualification to Ken Lucas & Frank Dalton
.       Tom Drake defeated Jose "Hurricane" Rivera
.       Johnny West, Jackie & Roy Lee Welch won over the Untouchables & Mark Starr
.       Bobby Fields returned to defeat Marcel Vachon
.       Donnie Fargo easily defeated Ken Lusk
.       Toni Rose & Donna Christantello successfully defended their Ladies' World Tag Team title by defeating the tough team of Lily Thomas & Sandy Parker.

.       Rip Tyler & Eddie Sullivan lost the U.S. tag titles by to former champions, Mike "Hippie" Boyette & The Wrestling Pro, but it was a strange turn of events. The Pro's six-week suspension was up and since Boyette was having problems with partners, he asked the masked man to join him. The Pro, anxious to get back in the title picture, heartily agreed.  However at bell time, Eddie Sullivan was on crutches. Gentleman Jim was picked to replace him as Tyler's partner. The Alabama commission refused to except this and awarded the belts to Boyette and the Pro. The match did take place, but it quickly became apparent that the Pro was not interested in participating in it. Boyette was getting a good shellacking from Jim and Tyler, but finally made it to the Pro to tag him. Instead of accepting the tag, the Pro grabbed Boyette and suplexed him. The Pro then left the ring, accompanied by Tyler, Sullivan & Jim. So once again, Boyette and the Pro were champions who couldn't work together.

.       Cowboy Bob Kelly defended the Gulf Coast title against the returning Bobby Shane. Shane was disqualified for the interference of Donnie Fargo. Fargo had come out to the ring with Shane and challenged Kelly to a future match for the Mobile championship.

.       In the Main Event - Lee Fields defeated the Mysterious Stranger. This was supposed to be a return match between Fields and Shane, but Shane said that Fields would have to beat his hand picked charge in order to qualify for the rematch. Fields easily defeated the masked man and set up the return against Shane the following week.

Shane managed to escape the rematch with Fields again when, feigning an arm injury, he left the area and returned to Florida.

Bob Kelly continued to have problems with Donnie Fargo. Fargo beat Kelly in a non- title match, injuring him so badly he had to be carried out on a stretcher. This loss forced Kelly to give Fargo a shot at the Gulf Coast title. Kelly lost that match by disqualification; therefore Fargo was named the new champion. Kelly was still the City of Mobile title-holder, however.

The new United States tag champs were busy as well, but not defending the titles. They were busy beating each other half to death. Since the split, the Pro had formed a partnership of sorts with Rip Tyler and Eddie Sullivan. Sullivan, who had suffered a broken leg, served as the manager of the tough Tyler-Pro duo. The Pro battered Boyette so badly in their first meeting that the popular Hippie had to be helped back to the dressing room. Boyette got a measure of revenge in their second meeting, however, by beating the Pro on a count-out. The Pro had been knocked form the ring, and got tangled up in manager Sullivan's crutches. He was unable to make it back into the ring before being counted out.

Frank Dalton's problems with Jim & Jack Dalton continued. The fans started warming up to Frank in his "family feud" and so did some of his former rivals. Ken Lucas and Dick Dunn teamed with Frank often to go against the other Daltons. But even with their help, Frank always seemed to get trapped alone and catch a beating form Jim and Jack.

Robert Fuller (Robert Welch), the youngest son of former Gulf Coast wrestler and promoter Buddy Fuller (Edward Welch), made his debut in the area defeating one of the Untouchables.

Others in the area during the month of July were Billy Hamilton, Greg Peterson, the Destroyer (not Dick Beyer), Pedro Columbo, and referees Lynn Sasser, Paul Morton, Jerry Mack, Ron Wright and Jack Atkins.

AUGUST:

Bobby Shane was forced by the Alabama commission to return to Mobile to face Lee Fields on August 11. Shane was put under a $2000 appearance bond, which he would have forfeited had he failed to appear. In order to get in better shape for the rematch, Lee turned the promotional duties over to Cowboy Bob Kelly so he could train. The extra training paid off, because Fields was able to avenge his loss to Shane by winning the bloody rematch.

Having to act as matchmaker had an adverse effect on Kelly, however. He was unable to defend the City of Mobile championship within the allotted 30 days, so he was stripped of the title. The title was put up for grabs in a 17-man tag match. Those competing were Ken Lucas, Rip Tyler, both Untouchables, the Wrestling Pro, Johnny West, Mike Boyette, Hurricane Rivera, Pedro Columbo, Ramon Perez, Al Coco, Eduardo Perez, the Destroyer, Dick Dunn, Miguel Feliciano, Frank Dalton and Ron Hill.  The final two men were Lucas and Tyler. Tyler won the match when referee Paul Morton stopped the match because of Lucas' excessive bleeding. It wasn't a popular decision with the fans, as Morton needed police protection to get back to the dressing room, but Rip Tyler was the new City of Mobile Champion. Tyler beat Lucas in a rematch, but had a little help from the Wrestling Pro. Mike Boyette charged the ring to help Lucas, but it was too late.

Eduardo Perez, the very first Gulf Coast Heavyweight Champion, returned to the area after a lengthy absence. He was on of many Latin wrestlers working the area at the time including Ramon Perez (no relation to Eduardo), Pedro Columbo, Miguel Feliciano, Hurricane Rivera and the Destroyer.

Gulf Coast champion, Donnie Fargo made successful defenses of the title against Ken Lucas and Johnny West early in the month. He defeated them each by using an elbow smash to the throat, knocking them over the top rope and out of the ring. This was considered legal since Fargo had not thrown them over the top rope. Fargo faced his stiffest challenge with the arrival of former Canadian Heavyweight Champion, Calvin "Prince" Pullins. Pullins managed to beat Fargo in a non-title match, but was disqualified in his title shot.

The U.S. tag team title picture was a mass of confusion. Mike Boyette and the Wrestling Pro had been awarded the titles on a forfeit by Rip Tyler & Eddie Sullivan, when Sully couldn't compete due to a broken leg. The Pro turned on Boyette and the two refused to get in the ring together unless it was to face each other. On August 1st in Pensacola, Florida Lee Fields allowed a match between The Pro & Tyler taking on Boyette & Frank Dalton, with the winning team to be declared the new champions. Tyler & the Pro won, but the Florida commission threw out the decision because they had not approved the match. Fields was fined and the titles reverted back to the Pro and Boyette. On August 4th they were forced to defend the titles against the masked Destroyers. Eddie Sullivan was on hand to serve as the champions' manager. This made Boyette doubly wary. The two rivals actually functioned well together and won the match. Boyette then approached the Pro to shake his hand and let bygones be bygones. The Pro however, had other thoughts. He punched the Hippie, suplexed him twice and laid the tag team title belt across the fallen Boyette. He than left the ring with Sullivan to a chorus of boos from the fans. The Alabama commission declared the title vacant and forced a match between the former champions with new partners of their choosing. The Pro chose Rip Tyler and Boyette chose Prince Pullins. Boyette and Pullins won the match and were the new champions.

SEPTEMBER:

Donnie Fargo continued his feud with Prince Pullins. One title match between the two was so wild, that acting promoter Bob Kelly took the title and held it up until these two could settle their differences and get back to wrestling. Kelly ordered a boxing match between the two which Pullins, a former boxer, was winning until Fargo kicked him in the stomach. This caused Fargo to lose the match by disqualification. Fargo finally beat Pullins clean and was declared the Gulf Coast champion once again.

With his U.S. tag team partner Pullins tied up in matches with Fargo, Mike "Hippie" Boyette teamed with Ken Lucas to face heated rivals Rip Tyler and the Wrestling Pro, managed by Eddie Sullivan. Tyler and the Pro were disqualified due to Sullivan's interference. Boyette did manage to defeat Tyler in a singles match to win the City of Mobile championship. He also defeated Donnie Fargo in a non-title match.

On Wednesday, September 15 the "Fall Festival" was presented in Mobile. Several thousand fans were on hand to witness the following matches:

.       The Untouchable #1 was disqualified in his match with Rick Sanchez
.       Jackie Welch pinned the Untouchable #2
.       Donna Christentello defeated Marie Donnell
.       In a mixed tag match - Frank Dalton & Darlin' Dagmar defeated Eduardo Perez & Diamond Lil
.       Rip Tyler & the Wrestling Pro won over Ken Lucas & Dick Dunn
.       The Fabulous Moolah successfully defended he Ladies' World title with a win over popular Vicki Williams.
.       Mike "Hippie" Boyette & Calvin "Prince" Pullins lost the United States tag team titles by losing to The Alaskans (Mike York & Frank Monte).

.       The Main Event - a special challenge tag team match between Bobby Shane & Donnie Fargo against Lee Fields & Cowboy Bob Kelly - was declared no contest. All was going along smoothly until all four men entered the ring at the same time. Fields was pitched out of the ring and the two blonde bad men gave Kelly quite a going over, beating him into a bloody mess. When Fields managed to make it back into the ring, he pitched Shane out. This left Fargo at the mercy of Kelly and Fields, and he wound up just as bloody as Kelly had. Shane managed to get back into the ring and all four went at it again. The match was thrown out, but the four continued to batter each other mercilessly. Shane and Fargo finally quit the ring leaving Kelly and Fields to soak up the cheers of the fans.

 
The Untouchables were defeated by Cowboy Bob Kelly & Frank Dalton in Mississippi and were forced to unmask. They were revealed to be Frank Martinez & Karl Von Stroheim (Walter Nurmberg).

While the Untouchables were losing their masks, Ron Hill gained one. Hill had been competing in the area for a few weeks, and soon donned a mask and called himself The Golden Gladiator. Hill, as the Gladiator would go on to bigger glory a few years later in Georgia. He would be billed as the World's Lightweight Champion.

Others in the area in September were Billy Hamilton, Pedro Columbo, Tiny Frazier, Johnny West, Doug Taylor and lady wrestlers Donna Christentello and Lily Thomas.

OCTOBER:

It was announced that Dory Funk Jr., the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion would be making a title defense on October 26 in Mobile. In order to determine a challenger, a two-week tournament would be held on October 13th & 20th with the winner facing Funk on the 26th.   

Lee Fields was out of the territory lining up future talent, so for the entire month of October, Bob Kelly served as the matchmaker in his stead.

Donnie Fargo lost the Gulf Coast title to Ken Lucas at the beginning of the month. Lucas held on to the title until the end of the month before losing it to the Wrestling Pro.

Losing the title was the least of Fargo's troubles. During the match with Lucas referee Lynn Sasser for constant fouling, disqualified him, causing him to lose the title. After the match, Fargo was so enraged he attacked Sasser and gave him several elbow drops. Referee Rick Gibson received the same treatment when he came out to help Sasser. After things calmed down, Cowboy Bob Kelly (still acting as matchmaker) announced that Fargo had been fined and suspended indefinitely for his actions. Thus his chance at meeting the World's champ were dashed. Or were they?

Mike Boyette & Prince Pullins attempted to regain the U.S. tag titles from the Alaskans, but to no avail. The Alaskans tossed out Pullins and Boyette was double teamed into submission. Boyette then approached erstwhile Untouchable Karl Von Stroheim to be his partner against the champions. Von Stoheim had been unmasked as one of the Untouchables in Mississippi, but this fact was not publicized in the Mobile/Pensacola end of the territory.  He was just seen as a big, rough newcomer when he defeated Rick Sanchez in his first match without the mask. He certainly didn't endear himself to the fans when he demolished popular Dick Dunn in a match. But Boyette was impressed by his power, and asked him to be his partner. Von Stroheim agreed and they gave the Alaskans quite a beating in a non-title match. Von Stroheim won the match for he and Boyette by holding Alaskan Frank Monte by the ankles and banging his head up and down on the mat until he submitted. This earned Boyette and the giant German a title shot. The ensuing match wound up a four-man brawl and was thrown out. In the return title match, Boyette's luck went south as once again he had a partner turn on him. Boyette had been in the ring to stop the Alaskans from double-teaming, but was knocked form the ring by Alaskan Mike York. This allowed the Alaskans to continue to batter Von Stroheim. He broke free twice and made it to his corner for a tag, but both times Boyette was nowhere to be found. He was still on the arena floor trying to regain his senses. Unable to tag, Von Stroheim was worn down and pinned for the loss. After the match, Boyette and Von Stroheim argued with the German accusing the Hippie of deserting him. Boyette turned to leave the ring and was attacked and beaten down to the mat. Boyette had to be helped from the ring as the angry Von Stroheim goose-stepped his way back to the dressing room to the jeers of the fans.

The first week of the tournament saw the following results:
.       Alaskan Frank Monte defeated Jackie Welch
.       Karl Von Stroheim pinned Tiny Frazier, the Pascagoula Plowboy
.       The Wrestling Pro eliminated Dick Dunn
.       Gulf Coast champ, Ken Lucas used a sleeper on Eduardo Perez
.       Mike Boyette defeated Rick Sanchez with a "Hippie" hold
.       Frank Dalton beat Eddie Sullivan, who was returning from his broken leg
.       Alaskan Mike York and Frank Martinez were both eliminated for fighting outside the ring.

This meant that Monte, Von Stroheim, the Pro, Lucas, Boyette and Dalton would advance to the next week's finals.

Donnie Fargo tried to force his way into the tournament. He came out to the ring in his wrestling gear all set for a challenger. The only challenge he got was Cowboy Bob Kelly, who tossed Fargo's street clothes into the ring and ordered him escorted form the building by the local police.

On television he following Saturday, a masked man named Mr. D showed up. Although he was dressed in long black tights and wearing a black mask with a skull and crossbones insignia on it, it was obvious to everyone that the man was Donnie Fargo. He called out matchmaker Cowboy Bob Kelly and showed him a letter from the NWA stating that Mr. D was to be allowed to enter the tournament to determine a challenger for Dory Funk Jr. Kelly was upset by this turn of events, but had no choice but to comply. However, he wasn't going to make it easy for Fargo. Since he had missed the first week's elimination match, Kelly came up with someone who had not been in the tournament to serve as his first opponent. That man was Fargo's hated enemy, Prince Pullins. Also, Kelly said that since he knew it was Fargo under the mask, he would offer $500 to the man who removed the mask from Fargo's head.

So the scene was set for the next week's matches. These were the results:

.       Ken Lucas defeated Frank Monte
.       Karl Von Stroheim defeated Frank Dalton
.       The Wrestling Pro defeated Mike Boyette
.       Mr. D defeated Prince Pullins
.       The Pro defeated Lucas
.       Mr. D defeated Von Stroheim
.       Mr. D defeated the Pro

Mr. D had defeated three men in one night to earn a shot at the World's title. He also managed to hold onto his mask despite the best efforts of his opponents to collect the $500 bounty.

In the title match, Mr. D showed everyone how tough he was by taking Dory Funk Jr., the World's Heavyweight Champion, to a one hour draw. Mr. D won the first fall by working on the champion's knee until he submitted. Funk came back and won the second fall with his famed spinning toehold. The two men battered each other from pillar to post until the time limit was reached with neither man gaining a final fall. Funk also was unable to strip the mask from the head of Mr. D in order to collect the $500 bounty. As it was Funk was lucky to be leaving the Gulf Coast with his title.

Midget wrestlers Cowboy Lang and The Mighty Atom also appeared in the area. Lang defeated Atom in their match.

NOVEMBER:

There were some lingering grudges to be settled at the beginning of November. Mike Boyette, the popular hippie, wanted to settle things with the hulking German, Karl Von Stroheim. Boyette challenged Von Stroheim to a one fall to a finish match to attempt to gain some revenge for the beating Boyette received after the two of them had lost a match to the Alaskans. It was a furious battle with Boyette finally wearing the big man down and forcing him to submit to the "Hippie" hold. Von Stroheim, upset at the loss, attacked Boyette after the match, only to fall victim to the "Hippie" hold once more. Humiliated, Von Stroheim left the territory.

Another grudge was brewing as well. The Wrestling Pro, the current Gulf Coast champion, was not happy with Mr. D, who had forced his way into a tournament and beaten the Pro in the final match. The Pro felt he would have won the tourney and beaten Dory Funk Jr. for the World's title had it not been for Mr. D's last minute entry. A match was set up between the two with some strange results. During the match, the Pro had gotten the upper hand and was trying to strip the mask off of the head of Mr. D. While this was going on, Mike Boyette entered the ring, slugged the Pro and went after the mask himself. The Pro forgot all about his problems with Mr. D. and went after Boyette. When D joined him, the two masked men began to give Boyette quite a beating. Suddenly, Prince Pullins arrived on the scene and he and Boyette chased the Pro and Mr. D. from the ring. Pullins then helped Boyette to the dressing room. Meanwhile, D and the Pro forgot all about their differences and returned to the ring. They challenged Boyette and Pullins to come back out and face them. That's exactly what happened with Pullins and Boyette again getting the upper hand and chasing the masked men from the ring.

Rip Tyler returned after a brief absence. He and Eddie Sullivan managed to get a win over the Alaskans in a non-title match. Before they could face them in a title match, the Alaskans dropped the titles to former champions, Boyette & Pullins. Tyler & Sullivan also lost a match to Ken Lucas & Frank Dalton. While Tyler kept the referee busy, Sullivan was fouling Dalton. However, Tyler held the referee's attention just a little too long, allowing Lucas to sneak into the ring and put Sully to sleep. When the referee turned his attention back to the ring he found Dalton on top of Sullivan and counted the pin.

Mike Boyette had less success in singles title matches as he dropped the City of Mobile title to the Wrestling Pro. The Pro now a double champion.

In another strange twist, Boyette's bad luck with tag team partners reared its ugly head once again. Just one week after the Boyette/Pullins run in with Mr. D/Pro. Pullins and Boyette had a falling out. Here is what happened. Boyette was tied up with the Mobile City title match with the Pro, so Pullins asked Dick Dunn to be his partner against Mr. D and his new partner, The Black Baron. The Baron had just entered the area, and dressed identically to Mr. D. It would not be an easy match but Pullins felt confident with the wily veteran Dunn as his partner. During the match however, while Dunn was being double-teamed, Pullins made no attempt to go to his aid. Boyette, who had been watching the match from the back, came out to ringside and encouraged Pullins to help Dunn. Instead, Pullins jumped down off the ring apron, whacked Boyette in the mouth and left for the dressing room. After picking himself up, Boyette charged into the ring to help Dunn, who had been awarded the match on disqualification. Boyette and Pullins engaged in some torrid matches, with Boyette coming out on the losing end each time.

Mr. D was on a roll after his near win over the World's champ, but he was about to be brought back down to earth. Lee Fields was back from his travels, so this left Bob Kelly free to return to the ring. Kelly said that since he was unable to give away the $500 bounty to anyone for unmasking Mr. D as Donnie Fargo, he would collect it himself. And that is just exactly what he did. In a wild match, Kelly managed to remove the mask from Fargo, but then Fargo proceeded to pound Kelly into a bloody mess. While this was going on, Kelly managed to get his belt off. Once he did he wrapped it around his fist and went to work on Fargo. Fargo was now a bloody mess as well. Kelly continued to pound on Fargo and also flattened referee Jack Howe when he tried to stop the match. Kelly was disqualified but neither he nor the fans cared. He continued his beating on Fargo until the Black Baron came out to pull Fargo from the ring.

Kelly wasn't happy with the Baron's interference, so he challenged him to a match as well. Kelly further stated that he would unmask the Baron, and if he did he would take the $500 he got for unmasking Mr. D and throw it into the crowd. Needless to say, ringside was packed that night. Kelly did unmask the Baron, who turned out to be Johnny Fargo (John "Greg Valentine" Wisniski Jr.). At first it was announced that he was "Johnny Valentine", but he was soon calling himself "Johnny Fargo". And Kelly did throw the money to the crowd, by the way.

Others in the area this month were Frank Martinez, Jackie Welch, Rocket Monroe, Greg Peterson, Eduardo Perez, Gypsy Joe Rosario, Billy Hamilton and Tom Bradley.

DECEMBER:

The Wrestling Pro still had some ill feelings towards Donnie Fargo that he hadn't manage to work out so he challenged Fargo to a match. Fargo agreed, but only if the Pro put up his Gulf Coast championship. The Pro had the better of Fargo during this match until Johnny Fargo interfered. Donnie was disqualified and the Pro kept his title. But the Pro wasn't satisfied, so he challenged both Fargos to a match. He put up the Gulf Coast title against both of them, but would only wrestle them one at a time. The Fargo not wrestling would have to return to the dressing room. He was scheduled to face Johnny first, but was jumped by both Fargos at the start of the match. Johnny was disqualified for this action, but the now battered Pro was easy prey for Donnie. Donnie Fargo pinned the Pro and won the Gulf Coast title.

The Pro also had his share of problems with former cohorts Rip Tyler & Eddie Sullivan. They didn't approve of his new choice of associates and made sure he felt the error of his ways.

The United States tag team situation was again in turmoil, with Mike "Hippie" Boyette again with a championship partner that he wasn't getting along with. The NWA ordered promoter Lee Fields to resolve the situation or to surrender the tag belts back to them. As he had done in the past, Fields allowed the feuding team to select new partners to team with in a match to crown new champions. Prince Pullins chose "Wonder Boy" Bobby Shane who had not been in the area since September. Boyette chose the only man he seemed to be able to team with, Cowboy Bob Kelly. Boyette and Kelly won to become the new U.S. tag team champions. The Cowboy and Hippie team got an immediate challenge for the titles from the Fabulous Fargos, Donnie and Johnny.  They managed to beat the Fargos to keep the titles, but were battered around after the match. Boyette was injured and Bobby Fields filled his place on the team. Kelly and Fields had been a successful team in the sixties, holding the U.S. and Gulf Coast tag team titles on many occasions. Plus they had an added bonus. Boyette was at ringside serving as their manager, and usually had crutches or a cane to help the cause. They had many wild battles with the Fargos, usually getting disqualified for using Boyette's plunder at ringside.

Former referee and Pensacola native Rick Gibson made his debut as a wrestler in December.

Others in the area at the end of the year were Silento Rodriguez, Rocket Monroe, Frank Dalton, Ken Lucas, Johnny Eagles (Roy Boyd), Black Bart (John Black), Gypsy Joe Rosario, Rick Sanchez, Greg Peterson, Tom Bradley, Joe Turner, the Blue Yankee, John Gagne, Tiny Frazier, Pedro Columbo, Jimmy "Bad Boy" Hines and Tony Russo.

That's it for 1971. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed reliving it as I wrote it.
 
NEXT MONTH:

1972: The Bob Kelly/Donnie Fargo feud escalates into war and the arrival of Gorgeous George Jr.