This would be the first and only time Lee & Bobby would hold the Gulf Coast tag titles. Previously they had held the United States tag team titles in 1967 in the Louisiana end of the Gulf Coast promotion. 

When that end was shut down, the U.S. tag titles were no longer recognized in the Gulf Coast. Bobby had mainly teamed with the middle Fields brother, Don Fields (Donald Wayne Hatfield). Bobby (under the name Luke Fields) & Don had held the Tennessee versions of the Southern & World tag team titles. Don's career had ended after he was severely injured in a car wreck on August 3, 1963. 

Another team making noise on the Gulf Coast was Pancho Villa (Bill Dahmer) & Chin Lee. They defeated the popular teams of Bobby Whitlock & Cowboy Bob Kelly (Robert Kelley) and Ramon Perez & Carlos Cruz.  

Whitlock was fared no better in singles matches as he lost a non-title match to Gulf Coast champ, Eduardo Perez. 

Cowboy Bob Kelly was very popular with the fans although his win-loss record was less than stellar. Kelly had been a mainstay in the Gulf Coast's Louisiana end and had held the Louisiana State title at one point. He also served as Lee Fields' booker in that area when Bill Golden left. In late 1967, a decision was made to shut down the Louisiana end and move it closer to the Mobile home area by setting up shop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Kelly continued to serve as the booker and Speedy Hatfield (Virgil Hatfield), father of the Fields brothers, was set up at the figure head matchmaker. Don Fields also helped run the new territory. Kelly was beginning to make more and more appearances in the Mobile/Pensacola end but was usually booked in opening matches and rarely saw a victory. But there was something about the cowboy that the fans just took to. Even after being on the receiving end of a terrible battering by Dr. Jerry Graham, the fans still cheered Kelly. Graham knocked Kelly from pillar to post, but made a mistake when he went to catch Kelly in his dreaded Bear Hug. Referee Herb Langston was standing directly behind Kelly and Graham wrapped his arms around the referee as well. He squeezed both men with all his might, resulting in his getting disqualified by Langston.  Only after Bobby Fields entered the fray did the good doctor let go of his hold. 

APRIL: 

The month began with the return of Mario Galento (Bonnie "Butch" Boyette) to the Gulf Coast. Galento was a five-time former Gulf Coast champion and he wanted to make it a sixth time. For years Galento was the most hated man in the area, but recently he had made the transition from villain to hero. He challenged Eduardo Perez to a title match in Mobile, and Perez agreed. Galento used his famed "Hangman" hold to defeat Perez to win the first fall. Perez came back and pinned Galento in the second. The third and deciding fall was very exciting and the advantage went back and forth several times before Galento managed to catch Perez in a pin to win the match and the title. Ironically, it had been Galento who had ended Perez's first title reign back in 1957.  Galento also defeated Pancho Villa in a non-title match. 

Dr. Jerry Graham decided to put his vast knowledge of wrestling to use by becoming a manager. He brought in a new masked team known as The Interns (Bill Bowman & Joe Turner). The masked team's initial appearance in the area was an impressive one as the defeated the team of Louie Perez & Cowboy Bob Kelly. They won in straight falls and pinned Kelly in both falls. Kelly then recruited Bobby Fields as a partner to face the masked men the following week. The Interns won the first fall when one of them pinned Kelly. During the wild action of the second fall, Fields collided with one of the Interns and fell to the mat. The Intern fell out of the ring. While Dr. Graham used his massive girth to block the view of referee Clem Courtney, the Interns switched. The fresh Intern entered the ring and pinned the battered Fields. Despite the protests of the fans, the Interns were declared the winners. 

The Interns soon faced very stiff competition with the arrival of The Dirty Daltons, Jack (Don Kalt) & Frank (Gene Stevens). Their manager Kenny Mack (Ken McMullen) accompanied the Daltons. The Daltons  originated in Texas in the early sixties. That version was Jack (Kalt) & Jim Dalton (Jim Baggis). They dressed as Old West gunfighters, complete with black hats and six-shooters. In fact, Jack practiced for hours on his fast draw and won many fast draw contests. When Jim left in 1966, Jack recruited Frank. For awhile there was also a Bob Dalton (Johnny Long). This version was more like a motorcycle gang than gunfighters. In fact, they now insisted on calling themselves "The Hell's Angels" after the infamous motorcycle gang. They wore jeans and motorcycle boots and along with Mack made a rough team. The Daltons had originally worked the Gulf Coast in 1966, mainly in Louisiana. They were the first United States tag team champions in that area. 

The first meeting of the Interns and the Daltons ended in a no decision finish. The winners were to have received a shot at the Gulf Coast tag team titles held by Lee & Bobby Fields. Furthermore, Gulf Coast champion Mario Galento was elected to serve as the special referee. The Interns won the first fall by battering Frank Dalton into submission. The Angels came back and won the second fall when Jack Dalton used a chain provided to him by Mack to knock the Interns around. The third fall saw everything totally break down. The Daltons were busy slamming a steel chair across the head of Dr. Jerry Graham while the Interns and Mack fought over a chain. Galento couldn't take it anymore and left the ring and let the teams batter themselves. Finally a halt was called to the proceedings and both teams were disqualified. 

Ramon Perez and Chin Lee  began a feud between them. They met in a match that ended in a 45-minute draw. Lee won the first fall by pinning Perez after a backdrop. Perez came back to take the second fall with a flying head-scissors. Neither man was able to score a winning fall before the time expired. The rematch resulted in a 60-minute draw. A third match was scheduled, but Perez was injured the night before in a match against the Interns. He showed up at ringside with an injured leg and was replaced in the match by Bobby Whitlock. Whitlock surprised Lee by winning the first fall very quickly with the help of Perez. However, Lee battered Whitlock severely and won the next two falls. 

MAY: 

A rematch between the Interns and the Hell's Angels ended just as the first match had, in no decision. All four men battered each other mercilessly. And although managers, Dr. Jerry Graham and Kenny Mack were chained together, they managed to get involved  anyway. Another match was scheduled as it was determined that there must be a winner in order to declare number one contenders for the Fields brothers Gulf Coast tag team titles. Since the managers, Graham and Mack seemed to be constantly getting involved, a Texas Death Match was set up between them. The winner would be allowed to remain at ringside to coach their team. That match never really took place as Graham forfeited the match to Mack rather than risk serious injury. After Mack was declared the winner, he turned to leave the ring but was grabbed from behind by Graham. Graham rammed Mack's head into one of the ring posts resulting in Mack receiving a bloody forehead. The Daltons helped Mack back to the dressing room and raced back to the ring to give the Interns a severe beating to win the first fall. While the Daltons went back to the dressing room between falls to check on their fallen manager, the Interns remained in the ring. When the Daltons returned, the Interns jumped them before they were able to get back in the ring and battered them into submission to win the second fall. This time neither team left the ring between falls, but the Interns again jumped the Daltons as they rested in their corner. Things were looking bad for the Hell's Angels until Mack came charging out of the dressing room brandishing a chain. As he entered the ring, Graham and the Interns fled to the dressing room and refused to come out for the third fall. Another no decision. The Daltons and Mack then challenged Graham and the Interns to a six-man match. The match was set up and Bobby Fields was picked to serve as the special referee.  Kenny Mack won the first fall for the Hell's Angels when he stomped one of the Interns in the stomach and forced him to submit with a bear hug. Dr. Jerry Graham secured the second fall for his team when he slammed and pinned Frank Dalton. Jack Dalton battered the Interns with a pair of brass knuckles during the third fall. Finally Jack gave one of the masked men an Atomic Drop and fell on him for the pin. At the same time, Jerry Graham had again slammed Frank Dalton and fell on him for the pin. Bobby Fields counted two on the Graham pin then three on the Jack Dalton pin and declared the Daltons and Mack the winners. This infuriated Graham and the Interns and they attacked Fields before being chased from the ring by the Daltons. Dr. Graham then challenged Jack Dalton to a singles match, while Frank Dalton & Kenny Mack teamed to face the Interns. Graham attacked Jack before the match and rammed his head into a ring post. He then stomped and kicked Jack while he was on the floor before slamming his head once more into a ring post. Dalton was now a bloody mess but managed to get into the ring. Once in the ring, Dalton fell victim to Graham's biting. Finally Jack was able to get away long enough to get his hands on a chain. He began to batter the burly manager around when the Interns charged the ring. This brought out Frank Dalton and Kenny Mack. As all six men battered each other around, special referee Cowboy Bob Kelly called the match off. Earlier in the evening Frank and Mack had chased the Interns from the ring, also with the chain and won the match via a count-out. A rematch was set up between Graham and Jack Dalton, this time best two out of three falls with Bobby Whitlock serving as the referee. Graham won the first fall after he choked Dalton out using the belt from his ring robe.  Dalton barely managed to slam the huge Graham and pinned him to win the second fall. During the third fall, Graham managed to slip brass knuckles on and was battering Dalton. This brought out Frank Dalton & Kenny Mack, quickly followed by the Interns. Again a wild brawl ensued and the match was thrown out. This would be the last time Jack & Frank Dalton would be seen in the area. Kenny Mack stayed around for a couple more weeks. He and Jack Dalton would head to the WWA in Indianapolis as Jack & Frank Dillinger, the Chain Gang. They also competed in the AWA. They held the WWA version of the World tag team titles and had many wild battles with Dick the Bruiser (Richard Afflis) & The Crusher (Reggie Lisowski). After a match in Milwaukee, Wisconsin a motorcycle gang that resented them using gang colors as a wrestling gimmick jumped them outside a bar. Mack was shot in the leg and his wrestling career was ended. Dalton managed to escape by jumping off a bridge into a river and swimming for safety. Jack would come back in 1970 with a new partner, Jim Dillinger (Chuck "Chris Colt" Harris). But this time, they changed their image from bikers to bead and fringe wearing Hippies. Frank Dalton would remain in the south, working for Bill Golden's Tri-State Promotion in Montgomery, Alabama. He returned to the Gulf Coast in 1970. Oddly enough he feuded with a new set of Daltons, the original Jim (Jim Baggis) and a new Jack Dalton (Randy Colley) over who was the true Dalton. Jack Dalton would return to the Gulf Coast in 1971 under his most well known guise, that of Donnie Fargo. 

In the middle of their wild feud with the Daltons, the Interns secured a Gulf Coast tag team title match with Lee & Bobby Fields in Pensacola, Florida. The masked men defeated the popular Fields boys and were now the Gulf Coast tag team champions. 

The Gulf Coast Heavyweight title changed hands as well as Mario Galento lost the belt to Rocket Monroe (Maury High). This was Monroe's third Gulf Coast title reign, having won it twice in 1963. Strangely, he had also beaten Galento for the belt for his second title reign. Monroe pinned Galento to win the first fall but fell victim to Galento's Hangman hold in the second. Monroe simply battered Galento into submission to win the third and deciding fall to take the title. In the rematch, Galento secured the first fall with the Hangman, Monroe got the better of Mario in the second by gouging his eyes with a paper cup he had picked up at ringside. He then thumbed Galento in the throat and pinned him. Galento was on the verge of regaining the title when he had Monroe once again in the Hangman. Just as Monroe was about to submit, Rip Tyler (Dean Vaughn) interfered. He and Monroe battered Galento until Ramon Perez entered the ring to chase them out. The fans at ringside attacked Tyler and Monroe. Monroe punched on fan and then began using the Gulf Coast belt as a weapon to back the fans up. Perez jumped from the ring, grabbed the belt from Monroe and gave it to Galento. Although the fans cheered this action, the title had not changed hands and Monroe was still the champion. This all lead to a tag team match between Monroe & Tyler and Galento & Perez. In this match, Perez won the first fall and pinned Monroe after a dropkick. Perez fell victim to Monroe and Tyler's double-teaming during the second fall. He finally managed to escape and tagged Galento. As Mario was entering the ring, Monroe hit him with a solid right on the jaw. Galento went down and rolled from the ring. He then got up and limped back to the dressing room, leaving Perez to go it alone. Perez held his own by using a paper cup from ringside to blind his opponents. Monroe & Tyler soon proved to be too rough for Perez and subjected him to quite a beating. Finally Kenny Mack & Frank Dalton chased Monroe & Tyler from the ring and rescued the battered Perez. 

Ramon was joined in the Gulf Coast by his 'brother" Pepe Perez. Pepe Perez would go on to make a name for himself in the early 1970s under his real name, Roberto Soto.  

Billy "Boy" & Jimmy "Bad Boy" Hines (Owen & Jimmy Yow) returned to the Gulf Coast in May. The Hines Brothers were former holders of the Tennessee versions of the Southern and World tag team titles. 

Others in the Gulf Coast in May were Dale Jones, Chief White Eagle and Jose Lopez. 

JUNE: 

The Interns faced strong competition for the Gulf Coast tag team titles from Ramon & Pepe Perez. The first meeting of the teams saw the Interns win a disputed decision. After each team had scored a fall apiece, the Perez brothers were getting the upper hand. As an act of desperation, the Interns tossed Ramon Perez out of the ring and began double teaming Pepe Perez. While Ramon was out on the floor, the Interns' manager, Dr. Jerry Graham dropped his 400 pounds on top of Ramon. Referee Clem Courtney began counting Ramon out. After being smashed by Graham's weight, Perez was unable to get back in the ring and was counted out. The Interns were declared the winners and remained the champions. This upset the fans so much that they surrounded the ring and would not let Graham and the Interns leave. Graham grabbed a ringside chair and the Interns used the Gulf Coast championship belts (see picture in KM's Belt Gallery) as weapons, allowing them to fight their way back to the dressing room. A fan named Greg Shepherd received a scalp wound from one of the sharp, swinging belts. Turns out he was actually the cousin of one of the Interns, Joe Turner. He tried to sue Turner and the promotion, but it was settled out of court. 

The rematch ended in confusion as referee Speedy Hatfield reversed his original decision. Ramon had won the first fall by pinning one of the Interns after he and Pepe had rammed them together in the middle of the ring. The Interns came back and pinned Pepe to take the second fall. In the third fall Ramon had an Intern pinned with a backdrop, but his shoulders were pinned as well. Hatfield counted Perez out, but then decided that the Intern had pinned instead. He reversed the decision and declared the Perez team the winners. The Interns were extremely upset and refused to turn over the belts. In the ensuing controversy the Interns were allowed to keep the titles and a return match was ordered. Prior to the return title match, the Perez brothers asked Kenny Mack to be their partner in a six-man challenge match against the Interns & Dr. Jerry Graham. The Perez brothers and Mack emerged victorious in that battle. In the title match, Ramon Perez won the first fall by taking advantage of a disagreement between an Intern and referee Tommy Hatcher. The Intern had shoved Hatcher and sent him sprawling to the mat. Ramon then grabbed the other Intern, slammed him and pinned him. Hatcher counted him out although the bell had never rang to officially start the match. The Perez boys went back to the dressing room between falls, but the Interns remained in the ring. They jumped Ramon & Pepe as they re-entered the ring to start the second fall. They battered the Perez brothers around and pinned Ramon to even up the score. During the third fall the Interns continued to batter the Perez boys. Ramon finally managed to unmasked on of the Interns during the brawl. When he saw his man's mask come off, Graham grabbed referee Hatcher, tore his shirt off and covered the Intern's face to keep his identity a secret. This caused second referee Clem Courtney to enter the ring and disqualify the Interns. Although they were declared the winners, the Perez brothers could not win the titles on a disqualification. 

Rocket Monroe & Rip Tyler had a couple of wild matches against Billy Boy & Bad Boy Hines. The teams had each won a fall when the Hines brothers went wild in the third fall. Much to the delight of the fans, they battered Monroe & Tyler until Tyler wound up with a bloody head. The Hines boys got a little carried away and knocked referee Speedy Hatfield down quite a few times in the process. Hatfield finally disqualified the Hines'.  A rematch was scheduled but Tyler failed to show up for the match. Monroe took Dale Jones as a partner. Billy Boy Hines pinned Jones to win the first fall only to lose the second fall to Monroe. In the third fall Monroe pinned Bad Boy just before Billy Boy pinned Jones. Referee Tommy Hatcher decided that the Monroe pin was first and declared Jones & Monroe the winners. 

Monroe successfully defended his Gulf Coast title against Vietnam War veteran Bob Eisenberg. This was Eisenberg's only appearance in the Gulf Coast, as far as I know anywhere as a professional wrestler. Monroe also faced Greg Peterson, but refused to put the title on the line. Monroe dropped Peterson with a back suplex, but both men were knocked unconscious. As it was, as they lay on the mat Peterson's leg was draped across Monroe and he pinned Rocket without even knowing it. After both men were revived Peterson pinned Monroe several more times to make it official. Monroe loudly protested but the decision stood.   

Others campaigning in the Gulf Coast in June were Cowboy Bob Kelly, Bobby Whitlock, Bobby Fields, Chief White Eagle and Maxie York (Mack Morton, brother of referee Paul "Bald Eagle" Morton and uncle of Ricky Morton of the Rock 'n' Roll Express fame). 

JULY:  

The Gulf Coast Heavyweight title changed hands on July 3^rd in Mobile. Greg Peterson defeated Rocket Monroe to win the title. Actually, Peterson also defeated Monroe for the title on June 28^th in Dothan, but the title switch was made again in Mobile on the 3^rd. Peterson successfully defended the title against Billy Boy Hines in a rugged battle. Hines, a former Gulf Coast champion, won the first fall by kicking Peterson in the face after bouncing him off the ropes. Peterson evened things up by pinning Hines after delivering an Atomic Drop. Hines made things very tough on Peterson in the third fall and appeared on the verge of winning when Peterson surprised him with a small package roll-up to score the pin and retain the title.  

The Interns, along with their manager Dr. Jerry Graham continued to rule the tag team scene. They defeated Bill Boy & Bad Boy Hines in a rugged encounter. The Hines boys had previously given the masked men quite a beating a few weeks earlier, but this time the Interns prevailed. The Interns lost a non-title match to the Perez brothers. Ramon and Pepe won the first fall when the pinned both Interns at the same time after dropkicking them. One of the Interns pinned Ramon to score the second fall. The Perez team had the Interns shaken in the third fall, so shaken that one of the Interns accidentally knocked out his partner with an uppercut to the stomach. This allowed Ramon Perez to score the win. The Perez brothers were now demanding another title shot at the Gulf Coast tag team champions. In the title match, Billy Boy Hines served as the referee. Each team had earned a fall, when one of the Interns pinned Ramon Perez after hitting him in the groin. This went unseen by referee Hines. In the second fall, Ramon and Pepe bloodied one of the Interns and knocked him from the ring. They then double dropkicked the remaining Intern to score the pin. In the third fall, Pepe Perez was sent hurdling into Hines by one of the Interns and both men went down. Dr. Jerry Graham took advantage of Hines' incapacity to sneak into the ring, grab Ramon Perez and piledrive him to the mat. One of the Interns then fell on Ramon just as Hines was staggering to his feet. The groggy Hines failed to realize that Ramon was not the legal man on the Perez team and counted the pin on him. The Interns remained the Gulf Coast tag team champions. Ramon was injured and unable to wrestle so Pepe asked Gulf Coast champion Greg Peterson to be his partner to try and exact some revenge. Peterson pinned one of the Interns to win the first fall but was pinned himself to lose the second. The third fall saw the Interns battering Pepe Perez in their corner. When Peterson entered the ring to try and help his partner, he was stopped and ordered from the ring by referee Tommy Hatcher. As Peterson argued with Hatcher, the Interns delivered a double piledriver to Perez. Hatcher then turned around and counted the fall on Perez as he was pinned by one of the Interns.  

The Interns finally ran into a brick wall when the signed to defend their titles against the odd team of Lee Fields & Mario Galento. Fields and Galento had been long time rivals and had had many bloody battles in the late 50s and early 60s over the Gulf Coast Heavyweight title. They buried the hatchet in the mid 60s and even teamed occasionally. Now they decided to reform their alliance and put an end to the Interns' reign of terror. The match was a wild one as expected, with an old rule put back into effect, which hampered the Interns. A tag rope was installed in both teams' corners, with the outside man on each team having to hold onto it until tagged or face disqualification. Mario Galento caught one of the Interns in his Hangman hold in the first fall and the Intern was forced to submit since his masked partner couldn't enter the ring to make a rescue. The Interns worked over Lee Fields' arm in the second fall and finally forced him to submit. The Interns and Graham also gave Lee a bit of a going over after the fall as well. During the third fall the Interns were giving Fields & Galento quite a beating and were on the verge of successfully defending their titles when Jerry Graham decided to interfere. One of the Interns had Fields in a full nelson and maneuvered him over to the ropes. Graham climbed up onto the apron and took a swing at Fields as the Intern held him. But Lee managed to duck and Graham smashed his own man! Lee then fell on the stunned Intern and scored the third and final fall. Lee Fields & Mario Galento were now the new Gulf Coast tag team champions. 

Another tag team was formed during the month of July. Former Gulf Coast heavyweight champion Rocket Monroe introduced his newest partner, his youngest "brother" Flash Monroe (Gino Sanizzaro). Flash was actually the son of Boston promoter Tony Santos (Tony Sanizzaro) and had wrestled on the East Coast and other territories as Gene Dundee. Flash now joined Rocket in the Gulf Coast as the third Monroe, the other being Sputnik Monroe (Rocco Monroe Brambaugh). Sputnik was campaigning in Texas as his "brothers" teamed in the Gulf Coast. Rocket & Flash debuted by defeating The Scufflin' Hillbillies. These were not the original "Hillbillies" (Chuck Conley & Rip Collins). These two were former "Hillbilly" manager Cousin Alfred, and a man simply known as "Roughouse".  They then lost a match to Cowboy Bob Kelly & Bobby Fields by disqualification. Flash also got involved in a singles match in which Rocket challenged Greg Peterson in a return match for the Gulf Coast title. Flash caused his brother to get disqualified and allowed Peterson to retain the title. The Magnificent Monroes issued a challenge to whomever held the Gulf Coast tag team titles. 

The United States Women's Championship was defended in the Gulf Coast in July. Champion Johnnie Mae "The Queen" Young (Mae Young) along with her French maid, Cheri brought the title in and defended it against the beautiful Ann Casey.  Young retained her title, but Casey gave her such a hard time that a rematch was ordered. During the rematch Young had Casey wrapped in the ropes and was refusing referee Tommy Hatcher's order to break. Finally Hatcher grabbed Young and flung her onto the mat. Casey freed herself and hit Young with a dropkick as she was getting up and pinned her to win the first fall. In the second Mae the Queen held on as Casey applied an airplane spin. When Casey went to drop Young, she held on and flipped Casey onto her back for the pin. Casey had Young reeling with a series of dropkicks in the third fall when Mae suddenly tripped her and scored the pin and retained her title. 

Others in the area this month were Chief White Eagle, Bobby Whitlock and the Cobra Kid. 

AUGUST: 

Dr. Jerry Graham and his Interns continued to be in the thick of things in August. First Graham challenged Lee Fields to a singles match. Graham was upset that Fields had pinned won of his Interns to win the Gulf Coast tag team titles for he and partner Mario Galento. Graham ignored the fact that it was his misjudged punch that felled his man in the first place. The match between Graham and Fields was set as a one fall to a finish skirmish. Graham spent the entire 12 minutes of the match trying to squash Fields with his massive 400-pound body. Fields spent the entire time trying to avoid being squashed. Finally Fields slipped behind Graham and managed to roll him up for the pin. The Interns then rushed the ring to their manager's aid, but Fields managed to get out of harm's way. The Interns then challenged Fields & Galento to a match in which they would put up their masks against the title belts. Fields agreed, but added the stipulation that his brother Bobby be allowed to sit at ringside to counter Graham's presence. It was agreed and the match was set. The Interns won the first fall by wearing down Lee Fields with thumbs to the throat. Lee recovered quickly between falls and came back roaring giving both Interns a beating before tagging Galento who came in and clamped on his Hangman hold to one of the Interns to win the fall in just over a minute. The third fall was nip and tuck for a while before Galento wandered too close to the Interns corner, where Dr. Jerry Graham tripped him. This allowed one of the Interns to fall on him for the pin. Despite the protests of Galento, Lee & Bobby Fields and the fans', the Interns were declared the winners and were once again the Gulf Coast tag team champions. The title reign of Lee fields & Mario Galento lasted only two weeks. During the after match protests, one of the Interns knocked Bobby Fields out of the ring, but he quickly returned and he and brother Lee sent Graham and the Interns scurrying to the dressing room. This led to a match between the Interns and the Fields Brothers. But Graham insisted it be a non-title affair. Lee & Bobby didn't care; they just wanted revenge on the masked tandem. And revenge is just what they got as they whipped the Interns in two straight falls. Bobby won the first fall as he whipped one of the Interns into the massive Graham, who had climbed onto the ring apron, and pinned him as he bounced off his own manager. The Interns lost the second fall when Lee whipped one of the Interns into his own partner as he was trying to sneak into the ring through the ropes. Both masked men went down and Lee pinned the one in the ring to win the fall and the match. The bout was a wild one that actually began when Bobby Fields jumped one of the Interns before referee Joe Powell was able to even get in the ring. 

Ramon Perez returned and was anxious to get his hands on Graham and the Interns since they were the ones who had injured him. He asked Chief White Eagle to be his partner in a non-title match against the Gulf Coast tag champs. They proved to be a formidable team as they battered the Interns into submission to win the first fall. They were own their way to winning in straight falls when Graham interfered and tripped Perez costing him the fall. The fans howled at this turn of events and pelted Graham and his team with beer and soft drinks. Graham was so upset by this that he chastised the fans from inside the ring and then refused to let the Interns wrestle the third fall. They had to fight their way out of the ring and back to the dressing room. 

Gulf Coast heavyweight champion was still having his troubles with former champ Rocket Monroe and his brother Flash. Peterson challenged the Monroes to a tag team match and chose Cowboy Bob Kelly as his partner. Flash Monroe scored the first fall for his team when he pinned Kelly after a bone-jarring bodyslam. Kelly came back in the second and caught Flash in his Bulldog hold and pinned him. In the third, both Monroes were giving Kelly a going over until Kelly had had enough and removed his cowboy boots which he and Peterson used to beat the Monroes mercilessly. Referee Speedy Hatfield stopped the match and declared it a no-contest. The rematch was just as wild as both teams had won a fall when the match fell apart. This time it was the Monroes using Kelly's boot as a weapon. Rocket managed to remove one of the Cowboy's boots and knocked he and Peterson out of the ring. He and Flash got so involved in keeping Peterson out of the ring that they didn't notice Kelly crawl under the ring to the other side. Kelly then removed his other boot and attacked the Monroes from behind. At the same time Peterson got back into the ring and took the other boot from Rocket Monroe. The Monroes absorbed another beating until they left the ring and were counted out. A third match was ordered and went pretty much the same as the previous two. In this one, Kelly and Peterson had Rocket a bloody mess. Rocket managed to knock down Peterson as Flash kept Kelly at bay. Rocket removed one of Peterson's boots and had designs on whacking Greg with it. He swung, but Peterson ducked and Rocket hit his brother Flash instead. Flash was then pinned and the match was over. Kelly and Peterson were not through by any means. Peterson got his boot back from Rocket; Kelly removed one of his boots and then went to town battering the Monroes for ten minutes after the official end of the match. The Monroes demanded another match which Peterson & Kelly gladly accepted. This one also ended in a no-contest. The Monroes wore heavy cowboy boots with heels and pointed toes into the ring to combat Kelly & Peterson's use of their own wrestling boots. All four men went at each other using their boots as weapons before the match was stopped. Peterson ended up a bloody mess in this one. The Monroes continued battering Kelly and Peterson after the match was stopped until Bobby Fields rushed the ring and chased them out.  

A newcomer entered the Gulf Coast by the name of Phil Robley. Robley would go on to greater fame under the name Colonel Buck Robley. He was considered one of the most creative minds in the wrestling business, as a wrestler and booker for several territories. 

Also appearing in the Gulf Coast were Bobby Whitlock, midget wrestlers Cowboy Lang and The Mighty Atom, lady wrestlers Joyce Grable and Patty Nelson, and Bruce Austin. 

SEPTEMBER: 

Cowboy Bob Kelly got involved with Dr. Jerry Graham and the Interns after a match and gave Graham quite a pounding. This caused Graham to challenge Kelly to find a partner to face the Interns in a Gulf Coast tag team title match. Kelly chose Bobby Fields and the match was set. Kelly and Fields also drafted Lee Fields to serve as their manager.  Prior to the match, Lee was injured in a riding accident on his ranch and was at ringside sporting a cane. The cane would come into play during the match. Kelly & Fields won the first fall when Kelly whipped one of the Interns into the ropes and tagged Fields. As the Intern bounced back off the ropes Fields met him with a dropkick and pinned him. The Interns appeared to be on their way to winning the second fall as on of them had Kelly in the Fields/Kelly corner and was pounding him mercilessly. While the Intern had Kelly draped over the top rope, referee Joe Powell couldn't see Lee Fields at ringside. Lee took advantage of this fact and rammed his cane into the stomach of the Intern. As he fell back onto the mat in agony, Kelly tagged Bobby Fields who entered the ring and pinned the fallen Intern while Kelly kept the other one at bay. Cowboy Bob Kelly & Bobby Fields were the new Gulf Coast tag team title-holders. A rematch was demanded by the livid Dr. Jerry Graham and was set.  Kelly & Fields won the first fall as Bobby Fields pinned on of the Interns after bouncing off the ropes onto him. Fields hadn't even tagged Kelly to enter the ring, but referee Tommy Hatcher failed to recognize this fact. The Interns came back in the second fall when they double slammed Kelly while Hatcher had his back turned. One of the masked men then pinned Kelly and the match was all tied up. In the third fall, Kelly and one of the Interns battled near the ropes and tumbled out to the floor. As the Intern battered Kelly on the floor, Lee Fields took one of Kelly's boots and walloped the Intern. Kelly then rolled the stunned masked man into the ring and pinned him. Kelly & Bobby Fields remained the tag team champions. Things had not gone so well for Graham that night as he had been forced to wrestle Terrible Ted, the wrestling bear earlier in the evening. He lost that match.  

During the third match, Dr. Jerry Graham managed to get his hands on Bobby Fields and bloodied him over the right eye. As the Interns continued to batter the bloody Fields, Kelly got Lee Fields' cane and began thrashing the masked men with it. The both Lee Fields and Graham entered into the fray and referee Joe Powell called the match off. All six men continued to batter each other and Lee Fields managed to bloody Graham by smashing his cane over the good doctor's head. Again another match was demanded and set up. This time a special referee would be assigned. This referee was sure to be able to maintain control, since he stood near seven feet tall and weighed 390 pounds. And this man already had a striped shirt. Except his stripes were horizontal instead of vertical. This masked man was known as The Convict.  

The Convict had made quite a name for himself in Los Angeles and Japan. Supposedly discovered working on a chain gang in California by the famous "Classy" Freddie Blassie (Fred Blassman), the Convict was actually Stan "Tiny" Frazier. Frazier was from nearby Pascagoula, Mississippi but had spent most of his early career working in Tennessee and Georgia as The Giant Frazier and Ed Younger. He would go on to have many different personas in his long career including The Giant Hillbilly, "Plowboy" Frazier, "Playboy" Frazier, The Giant Rebel, Kimala II and most famously as Uncle Elmer in the WWF. But to the Gulf Coast fans, he will always be remembered as Tiny Frazier, the Pascagoula Plowboy. 

The Convict made his debut in the Gulf Coast in a tag team match in which he teamed with Ramon Perez to defeat Rip & Randy Tyler (Carl Reed). The Convict battered both Tylers around during the first fall before tagging Perez who pinned Randy for the fall.  Randy fell victim to the Convict's bearhug in the second allowing the giant masked man and Perez to win in straight falls. He was chosen by Bob Kelly & Bobby Fields as a referee to hopefully keep order in their match against the Interns. He did that and more. Kelly & Fields won the first fall after Kelly flattened on of the Interns with a dropkick. The Interns were determined to batter Kelly in the second fall with their fists, but each time were thwarted by the giant masked referee. Finally, one of the Interns got so frustrated that he kicked the Convict in the groin and then drove his fist into the back of the big man's head. While the Convict was down all four men went at it hammer and tongs. The Convict then got to his feet and signaled for Bobby Fields to heave one of the Interns his way. Fields did just that and the convict caught the Intern in a bearhug and then tossed him to the ringside floor. The Convict gave the same treatment to Dr. Jerry Graham as he entered the ring to protest. After finishing off graham, the Convict disqualified the Interns and declared Kelly & Fields the winners and still champions. This was the end of what had been a very frustrating night for the Convict. Earlier in the evening he had teamed with 612 pound Man Mountain Mike to face the Magnificent Monroes, Rocket & Flash. The Convict lost the first fall when Flash held him as Rocket repeatedly rammed his thumb into the big man's throat. During the second fall, it was Man Mountain Mike who fell victim of the Monroe's tactics. He was whacked across the back several times by the Monroes, but for some reason thought that it was the Convict who had been hitting him. He turned on the Convict and punched him in the face. The Convict returned the favor and flattened Mike, who the Monroes quickly pinned for the win. 

The Monroes were on a roll as Flash upended Greg Peterson to win the Gulf Coast Heavyweight title. Peterson managed to win the first fall after working over Monroe's knee and forcing him to submit. In the second fall, Flash thumbed Greg in the throat and pinned him. The final fall went to Monroe as he dropped Peterson throat first across the top rope and pinned him. Flash Monroe was now the Gulf Coast champion, a title previously held by his brother Rocket. 

Peterson fared better when he teamed with Ramon Perez to score a victory over Rip & Randy Tyler.  Peterson pinned Randy for the first fall only to see Randy come back and pin Perez for the second. Peterson and Perez then hit Randy with a double dropkick to win the deciding fall. 

Also competing in the area in September was Chief White Eagle. 

OCTOBER: 

The Interns continued their quest to regain the Gulf Coast tag team titles. They defeated the team of Ramon Perez & Silento Rodriquez (David Rodriquez) to gain number one contender status. Rodriquez was a former 3 time Gulf Coast champion who was making his return to the area after several years. He pinned one of the Interns with a back flip to win the first fall for he and Perez. The Interns evened the score after Perez was pinned after being dropped throat first across the top rope. During the third fall all four men were in the ring at the same time. As referee Clem Courtney was chasing Rodriquez from the ring, the Interns double slammed Perez and he was pinned. This earned the Interns a shot at the Gulf Coast tag team champions, Bob Kelly & Bobby Fields and a chance to regain the crown they once held. A match was scheduled in which neither Lee Fields nor Jerry Graham would be allowed at ringside. Prior to this match in Mobile, the two teams met in a wild match in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and the title belts were held up. Since this was no longer a title match it was decided to alter the rules to make it an elimination tag match. In other words, as a man loses a fall, he must leave the ring and return to the dressing room leaving his partner to carry on alone. The Interns worked over Cowboy Bob Kelly during the first fall and forced him to submit by working over his arm. This left Bobby Fields to carry the rest of the match by himself. The Interns battered Fields around during the second fall and opened a cut over his right eye. The masked men seemed confident as they continued to slam Fields instead of pinning him. Then as one of the Interns was taunting the crowd, Fields rolled him up and pinned him. This left Fields with only one Intern to contend with. The two men knocked each other around considerably until the Intern began to get the upper hand. He slammed Fields down across the ropes but Fields' momentum propelled him back into the Intern and both men went down. Fields managed to get up first and fall across the Intern for the pin and the win. Again, Dr. Jerry Graham was incensed and demanded another match. In the meantime Kelly & Fields beat the Interns in a rematch in Hattiesburg and were awarded the titles back. Graham offered to put up his men's masks against the titles. Kelly & Fields, hoping to eliminate the Interns once and for all, agreed. The rematch saw Dr. Graham make the difference. The two teams had one fall apiece when Kelly squared off with Graham who had climbed up on the apron. While his attention was on graham, Kelly failed to see one of the Interns coming up behind him. The Intern grabbed Kelly and gave him and Atomic Drop and pinned him. The Interns were the Gulf Coast tag team champions for the third time. 

A new team arrived to challenge the Interns for the titles. The two men making up the team were not new to the fans but the team was new. Former bitter rivals Don Carson (Don Gaston) and Dick Dunn (Dick Demonbraun) had formed a team and were making noise. They were both former Gulf Coast champions who had feuded bitterly over that tile in 1965. They had both been gone from the area since the early part of 1967. What fans didn't know was that they had left the area together and gone to Tennessee. There the popular Dunn donned a mask as The Red Shadow and formed a villainous team with Carson. They held the Tennessee versions of both the Southern and World tag team championships. Now they returned to the Gulf Coast as a popular team and the once hated Carson started hearing the fans' cheers.  They defeated Rocket & Flash Monroe in straight falls in their debut match. This garnered them a non-title match with the Interns. In that match, Carson won the first fall for he and Dunn by putting one of the Interns out with the Sleeper hold. Dunn & Carson were well on their way to winning the second fall when Jerry Graham entered the ring and flattened them both with brass knuckles, resulting in a disqualification of the Interns. Graham had lost a bout earlier in the evening to Lee Fields and now Fields charged the ring to help Dunn & Carson. He also was brandishing brass knuckles and put them to good use as he bloodied Graham's head. Graham was beside himself and went outside and tried to re-enter the ring with a chair. By this time Dunn was back to his feet and took the chair away from Graham which he then used to crown the good doctor across his head. This led to Graham challenging Fields to join Dunn & Carson to face he and his Interns. Matchmaker Rocky McGuire served as the special referee for this match. Dunn won the first fall of this match by pinning one of the Interns. Graham came back and won the second fall for his team by dropping his 400 pounds on top of Carson for the pin. In the third and deciding fall. Carson managed to catch Graham in his sleeper to win the match. Now Dunn & Carson were demanding a title shot. 

Dr. Graham had better luck in his match against the Convict. In a battle of the big men. Graham threw the Convict into referee Richard King and knocked him from the ring. This allowed Graham to use a pair of brass knuckles to knock the masked man out. When King got back into the ring he saw Graham pinning the Convict and made the count. As a result of losing the match the Convict was forced to unmask, revealing himself as Tiny Frazier. 

The Tylers, Rip & Randy, continued to have their troubles with Greg Peterson. The former Gulf Coast champ teamed with Chief White Eagle against the blonde brothers. The Tylers slammed Peterson to win the first fall, but Peterson & White Eagle came back in the second when White eagle forced Randy Tyler to submit after working over his leg. Randy suffered an injury and was unable to continue the match. White eagle & Peterson then flipped a coin to see who would finish the match against Rip Tyler. White Eagle won the toss and the match as Rip was disqualified for his rough tactics against the popular Indian. Peterson came back out and chased Tyler from the ring. 

Peterson wasn't as lucky in a return Gulf Coast championship match against champion Flash Monroe. Monroe beat Peterson with a neckbreaker to win the first fall while Greg won the second by forcing Monroe to submit to a combination arm & leg lock. Monroe again scored with the neckbreaker to win the third fall and retain his title.  

The Gulf Coast faced a Japanese invasion in October. First to arrive was Akio Yashihara. He defeated the hapless Greg Peterson in his debut. Partner Sugi Sito soon joined Yashihara.  They teamed to defeat the team of Phil Robley & Ramon Perez in straight falls.  They didn't have as much luck in singles competition. Sito defeated Chief White Eagle while Yashihara lost to newcomer Pedro Valdez. 

NOVEMBER: 

The Interns continued their battles with the team of Don Carson & Dick Dunn. Carson & Dunn were finally granted a Gulf Coast tag team title match with the masked team. It was arranged so that the Interns' manager, Dr. Jerry Graham would be chained at ringside to Lee Fields. Hopefully this would eliminate either man from interfering in the title match. It didn't quite work out that way. Dunn & Carson had the Interns going from the outset. Dunn pinned one of the Interns after a dropkick to win the first fall.  Dunn & Carson seemed well on their way to the title when Graham managed to slip one of his men a piece of steel despite being chained to Fields. The Interns knocked out both Carson & Dunn and then started stomping the helpless pair. Referee Joe Powell disqualified the masked team which gave the match to Carson & Dunn, but not the title.  Fields and Graham also got involved in a post match brawl with Fields getting the worst of it. It was next determined that since a chain couldn't hold Dr. Graham, perhaps a cage would. A rematch was set up in which Graham would be locked in a cage at ringside to prevent his interference. Furthermore the disqualification rule that allowed the title not to change hands on a DQ was waived. The Interns would lose the title if they lost by disqualification. All things seemed to be going Dunn & Carson's way, but things soon got strange.  

First of all, Dr. Jerry Graham did not show up for the match. It was announced that he had been suspended for actions that had taken place the Friday before in Dothan. This was the last anyone on the Gulf Coast would hear or see of the infamous Graham. He soon appeared in California, but his career (and life) were on a downhill slide. 

Next, one of the Interns was injured by Dick Dunn during the first fall of the match and was unable to answer the bell for the second fall. The other Intern came to ringside and asked for more time for his partner to recover. They were given three minutes to get back to the ring. The Intern disappeared to the dressing room and soon came back out with his masked partner. Or did he? This man seemed different. The Intern climbed into the ring but was immediately caught in the same hold by Dunn that had injured his partner and submitted. That's when the other "Intern" removed his mask, revealing Flash Monroe. Monroe had loaded the mask with a piece of steel and used it to wallop Carson & Dunn. Brother Rocket soon joined him in the fray and the Monroes gave Carson & Dunn a severe beating. Carson was left bloodied and wandering through the crowd incoherently swing a steel chair. The final result was that the Interns were disqualified for their ruse, thus losing the titles. Dick Dunn & Don Carson were the new Gulf Coast tag team champions. The Interns, left without titles or a manager, departed the territory. 

A non-title match was soon set up between Carson & Dunn against the Magnificent Monroes. Dunn & Carson won the first fall after ramming the Monroes heads together allowing Carson to pin Rocket. Flash came back and pinned Carson after using a neckbreaker on him. In the third fall, the Monroes just couldn't get it together. First Flash tried to knee Dunn in the stomach, but Dick moved and flash hit Rocket. Carson was then tagged in and he was giving Flash a good going over when Rocket re-entered the ring. His plan was to lay a haymaker on Carson, but referee Joe Powell stopped him. At that moment, Flash broke free from Carson and threw his own punch at the blonde. Carson moved at just the last moment and again Flash hit his brother. Carson then covered Rocket for the pin. The Monroes luck would change however and they would defeat Carson & Dunn for the titles before the month was out. 

Fans started noticing a change in Don Carson after he and Dunn dropped the tag team titles. It started in a match against equally popular Bobby Whitlock. Fans were expecting a clean scientific wrestling match and that is what they got. For a while. When Whitlock got the better of him, Carson resorted to hair pulling and closed fists to win the bout. 

Flash Monroe had his share of troubles against Dick Dunn in singles matches. He lost the Gulf Coast title to the popular Dunn early in the month, but regained it back on the 27^th. 

The Japanese team of Sugi Sito & Akio Yashihara continued to move up the tag team ranks. They defeated the team of Chief White Eagle & Pedro Valdez before concentrating on singles matches. Yashihara also started serving as Sito's ringside manager. This came into play in a match between Sito and Cowboy Bob Kelly. Kelly had won the first fall with his bulldog hold. Sito was losing badly in the second when he went to his tights for a salt pack. Before the salt could find its way into Kelly's eyes, referee Joe Powell took it away from Sito. Yashihara then handed Sito one of his Japanese wooden shoes, which he used to batter Kelly resulting in a disqualification loss. Both men then jumped Kelly but were chased away when Bobby Fields hit the ring. 

DECEMBER: 

The Gulf Coast Heavyweight title changed hands twice in the first two weeks of December. First, Flash Monroe (who had just regained the belt from Dick Dunn on November 27^th) lost the title to newcomer Jose Villa. Villa pinned Monroe to win the first fall after leaping over him with a sunset flip as Flash bounced from the ropes. Monroe came back and gave Villa a tremendous beating during the second fall. He pinned Villa after slamming his head into all four ring corners and stomping him to the mat.  In the third, Villa again managed to catch Monroe with a sunset flip and pinned Monroe to win the bout and the Gulf Coast title. Don Carson, a former champion himself, immediately challenged him. Carson & partner Dick Dunn had dropped the Gulf Coast tag team titles to Rocket & Flash Monroe and the fans started noticing a change in the popular Carson. It started in a match against Bobby Whitlock in which Carson started using dirty tactics when Whitlock got the better of him. The same thing happened in a match between Carson and popular Ramon Perez. Carson got so carried away that referee Tommy Hatcher disqualified him.  

Carson managed to reign himself in during the title match with Villa. He did manage to bloody Villa before beating him in two straight falls, winning each with a backdrop. Carson grabbed the belt and stalked back to the dressing room, leaving the fans stunned at his attitude change. 

A seven man tag match was set up in which as each man was eliminated he was matched up in a singles match with the next man eliminated. The seventh and remaining man would get $100 prize money. It came down to Carson & Dick Dunn as the final two. Carson had another change of heart and decided to split the money with Dunn rather than wrestle him. Later in the evening Carson charged the ring to help Bob Kelly & Bobby Fields as they were being worked over by the Monroes. 

The Monroes added a manger named Mike Shane to their team. I don't know who this was because he only lasted three weeks and then left the area. He originally showed up wearing a mask, but lost that in a non-title match that the Monroes lost to Cowboy Bob Kelly & Bobby Fields. Rocket had managed to pin Kelly while all four men battled in the ring. Kelly came back and pinned Flash in the next two falls, both times after a dropkick. In the meanwhile Kelly & Fields managed to remove the mask from Shane's head. A title match was set up that saw the Monroes at an advantage due to the interference of Shane. Kelly & Fields hit double dropkicked Flash to win the first fall, but lost the second when Shane grabbed Kelly's leg and slammed it into the corner. The Monroes continued to work over the leg until Kelly was forced to submit. The third fall ended in the Monroes getting disqualified for continuing to stomp and batter Kelly & Fields. Finally Don Carson & Dick Dunn came to the ring and chased Shane & the Monroes back to the dressing room. The Monroes had lost the bout but remained the Gulf Coast tag team champions. 

The final card of the year saw Carson making a full turn. He even teamed with Bobby Whitlock, who had been the cause of his attitude change. The two of them teamed with Lee & Bobby Fields to defeat Flash Monroe, Sugi Sito, Akio Yashihara and the returning Pancho Villa.  

That's it for our look at 1968. Hope you have enjoyed it. 

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