Welcome to another addition to Kayfabe Memories look at Lee Fields' Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling promotion. This month we will look at 1977, which was the final year the promotion existed.  After 19 years, Lee Fields called it quits. He had begun negotiations with Ron Fuller (Ronald Welch) in late 1976 and had made a commitment to sell the region to his second cousin. Fuller's dad Buddy Fuller (Edward Welch) had actually been the original Gulf Coast promoter from 1954 until 1959 when he sold out to Fields. 

Before we begin I would like to offer my condolences to the families, friends and fans of Don "Ox" Anderson and the renowned Ed "The Sheik" Farhat. And to offer Godspeed to Pistol Pez Whatley. Let's all pray that this year does follow in the footsteps of last year when we lost far too many of our heroes. 

Now to look at 1977. 

FEBRUARY: 

Gulf Coast Wrestling had been on hiatus since early December of 1976 while Lee Fields finalized the details of the sale of the territory to his cousin Ron Fuller. Wrestling returned in February with many of those who ended 1976 gone from the area. The Wrestling Pro had defeated Ken Lucas for the Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship on the final card of 1976 on December 3, 1976 in Dothan, Alabama. Lucas left the area and ventured to Florida. Dynamite Dick Dunn was the Alabama State Champion when 1976 ended, but Rip Tyler was billed as the champion when 1977 began. Bobby Fields and his nephew Ricky Fields were still the reigning Gulf Coast Tag Team Champions. 

The television program changed in 1977. When 1976 ended the fans in Mobile and Pensacola saw a show that was made up of edited matches taped at the Mobile house shows. These shows were seen on WKRG Channel 5 late Saturday night/early Sunday morning following the late show. Dothan fans were still seeing the studio program from WTVY Channel 4 from Dothan. In 1977, the Dothan show was the only one shown. It was still shown on Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock on WTVY in Dothan. But for the Mobile/Pensacola fans it was shown the following Saturday evening at 6 o'clock on WALA Channel 10 in Mobile, with card run-downs and interviews edited in. John Gauze and Al Roberts served as the play-by-play team and Charlie Platt served as the ring announcer. By September the Mobile/Pensacola airing was moved to Thursday night at 11:30 PM on WKRG Channel 5. Rocky McGuire served as the "matchmaker" on air and was booking the entire territory with the help of Rip Tyler. 

It was announced that Harley Race defeated Terry Funk on February 6, 1977 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to win the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. This was the second of what would become Race's eight title reigns. Oddly enough, Race had defeated Funk's older brother Dory Funk Jr. on March 24, 1973 in Kansas City, Missouri for his first title reign. 

The NWA World's Jr. Heavyweight Championship had changed hands twice during the hiatus. Ron Starr, who had competed in the Gulf Coast for quite a while in 1975, defeated "Irish" Pat Barrett to win the title on December 2, 1976 in New Orleans. Four days later Starr dropped the title to Nelson Royal in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The Pro faced strong competition from former champion Terry Lathan at the beginning of the month. The two fought to a one-hour draw with both men having one fall in their initial meeting. In the rematch, the Pro won the first fall with his famed Suplex while Lathan won the second fall with an inside cradle. The third fall saw lots of clean, scientific but rugged action. Unfortunately, Lathan failed to break on the ropes quick enough and lost the fall by disqualification. The Wrestling Pro remained the Gulf Coast champion.  

Alabama champion Rip Tyler issued a challenge to the Pro. The two met on television and wrestled to a 15-minute draw. They met in Mobile on Mardi Gras night in a match with Tyler's title on the line. It was a rough match, but both men pretty much stuck to the rules. It ended in a thirty- minute draw; therefore Tyler remained the Alabama State champion.  More...