Welcome to another chapter in our continuing saga of the promotion that became Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling. This month I want to continue our year by year journey with the year 1956. The Fields and Welch clans dominated the scene and World's Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz, as well as the Southern Heavyweight and Southern Jr. Heavyweight champions make appearances.  The Southern Tag Team championship title defended is no longer defended in the area and falls dormant. So let's step in the time machine and take a journey back to 1956. 

JANUARY: 

The last card of 1955 saw a wild tag team match between Lee & Bobby Fields against the team of Mario Galento & "Fearless" Al Criswell. The match got completely out of hand and was declared a no-contest affair. Lee Fields was also having his share of problems with "The Baby Blimp" George Harris. As 1956 began Don Fields, the middle brother had recovered from a severely bruised eye provided to him by Mario Galento. The Fields trio decided to kill two birds (make that three) with one stone and challenged Galento, Harris & Criswell to a six-man tag team match. The Fields boys showed their superiority as the dumped the villains and took the win. 

Harris still wasn't satisfied and again challenged Lee Fields to a singles match. As he did once before he made the challenge for the loser to have his head shaved in the ring. A hesitant Lee Fields agreed and the match was set. It was a rough and tumble match as both men fought not only for their honor but for their dark curly hair as well. In the end it was Fields that prevailed and Harris had his curly locks shorn by a local barber. 

A new masked man arrived on the scene calling himself The German Angel. His initial appearance was less than auspicious as he lost to George Curtis. The Angel defeated newcomer Billy Sharbart, but he and Mario Galento lost to Don Fields and another newcomer Herb Larson. Fields also beat the Angel in a singles match. In a rematch between the two the German Angel took the measure of Fields. 

Southern Jr. Heavyweight Champion Brother Frank Jares made a swing into the area. He put the title on the line against the popular Oklahoma cowboy Lester Welch. The two had a rousing battle that ended in a one-hour draw with neither man taking a deciding fall. Therefore Jares retained his title. Another stipulation of this match was that the winner was to meet Lou Thesz for the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship on February 1^st in Mobile. Since neither man won the match, another challenger would have to be chosen for Thesz. 

Also in the area in January was Rowdy Red Roberts and newcomer Jack Laskin.  

FEBRUARY: 

Lou Thesz, the National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion of the World made his way to the Gulf Coast area on February 1^st. The St. Louis native was in the middle of his fifth of six eventual reigns as champion. Arguably the greatest pure wrestler ever, Thesz had been trained for the mat by the great Ed "Strangler" Lewis (Robert Friedrich) and was already a legend. 

Brother Frank Jares made another successful defense of his Southern Jr. Heavyweight crown with a win over former champion Tex Riley. Riley was disqualified in the deciding fall and thus failed in yet another attempt to regain the title he once held. But Riley was persistent and requested and received another opportunity. Each man had won a fall when they both disqualified in the third fall for using illegal tactics. In a desperate attempt to get one more try, Riley said that he would retire if he failed in a final match against Jares. Jares agreed to one more match and it was signed and set. As the night of the match arrived, however, Jares was nowhere to be found. Instead Riley faced Southern Heavyweight champion Freddie Blassie. The Blassie/Riley match was just as wild as those between Jares and Riley had been and both men were disqualified. Needless to say, Tex Riley didn't retire.  More...