- Mike Norris

Last month I touched briefly on the running feud between promoter Lee Fields and “Mr. Personality” Bobby Shane. This month I would like to examine it in detail.

Bobby Shane was perhaps the greatest heel ever to reside in the Gulf Coast territory. With his blond hair, handlebar moustache, and ever-present cigar, his mere appearance was enough to drive the fans into an angry frenzy. Add to it to the fact that he had taken to wearing a crown and calling himself the “King of Wrestling” and therefore refused to wrestle on TV. The “peasants” had to pay to see him in the arenas, not for free on television. However, this did not keep him from being in front of the television cameras. He spent much time on TV, bad mouthing the Southern fans, the Gulf Coast promotion in general and promoter Lee Fields in particular. He called Fields “Leroy” and berated him constantly. Month after month, Shane shot off his mouth and refused to accept matches on TV. This was the basis of the irritation with Lee Fields.

Lee Fields was not only a great promoter; he had spent many years as an outstanding wrestler. Originally from Oklahoma, Lee and his brothers Don and Bobby were legends all over the southeastern part of the United States. Lee held many regional titles during his career, including several reigns as Gulf Coast Heavyweight champion. The Fields brothers were also a part of the famous Welch / Fuller clan. Their father Virgil “Speedy” Hatfield was married to one of the sisters of the Welch brothers. The Fields family was also descendants of the Hatfields of Hatfield and McCoy fame. So you know Lee knew how to take care of himself.

It all came to a head during a television taping at the WEAR Channel 3 studios in Pensacola, Florida in June of 1971. Shane was in front of the cameras demanding on-air time and holding up the matches. When Lee came out to politely tell him to leave, Shane slugged him, stunning the promoter and knocking him to the floor. Bobby then proceeded to talk once again to announcer Don Griffin.

When the program resumed, Cowboy Bob Kelly was being interviewed by Griffin and explained that as of that moment, Lee Fields had made him the special matchmaker. The first match he was going to book was a one fall to a finish, no DQ and no time limit match for the main event on the upcoming Wednesday night card in Mobile, Alabama. The participants in that match would be Bobby Shane and… LEE FIELDS.

The incident of Bobby Shane punching Lee Fields and the brawl that followed was shown that Saturday night at 10:00 on WEAR Channel 3. It also was shown on Channel 13 from Biloxi, Mississippi on the wrestling program from the Hattiesburg end of the Gulf Coast territory run by Speedy Hatfield. The upcoming match in Mobile was mentioned much to the delight of the fans, eager for someone to give the much hated Shane his comeuppance. But could Lee Fields do it? After all, he had been retired from the ring for nearly a decade, and Shane, for all his arrogance and attitude, was an accomplished wrestler. He had beaten the best the sport had to offer. This would prove o be quite an event.

Needless to say, come Wednesday night, there was standing room only at the Mobile Municipal Auditorium. Bob Kelly presented a great card for the evening.