Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives!
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Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives! |
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- Larry Stoy First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Larry Stoy. I have been a pro wrestling fan since 1968. Most of my formidable years were spent in the Mid Atlantic area. I have lived in South Carolina for 35 of my 43 years on this planet. I grew up watching the great stars of Jim Crockett Promotions. This is my first article here, and I want to thank Vince for giving me this opportunity to share some of my memories with you. Now, on with the show!In every major sport,
you have THE TEAM. In
pro football, it could have been the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh
Steelers, or of late, the San Francisco 49ers.
Baseball, you have the Yankees and Dodgers.
Basketball has given us the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers,
and the Michael Jordon-led Chicago Bulls.
But, when you talk of pro wrestling, you have THE ANDERSON
BROTHERS. They may
not have been the first team to become a household name, but, especially
in my region, they were THE TEAM.
Their legacy has stood the proverbial “test of time” and
remains strong in the minds and hearts of many “old school”
wrestling fans. The first Anderson
brother incarnation appeared in the mid 1960’s.
Gene Anderson was paired up with Larry Heinimi, who was now known
as “Lars Anderson”. The
duo were top heels in the Eastern Championship Wrestling circuit (later
renamed Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling). They
won the Mid-Atlantic
version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship in 1966 by defeating
the popular team of George Becker & Johnny Weaver.
These two teams were bitter rivals for much of the next 3 years.
Becker and Weaver were the fans favorite team, so anytime the
Andersons could secure a victory over these two, it was a big deal.
Fans would literally go into frenzy whenever these four men would
climb into a ring. Later, in the late 60’s, a third member of this “brother” team was added. Alan Rogowski, who had been wrestling since the mid 60’s under the name of “Rock” Rogowski, was blended into the “family”. He would be given a name that has since become synonymous with wrestling (both good and bad)…Ole Anderson. Together, this trio would wreck havoc on many wrestlers throughout the Mid-Atlantic area. They would even team up occasionally in six-man tag team matches. If fact, during the year 1969, they faced off against other heel teams in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Here are the results (courtesy of David Williamson, as posted on the Wrestling Classics message board): July 14, 1969:
Lars,
Gene, & Ole Anderson won the 1st & 3rd falls to beat Rip Hawk,
Swede Hanson, & Rock Hunter in a 6 man "Battle Of The
Bullies" bout.
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