SECW Intro Page #2
Other national names such as Andre, Dick Murdock, and Abdullah the Butcher also appeared. Although held in another building during the 50's and 60's, the home for the weekly Friday Night cards was the 5000 seat Houston County Farm Center. Television tapings for the Dothan end of Gulf Coast were held at the studios of WTVY CH. 4 each Saturday at 2:00 PM for repeat play that afternoon at 5:00 PM. I attended my first wrestling card during this time at the Farm Center, in 1973. I still recall the main event being Ron and Don Bass with Ma Bass (Mae Young) vs. the Wrestling Pro & Tiger Conway. Gulf Coast finally closed doors on the promotion around the spring of 1977 or so.
In a strange twist, one that I have yet to find an answer for, by any wrestling historian, something happened at the end of the Gulf Coast run in Dothan. With no TV, a group began working the Farm Center for two months. It consisted of some of the top talent from both Atlantas' Georgia Championship Wrestling and Eddie Grahams' Championship Wrestling from Florida. We were treated to matches between the likes of Mike Graham, Steve Keirn, Dusty Rhodes, Ole Anderson, Mr. Wrestling II, Dick Slater, Bob Orton Jr., Tony Atlas and more. I would love to know what exactly was going on at this time. Was it the NWA's way of the keeping the area alive so no one would come in or was it something totally different?
NEXT MONTH:
We'll begin in 1977 with the promotion that took over the area and thrilled fans for the next decade! With some of the sports biggest names and hottest action to be found anywhere, it went largely unnoticed by the rest of the country due to lack of magazine exposure… Ron Fuller's Southeastern Championship Wrestling!!