Wild Bill Longson The only man to win a world championship in Louisville.

Second, I had to fill out an application and wait for them to decide to even give me a hearing to get a license. If you want a signed copy by Jim Cornette himself, to whom should the autograph be made? The book is filled with never-before-published photos and stories you wont find anywhere else. Elvis was booked at the Armory (the future Louisville Gardens) for two shows on November 25, 1956. The last event that took place in the building was a TNA house show in April of 2007. When he returned to Kentucky in 2015, he went through the application process and was granted a license. Brady contends that the Commissionwill not allow two promotions to run in the same territory, much like the old days of the NWA, and no one is allowed to move in and compete with the licensed promoters. According to The Courier-Journal, the box office accepted a variety of items in lieu of money for tickets that night: oats, sauerkraut, sauerkraut juice, razor blades, a sewing machine, coffee, malt, cheese, socks, canned milk, canned chile, a card table, rings, lavaliers, watches, $3 in Courier-Journal scrip, crackers, flour, soft drinks, tomatoes, peas, corn, IOUs from four barbers, a ham, fifteen dozen eggs, and five chickens. Backgrounds on major rivalries, booking details and business statistics from all over the Tennessee wrestling circuits. Okay, Louisville fans, lets hear it. Designed by Out of the Sandbox. Lance Russell and Dave Brown hosted the infamous Tuesday Night Wrestling show from the Gardens on WDRB-TV. Paperback. This specific ISBN edition is currently not available. WWE also staged two pay-per-view events while the venue was known as Louisville Gardens: (In Your House 6 and In Your House 17: Ground Zero).

Oh, the times we had @ Louisville Gardens! Longson was a fixture for the Allen Athletic Club throughout the 40s and 50s and even worked as a booker for the promotion.

Betty McDonogh Wife of Francis and the business manager for Allen and her husband. Needing to know what size to order? With the Rock N Roll Express going into the WWE Hall of Fame, one can only hope Jim and the Midnight Express will be next. Kentucky is one of the few states that governs wrestling as a legitimate sport, and thered tape involved with promoting and wrestling in Kentucky is staggering. Powered by Shopify.

Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods. They were the top draw in Louisville for many years until Blakes booker, Heywood Allen, decided to part company and start his own wrestling promotion.

Bluegrass Brawlers: My Horse for a Wrestling Ticket! No, dont get your hopes up. This new edition has been a long time coming. The Savoy wrestling show was the hot ticket in 1933, and many fans took them up on the offer. One of the stated goals of the KBWA is to attract major wrestling events i.e. Theres nothing random about the drug testing, says Brady. TNA Wrestling held an event at the venue in 2007. In addition, the pop sensation band Jackson 5 known as "The Jacksons" during this era - had also performed on October 7, 1979 throughout the band 4th leg from their Destiny World Tour at this arena. Anyone who steps on the other side of the barrier wall from the fans wrestlers, managers, valets, ring announcers, time keepers, and more is required to have a license, and everyone who has a license is required to pass a physical and be subject to random drug testing. The complete hundred year history of the Louisville Gardens arena. Notify me when this product is available: Added to National Register of Historic Places, the Gardens opened as the Jefferson County Armory in 1905. When I started digging deep into Louisvilles rich wrestling history for Bluegrass Brawlers, I had no trouble finding stories about the OVW and Memphis years, but it was the golden age from1935-1957 that fascinated me most. Louisvilles Greatest show is a labor of love that is truly four years in the making. From mud matches to masked men; from Wild Bill Cantrell to Wild Bill Longson; from live TV to live alligators, the Allen Athletic Club was Louisvilles Greatest Show. WWE also staged two pay-per-view events at Louisville Gardens: (In Your House 6 and In Your House 17: Ground Zero). Jerry Lawler The King of Memphis could lay equal claim to royalty in Louisville with all the legendary nights he had at the Gardens. The tale of the Savoy Theater is a fascinating saga that was missed when I first published Bluegrass Brawlers. This book is not currently available from Cornette's Collectibles, but can be purchased from Amazon. A detailed, inside look at promoters Nick Gulas & Roy Welch, and their Nashville-based booking office! If youre curious why WWE, TNA, and other promotions generally give Kentucky a pass, its because these regulations and more (including one that states a match must stop immediately if theres any blood) apply to every wrestling show in Kentucky. For several decades, the arena was the home of professional wrestling action with a whos who of wrestling names who have made their stamp in the wrestling world. Click here to order your signed copy today, Coming Soon: Bluegrass Brawlers, 10th Anniversary Edition. Get Free Standard U.S. Teeny Jarrett pleaded with her, promising to let her know who won the main event, but the woman wanted to see for herself! Louie Dampier was the team's best player in the era.

Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory.

Jack Reynolds was on the card that night, along with former Kentucky Wildcat Billy Love and speed boat racer Wild Bill Cantrell. This amount includes applicable customs duties, taxes, brokerage and other fees. Tickets cost only $2.50 for this monumental show, and numerous shops around town were giving tickets away as an incentive for buying just about anything. Francis S. McDonogh Allens successor, who took the Allen Athletic Club into its hey day in the 1950s, pioneering wrestling on Louisville television and drawing record crowds at the Armory. At the end of the day, money talks, and so will it be in this case.. Dean Hill Current owner of OVW, Hill was a ring announcer at the Louisville Gardens before becoming the voice of Louisville wrestling as OVWs TV announcer. The Kentucky Athletic Commission is notoriously stingy about handing out licenses to promoters. It also played host tothe legends of Memphis Wrestling and OVW as well as Elvis, Sinatra, and even Martin Luther King, Jr. View cart for details.

Since I had insurance, I was never sure why was the bond necessary. Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. Theres no Hall of Fame in the works by me, or anyone else I know of. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. Gut the current commission and let the new guys have a fresh opportunity to revitalize wrestling.. If you reside in an EU member state besides UK, import VAT on this purchase is not recoverable. This is the story of the true golden age of wrestling, when men and women wore their Sunday best to see hometown heroes like Blacksmith Pedigo, Kid Scotty Williams, Stu Gibson, Mel Meiners, Sgt. [3] The Kentucky Wildcats when led by Adolph Rupp played 72 games at the armory going 61-11 there from 1937 to 1956[4] For 22 years, the Allen Athletic Clubs weekly wrestling show at the Columbia Gym was the place to be on Tuesday night. Heywood Allen A referee turned promoter who was involved in the Louisville wrestling scene from the early 1900s until 1947. Ill announce more here and on my social media in the coming months! ?QI@H?1 Tc '7oR]y/[/|yxXt:qUWV%-. This looks like it was late in the Memphis run. Considered one of the greatest managers of all time. And yes, Herschel is for hire. I have a long list of suggestions. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. It feels soft and lightweight, with the right amount of stretch. In the midst of The Great Depression, the Savoy Theaters manager C.B. Freedom Hall replaced the small, aging facility in 1956, as a more popular venue for city events. Seller Inventory # zk1505702488, Tuesday Night At The Gardens: Pro Wrestling In Louisville, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Seller Inventory # DADAX1505702488, More information about this seller The new book includes a lot more photos and 50% (and counting) more written content.

Thesz and George met on November 27, 1954 at the Jefferson County Armory (now the Louisville Gardens). Further information includes the complete hundred year history of the Louisville Garden Arena. Right after I took the pic, he pointed at me and gave me a crotch chop gesture. In 1955 Elvis came to Louisville to play a private corporate function. Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the shipping service selected, the seller's shipping history, and other factors. Kenny Starmaker Bolin Louisville native and life-long nemesis of Cornette, Bolin helped launch the WWE careers of more than 4 dozen wrestlers who once belonged to Bolin Services. A man rode up shortly before bell time and asked if he could get a wrestling ticket in exchange for a horse. Found another deep cut on Youtube worth sharing. The new website for the KBWA states the groups purpose as follows: Our mission is to encourage the growth of professional boxing and wrestling in the Commonwealth, while protecting participants and spectators of the sports. Even in the 80s, many old ladies never missed wrestling at the Louisville Gardens or the chance to tell their least favorite wrestler too kiss their wrinkled butts. The only thing missing from the story was the name of the man responsible for the show. Plus Louisville Gardens becomes instantly attractive to a bigger fish group of people if red tape on events is cleared., If Bevin wants to change it, change it, says Brady. Martin Luther King Jr. (Tuesday, August 23, 1960)[2] and Harry Truman both spoke at the arena. In addition to the year by year account of the promotion and owners Heywood Allen and Francis S. McDonogh, Louisvilles Greatest Show also features more than twenty profiles of local and national wrestling stars, including: Indiana University wrestling coach Billy Thom, Hall of Fame Hydroplane racer Wild Bill Cantrell, Kentucky Athletic Commissioner Johnson S. Mattingly, Louisville police detective and ref Ellis Joseph. 1905 More recently, WWE used the 3,000 person capacity arena as a training ground for future stars in a minor-league promotion known as Ohio Valley Wrestling, until the organization moved to the Davis Arena. [7] Ice hockey teams to use the Gardens as home ice include the Louisville Blades and the Louisville Shooting Stars. Additional biographies of stars like the Fabulous Fargos, Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett. The Kentucky Colonels, of the American Basketball Association, played their home games at the facility, then known as the Louisville Convention Center, from 1967 through 1970. Since then, the building has collected dust and junk, essentially just a historical landmark that sits there waiting for time to take it over.