Memories Of Mat Legends Live On

Unless you’re a longtime Lowcountry resident, chances are you might not be familiar with a building on upper King Street, a culturally significant structure once known as County Hall.

For years it was a gathering place for locals to enjoy entertainment acts ranging from Tommy Dorsey and Elvis Presley to James Brown, Bob Dylan and Herman’s Hermits. The Charleston landmark also served as host to dances, graduations, sporting events, and even welcomed such American icons as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah Winfrey and the Harlem Globetrotters.

For wrestling fans, however, it was the place to be on Friday nights when longtime promoter Henry Marcus would bring some of the biggest names in the business to town.

The building is still there, at 1000 King, along with its distinctive art deco facade and tower. But it’s now an affordable housing complex known as Palace Apartments, and pro wrestling as we knew it is just a shadow crossing our collective memory.

The victim of gradual deterioration and the changing times, County Hall closed its doors in 1985, only to reopen several years later as the King Street Palace, complete with a facelift and additional seating. But it was a short-lived return, as the county regained ownership several years later, officially ending the aging building’s era as a showplace.

Before it closed down for good, however, the storied venue enjoyed one last hurrah.

Ten years ago this week, some of the most colorful characters in the history of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling converged on Charleston for a special weekend that included a get-together, banquet and autograph signing, and culminated with a “Night of the Legends: A Tribute to Henry Marcus” program and awards ceremony that honored the veteran promoter and stars of the Mid-Atlantic era. It was only fitting that the old County Hall serve as a site for the festivities.

Putting the event together was a labor of love for promoter Andy McDaniel and myself. While legends reunions and fanfests have become somewhat commonplace over the past several years, they were a rarity a decade ago. The sole purpose of the Lowcountry Legends gathering was to reconnect a past generation of beloved wrestlers, with one another and with their fans. And while there were matches on the show, they simply served as a backdrop for a special ceremony recognizing a group of stars from long ago.

It was, indeed, a night of the legends. The atmosphere was magical, and even the 100-year-old building looked much the same as it had in earlier years — without, though, the rotting balcony, the leaky roof and the aged floors.

The event was a dream come true for McDaniel, who began attending wrestling shows at County Hall with his dad at the ripe age of 4.

“Anyone who was anyone in the sport of professional wrestling came to County Hall on those hot Friday nights,” says McDaniel, now a pastor in Wisconsin. “I could not wait for Friday to come because I knew me and my dad would be on the way to the matches. Seeing Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, Greg Valentine, Johnny Valentine, Swede Hanson, Rufus R. “Freight Train” Jones and all the great stars of that era would leave me with a lifetime of memories.”

The chance to bring them back for one more show was too much for McDaniel to resist.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years. My, how time flies,” says McDaniel. “If you have the chance to go and meet one of your heroes from the past, do not pass it up. I will treasure my memories of this event for the rest of my days on this earth. I grew up with the dream of one day meeting my heroes, and I was blessed for that dream to come true.”

For most in attendance a decade ago, it was like stepping back in time to a golden age of grappling in the Lowcountry, watching George “Two Ton” Harris strut to the ring, Tim “Mr. Wrestling” Woods walk once again through the curtain, and hearing that familiar “Hold your own ticket” refrain from Henry Marcus.

It was a special weekend of telling old “war stories,” reliving past triumphs and sharing tales of the road. The highlights were many: “Local Legend” Burrhead Jones juking and jiving, “Blond Bombers” Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson sharing a ring entrance for the first time in more than two decades, and Johnny “The Champ” Valentine who, despite being partially paralyzed in a 1975 plane crash at the pinnacle of his career, still striking an imposing figure and still possessing that rare ability to move a crowd.

Valentine, who walked with the help of a cane and leg braces, drew a thunderous ovation at the autograph session when he made his way into the ring and proceeded to deliver his signature sledgehammer blows to Woods and Jones.

“The weekend of the reunion was the first time Swede Hanson and Rip Hawk saw each other in more than 20 years,” says McDaniel. “Watching them climb into the ring together that night was like stepping back in time. All we needed was for Ole and Gene to have been there together, and we would have had a brawl for the ages.”

The night, of course, belonged to the 87-year-old Marcus, promoter extraordinaire who for decades made Friday nights special for thousands of Lowcountry mat fans. Back in those days, County Hall was a mecca for wrestling in this area, and Marcus brought them all to his mat shrine on a weekly basis. From Jim Londos to Gorgeous George to Lou Thesz to Ric Flair, they all graced the storied structure at 1000 King. And Henry Marcus was the common thread that tied this unique form of entertainment to the Lowcountry.

One of the most poignant moments of the event came when Steven DeTruth (Charleston native Steve Prazak), who served as emcee along with Scott Hudson, paid tribute to the legends who had graced the hallowed hall for many years but had since passed on — stars like Skull Murphy and Brute Bernard, Gene Anderson, Aldo Bogni, Homer O’Dell, Rufus R. Jones. “If you look hard enough,” Prazak told the crowd, “you can still see them.”

That weekend a decade ago takes on even more significance today. At a banquet the afternoon of the show, I told that special group what an impact they had made on the lives of thousands of fans over the years. As time marched on, I added, it also would be unlikely that the same group would ever meet again. But for that one weekend, they would once again be the stars of the show, and County Hall would be open for business.

The years have passed, and time, indeed, has taken its toll. Henry Marcus left us six years later at the age of 93, but not before telling me many more stories about the days he rode trains with Jack Dempsey and dined with Irving Berlin at the old Lindy’s on Broadway. In the end, I thanked him for the wonderful memories he had shared with me, and for his unfailing friendship over the years. And when that fateful day arrived, I wrote his obituary, as he had asked me to do.

There were others who were there that spring weekend 10 years ago, and others who were honored, who have since departed. They were all friends whose memories we will always cherish. Johnny Valentine, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, “Mr. Wrestling” Tim Woods, Big Swede Hanson and George “Two Ton” Harris have all passed away in recent years. In the past six months we’ve said goodbye to two of the greatest ladies of the mat — The Fabulous Moolah (Lillian Ellison) and Pretty Penny Banner.

Brian Hildebrand, who celebrated his honeymoon with wife Pam during the Legends weekend here, died of cancer a year later at the age of 37. Better known in wrestling circles as Mark Curtis, Brian had served as one of four special referees at the show that featured two of the greatest referees from the past (Tommy Young and Ron West), and two of the greatest from the present (Brian and Charles Robinson). Cancer also would claim Charles’ beautiful wife, Amy Robinson, at the tender age of 30, a few years later.

The memories live on.

“I miss those days so much, and that night I was like a kid again,” says Andy McDaniel. “I will never forget it as long as I live. It was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime chance in many ways. The timing could not have been better, because now it would be impossible to recreate what we did on that night. We have lost so many of our dear friends.”

Andy, like many of us, misses the “old days,” when Mid-Atlantic Wrestling was appointment viewing each Saturday, when there were less muscles and less gimmicks. But that cast of characters really didn’t need gimmicks. There was only one Wahoo McDaniel, one Blackjack Mulligan and one Ole Anderson. Their “gimmick” was just being themselves.

“For those of us who have been fans for many years now, we miss the old days,” says McDaniel. “Wrestling today is not the same, and with the recent retirement of my all-time favorite, Ric Flair, another chapter has been closed. May we always remember the good ol’ days, and just as we placed on the plaque of all those who came to be with us in May of 1998, ‘Winners come and go, but Legends are forever.’

“I miss those who have left us, but just as we did in County Hall that night, I often just sit and remember them as they were, and sometimes in the distance you can here a mighty clap of thunder that sounds like Wahoo hitting Valentine, or sometimes you can hear ‘Two Ton’ Harris say, ‘I got him now!’ Never let the memories die.”

- Raw general manager and recent King of the Ring winner William Regal (Darren Matthews) has been suspended for 60 days for his second drug violation. WWE declined to say what drugs were involved. A WWE spokesman reported last week that there have been more than 30 suspensions under the WWE substance abuse and drug-testing policy begun in 2006.

A wrestler faces a 30-day suspension without pay for a first violation, a 60-day suspension for a second violation and firing for a third violation. Performers are tested at least four times a year.

Regal, 40, who was enjoying his most prominent role in years, also was suspended last summer after he was caught buying anabolic steroids, growth hormone and a drug to counter their side-effects over the Internet and without a prescription.

- The Georgia Wrestling History site reported that Susan Adams, formerly known as Pebbles when she worked as a valet for Chick Donovan, died Friday. Adams, who was once married to Donovan, had been ill for some time, and had come off life support about a week ago.

- Former NWA world champion Tommy “Wildfire” Rich will make a special appearance at an Old School Championship Wrestling show tonight at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Redbank Road, Goose Creek. Top bouts are Sixx vs. Jon Malus for the Universal title and Darkness vs. Calie Cassavova in a Hardcore King title match. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission is $8; kids 12 and under $5. Visit www.oscwonline.com or call 743-4800 for more information.

Reach Mike Mooneyham at (843) 937-5517 or mooneyham@postandcourier.com. For wrestling updates during the week, call The Post and Courier Info Line at (843) 937-6000, ext. 3090.

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