If there was ever a true champion for wrestling fans, especially in the Carolinas and Virginia, it was Bob Caudle. And a champion needs a belt.
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| Bob Caudle with his own title belt, a gift from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, at his home in Raleigh, NC. |
Originally published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
One of the things that I've always felt made Bob Caudle so special to wrestling fans from several generations is the fact that he was the steady constant on our televisions every week for near 34 years. The wrestlers came and went, but Bob was the constant. Almost every single week from when he took over for Ray Reeve at WRAL in Raleigh on All Star Wrestling in 1961 to the last days of Smokey Mountain Wrestling in the 1990s, Bob was the constant.
He is best remembered as the voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His friendly smile and welcoming voice was a warm embrace every Saturday afternoon, and the relationship he established with fans transcended that time to where even well into the 2010s, Bob was attending fan conventions and received warmly by fans.
If there was ever a true champion for wrestling fans, especially in the Carolinas and Virginia, it was Bob Caudle. And a champion needs a belt.
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| The belt on display at my home before making the trip to Raleigh. Also in this photograph are Bob's Hall of Heroes plaque which he gave to me on my 50th birthday (and I treasure), as well as the photograph used for the main plate of the belt. |
The Mid-Atlantic Gateway presented Bob with a special, one of a kind, commemorative belt paying tribute to the Voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. It was presented to him and his wife Jackie on June 17, 2024 at his home in Raleigh.
I wasn't sure how Bob would receive it. While he loves reminiscing about the "old days," he generally is not at all interested in holding on to wrestling memorabilia. Soon to be 94 years old, and in a no-holds-bar match against the ravages of father-time, Bob said it will be a tough task for anyone to take this title away from him. "They will bury me with this!" he said with a big smile.
It was a nice moment with a truly wonderful man.
- D. Bourne
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