This is an ad from a 1975 TV Guide magazine for WGHP's "Eyewitness News" featuring weatherman Frank Deal. Frank's voice is the voice you heard over the theme music for WGHP's Championship Wrestling show in the early 1970s.
Charlie Harville was the host of "Championship Wrestling", but it was Frank's voice over the opening theme of the show.
Deal was the channel-8 weatherman from 1969 to 1996. He also hosted his own "Superstar" classic movie show in primetime.
Thanks to Carroll Hall at "All Star Championship Wrestling" blog for this image and information on Frank Deal. It's further proof we go to any lengths to document the smallest details of TV wrestling at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and Studio Wrestling!
SALUTE TO THE ANNOUNCER Jim Carlisle, WRBL-TV, Columbus GA
Wrestling Revue Magazine, August 1972 (Includes rare audio clip below.)
Born, June 19, 1939, announcer Jim Carlisle of WRBL-TV, Channel 3, Columbus, Georgia, graduated from Jordan Vocational High School in Columbus in 1957. He's married to the former Miss Betty Ann Stokes of Columbus. They have one son — Derek Scott — born December 28, 1968.
Jim has been in the radio and television industry since December 2, 1955, having started while still in high school. He has worked at stations in Chattanooga, Tenn., Montgomery, Ala., Mobile, Ala., LaGrange, Georgia, and, of course, Columbus. Has now been with WRBL-TV, Channel 3, since September of 1965. Jim is very versatile on TV, having done just about every type of program that there is.
Jim Carlisle interviews Dick Steinborn
During the late 1960's, he did a very popular show for the younger set, called "Blast-Off with V-Man," a space-man type show. After V-Man appeared in a downtown Christmas parade one year, the Columbus newspapers came out with an article saying that V-Man drew more applause from the children, and seemed to be more popular with the children, than even Santa Claus himself.
Jim calls the action on TV Wrestling every Saturday afternoon at 4:00 on WRBL-TV.
He is also the ring announcer at the wrestling matches at the Columbus Auditorium every Wednesday night.
He also writes a column, "At Ringside With Jim Carlisle," for the official wrestling program which is sold every Wednesday night at the auditorium. He gives background information on the various wrestlers who see action in the Columbus ring.
All his wrestling activities are in association with promoter Fred Ward of Columbus.
Jim Carlisle in the ring
at the Columbus Municipal Auditorium
Jim's favorite past time and hobby is fishing. He goes just about every chance he gets. A member of the Loyal Order of Moose, Jim is a Past Governor of the Columbus, Georgia, Moose Lodge No. 1166. He is also a member of the Legion of the Moose.
Jim says that he enjoys his association with wrestling, and is glad the opportunity came his way a couple of years ago. His Saturday afternoon wrestling telecasts have proven to be extremely popular with the area fans.
Several of the wrestlers have told Jim that he is one of the best that they had ever heard at calling the action on TV. And, considering the fact that they had heard wrestling announcers all across the country, Jim considers this to be a great compliment.
Thanks to Carroll Hall for forwarding this article to us at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
* * * * *
Editors's note: Jim Carlisle was also the host of "Macon Championship Wrestling" that aired on channel 9 in Macon, GA in the 1970s.
Here is an audio clip of a promo for a card in Macon in 1977 featuring the voice of Jim Carlisle.
The music bed underneath is the opening live instrumental fanfare on Neil Diamond's iconic live LP "Hot August Night."
In 1972, John Ringley hosted a special episode of "Championship Wrestling" that aired on WBTV-3 in Charlotte that focused on Rip "The Profile" Hawk. Ringley and Hawk's manager, "Playboy" Gary Hart were situated on a set in the WBTV studio. They reviewed 16mm film footage shot at the Charlotte Coliseum and Greensboro Coliseum featuring Hawk against various opponents including Jack Brisco in a battle over the Eastern Heavyweight Championship.
Matches included:
Rip Hawk and Swede Hansen vs. Johnny Weaver and Argentina Apollo
Rip Hawk and Swede Hansen vs. Johnny Weaver and Art Nelson (Greensboro)
Rip Hawk vs. Jack Brisco (Hawk wins Eastern title) (Charlotte)
Rip Hawk vs. Art Nelson (taped fists match) (Greensboro)
We recently had a conversation with Mr. Ringley about booking changes back during this very time period. That article can be found on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway by clicking this link.
I always appreciate learning about other great voices from other territories, those that either hosted wrestling form the "studio days" or lent a hand to the wrestling business in those days through offering wrestling results on the local evening news.
Scott Bowden writes of the passing of veteran Memphis TV personality Jack Eaton in a recent column on his excellent site Kentucky Fried Rasslin'. ("A wrestling perspective that's both original AND extra crispy.")
Eaton, who Bowden explains was likely better known as the voice of the Memphis State Tigers football and basketball teams, was also well known by wrestling fans for lending his voice to wrestling highlights on the WMC-5 news broadcasts.
When Jerry “the King” Lawler defeated Eddie Gilbert in a loser-leaves-town bout to send the hated leader of the First Family packing, Eaton cracked, “If Jimmy Hart owes you money, you’d better find him fast.”
The article contains an embedded video link to rare footage of Jack Eaton showing highlights from a jam packed Mid-South Coliseum bout between AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkle and Southern champ Jerry Lawler.
by Don Holbrook Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Billy Powell was a local celebrity in Greenville, South Carolina and the surrounding area. He had his own daily radio show on WFBC radio and eventually became program director. He did voice over work for WFBC TV. He was a fill in weatherman on TV and he did ad agency voice over work on the side. All that plus, ring announcer at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium on Monday nights. He did the additional local spots during TV wrestling on channel 4 telling us who would be in Greenville on Monday nights.
Paul Winkhaus (local promoter for Greenville and Asheville) was a good man but his voice sounded sort of like Uncle Joe's on Petticoat Junction. I remember one Monday Billy was sick and Mr. Winkhaus had to do the ring announcing. That was when he told me just before the show started, "Well, the golden voice of channel 4 isn't going to be here, so it looks like all these good people are stuck with me tonight."
And he was right because no one could ever top Billy's unique sound and style. He was as much of a part of Greenville wrestling as anyone who ever stepped into the ring.
Joe Murnick was the local promoter for Jim Crockett in Raleigh NC, Norfolk VA, and other towns in the 1960s and 1970s. But he was probably more famous during that time as the ring announcer for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.
Joe's voice and vocal style were unique and reminiscent of the classic old-school ring announcers going back decades. His ring introductions were one of my favorite parts of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling each week.
From time to time we'll post some of Joe's ring introductions as we come across them on audio tape archives. We hope they bring back good memories to those of you old enough to remember Mr. Murnick's smooth delivery. And for those of you too young to remember him, we are happy to expose you to one of the classic television voices in the history of Jim Crockett Promotions.
JOE'S CALL - July 20, 1974
Johnny Valentine vs. Bob Bruggers for 1000 Silver Dollars
Joe Murnick
This audio is part of a feature on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway looking back at how Johnny Valentine's infamous 1000 Silver Dollars became 2000 Silver Dollars in 1974.
Check out this rare original ticket to the studio wrestling tapings at WGHP channel 8 in High Point, NC. Note the hand-written alteration on the ticket of the day and date. Someone just didn't think through things very well when they printed December 25, 1973 on that week's tickets. They certainly weren't going to have a taping on Christmas Day.
They instead decided to double up the week before, having a taping on both Tuesday (normal night for WGHP taping) and a special Wednesday night. The tickets originally printed for 12/25 were honored on Wednesday 12/19. Johnny Weaver's personal journals showed this to be the case.
"Championship Wrestling", which aired on WGHP-8 in High Point, NC (a TV market which includes Greensboro and Winston-Salem as well) was taped at a studio at the Sheraton Hotel. WGHP's original studios were located inside the Sheraton Hotel on North Main Street in downtown High Point, and the wrestling tapings took place there until they were discontinued and consolidated with the WRAL Raleigh tapings in the summer of 1974. The station moved to new studios around 10 years later.
