Racing and Rasslin' on WGHP

"... Junior Johnson runnin' through the woods of Carolina ..."

- Bruce Springsteen, "Cadillac Ranch"

It was great receiving this little ad from newspaper researcher Mark Eastridge recently. It is from the Greensboro Daily News in October 24, 1964 and is an advertisement for Saturday afternoon sports programming on WGHP-8 out of High Point, NC.

The ad was primarily for ABC's "Wide World of Sports" which on that day would feature racing from Charlotte and included some classic names from NASCAR's past including Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, among others.

The race was the 1964 National 400 held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It actually took place the previous Sunday, October 18, but highlights would air on "Wide World of Sports" that following Saturday. Fred Lorenzen, seen in the photo in the ad, won the race. (My all time favorite Junior Johnson came in 39th in his 1964 Ford.)

WGHP was also home to weekly Jim Crockett Promotions wrestling tapings and the ad also mentions that following the Charlotte 400 will be "Championship Wrestling" on channel 8 featuring two tag team matches. The program was hosted by broadcasting hall-of-famer Charlie Harville.

Racing and wrestling! They were the top two professional spectator sports in our area at that time, and it didn't get much better on a fall afternoon than racing, wrestling, and I'm sure a little college football thrown in.

(Racing information from the Racing Reference website at racing-reference.info)

Bob Caudle and Nick Pond in WRAL News Team Ad from 1975

This is a very cool ad from an October 1975 issue of TV Guide magazine featuring the "TV5 Action News Team" from WRAL-5 television in Raleigh, NC.

The TV5 news team at that time consisted of Bob Caudle, Jon Mangum, Charlie Gaddy, and Nick Pond. 

"The TV5 Action News Team: 

Depend on it Morning, Noon, and Night."

It's a nice to see both Caudle and Pond, longtime wrestling hosts, in the same photo.  Both Caudle and Pond were wrestling announcers for wrestling tapings held at the WRAL studios. Pond was the Raleigh-area host of "Championship Wrestling" from approximately 1962-1972. Caudle hosted the syndicated show "All Star Wrestling" during most of that same time, and then transitioned to the host of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" which was seen in Raleigh on WRAL and syndicated to TV stations throughout the Carolinas and Virginia well into the 1980s

Tapings for Jim Crockett Promotions wrestling began at WRAL in 1959. In 1981, they moved to a studio in Charlotte. NC. Caudle continued to host the show there, and then later out in the arenas for both Jim Crockett Promotions and Turner Broadcasting until the early 1990s.

Thanks to Carroll Hall at the All Star Championship Wrestling website for providing us this great piece of memorabilia.

Saturday TV Wrestling in Toronto

The Maple Leaf Wrestling website has a terrific look at what the TV schedule looked like for a Saturday afternoon in Toronto in 1981.

Fans there sure were lucky to see a wide variety of wrestling including the local Maple Leaf Wrestling show, plus Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, AWA, WWF, and more!

During these years, promoter Frank Tunney was booking a lot of talent for the Toronto shows from Jim Crockett Promotions based out of Charlotte, NC. Toronto fans got to see the "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" show which aired on channel 4 WIVB out of Buffalo, NY, just across Lake Ontario. Many of the Crockett stars also appeared on "Maple Leaf Wrestling" as well. 

Take a look at the post on Andrew Calvert's excellent Maple Leaf Wrestling. Andrew gives some great detail with what it was like to be "pinned to the couch" on a Saturday afternoon in Toronto.

Grunt-by-Groan Description by Nick Pond

An early reference to Nick Pond calling the wrestling action for Raleigh from the studio of WRAL in Raleigh, NC.

Carroll Hall of the All Star Championship Wrestling site provided the clipping. He has been researching this time period trying to determine when Pond took over as host from Ray Reeve.

"The earliest reference I have found for Nick Pond as host is April 1, 1962," he wrote me. "The latest for Ray Reeve as host is June 3, 1961. The gap between the two is getting smaller."

Pond called the action for the Raleigh market, while Bob Caudle called the action for all other markets. This was the case for roughly a 10 year period from 1962-1972.

Sam Muchnick Renews KPLR Contract (1966)

Wrestling Revue Magazine 1966

NWA President Sam Muchnick (left) and Harold Koplar (right) flank announcer George Abel as Muchnick signs a contract to continue to present "Wrestling at the Chase" on KPLR TV in St. Louis.

Koplar was the founder of KPLR-TV channel 11, one of the most successful independent stations in broadcast television history. Part of the success was the legendary and historic "Wrestling at the Chase" TV show which promoted the regular wrestling events at Kiel Auditorium and later the Checkrdome and the St. Louis Arena.

"Wrestling at the Chase" was produced by the St. Louis Wrestling Club through the production facilities of KPLR. The St' Louis Wrestling Club was Muchnick's wrestling promotion in the Gateway City, and the epicenter for the territorial wrestling organization known as the National Wrestling Alliance.

The show was originally taped in the Khorassan Ballroom at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, also owned by Koplar. It later moved to a smaller venue in the adjoining KPLR TV studios.

Bill Krieger: Sports Director and Wrestling Host (Greenville SC)

Bill Krieger was the sports director at WFBC-4 (now WYFF) in Greenville SC for many years.

In 1961, Krieger also hosted a studio wrestling show taped at WFBC called "Live Championship Wrestling."

No photos of the ring set up in the WFBC studio are known to exist, but both Krieger and Billy Powell report in separate interviews with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway that it was a very small studio with two small bleachers on two sides of the ring, accommodating roughly 50-60 people.

For more information on live studio wrestling held at WFBC (now WYFF) channel 4 in Greenville, SC, visit our WFBC Studio Wrestling page on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives.

A Tribute to Bob Caudle

Featuring the voice of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" Bob Caudle.

Also seen in this video:

David Crockett, Johnny Weaver, Lance Russell, Ric Flair, J.J. Dillon, Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Baby Doll, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, Wahoo McDaniel, Jim Cornette with the Midnight Express and more.

 

Russ Dubuc Article Moved and Updated for 2024

THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE POSTED HERE HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED IN 2024 AND IS NOW LOCATED AT:

Russ Dubuc: The Lost Voice of Wide World Wrestling (Updated)
April 2024