| Les
Thatcher: That was a great period of time
(the mid-seventies) in the Carolinas, because they were so deep in
talent.
Dick Bourne: I guess
George Scott was booking then, right?
LT: Right.
DB: Do you remember what year or about what time he took over the
book?
LT: Oh gosh, (pauses) I can remember hearing it was going to
happen from John Ringly, I think . . . I’m almost sure that I
heard that first from John in the parking lot at Channel 3 in
Charlotte where we used to do TV. I don’t remember the year.
DB: It would have had to been in ’73 or ’74 . . .
LT: Well, he’s the one that brought Valentine in, so whenever
that was . . .
DB: That was in 1974 . . . early ’74.
LT: When was the plane wreck?
DB: October of 1975
LT: Okay. That’s right. What I do remember is George Scott
mentioning to the Crocketts that he was going to kill the territory
in essence to rebuild it, which was a bold statement to make back
then, or to make anyway when your looking for a job, "I’m
going to kill your business so I can build it back again"! But
the point was, I guess he realized he wanted to bring Valentine in,
and you know, Charlotte being a tag-team territory, I remember when
Valentine first came in, and you talk about somebody that took their
time, I mean, he didn’t get warmed up until 15 minutes in. To him,
a short match was 25 minutes. I can remember the fans in that area
not being accustomed to his slow methodical style, and when he first
came in (to the Mid-Atlantic area), people just getting up and
walking out on his matches . . .
DB: Is that right??
LT: . . .and of course a year later he was selling out the same
building. And they wouldn’t move!
DB: John Hitchcock and Bruce Mitchell did a story on many of
Valentine’s matches in Greensboro that we have on the site from
that time period. It’s great stuff.
LT: Oh, yes. God, that was a tremendous time. Business was good,
the talent was good, the whole atmosphere was positive.
DB: That was the period of time that got me hooked on wrestling.
LT: Well, of course. It did a lot of people, I think.
* * * * *
Thanks
to Greg Oliver for quoting our interview with Les Thatcher and
linking to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in a recent article on George
Scott that appeared on his excellent site Slam!
Pro Wrestling.
George
Scott: Making Mid-Atlantic Sizzle
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