I was a part time employee of Greenville Memorial Auditorium. I was
not working the night Ole got stabbed, but as I often did on Monday
nights, I'd go to the auditorium, usually after the matches had
started and stand in the back and watch. I also had access to the
back door stage entrance. All the security people knew me and I just
walked in the back door since I worked there anyway.
The night Ole was stabbed, he and Gene had just finished a
world tag title main event with Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods) and Dino
Bravo. It was one of those heated match endings. The crowd was in an
uproar. As Ole and Gene were exiting the ring, an old man named
Oscar Ramsey who sat second row ringside every week, stabbed Ole
with a hawkbill knife. The funny thing was, the old guy lived about
a mile from me. I didn't know him that well but he got free tickets
each week because his friend was on the board of directors for the
auditorium.
As the wrestlers left ringside, Gene was far ahead followed
by referee Angelo Martinelli. Ole was lagging behind jawing at the
fans at ringside. As fate would have it, the police officers who
normally worked wrestling were off that night, attending a
retirement party or something. So the officers at ringside were not
as well informed about getting the heels out of the arena as quickly
as possible and staying close to them. If the police had been in
position the stabbing probably would have never occurred. Ole was
all alone with no officer close by when he was stabbed.
The crowd was on their feet headed toward the exits. I was
standing against the wall where I usually stood. The heels would
walk right past me. I saw Gene go by. When I looked to see where Ole
was, I saw Oscar Ramsey moving toward Ole. The place went wild. The
next thing I saw was Ole kicking Mr. Ramsey, down to the floor. He
was kicking him in the head and his head was hitting the floor.
Blood was pouring from Ole's chest and wrist. I think if he hadn't
been hurt so badly, he would have killed Oscar Ramsey.
Anyway, I pointed to Angelo Martinelli and he turned around
and ran back toward Ole. Gene looked around, never changing
expressions or stride. I helped Angelo get Ole to the back. There
was a hallway leading to the stage entrance door. Ole collapsed in
the floor. The cop on the stage door was trying to call the front
office on an inside phone line but no one answered. Just then, Tim
Woods came up the steps with a towel. A nurse on duty came in and
put towels and ice on Ole's chest.
I ran to the front office; I knew all the short cuts. When I
went in, Sandy Scott and Mr. Leslie Timms, auditorium manager, were
there. I shouted that Ole had been stabbed. Sandy immediately jumped
up and ran out the door. He started into the arena. I told him to
come with me. We went through a short cut to the back. When we got
back to the stage door, Ole was almost unconscious. He was saying
something about loving somebody, (don't know who). I think he and
all of us around thought he was going to die.
Then the ambulance arrived. They loaded Ole up and out the
stage door we went. There must have been 500 people out back. I
didn't know what to expect. The ambulance took off to the hospital.
Sandy Scott rode in with them. I went back inside the building and
waited for Gene to come up from the dressing room. The building was
empty. When Gene came up he asked me to tell him how to get to
Greenville General Hospital. I walked him to the warehouse where the
wrestlers parked, inside the building, away from the fans. Gene and
Ole always traveled together in an old red car, Oldsmobile I think.
Gene drove away.
I was told later the next day that Ole refused to be admitted
to the hospital. They stitched him up and he and Gene drove back to
Charlotte at around 4 am in the morning.
In all my years of following wrestling, this is one night I'll
never forget.
-Don
Holbrook
© 2000
Mid-Atlantic Gateway | Ole
Anderson Stabbing
|
