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The George South Online Museum

Sportatorium Bench

This is an actual wood bench from the famous Sportatorium in Dallas , TX . We were going through Dallas to a youth rally and I had always wanted to see the Sportatorium. I knew it was run down and they were getting ready to tear it down, so we actually stopped at like six o’clock in the morning. 

The place was all boarded up, but we tried a side door and the thing opened! This old bum was sleeping in there and he raised up and scared us half to death. I guess we scared him, too. I told him who I was, and he didn’t care, he said “Have you got a cigarette?” and I told him “I don’t smoke” and he said, “well come on in, anyway.” 

And we looked around, and I found this bench that had been tore out and was laying in a pile right there at the door. So I grabbed it, and I’m so glad I did, because now that building is gone. 

What’s so neat is you can still see the old chewing gum and the beer stains and you can just imagine all the people that sat on this bench over the years. And of course, everybody that was anybody during those years wrestled in the Dallas Sportatorium.

George holds a photo of himself standing in the middle of the star, 50 yard line, Texas Stadium, Dallas Texas.