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RETURN TO THE MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY
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GASTONIA NC National Guard Armory, Gastonia NC |
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This building might not be considered a classic venue but it has plenty of wrestling history. What once was a North Carolina National Guard Armory is now owned by the City Of Gastonia and is being used as a recreation center. After the Charlotte National Guard Armory burned in 1954, Mr. Jim Crockett Sr. held his weekly matches in this building in Gastonia until the Park Center was built on the site of the old armory in Charlotte. All of the wrestling stars that were in Charlotte were now in little Gastonia once a week. In this building I saw many great wrestlers - - Don Eagle, Billy Two Rivers, Leo & Chick Garibaldi, The Smith Brothers (Russians), Kurt Von Hess, Two Ton Harris, Farmer Jones, Farmer Brown, Elephant Boy, Jungle Boy, Nelson Royal (must have been his early in his career, very clumsy), Col. George Harbin (later a Crockett employee), Bull Curry, Gorgeous George, Freddie Blassie, Ray Stevens, Mr. Moto, and Duke Keomuka, just to name a few.
Photo by and information submitted by Barry Caldwell Edited by Dick Bourne Published 7/23/10
The old Charlotte Armory is seen in this portrait adjacent to Memorial Stadium. The Armory was the site of weekly wrestling cards in the 1940s and early 1950s. When this building burned down in 1954, Jim Crockett Sr. moved his weekly wrestling matches to the Armory in Gastonia NC until the new Charlotte Park Center (now the Grady Cole Center) was built at this same location. (Image submitted by Barry Caldwell.)
The Mid-Atlantic Gateway wants to hear about when Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling ran spot shows in your home town high school gym or smaller arena in Virginia or the Carolinas. Send your memories to David Chappell at DChapp3571@aol.com and they will be included in future installments of “Hitting The Spot.”
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