April 16th in the Tunnel:
65-Year Championship Change Flashback 4-16-1960: Jerry & Eddie Graham defeated Red & Lou Bastien to win the NWA Northeast United States Tag Team Titles at the Arena in New Haven, Connecticut
*At this point in time, the WWWF is still a part of the National Wrestling Alliance, so this United States Tag Title still carried the NWA designation. It would change to become the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship to coincide with the federation breaking away from the NWA in early 1963, when Buddy Rogers was named WWWF Champion.
*This was the 3rd and last reign for the Grahams, who had previously held the titles in the first two months of 1960 after trading them with Mark Lewin and Don Curtis in 1958 and 1959, and then swapping them with the Bastiens. The Grahams will only hold the titles for one week this time, with the Bastiens regaining them on April 23rd. Eddie was already working dates in Florida for Cowboy Luttrall and considering leaving the tag team with Dr. Jerry and working on his own as a singles main eventer, as well as helping in the office in Florida.
50-Year Championship Change Flashback 4-16-1975: Harley Race & Roger Kirby defeated Johnny Weaver & Dick Slater (CH) to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship at the Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida.
*Harley Race had recently come back to Florida as the booker for Eddie Graham in February of 1975. Race had booked most of 1974 in Atlanta at the Georgia office. After Ann Gunkel’s All South promotion folded at the end of 1974, majority shareholder in the Atlanta office, Jim Barnett hired Gunkel’s booker, Tom Renesto to be his booker and also Bobby Simmons to run the ticket office. This gave Race the chance to re-locate to Florida to work for Graham’s Tampa office. This was also a rare run for Johnny Weaver, who was a “homesteader” in the Carolinas for Jim Crockett Promotions. Weaver stayed in Florida from around November of 1974 through April of 1975. Weaver’s wife, Penny Banner did a few matches while they were in Florida as well.
50-Year Flashback: 4-16-1975. Dory Funk Jr, Ricky Romero & Scott Casey defeated Black Gordman, Great Goliath & Bobby Jaggers at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas
*Gordman and Goliath were the top heel tag team in the Amarillo/West Texas Territory though late 1974 and into 1975. They riled up crowds with thier heel tactics in every town, Lubbock being no exception. Scott Casey was a young, up and comer who did well working with the Western States office in Amarillo. Jaggers was in his 3rd full year as a pro, but 1975 was the first year he broke over 200 matches, so he was very much in “learning mode” in this match with veterans like Gordman, Goliath, Funk Jr and Romero.
50-Year Flashback: 4-16-1975 Andre The Giant and Danny Miller won the 12-Man Battle Royal (the last two guys decided to split the prize money) at Independence Hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*Bill Watts had just recently left Florida in March of 1975, where he had been the booker from late 1973 until this point in 1975. Deciding he had learned everything from his experience with Roy Shire in San Francisco, his involvement with the Atlanta Wrestling War in 1973, then taking the Florida book and working with Eddie Graham, it was time to come home to Tulsa. His influence and involvement with the McGuirk office was starting to become evident with guest shots from the NWA International Champion, Ciclon Negro from the Amarillo office, Dick Murdoch coming in as well as Ronnie Garvin, Watts was re-making the roster. In this match, he takes advantage of the attraction Andre The Giant and building his babyface, Danny Miller. They are the last two in the Battle Royal and they decide to cooperate and split the “prize money.” Watts had a lot of success with this same angle in Florida the previous year with Andre and Dusty Rhodes. Watts’ leaving Florida set off a chain reaction in booker changes in three NWA offices, McGuirk in Tulsa, Graham’s Tampa office and Barnett’s Atlanta office.
40-Year Flashback: 4-16-1985: Dutch Mantell faced off against Eddie Gilbert in a Texas Death Match at the Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky.
*Eddie Gilbert had been in a feud with Jery Lawler at the beginning of 1985 trading the Southern Title a time or two, including a Texas Death Match between the two. Gilbert and Mantell had this three-week program going in April of ‘85 and this was the blow-off match around the horn for both guys in the territory.
40-Year Flashback: 4-16-1985 Kerry & Mike Von Erich faced off against The Midnight Express (Condrey/Eaton) at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas
*I have no details on this match as far as finish or outcome, but it’s a pretty strong main event for a spot show! I would have thought that if you subtracted Mike and inserted Kevin, this could be aa Cotton Bowl show main event, if the television were handled correctly. Unfortunately, we never got that while the Midnights were in Dallas for the first part of 1985, but this match caught my eye as I was scanning the booking sheets for April of 1985. I’m sure Dennis and Bobby bumped their butts off for the Von Erich brothers here.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History: Pat Malone\The Green Shadow
Pat Malone aka The Green Shadow, who worked on the team of wrestlers and office staff for Roy Welch for years. He started out as the heel to Roy Welch’s babyface in the 1930s, he also started helping Welch run towns throughout the Southern United States in the 1940s and stayed in Jerry Jarrett’s Nashville office after Jaarrett broke away from Gulas in 1977 through 1988, when he passed away. At one point, he held a version of the World Light Heavyweight Championship. He was also known as Eddie Malone and Pat O’Brien.
His obituary from his passing on March 15th, 1988 in Nashville, Tennessee revealed his real name to be Edgar Brian Davie who died at Southern Hills Hospital and he was a native of Carbondale, Ilinois.1
Thank You for Reading
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Episode 387 of Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru 4/11/25