Charting The Territories

This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Mike LeBell's Southern California wrestling territory in 1971. They look at the reported attendance/gate figures for the August 27th Blassie-Tolos card at the Coliseum as well as two other large L.A. crowds over the years, using multiple sources to verify and/or debunk them.

This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Heart of America (aka Central States) in 1971. They discuss various sources of attendance figures for the territory and how best to make sense of info that comes from various sources and doesn't always match up. Plus Al compares Rufus R. Jones to Vin Diesel!

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Jim Crockett Promotions in 1971. Looking at the top stars, top teams, and top feuds, plus Nelson Royal, the unheralded team of Bill Bowman & Joe Turner, and tons more!

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Joe Dusek's wrestling territory in 1971. No one can stop the Claw, the untimely death of Alberto Torres, an unwrapped Mummy, a dressing room fight involving Dusek and a wrestler, and tons more!

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at the Amarillo territory in 1971. Ciclon Negro debuts and kicks off a feud with the Funk family that goes on for several years. Plus a discussion of the local promoters in the territory including "The Lawman" Don Slatton.

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1971. Includes discussions on Fred Ward and the roles of local promoters in some territories, plus the wrestler Jon refers to as a "scuzzier Bobby Shane".

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss Stampede Wrestling in 1971. They also go deep on the careers and lives of Kurt Von Hess and Gil Hayes, plus talk about Les Thornton, Abdullah the Butcher, Tiger Joe Tomasso, and other top Calgary stars.

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss the newly redesigned Charting the Territories site and look at LeRoy McGuirk's territory in 1971. They discuss Waldo Von Erich, Chris Markoff, and more, plus ... someone is Hall of Fame bound!

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at the 4th quarter of 1978 in the McGuirk wrestling territory. The feud between Ray Candy and Ernie Ladd comes to a rather anti-climactic conclusion on Christmas Day at the Superdome. Plus, why Ron Slinker was nicknamed "High Heels" when he was a Tampa police officer and tons more!

This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss the fourth quarter of 1974 in the McGuirk wrestling territory. We talk about Tom Jones and his role in breaking racial barriers in the deep south. Plus, we listen to a few cuts from Sgt. Slaughter's album (!) and we reveal our Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballots!

This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher cover the 4th quarter of 1966 in LeRoy McGuirk's wrestling territory. They discuss one wrestler who tried to launch a career in country music, and another who had a prolific post-wrestling career in the hot rod industry and was also killed (onscreen) by Michael Myers.

This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1978 in LeRoy McGuirk's OK/LA territory. Ernie Ladd and Ray Candy main event the Superdome, but how many people saw it? They also look at Eric the Red and Jerry Stubbs, plus Jon sent Al a rather unique cookbook!

This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1974 in LeRoy McGuirk's OK/LA wrestling territory. They discuss the big feud between Ken Mantell and Buck Robley, run down the rest of the roster, dive into the early lives of Robley and Stan Hansen, and tons more!

This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1966 in the McGuirk OK/LA territory. We cover the little-known story of Cowboy Bob Ellis' involvement in a horse-racing scandal that led to a federal indictment, including new info never before shared. Plus we learned more about Battleship Johnson from a former martial arts student of his. We also discuss Don Kent, Hodge vs Brisco and t...

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1978 in LeRoy McGuirk's Oklahoma/Louisiana territory. The top wrestlers, the big feuds, plus a look at three newcomers all of whom had strong ties to Texas wrestling. They also look at Bobby Shane's Gulf Coast run in '71. Plus tons more!

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1974 in Leroy McGuirk's wrestling territory. They discuss the early life of Frank Goodish (Bruiser Brody) and reveal some information about the life of Bulldog Drummer (aka Count Drummer) that has never been part of wrestling's "historical record" until now. Plus tons more!

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1966 in the Oklahoma/Louisiana wrestling territory. Danny Hodge, the Assassins, plus newcomers including Krusher Kowalski, Tor Kamata, and a man for whom little is known about, Battleship Johnson. Plus, Al quizzes Jon with questions from Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia!

The latest episode of Stats 101 features Al Getz looks at the Amarillo territory in the first half of the 1970s and discusses a new application of the SPOT Rating, the statistic which measures a wrestlers' average position on house show lineups.

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 1st quarter of 1978 in the Oklahoma/Louisiana wrestling territory. They discuss Ernie Ladd, Reggie Parks, and Skip Young among others. Along the way they take some interesting detours such as the scent of Kevin Nash and the Norwegian glam rock scene. As a special bonus, Al interviews the Brute (Buggsy McGraw)!

Rogue wrestling historian Al Getz attempts to use research and logic to clear up a slightly confusing situation involving a wrestler (or is it wrestlers?) in Florida in the fall of 1972. It's another example of the challenges wrestling historians face when trying to verify 50-year old info.

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 1st quarter of 1974 in the Oklahoma/Louisiana wrestling territory. They discuss the inventor of the ladder match and the first such matches held in the U.S. From there, it's a look at a wrestler who once claimed the Olympic Auditorium discriminated against Black wrestlers. Plus Homer O'Dell liked guns. Like, a lot.

The latest episode of Stats 101 features Al Getz taking a look at the three biggest feuds of Johnny Valentine's Mid-Atlantic run in the mid-1970s using the new FLW (Feud Length in Weeks) stat

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 1st quarter of 1966 in the McGuirk wrestling territory, looking at how a real-life car accident may have impacted the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title history and how another car accident unwittingly unmasked the Assassins. From there, they go walking in Memphis and look at 11 straight weeks of Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee.

Wrestling historian Al Getz discusses a new stat he created to measure feuds in pro wrestling in the territorial era. Along with explaining the development of the stat, he gives numerous examples of it in action, spanning multiple territories and decades.

Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 4th quarters of 1973 and 1965 in Leroy McGuirk's territory, discussing the Bass family, Bob Backlund, and Lorenzo Parente among others. They then head west, but not before they open their Christmas presents for one another "live". Plus Al has an intern!