1977
was an eventful year for pro wrestling in the
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: David Von Erich would
make his wildly-applauded ring debut in June and
would be joined shortly thereafter by older brother
Kevin, who began wrestling full-time in August after
a spectacular showing in his first bout a year
earlier. Veteran heels such as the original
Sheik (Ed Farhat) and Ox Baker would travel to the
Lone Star State to feud with Fritz Von Erich;
Bruiser Brody was returning for the first time since
his April 1974 debut in Fort Worth; and future WWE
superstars Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Big John Studd
and the Iron Sheik were also headlining. David
Manning would join the promotion as well in
November, taking over most of the officiating duties
from ailing referee Danny "Bulldog" Plechas, who by
then was battling cancer.All of these events and more are recorded in the rare volume reproduced here: the actual booking calendar used by Jack Adkisson (Fritz Von Erich) in his office at the Sportatorium in 1977. Although it isn't quite complete (the pages for September are unfortunately missing), it's still a fascinating look at a highly interesting period in Texas wrestling. Penciled in by Bronko Lubich are the city ("CC", on Thursdays, stands for Corpus Christi) and matches for each evening's card (or, for spot shows, the wrestlers scheduled to appear). The gate for each show is recorded in red ink, most likely by Fritz's secretary Kathy White.
Also sprinkled throughout are reminders of the availability -- or unavailability -- of various wrestlers on certain dates, as well as birthdays and other special family occasions. You can click each image below to display a larger and more readable copy.
Our sincere thanks to Missy Hyatt for providing the scans of this unique piece of mat history!
(SEPTEMBER PAGES MISSING...SORRY)
