Stories That Must Be Told
Chapter One: Sputnik Monroe
#PWHS #Article #StoriesThatMustBeTold #STMBT #SputnikMonroe
December 28, 1966 - Alexandria Town Talk
“235 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal; a man with a heavenly body that women love but men fear,” this was the phrase of one of America’s most unknown civil right leaders. Montgomery, Alabama had Martin Luther King but Memphis promoters and city leaders ran into one in Sputnik Monroe.
Jerry Lawler sold out the Mid-South Coliseum but Sputnik sold out the Ellis auditorium and wrestled before the largest audience in Memphis when comparing the two wrestlers.
Sputnik’s sell outs gave him clout to bargain with and he used it to better Memphis and race relations. The black citizens were limited to a small area in venues, in the “cheap seats,” where the viewing was the worst. Sputnik actually bribed the usher that was to keep count of black fans entering so that when the promoter would come by and ask, the usher would answer “Thirty,” when there might have been several hundred.
Sputnik would do a Roman gladiator gimmick finish where he would appeal to the fans at the end of the match, but he did not seek the approval from the white patrons , but specifically would signal for the black fans’ approval. His popularity grew and grew as during the week he spent his time in the black neighborhoods and bars. His popularity led to the integrating of the Ellis Auditorium.
There is still one of his outfits at the famed Rock and Soul Museum on now famous Beale Street because of his influence in breaking down the color barriers in Memphis.
I read on one place that three pictures were seen in many black homes in Memphis: Jesus Christ, Rev Martin Luther King, and Sputnik Monroe.
Jerry Lawler sold out the Mid-South Coliseum but Sputnik sold out the Ellis auditorium and wrestled before the largest audience in Memphis when comparing the two wrestlers.
Sputnik’s sell outs gave him clout to bargain with and he used it to better Memphis and race relations. The black citizens were limited to a small area in venues, in the “cheap seats,” where the viewing was the worst. Sputnik actually bribed the usher that was to keep count of black fans entering so that when the promoter would come by and ask, the usher would answer “Thirty,” when there might have been several hundred.
Sputnik would do a Roman gladiator gimmick finish where he would appeal to the fans at the end of the match, but he did not seek the approval from the white patrons , but specifically would signal for the black fans’ approval. His popularity grew and grew as during the week he spent his time in the black neighborhoods and bars. His popularity led to the integrating of the Ellis Auditorium.
There is still one of his outfits at the famed Rock and Soul Museum on now famous Beale Street because of his influence in breaking down the color barriers in Memphis.
I read on one place that three pictures were seen in many black homes in Memphis: Jesus Christ, Rev Martin Luther King, and Sputnik Monroe.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Stories That Must Be Told: Chapter One.
Author: Terry Kent.
Published: July 2014.
Article: #19.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Stories That Must Be Told: Chapter One.
Author: Terry Kent.
Published: July 2014.
Article: #19.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Stories That Must Be Told: Chapter Two - Read Here.
Other articles by Terry can be Read Here.