Action Photos 25

.

..

The Masked Gladiator (Ricky Hunter) begs Ray Stevens to show him some mercy during a match at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. I took this photo during a match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Ray's tag team partner was co-champion Peter Maivia. The Gladiator was teamed up with Karl von Brock (Rock Hunter) -- no relation to Ricky. Karl von Brock was a goose-stepping Nazi who everyone hated. He had a German Cross on each of his boots.

.

.

.

The Masked Gladiator rushes into the ring to rescue his partner Karl von Brock, who is tied up in the ropes and being tortured by Ray "The Blonde Bomber" Stevens, who sees the masked man coming in from the corner. That is Hank Renner's head blocking my camera. Since I sat next to Hank at these matches, I have no idea how Hank's head got in the way, unless I had been in the back and just snuck up behind him to take a few photos. A Sacramento police officer sat at each corner during the matches to keep fans out of danger. You can see one of them under the date in the corner.

.

.

.

The Masked Gladiator also teamed up with The Great Pampero (aka Pampero Firpo) sometimes. This photo was taken in Stockton at the Stockton Civic Center on a night Hank Renner didn't attend. I have no idea who the announcer is that night. Louie Miller was in charge of hiring announcers for Stockton and sometimes used radio announcers when he needed someone. You can tell it is Stockton from the ancient microphone he is holding.

I always thought using Pampero Firpo in a tag team match hurt his gimmick. Did anyone else feel the same way? He was a great "crazy man" and when I was young, I was never positive how crazy (or not) he really was. He was very good at what he did and was very convincing. People at ringside were always nervous about him walking near their seats. But when he was part of a tag team, he had to be sane enough to work with his partner, stay out under he was tagged, etc and I never thought it felt right for him. From a business standpoint I know it was necessary at times, but I just didn't like it.

.

.

.

This was taken during the Texas Death Match between Stan "The Crusher" Stasiak and NWA U.S. Heavyweight Champion Ray Stevens in Sacramento. This was the third or fourth rematch between Stan and Ray – and every match was a sellout. They sold standing room and still turned people away. The Memorial Auditorium had 4,400 seats back then.

It was this "program," or series of rematches, that Hank Renner first used to smarten me up. He gave me all of the results of the matches before Stan and Ray wrestled for the first time, and told what the rules for each rematch would be. (Like no disqualification after the first match and Ray was disqualified to save his belt, no stopping on cuts or blood the next time after a bloody match, etc. Until then, the matches were always very exciting for me, and I was always looked forward to seeing who was going to win.

Knowing who was going to win came in very handy to plan my programs and choose photos to print or save for future issues. It also allowed help me to stay safe and get out of the ringside area early when I knew there was going to be a riot at the end. It took a lot of the fun away though, too, at first. Even though I always "suspected" the winners were planned, I was disappointed when I found out for sure. My dad had been telling me that from the first show he took me to, but there was always this slight chance ....

I grew to find the business fascinating, though, and the truth was much better than the fiction.

.

.

Stan Stasiak was holding the pose for me for this one. I was president of The Stan Stasiak Fan Club until I got really busy printing the programs. (I am a mee-iz-ark!) At the time, I was taking lots of pictures of Stan whipping Ray Stevens in these matches. Of course, as a fourteen-year old, I was rooting for the bad guys! Frank Nocetti is the referee.

While the wrestlers are wrestling, they can talk to each other in "Carny" so fans cannot understand what they are saying to each other. Mee-iz-ark is how you pronounce "Mark" in Carny. Normally the heel will lead the match (and make the calls) and his directions would be shouted at his opponent in Carny. In this photo, Ray is in the perfect position to talk to Stan without the fans realizing they are talking to each other. Even if they heard something, they would not know what was said.

.

.

.

I had "Garcia" written on this negative, and I think his name was Frank Garcia. Does that ring a bell to anyone? Let me know if you know that is correct or not. This was taken at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium.

.

.

.

I like this photo of Enforcer #1 (Clyde Steeves.) I'm not sure why, but I do. The people sitting in the front row here in Sacramento practically owned those seats -- they reserved the same seats for every show. I remember all of them. The Enforcer #1 had just lost his match to Earl "Mr. Universe" Maynard.

.

.

.

This is Earl "Mr. Universe" Maynard with a leg lock on Enforcer #1. The referee in this match is Bob Beetle.

.

Copyright 2003 Viktor Berry •

or

Illustrated History of Professional Wrestling in Northern California

All Rights Reserved Roy Shire Hank Renner Miki Garcia Pro Wrestling Wrestling pictures history Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Stockton Sacramento San Francisco Cow Palace Stockton Civic Auditorium

.

.