Ida Mae and Penny

Over the past few years, I have tried to express myself to the fans by the columns I have written. I have talked about friendships, fans, battles and the marvelous people who have been involved in our great business.

I have even talked about different subjects like Dr. David Ring, Dan Roeglin, Hopalong Cassidy, Death Valley Scotty, my dog Cubby and family members.

I have given credit to people like Pennie Hauck, who sent me a number of wrestling programs from the late 50's pertaining to the old Buffalo Territory. She sent me a beautiful hand-painted gold pan with a scenic picture of mountains and forests and a raging river. She is a talented lady that will be forever in my thoughts.

This week, however, I am going to give credit to two of the greatest lady wrestlers to ever climb into that squared circle. Ida Mae Martinez and Penny Banner deserve every bit of credit that can be associated with champions and class.

Ida Mae was a World's Champion Lady Wrestler in the 50's. She wrestled wherever ladies were allowed to compete and left the crowds asking for more on each visit. She battled a lot of this sport’s greats like June Byers, The Fabulous Moolah, Mildred Burke and Mae Young.

Following her tenure in the ring, Ida went to her calling as a nurse. She is still actively involved with health care and making her patients a little more comfortable. Ida Mae did a beautiful job of singing and yodeling at the CAC in Las Vegas a few years ago and holds many awards for her singing. What a wonderful lady she is and a great friend.

Penny Banner was also a World's champion in the AWA territory. She was the first ever Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award winner at the CAC. She battled ladies like Belle Starr, Judy Grable, Kay Noble, Jean Antone, Paula Johnson, Tammi Jones, Rita Cortez and Juanita Coffman. Her epic matches with the greats in the business have not been duplicated.

Penny is involved with a huge Real Estate Corporation that she owns in North Carolina but always takes the time to share a moment with fans and friends on the Internet. She recently had a knee replaced because of the wars she had on the wrestling mats.

A few years ago, these two great champions got together and asked friends to remember a dear friend of theirs and former wrestling great ..... Nell Stewart ….. by sending cards and gratuities to help with medical bills. I pitched in and was able to collect over $1500 with help from the many fans that support and read this weekly column.

Nell was in bad health and is less then 100 pounds. Ida Mae went to her home outside of Birmingham, Alabama and had a wonderful visit. Nell still has a lot of fight left in her small torso but mostly in her heart. I only wish that I had had the opportunity to meet her while she was active. Nell lost her battle with cancer in January of 2001.

I, for one, remember the wonderful visits that I had with the late Bobo Brazil after his retirement and before his passing. They were very memorable for me and meant so much to Bobo and his family.

As a group, the wrestlers of old and new are a small portion of the population that encompasses this great world that we live in. All of us have paid our dues going up and down those highways to entertain fans. Many of us lived very lonely lives only seen by our wrestling families. After we left the ring ..... a lot of us just faded into the sunset.

Some of us had great friends like Ida and Penny, who never forgot how much we meant to them. It was never a matter of ego or money or status to them. It was a matter of friendship and respect for each other and our business of Professional Wrestling.

May God continue to bless both of your lives; I love you both.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree