When A Friend Turns Into A Friend (Guest Column)

(As many of you know, Percival has experienced some unfortunate health issues in the past month and is, thankfully, in the recovery process. As he may still be regaining some of his stamina, I’m honored to fill in as a guest columnist. I know he is thankful, but I was amazed when he told me about all the phone calls and get-well wishes he has received. I will ask you all to keep him in your prayers until he is totally back on his feet and operating in normal mode. Deservedly so, he has a lot of friends out there!--Dan Roeglin)

Like many of you, I had a deep enjoyment for professional wrestling at a young age which stayed with me through most of my life. Early memories of cards in Milwaukee, where I lived during my early childhood; staying up past 11 so we could watch the AWA’s All Star Wrestling out of Moline on Channel 8, which our cable system got in rural northern Illinois; and, finally, being old enough to attend cards un-chaperoned are some of my earliest memories. Hitting my late teens, I was able to start attending cards in Rockford, Illinois, as we were living in the area then. As age came, so did road trips to Milwaukee or Chicago, or to any small town weeknight show was as good as it got.

With no internet and cable TV being in the early stages, I followed the AWA as I lived in the region. As a youth I remember being convinced that the Vachons were really from Algiers; that Verne Gagne might have broken Larry Hennig’s leg on purpose; and that at some point the Crusher and Bruiser would murder somebody in the ring. And of course Marty O’Neill convinced me to “run and not walk” to get my tickets. As life went on and things changed, my enjoyment of wrestling stayed at a high level. Being a typical 20’s young man with no family to support, I remember some great road trips, especially one to St. Louis to see matches I’d only read about in the fan mags. At that point one could only read and dream about getting to the Boston Gardens, Madison Square Garden, Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, or the Olympic in L.A. for a card.

As time went on technological progress continued, cable TV expanded and got more channels. The first big break-through in my opinion was when our system in Northern Illinois picked up Chicago’s Channel 44 and Bob Luce wrestling on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Sundays. This quickly became “the wrestling show” I’d watch with my buddies. Few good matches and a main event at the end of each show from Indianapolis usually with Bruiser; some great studio moments (all right, Ox heart punching a man in his mid-seventies was a little overboard); and new or not seen for a while faces like Bob Ellis, Pepper Gomez, Wilbur Snyder, Moose Cholak, and Art Thomas. The show also brought the greatest bunch of talent ever assembled in my opinion with Blackjacks Mulligan and Lanza, Baron Von Raschke, Jimmy and Johnny Valiant, Ernie Ladd, and of course the man who managed all of them, Bobby Heenan. My period of Bob Luce wrestling was highlighted by Bruno Sammartino coming in and tagging with Bruiser to beat Ladd and Von Raschke, and the long awaited battle between The Sheik and Bruiser. OK, so I was a fan ....

The hard thing back in those days, was getting to interact with the wrestlers. Sure the good guys would talk and sign autographs, but protecting the business was a top priority and the majority of the fans might get close, but not too close. The boys were all good at keeping in character anytime others were around, it was good enough to keep most guessing about what was real and what wasn’t. A college chum lived very near the Crusher in South Milwaukee and pretty much described the same person as a citizen as we saw in the ring. I remember one of the occasions where I served as chauffer and ring announcer for an AWA card in a small eastern Wisconsin town. Even when we went to the airport to pick the boys up, the heels were on one side of the restaurant and the goody two shoes on the other. We were instructed that two cars would be needed and it was very clear who would be riding with whom when we arrived. Sheik Adnan Al Kaissey also denied being or knowing Billy White Wolf when I asked him! After the matches I headed to the locker room to pick up a few things and settle with the promoter when I noticed Tito Santana and Tom “Rocky” Stone who had refereed the main event, in conversation. As soon as they saw me Santana launched into Stone about the slow count he’d been given, slapping a three count on the wall. The ride back to the Green Bay airport couldn’t have been better though. In my van was Baron Von Raschke, Rock N Roll Buck Zumhofe, Brad Rheingans, Tito Santana, and a case of beer! The guys conversed and I had a ball, but things were still very guarded.

When Al Gore invented the internet life changed for everybody, both good and bad, but it also opened doors for wrestling fans around the world. It gave people to opportunity to converse, swap pictures, create websites, post on message boards, and generally discuss common interests be it a wrestler, a territory, or a specific match. The net allowed me to make new and special friends like Glen Rylko, Rich Tito, George Schire, “Clawdia”, Jim Zordani, Mike Gilmartin, and a host of others. It was an honor to know and be friends with George Gunderson, and sad when he left us way too early in life. The people you would communicate with were incredible, you could find results or information on a certain wrestler even as obscure as Steve Druk. My first website experience was Dory Funk Jr.‘s, and I become introduced to a few people who are still friends. (I’m also waiting for Travis Shirk and his “iron claw” to conquer the WWE). I’m not sure of the how, but I came upon a website ran by none other then Percival A. Friend, manager of champions. One of my unfulfilled goals was getting to a Central States wrestling card, I never did but I sure read a lot about the matches and followed the roster. I remember reading and hearing about Harley Race, the Hite Sisters, Gust Karras, and some gaudy dressed loud-mouth manager named Percival A. Friend who managed Angus Campbell. I was thrilled so see that Percival had developed a website, and after a few months of reading emailed him with a question. From that email on I developed a special friendship which a man who I have learned was a great person outside of the briefcase swinging fashion plate of Central States wrestling.

My conversations with him covered many topics, and his knowledge on ghost towns, old movies and music, and particularly other wrestlers were fun. What a special relationship he had with Bobo Brazil, and what a roster of Hall of Famers helped him learn the trade. While the internet opened things up, he had a way of bringing fans closer to the business but still occasionally keeping in character. He also got me interested in the Cauliflower Alley Club and I attended my first get together in 2001 which was another step up in heaven. Quickly I will simply say I met most of the stars I’d watched on TV, found them all to be great people, and even got to have a drink with Bobby Heenan who I didn’t think talked to anybody unless he managed them.

CAC 2001 was my first face to face meeting with Percival A. Friend, and he truly gave me the red carpet treatment along with a broken hand. He introduced me to Pampero Firpo who really wasn’t a mad man, took me to lunch with Penny Banner, and helped me gain a life goal of meeting Danny Hodge. Danny was wonderful, but I made the mistake of listening to Percival, who told me that Danny liked a man who sunk in deep on a handshake and gave his best grip. I think I realized I might have been part of a rib when Danny had me pretty much down to my knees. So much for his advice, when he says run, I now walk.

Paul "Butcher" Vachon (2008 Honoree) along with Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon and Dan following a cribbage match where he defeated the Dog 2 out of 3 falls.

In 2003 I was able to attend CAC again, and this time I was prepared for him and just gave Danny Hodge a slap on the back. While I thought I was safe I wasn’t, after winning a close match with Mad Dog Vachon in Dick Beyer’s cribbage tournament I was to face Mr. Friend in the semi-finals which I figured was safe and we’d have a nice conversation and good game. Boy, was I wrong! First of all if you ever play cribbage with him, ear-plugs are a must. Quite simply, I had good cards and he literally talked me out of winning the game. Every time I’d need to think about what cards to discard, he would ask me if I’d ever been to Toledo or some ghost town in the mountains. When Stan Kowalski was filing a complaint because he had to play Dick Beyer in his mask and couldn’t see his face, he aggravated it by showing Stan a card on the floor which meant they’d only been playing with a 51 card deck. Quite plain and simple, I quickly learned why this man was a good manager and why Rabbit Ears Moody and Gust Karras were continually telling him to keep quiet. I became convinced that had he stayed with the business he’d have continued to build a stable which would make any manager proud, and probably caused cities overtime headaches due to the frequent deployment of “the riot squads”.

For us “old time” wrestling fans things have changed. Turns out those who entertained us did exactly that, and they did a heckuva job in doing so. How neat is it that you can go up and talk to a Bobby Heenan, Harley Race, Nick Bockwinkel, Dr. X, or one of the many others and find out they are some pretty neat people and also in many ways just like us? Always appreciate the former wrestlers who gave us our moneys worth while enduring low pay, no benefits, and long car rides. Even if you discuss a match or angle they were involved in, let them know you appreciated their work. I once had a former star tell me he respected the fact I’d put in over 25 years with the fire department. I fired right back and told him I appreciated the fact he always worked hard, put on a good show, and was very good at what he did. I respected him for that and I’m pretty sure he enjoyed hearing it.

Regarding Percival A. Friend, what can I say other that he is one amazing person and has opened the door to professional wrestling for many while keeping it fun. He has a unique ability to talk with anybody and make them feel a bond to the business. He can still pull a good rib like a kiss on the cheek, can tell a good joke, and loves to laugh. He also has a deep respect and love for his fellow wrestlers and stays in touch with many people every chance he gets. He manages to write his column and keep in contact while working a full-time job, he’s going to need two computers when he retires. I’m fortunate to have a lot of good friends, and I’m lucky that Percival is one of them. If any of you have ever wanted to email a question or comment to him and didn’t think he’d answer, try it and you will probably get a pleasant surprise.

Well, this could end my column writing career, but I need to finish by saying a few things for the readers to ponder. The absolute best match I ever saw was a one-fall between Red Bastein and Nick Bockwinkel, absolutely outstanding moves and wrestling skills. My favorite moment was when Crusher and Bruiser headed to the ring in the Chicago Amphitheatre. The dumbest thing I ever did was drive to Milwaukee to see Crusher and Bruiser defeat and pound the Valiant Brothers in a -30 January 1975 wind chill with my buddy Murph and a case of beer in my Volkswagen, driving from Madison to Milwaukee. The card was a sell-out but we met that nice man outside the auditorium with all the tickets in his coat, who sold us some nice “ringside” tickets in row 30. And lastly, in the 1975 yearbook of my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin -La Crosse, there is a picture of Crusher and Art Thomas throwing Yugo Babich into Chris Taylor at the Oktoberfest Battle Royal in La Crosse. Wonder how that got there?

This is your column sir. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope your back with entertaining us with your experiences and stories next week. If you are feeling a little down again I’ll be glad to fill in. Time prevented me from giving my thoughts on the Gagne sleeper hold being a choke. After a lot of research and agreement in my thoughts from the likes of Rich Tito, Bobby Heenan, Ox Baker, Nick Bockwinkel, and a host of others with documentation, I think I’m uncovering a conspiracy here. I know had you managed against Gagne you’d have probably handled it a lot more expediently then I have!

Your Friend .... Dangerous Dan Roeglin from Milwaukee.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree