Newton, Iowa 2006 Part Two

Friday night was a night to remember at the live matches. I got to see first hand Ted DiBiase's sons in action. It is quite evident from the moves they have in the ring that they will have as much success as they want in this business.

Seeing the legends assembled at the autograph tables and being there to rub elbows with them meant a lot to this old manager of champions. Seeing my friends like Terry Funk, Ted DiBiase, Harley Race, Larry Hennig, Tom Andrews, Bob Geigel, Baron Von Raschke and Danny Hodge and getting to meet Bob Roop and Nikita Koloff were the ultimate thrills of that day.

Returning back to my suite, I showered and hit the sack, as it was again around 11 p.m. At roughly 7:30 a.m., my phone rang, and it was my friend Glen from Chicago. He asked if I would join him and Patrick and Rich Tito and his son for breakfast. I was pleased for the invite and told them that I would meet them in the lobby at 8 a.m.

We went next door to a Perkin's Pancake house and were joined by a young fan from Minneapolis that was a huge fan of the late Curt Hennig. As we were sitting, in walked Fr. Jason Sanderson, just back from a trip to Kenya, Africa. We asked him to join us, and it wasn't long after the second cup of cream with his coffee that he began to tell some of the precious road stories that were usually only associated with the dressing room crowds.

Rich and his son went to the museum and went directly to the induction room, as I should have done. I ventured downstairs to listen to the live radio broadcast being done by Scott McLin and Scott Casber. They had a who's who involved in the two-hour extravaganza that even had a few surprise guests, like Mad Dog Vachon, Bill Kersten, the former announcer at Kansas City, and Tom Andrews of the Interns, who was managed by Dr. Ken Ramey.

Of course, they got me in front of the mike for a few comments, and I enjoyed every moment of it. As it was nearing the induction time, I went upstairs, only to find out that they would not let any more people into the professional wing where the inductions would be.

I stood near the back part of the building with Danny Hodge and Gene LeBell. A lot of fans started to come to Danny and Gene for autographs, and a few came and said hi to me as well. Following the inductions, the legends were led downstairs for an informal meet and greet session.

Fans had the opportunity to not only get up close to the inductees but had a chance to mingle with past legends that had come to be a part of history at the final Newton class of superstars.

As the crowd finally got down to a few, I was able to get up and meet with Bret Hart. He kept looking at me from a distance, and then, when he passed near me, I said hello and asked if he remembered coming to Amarillo in 1973.

He grabbed my hand and shook it with a lot of vigor and might and said, “Sure, I remember you, Mr. Friend. You were managing Bobby Hart as the Patriot then.” What a memory this kid has on him. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he said that he had a meeting to attend but wanted to have lunch with me later on … and would I wait for him?

I did have a wonderful lunch with him and Charlie Thesz and Father Jason Sanderson and enjoyed every moment of it. He recalled Black Angus, Billy Robinson, Geoff Portz and Les Thornton, to name a few that were in Calgary in the early 70's.

I returned to the suite for a power nap before the banquet. Arising at 6 p.m., I met with Fr. Sanderson, and we made the drive across the expressway to the Newton Inn. Larry Hennig and his busload from Minneapolis pulled in right behind us. You could cut the tension with a knife as the hour approached for the huge get together.

As luck would have it, the air conditioning went out in the building at about the same time that the awards ceremony was to begin. I felt bad for the guys at the front table, as they were in suits and sport coats. Ladies attending were, for the most part, in evening gowns and formal wear. It was like being in a huge sauna.

The evening started off with a wonderful meal served buffet style for us in the crowd. The head table was waited on, and rightfully so. Following a super meal, Mike Chapman started the program off by giving a special award to Jim Melby, who has done an exceptional job over the years with his association at the museum.

First to be honored by the museum was the Frank Gotch winner, Nikita Koloff. This highly muscled hunk of a man talked about his early life in professional wrestling and how he got started along with many others from Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He is now involved very heavily with the ministry and helping set kids straight.

Next, they honored Tom Jenkins, who was born in 1874 and retired from the ring in 1908 to be appointed to West Point as a wrestling and boxing instructor. Some of the students that he helped to mold were George Patton and President Dwight Eisenhower.

Dory Funk Sr. was next to be posthumously awarded, and Terry Funk came forward to accept on behalf of his father. Ted DiBiase was next to step to the podium as he accepted on behalf of his late father "Iron Mike" DiBiase. Larry Hennig was called next and began his speech with a lot of humor, giving Verne Gagne what for and leaving Verne looking for a place to crawl into.

Larry was followed by Olympian and professional wrestling champ Bob Roop, a very modest man that had made his career fantastic in Florida and the Carolinas. He is an accomplished author and currently is finishing his degree work to begin yet another conquest in his life. He will be a teacher starting at age 64.

I plan on going to see Bob at his home in August and spend some quality time with his family.

Bret Hart was the final inductee, and, as he said, “I guess I am the Main Event for the evening.” Bret, of course, thanked his father, Stu, who taught him most of what he knew about the business as well as many of the other brothers and sisters that he has. Bret talked about a wrestling coach at high school that knocked professional wrestling and the people involved in it.

Bret then said that, while they were having a meet one day, his father came and made his way down the steps and confronted this coach about the authenticity of his holds. When he removed his shoes, Bret knew that this man’s life was going to be very frail from that moment on. Within a few moments, the guy was screaming his guts out, and, as Bret said, he stretched the snot out of this guy. The entire room burst out in laughter.

Bret thanked everybody for their kindness and cooperation in the heat and bid us farewell until the next time in Waterloo.

Following the event, those at the front table were kind enough to sign more autographs and take more pictures. The nicest thing I saw was a young gal that had been in some kind of Special Olympics sitting down next to Bret and having him hold her medals up next to him while they were being photographed.

Bret turned to her after the flash bulbs stopped going off and asked her for a kiss on the cheek. I can only imagine the impact that he made on her life by that gesture of kindness. He returned the favor and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek, and she turned beet red but had a smile on her face that said more than a thousand words could.

That's what makes me proud to be associated with men and women like this that were in our business. I look forward to many more reunions and celebrations like the one in Newton, July 15-16, 2006.

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