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Tony Atlas Learned Early Lesson On The Road

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Tony Atlas told me a great story a few years ago about his first trip to Charleston as a professional wrestler.

It?s just one of many he relates in his new book, ?Atlas: Too Much ... Too Soon,? that is hot off the press and a must-read for wrestling fans.

This particular story was of particular interest since it involved longtime Charleston promoter Henry Marcus, one of my dearest friends in the business, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 93.

Marcus himself was a master storyteller who was gifted with razor-sharp wit and an amazing sense of recall. He was the last of the old-time promoters, and I never tired of hearing his stories of the olden days.

Atlas, a former Mr. USA, still chuckles when recalling his first match in Charleston nearly 35 years ago. He didn?t own a car at the time and rode with other wrestlers from city to city. But booker George Scott wanted the rookie to be self-sufficient, so he told the 21-year-old Atlas to ride the bus to his next stop in Charleston.

When Atlas arrived at the King Street building then known as County Hall, the green newcomer went through the front door rather than the back entrance reserved for the wrestlers. Marcus had never met Atlas and didn?t recognize the hulking young man when he walked up to the ticket booth.

?Anyone who comes through this front door is going to have to pay,? declared Marcus, whose ?Hold your own ticket!? refrain provided a familiar backdrop for the bustling County Hall throng.

?Does that go for me too?? Atlas innocently inquired.

?Henry had never seen me, because this was my first time working for him,? explains Atlas. ?He said, ?Yeah, you too, anybody who comes through this door has to pay.??

So Atlas bought a ticket.

?When I got back to the dressing room and Henry saw me, he asked me why I didn?t tell him I was one of the boys. Klondike Bill, Johnny Weaver and some of the other wrestlers asked him that now that he knew I was a wrestler, was he going to give me my money back.?

?No. No. He just bought a valuable lesson,? retorted the promoter, aptly described by Atlas as a ?real character who wore suspenders and hiked his pants up high, with the waistband around his chest and almost up to his armpits.?

The two would become close friends.

?Henry and I rode together, we did things together. He was one of the nicest guys I?ve ever known. I really became attached to him. He became somewhat of a father figure to me,? says Atlas, 56, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

?Atlas: Too Much ... Too Soon? can be purchased from Crowbar Press (www.crowbarpress.com) for $19.95.

-- Independent pro wrestler Chris Long was shot and killed in an Atlanta nightclub last Sunday night.

Long, 33, worked as a security guard at the club to supplement his income as a wrestler.

Investigators have charged Ahmad R. Gill, 31, with homicide and aggravated assault. Public Information Officer Meeka Parrish said information from witnesses helped investigators to identify Gill as their suspect.

?Mr. Gill was a disgruntled customer who earlier in the evening had been ejected from that business,? Parrish said. ?He returned sometime later and randomly began firing, and that?s when Mr. Long and another person were struck.?

The second victim was released from a hospital on Nov. 22.

Long had most recently worked for the Lucha Libre USA group under the name ?Solid? and served as the comedic sidekick of Marco Corleone (formerly Mark Jindrak).

The 6-4, 375-pound Smyrna, Ga., resident helped launch the Atlanta-based WWA4 wrestling school along with co-founder Frank Aldridge a number of years ago.

?Chris made friends very easily,? Aldridge told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ?He was very garrulous fellow. Very creative and very helpful.?

?We were working on a lot of wrestling shows, including a very creative Christian wrestling operation,? Aldridge added.

?He lived for pro wrestling,? Lucha Libre USA CEO Steven Ship told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ?He was very loved by the fans. He was a bigger-than-life character both on TV and in person.?

?Whoever did this ... I want you to know that you didn?t just take away some bouncer, you took away somebody who was part of this community,? Long?s wife, Lisa, told WSB-TV in Atlanta.

Long is survived by his wife and two children.

-- John Cena may have announced last week that he?s ?leaving? WWE, but don?t expect him to go too far.

Juan Cena, the ?Mexican cousin of John Cena,? is scheduled for a pair of WWE live events where he will be facing new WWE champ The Miz and Wade Barrett in a triple threat match.

Cena also posted on his Twitter page that he had bought tickets to Monday?s Raw show in Philadelphia. Watch for the former WWE champ to be a thorn in Barrett?s side until he asks for Cena to come back.

-- Shawn Michaels and his family escaped a recent scare when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver.

?The family and I got hit by a drunk driver tonight at 50 MPH,? Michaels wrote on Twitter. ?All are OK. I did, however, jerk him out of his seat quite abruptly and say ?bad? words.?

?We?re fine. Car is fine,? HBK added. ?I drive a tank. Kids were fired up. Wanted to beat him up. All I can say is he was staring at a couple ?things? that let him know he hit the wrong people. Legally speaking, of course.?

-- Kevin Nash posted on his Twitter page following last week?s Raw that he wouldn?t be back in WWE. He also was critical of WWE?s youth movement and the decision to crown The Miz as WWE champ.

?WWE told the world that their (expletive) is a work with Miz as champ,? he wrote.

-- The latest WWE purge included Shad Gaspard, Vance Archer, Caylen Croft, Luke Gallows, and divas Tiffany and Jillian Hall, along with writer Christopher DeJoseph and referee Aaron ?Goose? Mahoney.

-- The ex-Mrs. Hulk Hogan was apparently one of the many viewers who didn?t enjoy A&E?s recent special on the Hulkster.

?He has never apologized publicly or privately for his infidelities that destroyed our family. His adultery, cruelty and continuing dishonesty and failure to abide by any of our agreements continues to make life miserable . . . for me and our children,? Linda Bollea told the New York Post.

?I have dealt with 24 years of his lies and now I am done. He was this huge icon and I was just this little person in his life, and it is time to set the record straight,? she added.

Her book, ?Wrestling the Hulk: My Life on the Ropes,? is slated for a summer release.

-- If you?re a fan of MMA, as an increasing multitude of folks are these days, then ?The MMA Encyclopedia? is a must-read for you.

The new book ($24.95) published by ECW Press puts the fighters, the facts and the fundamentals of the world?s fastest-growing sports at the fingertips of fans of all pages.

The book, co-authored by Jonathan Snowden and Kendall Shields, is nearly 600 pages and is a definitive A-to-Z reference guide to mixed martial arts.

-- Dirty Dutch Mantell is releasing his second autobiography in a year, ?Tales from the Dirt Road,? in December.

The entertaining storyteller will devote a couple of chapters to his time on the TNA writing staff with Vince Russo, as well as his firsthand accounts with a variety of wrestling?s top stars over the years.

-- Former WWE performer Chris Nowinski has been nominated for Sports Illustrated magazine?s ?Sportsman of the Year? award for his research in head trauma and concussions that has helped change safety in youth, college and professional sports.

This year?s award winner will be announced on Nov. 29.

-- Old School Championship Wrestling will present a show Dec. 5 at Omar Shrine Auditorium, 176 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant. Gregory Helms (WWE?s former Hurricane) will meet Asylum in the main event.

Bell time is 6 p.m. Doors open at 5. Adult admission is $10; kids 12 and under $5 (cash at door).

Tags: Tony Atlas, Klondike Bill, Johnny Weaver, WWE, Dutch Mantell, TNA