A special Mother’s Day edition of Ring Posts
Whenever I reflect on all the great experiences I have had in my life that involve professional wrestling, I realize that I have one person to thank for them – my mother, Shirley Eck.
My mom and I have always been very close, and pro wrestling played a major role in strengthening our mother-son bond. It’s not because she was a huge wrestling fan, either. In fact, the only reason she cared at all about it was because she knew that I cared about it.
Neither one of my parents were into wrestling, which is why I still don’t know how the World Wide Wrestling Federation’s syndicated Championship Wrestling program happened to be on the television in our living room one Saturday afternoon in 1973. But it was, and I watched it. I was 6 years old and instantly hooked on the “sport.”
My parents allowed me to watch the show every week. During one episode, I heard the announcer (a young Vince McMahon in a yellow blazer) say that all the guys that I had been captivated by on TV were going to be wrestling at The Baltimore Civic Center.
I begged my parents to take me. As I said, they weren’t fans, but they took me anyway. I still remember the date of the show (Dec. 26, 1973), the main event (Andre The Giant vs. Stan “The Man” Stasiak) and the price of a ringside seat ($4.50).
At that time, there were no guardrails between the ring and the audience, and fans could stand outside the ring before the match started to try to get autographs. My mother and I would be right there in the sea of hands waving programs, notepads and pens at the wrestlers. We got quite a few signatures from guys such as Gorilla Monsoon, Larry Zbyszko and Haystacks Calhoun.
I always preferred the bad guys, however. Stasiak was my favorite, and I had my heart set on getting his autograph. When he came out for his match with Andre, a mob of people rushed to Andre’s corner to get his autograph, while my mother and I were the only two people standing on Stasiak’s side. We both implored Stasiak to sign, but he kept shooing us away. In an era when kayfabe ruled, heels did not sign autographs, especially when in the ring.
The referee, whose name I don’t know, saw what was happening, and he came over to us and said in a concerned voice that we shouldn’t get too close to Stasiak because he was a mean dude and there’s no telling what he would do to us. My mother explained to him that Stasiak was my favorite and that I’d be crushed if he didn’t sign. The referee must have felt sorry for us, because he went over to Stasiak and whispered something to him. A few seconds later, Stasiak walked over to us, took the notepad from my mother and signed his name. I still have that autograph.
Back in those days, the WWWF came to town every month, and after having such an unbelievable time at that first show, I just had to go to all of them. Fortunately, my parents were agreeable.
My father, however, made it clear that he did not care at all for wrestling. I vividly recall him falling asleep in his seat at the shows, while my mother at least paid attention and sometimes cheered the good guys and booed the bad guys. She even had a favorite wrestler – Tony Garea.
My parents and I went to about five or six shows in a row, and then something happened that nearly ended my monthly routine. After one show, we went back to our car – which was parked on the street and not in a garage – and found that it had been sideswiped. My father was furious. That’s it, he said. No more going to the Civic Center for us.
As you can imagine, I was devastated. One thing about my father, when he said something, he meant it. My mother, however, was a different story. I was definitely a mama’s boy, and my pathetic pleading to keep going to the shows wore her down. She and my father talked about it, and he said that if she was willing to take me, that was fine, but he wasn’t going ever again. And he never did. Oh, and there was one other condition: He said that we could not take the car. We’d have to go on a bus.
My mother knew how much I loved wrestling, so she and I took the 30-minute bus ride from Dundalk to Baltimore City month after month, year after year. My father was a mailman, but when it came to taking me to wrestling shows, neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail kept my mother from waiting with me for the bus after 11 o’clock at night in downtown Baltimore City. For those not familiar with Baltimore, the Civic Center (now 1st Mariner Arena) is not in the greatest part of town, and that was especially true in the 1970s.
Wrestling at the time wasn’t family entertainment, either. It attracted an older and somewhat rough crowd that filled the arena with cigarette smoke and foul language. A 40-year-old woman who looked like a Cub Scout den mother (because she was one) coming to the show with her elementary-school age son was conspicuous to say the least.
It meant the world to me that my mother indulged my love affair with wrestling. I knew full well that she would much rather have been sitting at home on those Saturday nights watching All in The Family and The Carol Burnett Show instead of watching George “The Animal” Steele chew on turnbuckles and Chief Jay Strongbow do his war dance and beat Lou Albano to a bloody pulp.
As I got older, I started going to the shows with my friends instead of my mother. She was happy to stay at home by that point, but I would still talk to her about whatever was going on in wrestling. Sometimes she and I would watch it on TV together while my father would just shake his head and ask me when I was going to grow out of my wrestling phase.
Besides watching wrestling, my other favorite activity growing up was writing. My mother always encouraged my love of writing and she was extremely proud when I broke into the newspaper business as an unpaid intern at The Baltimore News American when I was 17 (I landed a paying part-time job with The Baltimore Sun when I was 19).
Since that time, I’ve had probably a thousand bylines between newspapers and magazines, and my mother has never failed to read anything with my name on it and tell me how good it was (whether it really was or not).
It was inevitable that my two passions – wrestling and writing – would intertwine. I am extremely fortunate to have collected a paycheck all these years doing something that I love, and I owe it largely to my mother’s unconditional love and support.
Thanks, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.
Comments
What a great tribute to a great Mom!
It also brings back many memories of Civic Center wrestling.
I always think that Stasiak was underrated. As a kid, the heartpunch was my "finisher" when playing around with friends.
Plus seeing Andre in his prime when he was mobile and powerful was a treat. Ah, and Bruno, Pedro, the Chief, Nikolai, Spiros......it goes on and on.
Thanks for the column.
Posted by: Brian in Bel Air | May 10, 2009 11:57 AM
Excellent story Kevin. This blog rules.
Posted by: Sean | May 10, 2009 12:39 PM
Nice job , Kevin.
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | May 10, 2009 12:43 PM
Kevin, what a great story from the heart! Wish my Mom was still with us. I would rather be visiting with her at a Restaurant instead of the Cemetery. Once again, another great Ring Post.
Posted by: wrzesien | May 10, 2009 12:49 PM
So you went to your first wrestling show on Boxing Day?
All levity aside, I am sure your mother will mean every word when she tells you how good this post is.
Posted by: Aaron Goldstein | May 10, 2009 12:58 PM
BEAUTIFUL POST KEV! This post really shows off your power as a columnist. You were very vivid in your depiction of your youth, mother and pro wrestling. It really took me back to that time.
I was probably at that same Andre/Stasiak show. Sounds fimiliar. I could never get my father to sit down as I was the more reserved of the two of us.
My mother never attended the shows with us, but yelled at the television when we were at home (Especially when Bo Bo Brazil, Chief Jay Strongbow or Bruno Sammartino would wrestle).
The most exciting thing about my mom and pro wrestling is that I realized (even as a pre-teen) that the only reason she got so excited about wrestling is that she truly loved my dad and immediately connected to anything that he loved to do.
Happy Mother's Day mom.
Posted by: rob the barber | May 10, 2009 1:01 PM
KEv, thanks for sharing that lovely mothers day wrestling story!
My mom was tolerant but indifferent to wrestling when I started watching it on Saturday afternoons back a round the same time you did. Growing up in eastern PA, I got shows with monthly promos from both Baltimore and Philly.
My mom used to tell me about how her mom was so into watching wrestling on TV back in the 50's, before my time. She was a straight laced, elderly, religious and very loving lady from eastern Europe who I was told used to get down on her hands and knees and yell at the heel wrestlers of the day on TV when they did their misdeeds! That's a picture of her that always sticks in my mind despite never having actually had a chance to observe it.
Posted by: AMC | May 10, 2009 1:42 PM
I understand the sentiment Mr Eck. My mom spent countless hours watching WWF superstars and Saturday nights main events with me as a child and it wasn't until I was in my teens that I found out that she wasn't that big of a wrestling fan but just watched because of me. She even tolerated me using my bed as a top rope to practice my macho man elbow drop.Thanks for sharing your wonderful story.
Posted by: John Smith | May 10, 2009 1:52 PM
Kevin, that was a great read, man. I can relate in the sense that, I grew up with parents who were very anti-wrestling and I never got to go as a kid, so I can really appreciate what your mom did for you all those years. What special memories you have of that! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.
Posted by: Rob | May 10, 2009 2:05 PM
Great article Kev! I honestly got a little misty eyed at the end.
Posted by: Geckle | May 10, 2009 2:40 PM
Well done, Mr. Eck. Your Mom sounds like a wonderful lady. I hope she has a blessed day.
Posted by: JimmyJam | May 10, 2009 3:31 PM
Great read. It was my mom who got me into watching wrestling back in 89 when we lived in jacksonville nc .She used to watch it on wral back in the day. Since we moved to maryland in 90 we've been to many events in dc baltimore and at the old cap centre. We have been to 4 wrestlemania's together(17,18,20,21). 18 was her first trip anywere after recovering from breast cancer so that one was special
Posted by: Jon | May 10, 2009 6:23 PM
Kevin,great story,i just booked my tickets to my first ever WWE event in November here in Ireland,i hope its half as good as your 1st event,cant wait for it now!!
Posted by: conan curley | May 10, 2009 7:59 PM
I also did the monthly trek to the Civic Center and many a time it was my Mom who took me. My first match was headlined by Superstar Billy Graham defending the title against "The Polish Power" Ivan Putski (Zbysko may have been guest referee but not certain). It ended with the ref stopping the match declaring Putski the winner. As the fans went wild thinking we had a new champ, the ring announcer declared the ref stopped the match because of too much blood and the title couldn't change hands that way. As I stared in disbelief, I turned to my Mom to express how unfair that was, only to see that she was so bored that she had slept thru the whole thing. I remember being embarassed, but 32 years later all I can say is what an embarassment it is that I felt that way, and how great a mother I have that took me there in the first place!
Happy Mothers Day Mom!
Posted by: Matt | May 10, 2009 9:34 PM
My mom thought wrestling was silly when I was growing up and used to get mad at me for wanting to sneak out of church early so I wouldn't miss any of the AWA All-Star Wrestling show on Sunday mornings, but still took me downtown to watch the first Wrestlemania at one of the local theaters via closed-circuit TV. She sat through enough shows with me over the years that she developed her own favorites as well.
Posted by: Snyder | May 10, 2009 11:36 PM
That's a great story, Kevin. We are only a few years apart in age. I remember watching the AWA on television after cutting my parents lawn -- guys like Patera, the Super Destroyers, a heel Afred Hayes, Bockwinkle, Heenan, etc. and finding it all rather compelling.
The difference is that I never attended a live show until I was in my mid 30s.
Wrestling seldom came to my town. Instead, my Dad often took me to junior hockey games.
Like you, I've remained interested in wrestling for more than three decades.
Great post and very nice of you to acknowledge your Mom and Dad.
Posted by: Mark | May 10, 2009 11:40 PM
Very nice tribute Kevin. That should have been printed in the paper rather than published on an Internet blog though. Very well written and touching to boot.
We are about the same age (I was 7 in 1973) and I remember watching wrestling with my Dad. The sad thing is that if I had a young child I wouldn't want him/her watching wrestling with me -- at least until the recent move towards PG programming.
It's also telling that you were taking the bus home late at night even in a bad area. Would a mother be willing to take a young son on a bus ride in a downtown area past 11:00 in most large cities anymore?
Posted by: Bob Buscaglia | May 11, 2009 12:28 AM
Touching story ECK. One of your most memorable ones.
Posted by: Dhananjay Mhatre | May 11, 2009 12:51 AM
Hi kevin. Very nice post. We all love you and in turn owe your mother a debt of gratitude for producing you. Much respect.
Posted by: Andy | May 11, 2009 3:18 AM
Due to the nature of the following program...personal discrection is advised.
In all seriousness. I remember the days of the Civic Center and when the WWWF came to town every month and also when Vince wore that yellow blazer. Things were so much different back then
Thanx for sharin Kev and I hope that you moms had a great Mother's day
Posted by: Michael | May 11, 2009 4:20 AM
Well, your dad's car was hit at a wrestling show, and you got hit at wrestlemania. Like father like son. Or maybe it was the same person trying to get revenge!
Posted by: Richard | May 11, 2009 7:35 AM
Wonderful blog Kevin - what great memories you have and what a special relationship you had/have with your mother. Sounds like you're the kind of son, every mother deserves. I'm sure that column made her day more so than any gift you could have bought her....
Posted by: Jeannette | May 11, 2009 7:59 AM
That's a great story. And just generally speaking, this is a great column. So thanks, Kevin's mom.
Posted by: Stephen | May 11, 2009 8:44 AM
This is a great tribute. I lost my mom when I was 7 yrs old which is just about the time I was getting into Mid South Wresting which came on Saturday nights at 10:30 on KNOE in Monroe, Louisiana. That would always be way past my bedtime but mom would always let me stay up on that night to watch wrestling even though I would be dead tired at church the next morning. She knew my love for wrestling and would do anything to make her lil boy happy.
Posted by: Brian | May 11, 2009 10:19 AM
Hey Kev, are you sure your mother wasn't Mrs. Kreiger (do you remember her?) Just kidding, great blog. Happy Mother's Day to all moms!
RESPONSE FROM KE: Not only do I remember her, I even got her autograph as a kid. She signed it: "To my sweetheart, Georgette Kreiger."
Posted by: Magnificent Mark | May 11, 2009 10:49 AM
As great as this blog has been since its inception, I think that this is the best post ever. Thank you Kevin, and thank you Mrs. Eck.
Posted by: Joe | May 11, 2009 10:51 AM
My mom doesn't watch wrestling either, but she was watching it the night the identify of McMahon's mystery son was revealed. She predicted that it would be "the midget." I am still in awe of her today.
Posted by: Cliff | May 11, 2009 10:56 AM
We're so proud of you right now Kevin!
Love,
Vince and Linda
Posted by: Elevation | May 11, 2009 11:58 AM
So Kevin, you were a young wrestling geek also....I feel in love with wrestling at a young age also.....I never went to many live shows but I was always watching it on TV......now I'm a 52 year old wrestling geek.....funny how your love for the bizzare stays with you.....great Mother's Day Story.......Mom's rule.
Posted by: Bill K | May 11, 2009 1:21 PM
Wow sounds like we grew up in the same house. My mom and dad use to take me to wrestling shows every time they came to town, even though they weren't fans. I remember my first show (sorry I don't remember the date like you.) The main event was Hulk Hogan vs. Big John Studd. I remember wanting nothing more than to see Hogan walk down the alise, finger waving, slapping hands with everybody while Real American blared over the PA system, and I was looking at the wrong alise (remember when heels and faces came from different sides of the arena) and missed it. Before I knew it Hulk was already on the apron pointing the bad finger at Studd and Heenan. Oh well Hulk won (I was a kid and didn't think he had a chance aganist Studd) and was happy thanks to Jack and Stella.
My mom also had a favorite.."Polish Power" Ivan Putski.
Thanx for making me think about that Kev!!
Posted by: Andre the Midget | May 11, 2009 8:02 PM
What a wonderful column. I wish you would write more columns about the good old days!
I loved going to the Civic Center or the Capital Centre back in the day. I still remember the days Bobby Duncum or Ken Patera would wrestle Bob Backlund or Chief Jay!
Posted by: Rasslin Fan | May 11, 2009 8:21 PM
Great story. Parent's can be pretty amazing sometimes.
Posted by: David | May 11, 2009 9:34 PM
William Regal rules.
Posted by: Andy | May 12, 2009 1:09 AM
I think you should be proud of yourself too Kev, to be doing a job that you truely love and (maybe unwittingly) wanted to do since you were young. Sounds like you got it made mate, well done.
Posted by: Mike C | May 12, 2009 9:18 AM
I know this story is about moms but I'll never forgot how my dad, who didn't care for wrestling, drove my brother and me up to Toronto to see Wrestlemania VI when I was 13 yrs. old. I saved my money for about ten months for tickets, gas, hotel, and food and thought I had enough for everything. It was years later that my dad said I had probably only given him enough money for half of the trip's expenses but he paid for the rest. We didn't have much money then so it meant a whole lot to me that he did that.
Posted by: Bad News | May 12, 2009 11:02 AM
Truly a great story Kevin,
You should re-tell this story every year so that way I'll have "A Christmas Story" in December and "A Wrestling Story" in the spring.
What do you Kevin?
It could be big! BIG!
Posted by: Brian | May 12, 2009 6:30 PM
great article. very touching. i remember attending my first wwf event in baltimore in 1993. (headlined by yokozona vs lex luger or bret hart?) and my mom did not seem that interested in the show until the smoking guns came out lol hate to admit it but i think she was one of the few billy and bart gun marks in baltimore lol btw kevin when do you plan on grow in out of that wrestling phase lol j/k :)
Posted by: ritz | May 12, 2009 7:00 PM