Sputnik Monroe
American professional wrestler and civil rights activistWikipedia
12
MENTIONS
8
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 12 mentions across 8 episodes found for "Sputnik Monroe".
Sep 12, 2026
Chad OlsonHOST
So, cause I have, I do have like a big spreadsheet with, the year somebody debuted, the year they retired, and if they did, a year that they died.
Chad OlsonHOST
So there'll be luminaries in this Fed such as John Pesick, Al Costello, Rod Fenton, Fred Blassie, because I do not fear black and white cards, Wild Redberry, Johnny Valentine, Lou Thez, one young Tarzan Kowalski, let's see who else, Roscoe Monroe, who I think gets a little more famous later.
Chad OlsonHOST
Boa Boa Brazil, Yukon Eric, Buddy Rogers, Gorgeous George, Angela Poffel, those sort of folks.
Chad OlsonHOST
So they'll be just small four-match cards.
Brody HermanHOST
He was the second biggest draw in Memphis for a period of time, particularly after 1975.
Brody HermanHOST
When you think of Memphis wrestling, I mean, Sputnik Monroe and the original Fargoes are from a time past.
Brody HermanHOST
And then if you look at in the early 70s, it was Tojo Yamamoto.
Brody HermanHOST
It was...
J.J. DillonGUEST
So change comes about very slowly, as you know, with everything.
Jim CornetteHOST
Well, on the Memphis end, and we'll tell that story another time in another edition, but obviously Sputnik Monroe in Memphis had a lot to do with integrating all sporting events, and his boots and jacket still sits in an exhibit in the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum for his contributions in integrating sporting events of any kind in the South.
Jim CornetteHOST
But I remember still it was the late 60s, the first time Lynn Rossi and Bearcat Brown in Tennessee were the first mixed babyface tag team.
Jim CornetteHOST
And Sputnik Monroe and Norvell Austin a couple of years later were the first heel mixed tag team, which still got heat.
Jim CornetteHOST
But there was always a good amount of black baby faces in the Carolinas, and they didn't cause any problems.
Jim CornetteHOST
The world still turned, right?
Eddie ShepardHOST
Here's some people who... kind of worked through Houston, just some of the bigger names.
Eddie ShepardHOST
Junkyard Dog, Kamala, Jake the Snake Roberts, King Kong Bundy, Wahoo, Fritz Von Erich, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Dick Murdoch, Johnny Valentine, Boris Malenko, Nick Bockwinkle, Sputnik Monroe, the Kozak Brothers, the Midnight Express and Rock and Roll Express, J.J. Dillon's, Bruiser Brody, Gary Hart, Jim Cornette, Shawn Michaels, and the Blade Runners.
Eddie ShepardHOST
Sting and Warrior came through there.
Travis LassiterHOST
And that's the cool thing about it because you mentioned all the promotions he worked with and promoters he worked with to bring that talent in.
Steven ConwayHOST
It
Jeremy FinestoneHOST
was Sputnik Monroe before that.
Steven ConwayHOST
When you get past that, 1975 on, if you go up to anybody in Memphis, Tennessee, and say, name three wrestlers, you're going to get Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee, and somebody else.
Steven ConwayHOST
1975 on...
Jim CornetteGUEST
And obviously Tex Riley, a longtime Tennessee babyface, uh, hero.
Jim CornetteGUEST
Billy Wicks, the guy that Sputnik Monroe d- drew those two record houses that we talked about earlier against in Memphis.
Brian LastHOST
Against Tex R-
Jim CornetteGUEST
But Tex Riley against Billy Wicks, they -- if this was Memphis, they would both be babyfaces.
Jim CornetteGUEST
See, I knew that Wicks was in Mobile in '58.
Jim CornetteGUEST
Why was Tex Riley wrestling Billy Wicks?
Brian LastHOST
Sputnik Monroe will return here next Monday and has demanded a championship match with Jesse James or Billy Wicks, both holders of sectional titles.
Brian LastHOST
Beat a wrestler, win $100 or $1 per minute in ring.
Jim CornetteHOST
We talked about matches with Dick Murdock, who you had a bunch with when you guys broke in both in and out of the ring.
Jim CornetteHOST
But also a guy that was an influence on you early was Sputnik Monroe, who was another one of the characters.
Jim CornetteHOST
You guys had characters down
Terry FunkGUEST
there.
Terry FunkGUEST
Oh, Sputnik Monroe was one of the first guys that had my first match with him.
Jim CornetteHOST
What was the
Terry FunkGUEST
sputnik? Let me tell you what we did.
Tony RichardsHOST
Jack Dalton is better known as Don Fargo.
Tony RichardsHOST
And so he, he has his first match against Don Fargo, which is interesting because Terry's first match was against Sputnik Monroe, which would take place in 1965, in December.
Tony RichardsHOST
But, uh, January 30th, 1963, Dory wrestles Don Fargo.
Tony RichardsHOST
And then just, uh, let me run down just some of the names.
Tony RichardsHOST
Tokyo Tom was a longtime Japanese heel in Amarillo.
Tony RichardsHOST
Uh, he was in a tag team with Bob Gigel against Tokyo Tom and Tough Tony Borne.
Tony RichardsHOST
He, uh, wrestled with his dad in a tag team against Fritz Von Erich and Sputnik Monroe.
Tony RichardsHOST
I would have liked to have seen that match, and it was a 60-minute draw.