Gulf Coast

GCCW - Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling (1959-1978)

Lee Fields and his family began expanding the Mobile-based group in the 1960s after they bought it from Buddy Fuller. Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida remained key cities, but they pushed northwest into Mississippi as well as northeast to Dothan, Alabama and southeast Panama City, Florida. Fields focused on developing a strong market and by the late 1960s, "Cowboy" Bob Kelly had turned the Gulf Coast into a great regional group. He remained the top babyface throughout his tenure and the promotion worked well with small core of their own talent, a lot of "new" masked men and a constant rotation of visitors often from Nashville, Florida and Oklahoma. The area did not pull in as many established stars like other territories, but it had a particular appeal to area fans and ran strongly year round. Fields was so confident with his product, he tried to take it to Nashville, his former stomping grounds, but it didn't work. The GCCW closed up in 1978 and the towns were sold to Ron Fuller (Buddy Fuller's son), who was an established promoter in Knoxville.

Bob Armstrong

"Killer" Buddy Austin

Norvell Austin

Ox Baker

Ronnie Bass

Bearcat Brown

Frankie Caine

Haystacks Calhoun

Ron Carson (Dick Murdoch)

The Convict (Stan Frazier)

Sylvester DeRitter (Junkyard Dog)

Don Fargo