by Jim Cornette & Mark James
Features photos taken by budding wrestling photographer Jim Cornette along with marketing and media from the 50s through the 80s.
It is lavishly illustrated with reproductions of classic arena programs from 1950 to the mid 80's, complete reprints of all six issues of Cornette's Championship Wrestling Magazine from the early 80's, portraits of the Memphis stars taken by Cornette in his days as the area's official photographer, and reproductions of rare 45RPM records, autograph books, calendars and more, some not seen in over fifty years.
This 350 page book also features a first-person account of how Jim got started in wrestling photography, details on the incredible volume of souvenir photos that were sold of the top wrestlers (and how the money was split), an explanation of the three talent circuits that comprised the massive Gulas-Welch territory with weekly schedules, a lengthy year-by-year summary of Memphis arena business from the 60's to the 80's with big gates, crowds, top-drawing stars and rivalries, and a special section on the contributions wrestling made to the music business in the city known as the "Birthplace of the Blues". For fans of classic Memphis wrestling, fans of rare wrestling memorabilia and fans of the inner workings of the wrestling industry, this book has something for everyone!
This book is not currently available from Cornette's Collectibles, but can be purchased from Amazon by clicking the link here.
