This past week, I lost one of my two remaining aunts in Flint. Mary Ellen Friend, age 75, passed away. She was the wife of my late uncle Don for nearly 50 years.

Just returned from a great trip to Virginia. Keelie was Baptized yesterday and we had a big party.--Percival

The year was filled with excitement with new World Tag Team Champions in the Heart of America. From the western edges of Kansas to the easterly town of Quincy, Illinois, and all parts in between, fans were triumphant in their feelings about the two men who were leading the pack in the world of wrestling.

Bob Geigel had come from a humble beginning in the north central part of Iowa in a town by the name of Algona. He graduated from college and began a very successful wrestling career in Minnesota. He was at a high point in his life when he got a calling to go to Amarillo, Texas. It was the toughest territory in the United States with the greatest grapplers. He became very good friends with Dory Funk Sr. and was his tag team partner for most of the time he was in the area. Together, they won every major title in the territory and beat every team that was imported by the promotion.

Attendance records were broken time and time again every time Bob wrestled on a card. He battered opponents into bloody heaps every time he wrestled. He enjoyed beating on people only because he could do it legally and be paid for what he loved. He was just a bully at heart.

Bob finally made his way to Kansas City to wrestle and was so impressive that promoter Gust Karras asked him to stay and be a part of his group. He offered Bob a sizeable guarantee to stay in the area and compete against the best the Midwest had to offer.

Omar Atlas had come from South America to be a part of a wrestling territory based in Houston. He was a fiery young man with aspirations and visions of becoming a heavyweight champion. He also had visions of going to the major cities throughout the world.

In 1971, Omar went to Kansas City on an invitation from former World Champion Pat O'Connor. He began the slow ascent to the main event ranks, battling with the likes of Harley Race, Bob Brown, Bob Orton Sr., and Bob Geigel. Yes, these teammates did battle against each other at first.

It was in 1971 that a young, ambitious manager by the name of Percival A. Friend came onto the scene to correct what he called an indifference of opinion about the wrestler that he sent from Calgary by the name of Black Angus. There was a difficulty in understanding Angus because he spoke in a Gaelic Dialect with a British sound.

Promoters had taken advantage of this disability and did a lot of mean things to him. They scorned the ground that he walked on and constantly belittled him. They placed him in matches that he had no business being in. He was tagged up with midgets, women, and athletes who were not in the same league with him. They cheated him at the pay window as well. That all changed when Percival started calling the shots and directing Angus in the right mode.

Omar and Geigel had an opportunity in the small town of Great Bend, Kansas to face the tag champions at the time, Chatti Yokouchi and Yasu Fuji. The match sold out the city auditorium in record time. Geigel and Omar were the oddest of couplings that Promoter Gust Karras put together. They had never teamed together, but they knew a lot about each other from previous matches. They functioned like a well-oiled machine.

The evening began with Black Jack Black facing Danny Littlebear. Danny beat his foe in a little over 10 minutes with an Indian Death Lock. He had hung around the ringside area talking to fans and posing for pictures.

As Angus and I went towards the ring, of course, Littlebear had to put his two cents into the entrance and get right into the face of Angus. He called Angus a number of names that I would not care to print in this column and challenged us to a match for the following time we would be in Great Bend. I, of course, told him that he would have to beat a lot better opponents than he did tonight to be a part of any kind of match with Angus.

We went on to the ring to face Rufus R. Jones in what proved to be one of the toughest matches that Angus ever had. Every time we thought of a new move or hold, Rufus would counteract the situation and reverse the picture. Rufus ended up getting disqualified by referee Richard Moody after he would not break a vicious sleeper that had dropped down onto the throat of Angus.

We went back to the dressing room, showered, and were about to leave when Chatti asked me to stay and be in his corner during the championship match. I was not in the habit of GIVING ANYTHING away and told Chatti what my fees were. I had a proven track record of winning matches and out-thinking opponents.

Angus and I were at ringside when the biggest match that Great Bend had ever seen got underway. Fans were throwing paper cups at us, some filled with pop, and calling out names that would make a sailor on leave blush. Security finally got things under control, and the match began.

Geigel jumped out of the ring and came right at me. I had NO GRUDGES with him and sidestepped him. He fell into a first row fan and busted the chair that they were sitting in. He jumped to his feet and got into my face. Angus thought that he should not be there and grabbed Geigel by the arms and threw his 265 pounds over the second rope into the ring.

Action was underway with Fuji and Atlas, who were throwing punches like a Gatling gun at each other. Geigel started back to his corner and was attacked from behind by Chatti with some brutal karate chops that sent him flying to the floor again, right next to me. I got a few well-deserved kicks in on his ample back and was pulled back by Angus.

By the time we were able to clear the air of Geigel and send him back into the ring, Omar had won the first fall, using an airplane spin. Promoter Gust Karras came to ringside and had a few of his goons with him to ensure his safety. He ordered that Angus and I be removed from ringside so the match could continue.

I produced a valid manager's license for the State of Kansas and argued that I had every right in the world to be at ringside. I also produced a second's permit for Angus, which gave him the right to be there as well. Karras was not as dumb as he professed to be in my view; he took both of the documents and shred them into many pieces and demanded that I return to the dressing room. I began to protest, and his goons started to back us up towards the dressing room area.

To be continued....