This week's column is about something a little different. I was honored to be selected by the Board of Directors of Midwest Championship Wrestling to be a part of a huge sports card show and autograph session on October 19, 2002.

I was told to come south on Interstate 75 to the 82-mile marker and take a right and go to the Miami Valley Centre Mall. The trip was just a little over two hours, and I left home at 9:30 a.m. I was on my cell phone most of the trip speaking to the many friends I have throughout these great United States that were involved with the wrestling business.

The first guy I called was Bob Orton Sr. in Las Vegas, Nevada. As always, Bob was very glad to hear from me and started to asking the regular questions that he had, like who had died the past week, who had done something spectacular in the WWE or any of the independents that I keep up with and how everybody was in my home and family. Bob and I have been friends for over 30 years, and I will treasure the knowledge and tips that he gives me during each call.

I must have lost all track of time and where I was for the moment as I came upon an onramp from Lima to I-75. Now, most people would not think much of what I am going to tell you, but I nearly stopped and let this clown go way ahead of me. Here was a guy in an old beat up pickup truck, eating a sub sandwich and reading a newspaper while trying to drive on the road. I speeded up and got away from him very fast and soon had a trooper from the Ohio Highway Patrol pulled over and informed him of what we had coming our way. He thanked me and did a turn around and waited for the guy in the pickup.

I continued down the road to exit 82 and left the interstate highway. At the next light, I turned left and into the mall parking area. I went around to the rear where the hotel was that Fred Curry would be staying at. It was almost noon when I entered the mall and started down the center aisle past many tables filled with cards, models and memorabilia from all different sports.

At the center of the mall were a huge skylight and several tables set aside for the autograph sessions. There were about 2500 people in the aisles buying and looking. As I continued towards the back of the center area, I spotted the huge tables with the NWA and MWW banners above them. Seated at one of the tables was superstar Flying Fred Curry from the 60's and 70's era. He rose and grabbed my hand with a lot of aggression and force. I stood for a couple of minutes and chatted with him when I looked over at the other side of the display area and saw Jim and Rick Lancaster.

They were a brother team that won the hearts of many fans during their heyday of the 60's and 70's. Both are in great shape and took their turn with each and every fan that stepped forward to see what they had brought to the table. Many old wrestling magazines and posters, along with pictures and a couple of championship belts, adorned their tables.

As I sat between these giants of our industry, I was in awe of the amount of fans that came by to pay their respects to these men. Many of the newer fans of the 90's and into the new millennium did not really understand who these men were. Some asked if they had wrestled some of the newer WWF and WWE stars. Most bought action pictures of the brothers and Fred.

By the way, in one of the cases that were on Fred's table on top of a velvet rug was a program from 1945 that featured Bull Curry, Fred's father, in a match that would be refereed by Babe Ruth. I had never seen anything like it and asked Fred why this was not in a safety deposit vault, Fred said, "I want the fans to see how great my dad was and how powerful his presence was in the ring against opponents and that they had to bring in Babe Ruth to settle things."

Hanford Dixon was the first star to do the autograph sessions. He was with the Cleveland Browns and quite a gifted athlete. Fans were lined up four wide and at least 50 deep during the two hours he signed autographs. He had a huge following in Piqua, and, unknown to me, there was a fan club in a nearby city for the Browns.

Fred, Jim and Rick went to the tables and began to meet and greet each and every person with a handshake and a smile. The lines were almost as long as they had been for Dixon, except that these were diehard wrestling fans that had stood for nearly two and a half hours in line to get an autograph and pictures with these former greats.

I stayed after the signing session for nearly two hours when I had to return to the north. We spoke about families, we spoke about friends that we had in the business, and I even called Danny Hodge and Ox Baker to speak with Fred during the set down with these great guys.

I had a wonderful time with these gentlemen and the respected members of Midwest Wrestling's Board of Directors while I was there. I learned a lot from these guys about humility that I did not know before.

I hope to be able to do this type of thing soon.