Nick Gulas (September 3, 1914 – January 21, 1991) was an American professional wrestling promoter in the Southern United States, partnered with Tennessee promoter Roy Welch for decades. Gulas was also known as "The King of Managers", "King B", and the "Dean of Promoters".
| Nick Gulas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 3, 1914 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 1991 (aged 76) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Children | George Gulas |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Nick Gulas |
| Debut | 1937 |
| Retired | 1980 |
Gulas helped start the careers of such wrestling stars as Tojo Yamamoto, Jackie Fargo, and Jerry "The King" Lawler in the 1960s and 1970s, the Bounty Hunters with Jimmy Kent, and the Interns with Dr. Ken Ramey in the 1970s and 1980s.
Personal life
editNick Gulas and his wife Katharine were married until her death on 4, 1986. The couple had one child, a son, George, who would join his father in the wrestling business. Nick Gulas died in 1991, aged 76, in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] He is buried there in Mount Olivet Cemetery. The Nashville Sports Arena at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds was renamed the "Nick Gulas Sports Arena" in his honor.
Professional wrestling promoter
editGulas became involved in professional wrestling in the 1940s, working both as a manager and later behind the scenes as well as a promoter in Florida. In the late 1940s he joined with Roy Welch to form the "Gulas-Welch Wrestling Enterprises Inc." promotion, based in Memphis and Knoxville.[citation needed]
In 1949 the group joined the National Wrestling Alliance, a national sanctioning body that divided the US into territories.[2] The promotion became known as NWA Mid-America at this point.[3]
In 1953 they added Knoxville to their territory as promoter John Cazana joined the group, expanding the territory across several states. Over the years NWA Mid-America worked closely together with the surrounding southern NWA territories, especially those run by Roy Welch's siblings. With time Roy Welch's health began to fail, which led to him bringing in Jerry Jarrett as a booker to help handle the day-to-day work behind the scenes.[4]
In the early 1970s, his son George became a wrestler for NWA Mid-America and was promoted as one of the top names in the territory despite not being a very talented wrestler according to the wrestlers in the territory.[5]
In 1977 Gulas' insistence on making George Gulas one of the featured names in the promotion led to a split between Gulas and Jerry Jarrett, who broke away from Gulas and began the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, essentially splitting Tennessee between himself and Gulas.[5][6]
By late 1980 NWA Mid-America closed down and Gulas went into semi-retirement as did his son George Gulas since no one wanted to hire him as a wrestler.[7]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Hall of Fame (2010)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Fox, Randy (2011-07-28). "Nashville wrestling fans, rejoice — it's the return of Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee and the fabulous Jackie Fargo". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ "NWA Membership Rosters: 1949". Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 9781554902743.
- ^ Lawler, Jerry (2002). It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes. World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-7434-5768-2.
- ^ a b James, Mark (June 5, 2015). "Foreword". Memphis Wrestling History Presents: 1977 The War For Memphis. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. pp. 13–16. ISBN 978-1-4781347-2-5.
- ^ Crawford, Steve (March 28, 2012). "Introduction - All the way from Memphis". Legends of Memphis Wrestling. Language: English. pp. 1–7. ISBN 978-1-4681384-6-7.
- ^ James, Mark (October 1, 2013). Memphis Wrestling History: Cards, Matches and Results 1970-1985. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-4935686-6-6.