sputnik monroe
An unlikely pioneer.
1950s Memphis was, as one might expect, not tremendously enlightened regarding race relations. This was particularly true in Rock Brumbaugh's profession. Using the name "Sputnik Monroe", Brumbaugh was a hated villain in the professional wrestling ring of Ellis Auditorium - a place later made famous as the home of Elvis Presley's first sold-out concert. Sputnik Monroe, with his shock of white hair and Russian-inspired name, was loathed by white audiences in the ring for his arrogant persona and detested outside the ring for his friendship with blacks. While the whites at ringside booed him, the blacks in the balcony celebrated every performance of the one wrestler who treated them with respect and friendship.
Eventually, Monroe had to bribe auditorium workers to let blacks have floor seats, rather than turn them away when the "blacks only" balcony was full. And with that, the racial divide in Memphis professional wrestling was over. Monroe later went on to be one of the first white wrestlers willing to wrestle against blacks, and was half of the first interracial tag team in the South. Monroe, it should be remembered, did all this at a time when it was not uncommon for whites who associated with blacks to be physically attacked in southern cities. Furthermore, professional wrestling in the 1950s had only recently evolved beyond its carnival beginnings and it was not unusual for a heel wrestler to be attacked by irate fans as well.
Sputnik Monroe was eventually succeeded as Memphis wrestling's number one villain by Jerry "The King" Lawler, who is best known for his early 1980s feud with comedian Andy Kaufman. Monroe was also hardcore legend Terry Funk's first opponent. Still, he will be remembered in Memphis as an uncompromising and principled entertainer, who in his time rivaled Elvis's fame and single-handedly bettered the lives of many.
20.09.2003 © ljr