James Allen Crockett was a professional wrestling

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 promoter sometimes known as Jim Crockett, Sr. or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim".

Early life

Born in Bristol, Virginia

Bristol, Virginia

Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....

 to Charles S. & Josie E. Crockett. As a youth, he became a fan of pro wrestling, which had thrived during the 1920s with such grapplers as Strangler Lewis and Joe Stecher

Joe Stecher

Joe Stecher , sometimes spelled Joe Stetcher, was a professional wrestler and three-time World Heavyweight Champion. Stecher is the first wrestler to regain the original version of the World Heavyweight Championship....

 dominating the scene.

Career

In the early 1930s, a dispute arose over the bookings of new wrestling sensation Jim Londos

Jim Londos

Christos Theofilou or Christopher Theophelus better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos, was a professional wrestler who was one of the most popular stars wrestling offered during the Great Depression.-Career:Jim Londos was born Christos Theofilou in 1897 in Argos, Greece. as the youngest of...

, so New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 promoter Jack Curley

Jack Curley

Jack Curley was a sports promoter of the early 1900s. He managed several high-profile boxing events around the turn-of-the-century and he also established professional wrestling as a viable business in the big city, and he eventually built the New York office into an industry power while...

 negotiated an alliance between various regional managers that enabled Londos to travel the country as champion while allowing the promoters to share profits evenly across the regions. As a result of this arrangement, new wrestling "territories" emerged across the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and in 1935, a 25-year old Crockett, who had also served as a concert promoter while also owning a theater and a restaurant, decided to set up a permanent wrestling shop based in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

. The organization, known as Jim Crockett Promotions

Jim Crockett Promotions

Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...

, scheduled wrestling events in both Carolinas, as well as in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, under the banner of Eastern States Championship Wrestling. Over the next decade, ESCW featured some of the top wrestling stars of the day. Then in 1948, wrestling's top promoters gathered in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

 to form the industry's first true governing body, known as the National Wrestling Alliance

National Wrestling Alliance

The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

. As the dominant force representing the Carolina region, Jim Crockett Promotions soon became an important member of the NWA, with Crockett serving as a chief lieutenant under longtime NWA President and leading St. Louis promoter Sam Muchnick

Sam Muchnick

Sam Muchnick was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often deemed as wrestling’s equivalent of Pete Rozelle , and he was instrumental in establishing the National Wrestling Alliance, which became the industry’s top governing body, in 1948...

.

Over the next 25 years, Jim Crockett Sr.'s Carolina territory reigned among the most successful regions in the NWA, as he regularly sold out the 16,000-seat Greensboro Coliseum

Greensboro Coliseum

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is an entertainment complex located in College Hill neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. Opening in 1959, the arena was one of the largest venues in the South, with a seating capacity of over 7,000...

 featuring such stars as Johnny Weaver

Johnny Weaver

Kenneth Eugene Weaver was a professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver...

, Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson, and Gene

Gene Anderson

Gene Anderson was an American professional wrestler best known for his days of teaming with his brother Ole Anderson.-Career:...

 & Ole Anderson

Ole Anderson

Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...

 on his Championship Wrestling program.

Ice hockey

The championship trophy of the Southern Hockey League

Southern Hockey League (1973-1977)

The Southern Hockey League was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league that operated from 1973 to 1977. The SHL was one of two leagues along with the North American Hockey League, that were formed after the Eastern Hockey League ceased operations in 1973...

, a developmental circuit for the World Hockey Association

World Hockey Association

The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

, was named after him.

Death

However, by the early 1970s, an ailing Crockett was forced to retire, as his son-in-law John Rigley had begun to take over many of the territory's responsibilities. Jim Crockett Sr. died on April 1, 1973, and control of the company was then ceded to his son, 28-year old Jim Crockett Jr., who took over the promotion and ultimately renamed it "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling."

Jim Crockett Promotions would eventually hold a tag team tournament from 1986 through 1988 in honor of him called the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament.

Personal life

He was married to Elizabeth Jackson Eversole Crockett, with whom he had four children: James Allen Crockett, Jr.

Jim Crockett, Jr.

Jim Crockett, Jr. is a former professional wrestling promoter. From 1973 to 1988, he owned Jim Crockett Promotions , a wrestling company affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance...

, David Finley Crockett

David Crockett (wrestling)

David F. Crockett is a former professional wrestling announcer and executive from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the son of Jim Crockett and brother to Jim Crockett, Jr. He was usually paired in announcing duties with Tony Schiavone, with Crockett providing color commentary and Schiavone...

, Charles J. "Jackie" Crockett, and Frances Earl Crockett.