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Sputnik Monroe (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
Sputnik Monroe was a professional wrestler from the mid 1940s through the early 1970s. Monroe was a headliner in many territories, and was best known in Memphis
, where he and Billy Wicks set an attendance record that lasted until the Monday Night Wars
boom period.
. His father had been killed in an airplane crash a month before his birth and his formative years were spent living with his grandparents. His mother remarried, and his stepfather, whose last name was Brumbaugh, adopted him at age 17. Monroe's legal name became Roscoe Monroe Brumbaugh.
Debuting as "Rock Monroe" in 1945, Monroe began his career by wrestling in traveling carnivals. He changed his name to "Rocky Monroe" in 1949, and adopted the nickname of "Sputnik" in 1957.
Monroe was a noteworthy figure in Memphis cultural history. During a period where segregation was the norm at public events, he, as the biggest wrestling draw at the time, refused to perform unless black patrons were allowed to sit in any seat at the Ellis Auditorium. At the time, at wrestling matches, as well as any public events, African-Americans were being limited to sit in what was at the time known as the "colored" section.
Monroe worked mostly as a heel
, and was known for being flamboyant and for possessing a quick wit.
He died in his sleep on November 3, 2006 in Florida
. On May 4, 2007, HBO announced they would make a movie based on Monroe's life.
On September 6, 2007 Julien Nitzberg confirmed the first draft of the Sputnik movie had been completed "
A Los Angeles-based rock band is named after him.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where he and Billy Wicks set an attendance record that lasted until the Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars is the common term describing the period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. During this time, the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro in a...
boom period.
Life
Sputnik was born Rosco Monroe Merrick in Dodge City, KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. His father had been killed in an airplane crash a month before his birth and his formative years were spent living with his grandparents. His mother remarried, and his stepfather, whose last name was Brumbaugh, adopted him at age 17. Monroe's legal name became Roscoe Monroe Brumbaugh.
Debuting as "Rock Monroe" in 1945, Monroe began his career by wrestling in traveling carnivals. He changed his name to "Rocky Monroe" in 1949, and adopted the nickname of "Sputnik" in 1957.
Monroe was a noteworthy figure in Memphis cultural history. During a period where segregation was the norm at public events, he, as the biggest wrestling draw at the time, refused to perform unless black patrons were allowed to sit in any seat at the Ellis Auditorium. At the time, at wrestling matches, as well as any public events, African-Americans were being limited to sit in what was at the time known as the "colored" section.
Monroe worked mostly as a heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, and was known for being flamboyant and for possessing a quick wit.
He died in his sleep on November 3, 2006 in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. On May 4, 2007, HBO announced they would make a movie based on Monroe's life.
On September 6, 2007 Julien Nitzberg confirmed the first draft of the Sputnik movie had been completed "
A Los Angeles-based rock band is named after him.
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
- Gulf Coast/CAC Honoree (2000)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Southern Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version)The Florida version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a top tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1960 until 1971, when the title was abandoned.-Title history:...
(1 time) - with Rocket Monroe - NWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...
(1 time) - with Norvell AustinNorvell AustinNorvell Austin is a retired American professional wrestler who made his debut in the late 1960s. Austin worked for most of his career in the Southern United States, most often in tag team competition. Norvell Austin is most famous for teaming with Sputnik Monroe in one of the first "mixed races"... - NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version)NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version)The Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship existed from 1961 until 1969.-Title history:-See also:*National Wrestling Alliance*NWA World Tag Team Championship*Florida Championship Wrestling...
(2 times) - with Rocket Monroe
- Gulf Coast Championship WrestlingContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Gulf Coast Louisiana ChampionshipMid-South Louisiana ChampionshipThe Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended from 1964 though 1983. Initially, the championship originated in the NWA affiliated Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling. During this time, it was referred to as the NWA Gulf...
(1 time)
- Mid-South SportsGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- NWA Georgia Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Georgia Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship....
(2 times)
- NWA Mid-AmericaContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers, board-controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance since December 1999....
(1 time) - NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)AWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(1 time) - with Norvell Austin - NWA Tennessee Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Tennessee Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Tennessee Heavyweight Championship is the major championship in the National Wrestling Alliance member promotion NWA Top Rope, based in Lebanon, Tennessee.There have been two versions of the championship...
(2 times) - NWA Tennessee Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Tennessee Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship was a secondary tag team title promoted as the name indeicates mainly in the Tennessee region from 1967 until 1977, first by Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling from 1967 to 1974 then by its successor Southeast Championship Wrestling from 1974 to 1977 when it...
(2 times) - with Tommy Gilbert
- NWA Tri-State
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship and secondary title in the National Wrestling Alliance that was for the lighter wrestlers. It started in 1945 and still exists today. The title was unified with the National Boxing/Wrestling Association's...
(1 time)
- NWA Western States SportsNational Wrestling AllianceThe 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...
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time) - with Ken Lucas
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Baby Blimp
- Southwest Sports, Inc.World Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA Texas Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Texas Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today...
(1 time) - NWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipWCWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipThe WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
(2 times) - with Danny McShain (1) and Rocket Monroe (1)
- United States Wrestling AssociationUnited States Wrestling AssociationThe United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...
- Memphis Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)