»Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com

On Wednesday, June 15, 2005 at 3:01 PM EST

Doc Young sent in the following recap...

Please credit Betsy Byrd if using this information.

'The King' Harley Race: "It's always great when your peers respect ya" and Penny Banner Talks Wrestling, Rodeo, and Elvis

Two wrestling veterans who began the sport in the 1950s - Harley Race and Penny Banner - joined hosts Doc Young and Les Thatcher on Wrestling Weekly Radio Sunday, June 12 to discuss their vast and varied careers in pro wrestling.

The first interview of the night was with female wrestler extraordinaire from 1954-1977, Penny Banner. Penny was the first AWA Ladies World Champion, now the author of an autobiography, Banner Days, and was recently featured in the film documentary about women wrestlers of the past, Lipstick and Dynamite.

Penny talked about wrestling in the 50s when all the women wrestlers went to Columbus, Ohio to train at Billy Wolfe's School of Women's Wrestling. She said, Wolfe initially took 40% of what the women earned traveling around performing. He later upped it to 50% until Mildred Burke left to open up a school of her own in California. Penny speculated that Wolfe reduced his fee to 25% when Mildred encouraged girls to train with her instead.

She talked about being a nanny for her uncle and training with him by doing 200 sit-ups a day. She worked in a lounge at night and after completing 200 sit-ups on a bet, she was asked if she ever thought of training in wrestling. Although she didn't know anything about wrestling and never watched it, with the agreement that she could return home after two weeks if she didn't like it, she accepted $50 and a train ride to Columbus to work with Billy Wolfe.

She said women traveled on the road, rarely staying in territories longer than two weeks and often not allowed to wrestle in certain cities at all until they proved they were a lady first, then an athlete. She was one of the first woman wrestlers to wear a two-piece bathing suit, but it was reinforced strictly with elastic and medical tubing to keep the suit in place. Life on the road was grueling, with $325 being the biggest payoff of her entire career.

Not only was Penny the very first AWA Ladies Champ, she was also the first to wrestle an African-American woman in Texas, Ethel Johnson. And she dated Elvis Presley in the 1950s about five times before he was drafted into the Army. "Elvis was a big wrestling fan," according to Penny. She received complimentary tickets to one of his shows when he was performing in St. Louis, Penny's hometown. The police then took her backstage for her first date with the King. After that, whenever she visited Memphis he took her to his mansion. She said they got along so well because their lives were so alike. Penny said, "He was a real wonderful guy." But it was all very innocent. "We just kissed and kissed and kissed.and rolled around on the bed." She swooned.

Penny went on to discuss her autobiography, Banner Days. She was initially approached by Ric Flair's mother, Kay, years prior but just didn't have the time to gather the needed materials. When she was approached again later, she was ready. She said, "I thought it was the epitome of my career," but Penny continued to discuss her thrill at being inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, NY. She knew when they asked about her ring size by telephone that she was being inducted in the prestigious hall of fame, only the fourth women to be honored.

Penny laments about the lack of live footage available of her work. This is partially due to that film used back then contained silver. Since it was so precious, the film was reused over and over until it fell apart. Despite that, she still believes that film does exist and hopes that footage will emerge eventually.

When asked if she ever watches wrestling, she said she doesn't watch the WWE but sometimes catches matches in the independents. She sees particular potential in "Cheerleader" Melissa Anderson and Venus, two female wrestlers she saw perform in Las Vegas. She says of them, "I was very impressed." As commissioner of the PGWA, she has seen some real tough, good female workers but unfortunately, they are often exploited. She said about her own wrestling career, "We were exploited, but in a different way." She believes that women wrestling on the WWE level is not as popular because "They (the viewers) know it's all entertainment now."

Penny is slated to appear in several swimming events in Pittsburg June 16-18 at the Senior Olympics. She is already a medalist is several categories. She said, "Swimming is harder than wrestling. It is the hardest thing I've ever done." And with a life that includes wrestler, barrel racer, author, and realtor, that's saying a lot. Penny will be making an appearance at the NWA Legends Fanfest August 19-21 in Charlotte, NC.

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Next up, "The King" Harley Race was congratulated by Les for his recent induction into the Newton, Iowa International Wrestling Institute Hall of Fame. Harley is the only wrestler to be inducted in all three wrestling hall of fame entities: WWE, Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, NY, and in Newton. Harley humbly replied, "It's always great when your peers respect ya."

Les and Harley talked about their professional union in wrestling training that began three years ago. Harley said about his affiliation with Les' EPWT and his own training seminars based out of Eldon, Missouri at World League Wrestling (WLW), "Somebody has to show these kids the right way to do things." He believes that it is easier to work with young people before inadequate training occurs. It is harder to correct it when they think they know it all, he said.

Harley talked about his recent protégé to receive a WWE developmental deal, Trevor Rhodes. Harley said he saw potential in the youngster from the get-go. He said, "I hope he does fabulous because he's a great kid." He said Trevor took longer to mature, but the talent was there all along. When Harley talks about his training methods, he describes pushing his trainees hard with an emphasis on cardio exercise. He believes that "If you run out of gas then you are in danger and the person you're wrestling is in danger." He also puts referee and manager trainees through the same strict program as the wrestlers. He admires the training methods of the Japanese tremendously. He will be welcoming some of the premier Japanese trainers to the WLW in Eldon September 21-24. He says, "These guys are into stretching unbelievable." He is sorry to see that the dedication and belief in the business isn't what it used to be here in the States. He says of the Japanese, "They're in a world where the people still believe in what their doing."

Several questions were posed to Harley from the chat room, including when Randy Orton spit in his face during a RAW program. Harley said, "Whatever I could do to further that kid's career, I would do it." Randy comes from three generations of wrestlers including his father and grandfather, all known to Harley. When asked about Bobby Heenan, Harley said he was the best one-line man. He admires his tenacity in supporting his family since the age of 15 and his talent. He describes Vader as a "rhinoceros" and when asked who he thought was tough in the ring, considering his infamous in-ring toughness, Harley said, "Toughness is highly overrated" and "in the eye of the beholder."

Harley will be appearing at Newton High School on July 15 the day before his induction in the International Wrestling Institute Hall of Fame and in two more shows, one in Eldon, Missouri on July 22 and the other in Ft. Scott on July 23.

During the interview wrap-up, Harley revealed that he will be receiving the Art Abrams award next year given by the Cauliflower Alley Club. Previous honorees include both Penny Banner and Les Thatcher. Harley is also scheduled to appear in Charlotte at the NWA Legends Fanfest. You can read all about Harley, his life and career in his book, King of the Ring.

With help from Scott Teal, the man behind "Whatever Happened to.?" and co-author of autobiographies by J.J. Dillon and Ole Anderson, Doc and Les are foraging into "legend" territory where in addition to their "regular" guest, Teal will help line up a legend from wrestling's past. To start off the "legend interview" segment, Doc and Les will be welcoming one-half of the Infernos, probably the most famous masked tag team in wrestling history, Frankie Cain. Hear June 19 what this former boxer and carnival wrestler has to say about his experiences as a big star in the 60s and 70s, first as an Inferno with Rocky Smith and later, as The Great Mephisto. Doc and Les will also be joined by a modern wrestler whose name will be announced on the website soon.

You can listen to the entire show, and all our shows, at http://www.wrestlingweekly.com.

Wrestling Weekly Radio featuring Doc and Les can be heard every Sunday from 6:00-8:00 pm EST at www.wrestlingweekly.com.

Don't forget to check the Web site for a video section with backstage interviews from the Mark Curtis show with Mick Foley, Al Snow, and D-Lo Brown, among others. The video is free to watch and will be updated every other day.