The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams by Greg Oliver; Steven Johnson

Author:Greg Oliver; Steven Johnson [Johnson, Greg Oliver; Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Wrestling, vl-wrestling, Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781770905573
Google: CwxXAgAAQBAJ
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2005-04-01T19:20:44+00:00

THE FIELDS BROTHERS

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Don and Bobby Fields (Chris Swisher Collection)

There’s little doubt about the identity of the first family of wrestling in the Gulf Coast area. Lee, Don and Bobby Fields were leading figures in the territory for two decades as owners, promoters and tag team partners. The three Fields brothers (real last name, Hatfield) were sons of Virgil “Speedy” Hatfield, a legendary referee, and got hooked on wrestling at an early age. “We just grew up around it,” Bobby said.

Born in 1930 in Osage County, Oklahoma, Lee was the oldest of the three, with Don and Bobby arriving in rapid-fire succession in the next two years. The brothers trained with old-timer Charlie Carr to learn the points of the craft. Lee’s first match was in 1950. Four years later, he moved to the Mobile, Alabama, territory to work for cousin Buddy Fuller (Edward Welch). “We got to wrestling and when we got to Mobile, we liked it real well. So we bought a ranch and just stayed there,” Don said. Lee acquired the Gulf Coast promotion in 1959 and, with his brothers, soon dominated the tag team division. “We were all very close and we all knew each other’s moves very well,” Don added.

The first of the brother combinations came from Bobby and Don, as they were Southern and World tag champs in the Tennessee area in 1959. One of their most memorable feuds came against Corsica Jean and Corsica Joe, which included a match with the ring enclosed by chicken wire, an unusual provision for the time. The three brothers also competed in some six-man matches against the likes of Fred Blassie, Eduardo Perez and Mario Galento. Don’s career ended after an August 1963 car accident, and Bobby and Lee teamed up frequently in the mid-’60s. “It pretty much came natural. We trained together, but still everything came kind of natural to us as partners. I pretty much knew what Don was going to do and he pretty much knew what I was going to do,” Bobby said.

“Bobby and Lee would have made it big in any territory as a tag team,” said “Cowboy” Bob Kelly, who eventually replaced Lee as Bobby’s partner. “They both could mat wrestle and do high-flying dropkicks, as well as being very fast and smooth, tagging in and out a lot, always working holds.” They held the Gulf Coast tag titles and the United States titles in the promotion, wrestling from Florida to Mississippi. They also turned in a brief stint as the Blue Infernos in Florida.

Don later spent time handling the business end of the promotion with Lee. Bobby continued successful teams with Ken Lucas and Kelly before entering the construction business after Lee sold the wrestling company to Robert and Ron Fuller in 1978. After he retired from the ring, Lee became involved in motorsports, winning the first big race he competed in at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola. “He learned how to drive a race car quicker than anyone I’ve ever seen,” said renowned Mobile race-car driver Gene Tapia.

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