For this month’s Lunching with Books, the Friends of the Lee County Library welcome our very own Jeffrey Martin, Library Manager of the Itawamba County-Pratt Memorial Library! Jeffrey will be reviewing his book, Professional Wrestling in Mississippi: A History (2023).
Jeffrey Martin invites readers to step inside the squared circle and revisit everything from the carnival wrestling days of the late 1800s to the chiseled melodrama of modern wrestling. Along the way, readers will learn about Billy Romanoff, the old-school wrestler turned promoter who made wrestling a weekly staple at the Jackson City Auditorium; Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee, who brought down the house on Friday nights at the Tupelo Sports Arena; and George and Gil Culkin, the father-and-son duo who split with Cowboy Bill Watts to create their own Mississippi territory, kickstarting the careers of Kamala, Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes and many other pivotal figures.
As always, a light lunch will be available for purchase beginning at 11:30 AM for $10.00. All proceeds support the Lee County Library. The event itself will begin at 12:00 noon.