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PEOPLE & ARTS A31
Film shows black women as hidden figures in pro wrestling
By ANDREW WELSH-HUG-
GINS
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) —
Ramona Isbell is worried.
What will people say when
they find out? After all, she they wanted to move on
mostly kept her secret for
more than 50 years.
The practices. The out-of-
town — and out-of-coun-
try — travel. Her role as a
hidden figure in a lesser-
known aspect of integra-
tion brought on by the civil
rights movement.
Her life as one of the coun-
try's first black female pro- accomplishments," Bour-
fessional wrestlers.
"I liked the freedom, I liked The driving force behind
the money, I liked the trav-
el, and I had fun," Isbell
said. A new documentary
explores the role of black
women recruited as pro-
fessional wrestlers in the
1950s and 1960s. Columbus
was an epicenter for the
female wrestlers thanks to
promoter Billy Wolfe.
"Lady Wrestler: The Amaz-
ing, Untold Story of Afri-
can-American Women in
the Ring" debuts Thursday
at Ohio State University's
Wexner Center for the Arts.
Filmmaker Chris Bournea
said people like Isbell wres-
tled not only before women
were deemed capable of
athletic accomplishments
but before blacks had civil
rights in many places.
They also didn't talk a lot
about what they did, per-
haps concerned about
others' reactions. And
when they were finished,
U.S. Postal Service unveils Mister Rogers postage stamp
By KEITH SRAKOCIC
PITTSBURGH (AP) — It was a
beautiful day to honor Mis-
ter Rogers with a postage
stamp.
The U.S. Postal Service on
Friday released a stamp
featuring Fred Rogers, the
gentle TV host who enter-
tained and educated gen-
erations of preschoolers on
"Mister Rogers' Neighbor-
hood."
The stamp pictures Rogers
in his trademark cardigan
along with King Friday, a
puppet character from the
show's Neighborhood of
Make-Believe sketch.
Ramona Isbell talks about her days as a professional wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s beside a
framed collage of mementos including publicity photos and a jacket, on Monday, March 19,
2018, in Columbus, Ohio.
with their lives.
Bournea, who is black,
grew up in Columbus with-
out ever hearing the stories.
After he learned of them
as a journalist about a de-
cade ago, he knew he had
to do something.
"Awareness needed to be
brought to these women's
nea said.
their recruitment was
Wolfe, a former wrestler
and trainer, who was white.
A gambler, cigar smoker
and womanizer, he was a
classic American hustler,
said Jeff Leen, a Washing-
A dedication ceremony
was held at the Pittsburgh
studio where Rogers filmed
his beloved PBS show,
which aired between 1968
and 2001. Rogers died in
2003 at age 74.
Among those attend-
ing were Rogers' widow,
Joanne, and David Newell,
who played Mr. McFeely,
the deliveryman on "Mister
Rogers' Neighborhood."
Joanne Rogers said that
when she first saw the
stamp, it was "love at first
sight."
"I thought it was so beauti-
ful. I think it is so festive," she Paul Siefken, president and
ton Post reporter whose
2009 book on Wolfe's wife,
wrestler Mildred Burke, "The
Queen of the Ring" offers a
comprehensive history of
the early years of women's
professional wrestling.
Whatever else he was,
though, Wolfe wasn't preju-
diced.
Wolfe didn't care if his wres- planned screenings in oth-
tlers "were straight or gay,
black or white," Leen said.
"He cared if they were a
great dynamic performer
who was going to put butts
in the seat and make him
money."
He also wanted real ath-
letes, despite the staged
matches, and required
said.
Postmaster General Me-
gan Brennan said at the
unveiling that Mister Rogers
"made the ups and downs
of life easier to understand
for the youngest members
of our society."
"He shaped generations
with his kindness and com-
passion," she said.
Noting the stamp has the
words "Forever USA," Bren-
nan said "these words of the
Postal Service are our way
of saying Mr. Rogers repre-
sents the best of America
and will do so always."
Saturday 24 March 2018
Isbell practiced three
times a week, and wres-
tled in modified one-piece
swimsuits. She appeared
Associated Press throughout the U.S., wres-
tling white women in north-
women to work out dili- ern cities like Detroit, and
gently. black women only in the
The matches promoted by Jim Crow South. She made
Wolfe preceded the Gor- anywhere from $100 to
geous Ladies of Wrestling $400 a match.
or GLOW syndicated TV Isbell also saw the world,
promotion of the 1980s, wrestling in matches in Aus-
now the subject of a Netflix tralia, Japan and Nigeria.
comedy series. Along the way she raised
Bournea said he has four children, who were
vaguely aware of what
er cities with large profes- their mom was up to. She
sional wrestling fan bases wrestled into the 1970s,
and will then release the with a final appearance in
film on Amazon. a promotion in California in
Isbell signed with Wolfe in the 1980s. By then she was
Columbus in 1961 in her working for the state, retir-
early 20s, one of a few doz- ing as a purchasing agent
en black women that wres- with the Ohio Industrial
tled for Wolfe, in addition to Commission.
many white women. Now 78, she keeps fit
through yard work, walks in
the park, and exercising on
a treadmill in her east side
Columbus home.
Next month, she plans to
attend an annual profes-
sional wrestling reunion
in Las Vegas held by the
Cauliflower Alley Club, a
pro wrestling preservation
society.
News of her exploits is leak-
ing out as word of the doc-
umentary grows in Colum-
bus. But that doesn’t stop
Isbell from considering peo-
ple’s reaction.
“That’s why I’m worried
now,” Isbell said with a
laugh. “What are they go-
ing to say at church?”q
CEO of the Fred Rogers This image released by the
Company, said he couldn't U.S. Postal Service shows the
think of "a better tribute to Mister Rogers forever stamp
Fred and his legacy." which will go on sale on Fri-
He noted that Rogers day, March 23.
loved sending letters, es-
pecially to young children Associated Press
who wrote to him about his
show.
"Fred Rogers left an indel-
ible mark on generations of
young audiences through
his groundbreaking series,
and his timeless wisdom
and important messages
of inclusion and neighborli-
ness remain just as relevant
today as they were 50 years
ago," Siefken said.q