Manns honored last week in Russell County
Two highly recognizable sports figures with close Clinton County ties, were honored last week in neighboring Russell County during the Jamestown Lakefest Celebration.
The late Dale “TNT” Mann and his son Mike, who wrestled under the nickname “The Breeze,” received lifetime Achievement Awards during the Triple Crown Wrestling Show last Friday in downtown Jamestown.
Dale Mann, who passed away in 2017, wrestled, trained and promoted wrestling events beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of which were held here in Albany.
Mann often teamed up with, or was on the same card with, two other wrestling figures who always brought in huge crowds to the old Clinton County High School gymnasium, the late Kenneth “Chuck” Conner and the late Wendell Burchett.
Mike attended Clinton County High School in the mid- 1970s before moving to Russell County High School, and long before he joined his father’s business in the ring, he played basketball and football, wearing the blue and white Bulldog uniforms.
The younger Mann spent his initial years in the wrestling ring as a referee while attending Western Kentucky University in the late 1970s, taking advantage of his wrestling background learned from his Dad, and Bowling Green’s proximity to tthe hen wrestling crazed city of Nashville, Tennessee.
In an article published in last week’s Times Journal, by Editor Wade Daffron, Mike noted that after refereeing for several years, he was urged into the ring one night by Randy “Macho Man” Savage, when the card was a wrestler short.
“Randy comes over and throws a pair of boots and trunks down and says in that gruff voice of his, ‘C’mon we’re the first match!’” Mann recalled. “I thought he was kidding, but he came back over there and said ‘Five minutes – we’re on first.’ ”
Mann’s first night in the ring as a wrestler, instead of wearing the striped ref’s uniform, was that match against the famous Macho Man Savage, and from there, he never looked back, eventually picking up the name “Mr. Breeze” and wrestling on cards across this area of the nation.
He also remembered getting into the ring one night during an event at Clinton County High School, facing another professional wrestling legend, Lou Thesz.
“He was 62 years old,” Mann said. “That old man took me into the ring, Clinton County High School, and he taught me some stuff.  That was a highlight to me.”
I saw Mike last year at the Bulldog football reunion held on Bulldog Field, and with long flowing hair, he still looked like he could climb into the ring and be “Mr. Breeze” anytime he wanted.
I became familiar and friends with the Mann family early, as Dale was often a guest in our home.
As a young boy, about 12 years old and in elementary school, I was already a professional wrestling fan, spending Saturday afternoons glued to the television and watching matches on Nashville television involving legends like Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto, and, of course, Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Promoting events in this area, Dale Mann would drop by the house on Saturdays to place an order for posters my Dad, A.B. Gibson, would print for an upcoming event, and pick up the posters he had ordered the previous week.
Later in life, I also worked with Dale often, printing posters for wrestling events he was promoting in this region.
After retiring, Dale was often in attendance at Clinton County High School basketball games, and he would always make it a point to yell at me in the lobby.
After his death, I wrote in this space how I remembered that on those occasions, even though then in his 70s, his handshake was impressively strong and that pat on the back as I walked away would still throw me off balance.
Mike accepted his Lifetime Achievement award at last week’s Lakefest event, and fittingly, accepted his dad’s Lifetime Achievement award posthumously.
Well deserved for the Mann family, who never forgot their Clinton County backgrounds.