(Pictured left: William Moody & Lennie Hawkins with young Ruben Cain, the future Robert Gibson.)
John Michael Hendrich became William Moody’s first wrestling friend.
We first met as sophomores at the McGill Institute Catholic high school in 1969. His Dad had been transferred to Mobile from Chicago, and he was a "newbie" in my class. It didn't take long for us to discover that we shared something in common, and that link was professional wrestling.
Their love for wrestling led to William’s first foray into anything wrestling-related: a school pep rally for the McGill Yellowjackets, where William and Michael donned hoods (because they were to shy to be seen) and put on a wrestling “exhibition.” Of course, this was all for comedy, but the teenagers put their hearts into it.
They went to as many of the matches as they could in the local area, watching their heroes like “Cowboy” Bob Kelly, Don Fargo, “Hippy” Mike Boyette, “Plowboy” Stan Frazier, Eddie Sullivan, Rip Tyler and The Wrestling Pro.
We took photos together during the matches in Mobile, then rushed to develop them and have them at the newspaper for the following morning's publication.
William would get to the local matches early at the Fort Whiting Reception Hall in Mobile, hoping he could be a “toter,” carrying the bags of Bob Kelly, Ken Lucas or any of the local stars.
William’s dedication to professional wrestling caught the attention of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling promoter Lee Fields. He started supplying photographs for the programs that were sold at the shows, and Fields utilized his skills in the office. Moody also supplied photos and wrestling results to the national wrestling magazines.