Scott Teal
Scott M. Teal (born October 9, 1953) is an American historian, author, journalist, and publisher known for his work chronicling professional wrestling history.
Having been involved as a fan, writer, and publisher since 1969, he has written and/or edited and published 45 books and more than 100 periodicals. He is referred to as the "most prolific writer ever of pro wrestling history" and his work is studied and referenced by other historians.
Early Life
Teal was born in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1962, after two moves to cities in Michigan, his family settled in Bradenton, Florida.
In 1968, Teal saw a TV program called Championship Wrestling from Florida and fell in love with the sport. In January 1972, eight months after he graduated from Southeast High School, he published his first periodical, a fan bulletin called The Tampa Scene, which reported on pro wrestling matches that took place in Tampa, Florida.[1] Six months later, with subscribers throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan, he extended the reports to include the entire state and renamed the bulletin Florida Fan-Fare. During that time, Teal had frequent articles published in national wrestling magazines, all highlighted with photos he shot at wrestling cards in Florida.[2]
Education
In 1973, he graduated from Manatee Junior College (now State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota). After working full-time for a year building house trailers, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Trevecca Nazarene College in 1974.[3] He graduated in 1977 with a B.S. degree in Music Education. Teal worked several jobs during his time in college, including yearbook photographer at both Trevecca and Opryland U.S.A., photographer at Sears Portrait Studio, and clerk at a local convenience store.
Career
During his first year at Trevecca, Teal supplemented his income by shooting photos at wrestling cards in Nashville to accompany his magazine articles, and later shot and sold publicity pictures to the wrestlers. His work and reputation brought him to the attention of Nashville wrestling promoter Nick Gulas, who asked Teal to work for him handling photography and publicity.[4]
Two months later, Teal was offered the opportunity to publish and sell a weekly arena program in Huntsville, Alabama. The first issue of SLAM-O-GRAM was published on Oct. 10, 1975, and the entire print-run sold out in less than an hour. Six weeks later, Teal’s programs were being sold in Chattanooga, and a short time later, he purchased the rights to sell the program at the Nashville Fairgrounds wrestling shows.[5] Over the next five years, 244 issues of SLAM-O-GRAM were sold in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama arenas. Alongside the weekly program, Scott was also involved in the photography for the creation of a set of 22 wrestling cards in 1979 that were to be given away at a Gulas event in Nashville, TN to help drive interest in the area for fans to come out to the newly created Sports Arena. The card set - which the promotion was sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon and Rax Roast Beef Restaurants - would eventually become lore almost 30 years later as one of the rarest and sought after collectors cards with regards to wrestling.[6]
In 1980, promoter Gulas sold his business and Teal worked for the new owner, Buddy Fuller, for a month. At that time, Fuller turned over the wrestling business to Jerry Jarrett, who promoted the western side of the Tennessee territory. Jarrett had his own arena program, so Teal put the wrestling business behind him.
During his final year at Trevecca, Teal met and fell in love with Angela Walker, a freshman from Jacksonville, Florida. After he graduated, he took a part-time job with United Parcel Service while Angela completed her education. They were married on June 17, 1978, and lived on campus. A month later, UPS management brought Teal on full-time and he spent the next 37 years working for the company.
Return to Wrestling
In March 1993, Teal received a call from Don Rowlett, a wrestling fan who was promoting a legends reunion in Nashville under the banner of the Nashville Wrestling Collector’s Association. Rowlett needed someone to produce flyers and publicity for an April 10-11 event. Teal, one of the few people with a personal home computer at that time, readily agreed. Teal had nothing to do with the pro wrestling business since his exit in 1980 and he jumped at the chance to get involved.[7]
In the days leading up to the event, Teal came up with the idea of publishing a 12-page newsletter called Whatever Happened to …?, in which he featured stories about, and interviews with, the older pro wrestlers who had dropped out of sight. The wrestlers allowed Teal to publish their addresses and phone numbers so fans could contact them for autographs and correspondence. The newsletter was an instant hit and was mailed to subscribers worldwide.[8] Thirty-two issues later, it was expanded to 50 pages. In all, 53 issues were published, with one final “issue” printed in regular book format under the title Shooting with the Legends.
In November 2003, Teal formed Crowbar Press and published his first full-length autobiography, Inside Out, in November 2003 with Ole Anderson, one of the top names in the wrestling business during the ‘60s and ‘70s. The reception to the book was off the charts - which the reception showed towards some humorous stories about Ole's renowned temperament - and Teal was soon getting calls from wrestlers across the country, all wanting him to write their books.[9] Since that time, Teal has published 45 books, all relating the history of professional wrestling. His company, Crowbar Press, also creates posters, DVDs, and classic photos, all with the intent to preserve the history of professional wrestling.[10]
Personal Life
Teal is married to Angela Walker and they have two daughters, Beth & Amy. They have seven grandchildren; Gavin, Caleb, Brennan, Wesley, Aubrey, Caden, and Emma (deceased).
Now retired from his full-time job with UPS, Teal and Angela spend their time with their grandchildren, traveling, attending musicals, plays, wrestling conventions, and attend NorthField Church in Gallatin, Tennessee.[11] At home, they enjoy binge-watching TV shows and movies in their home theater.
Teal’s first book release by a publishing company other than his own was Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story.” Published by ECW Press, the book includes a Foreword by Rocky’s son, Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson.
Bibliography
Inside Out (Crowbar Press, Nov. 2003). Ole Anderson & Scott Teal. ISBN 0-9745545-0-2 Search this book on 
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"Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls" (Crowbar Press, June 2005). James J. Dillon & Scott Teal. ISBN 0-9745545-2-9 Search this book on .
ASSASSIN: The Man Behind the Mask (Crowbar Press, July 2006). Joe Hamilton & Scott Teal. ISBN 0-9745545-3-7 Search this book on .
"Is That Wrestling Fake?" (Crowbar Press, Jan. 2007). Ivan Koloff & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9745545-4-9 Search this book on .
Bruiser Brody (Crowbar Press, Jan. 2007). Emerson Murray, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403911-9-5 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: Invalid ISBN. Search this book on .
Wrestling with the Truth (Crowbar Press, June 2008). Bruno Lauer & Scott Teal. ISBN 0-9745545-7-0 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: Invalid ISBN. Search this book on .
The Solie Chronicles (Crowbar Press, Aug. 2009). Bob Allyn, with Pamela S. Allyn & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-3-7 Search this book on .
Wrestling in the Canadian West (Crowbar Press, Sept. 2009). Vance Nevada, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9745545-9-4 Search this book on .
Long Days and Short Pays (Crowbar Press, Feb. 2010). H.E. (Duke) West, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-0-6 Search this book on .
Drawing Heat (Crowbar Press, Feb. 2010). Jim Freedman, with additional material by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-1-3 Search this book on .
ATLAS: Too Much, Too Soon (Crowbar Press, Oct. 2010). Tony Atlas & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-2-0 Search this book on .
The Last Laugh (Crowbar Press, June 2011). Bill De Mott & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-3-7 Search this book on .
HOOKER (Crowbar Press, June 2011). Lou Thesz & Kit Bauman, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-4-4 Search this book on .
The Last Outlaw (Crowbar Press, Aug. 2011). Stan Hansen & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-5-1 Search this book on .
NIKITA: A Tale of the Ring and Redemption (Crowbar Press, Feb. 2012). Nikita Koloff & Bill Murdock, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-6-8 Search this book on .
The Strap (Crowbar Press, Jan. 2013). Roger Deem, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-8-2 Search this book on .
BRISCO (Crowbar Press, July 2013). Jack Brisco & William Murdock, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-0-9844090-9-9 Search this book on .
“I Ain’t No Pig Farmer!” (Crowbar Press, March 2014). Dean Silverstone & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403910-2-1 Search this book on .
The Hard Way (Crowbar Press, Aug. 2014). Don Fargo & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403910-3-8 Search this book on .
Whatever Happened to Gorgeous George? (Crowbar Press, Oct. 2015). Joe Jares, with additional material by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403910-5-2 Search this book on .
It’s Wrestling, Not Rasslin’! (Crowbar Press, Jan. 2016). Mark Fleming & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403910-6-9 Search this book on .
BRUISER: The World’s Most Dangerous Wrestler (Crowbar Press, March 2016). Richard Vicek, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403910-7-6 Search this book on .
The Mat, the Mob & Music (Crowbar Press, Sept. 2016). Tom Hankins & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-08-3 Search this book on .
Breaking Kayfabe (Crowbar Press, Jan. 2017). Jeff Bowdren, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-05-2 Search this book on .
Battleground Valhalla (Crowbar Press, May 2017). Michael Majalahti, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-12-0 Search this book on .
Florida Mat Wars: 1977 (Crowbar Press, May 2017). Robert VanKavelaar, with Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-17-5 Search this book on .
When It Was Real (Crowbar Press, April 2019). Nikita Breznikov, with Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-22-9 Search this book on .
The Annotated Fall Guys (Crowbar Press, May 2019). Marcus Griffin, annotated by Steve Yohe & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-21-2 Search this book on .
Pain Torture Agony (Crowbar Press, April 2019). Ron Hutchison, with Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-23-6 Search this book on .
They Call Me Booker (Crowbar Press, June 2019).Jeff Bowdren, edited by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-24-3 Search this book on .
The Mighty Milo (Crowbar Press, June 2019). Phillips Rogers, with additional material by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403912-5-0 Search this book on .
Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story (ECW Press, Oct. 2019). Rocky Johnson & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1770414938 Search this book on .
The Great Pro Wrestling Venues
Volume 1, Wrestling in the Garden (Crowbar Press, Jan. 2017). Scott Teal & J Michael Kenyon. ISBN 978-1-940391-10-6 Search this book on .
Volume 2, The Greatest Wrestling in the History of Nashville (Crowbar Press, Feb. 2017). Scott Teal & Don Luce. ISBN 978-1-940391-11-3 Search this book on .
Volume 3, Alabama: 1931-1935 (Crowbar Press, April 2019). Jason Presley. ISBN 978-1-940391-20-5 Search this book on .
Volume 4, Japan: The Rikidozan Years, 1951-1963 (Crowbar Press, July 2019). Haruo Yamaguchi, with Koji Miyamoto & Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-26-7 Search this book on .
The Wrestling Archive Project
Wrestling Archive Project, volume 1 (Crowbar Press, Oct. 2015). Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-9403910-4-5 Search this book on .
Wrestling Archive Project, volume 2 (Crowbar Press, Nov. 2017). Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-17-5 Search this book on .
Classic Arena Programs
Volume 1: SLAM-O-GRAM, vol. 1 (Crowbar Press, May 2017). Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-13-7 Search this book on .
Volume 2: SLAM-O-GRAM, vol. 2 (Crowbar Press, July 2018). Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-18-2 Search this book on .
Through the Lens, Through the Ropes
Volume 1: Southeastern Championship Wrestling (Crowbar Press, Crowbar Press, May 2017). Compiled by Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-15-1 Search this book on .
Volume 2: Championship Wrestling from Florida (Crowbar Press, Oct. 2017). Scott Teal. ISBN 978-1-940391-16-8 Search this book on .
Other works published
Durango (Crowbar Press, July 2012). H.E. (Chuck) Thornton. ISBN 978-0-9844090-7-5 Search this book on .
Charles Starrett: Before Durango (Crowbar Press, July 2013). H.E. (Chuck) Thornton. ISBN 978-1-940391-00-7 Search this book on .
Awards and accomplishments
• Cauliflower Alley Club — James Melby Historian Award (2008, first recipient)[12]
• George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame — Jim Melby Award (2011)[13]
• Legends Lunch Award (2016)
• Mid-South/UWA Wrestling Alliance — Spotlight Award (2018)
References
- ↑ Solie's Vintage Wrestling - Interview Transcription) "Scott Teal Interview", conducted by Hartley, Jeremy, 1998.
- ↑ 6:05 Superpodcast "6:05 Superpodcast Wiki - Scott Teal" Transcription - Interview: Scott Teal Part 1 and 2 (Episodes 12 & 13); accessed from "6:05 Superpodcast", Created Dec 5, 2018
- ↑ Amazon - Scott Teal, "Amazon Author Page - Scott Teal", 2020.
- ↑ Solie's Vintage Wrestling - Interview Transcription) "Scott Teal Interview", conducted by Hartley, Jeremy, 1998.
- ↑ Solie's Vintage Wrestling - Interview Transcription) "Scott Teal Interview", conducted by Hartley, Jeremy, 1998.
- ↑ Glew, Kevin, "PSA Set Registry: Collecting the 1979 Gulas/Rax Roast Beef Championship Wrestling Card Set", September 28, 2018
- ↑ Solie's Vintage Wrestling - Interview Transcription) "Scott Teal Interview", conducted by Hartley, Jeremy, 1998.
- ↑ Oliver, Greg, "CANOE --- SLAM! Sports - Mat Matters: In Praise of Scott Teal", Slam Sports, Copyright 2019.
- ↑ Pro Wrestling Stories, "OLE ANDERSON Worker puts gun to back of his head.", Edited by JP Zarka, Date Unknown.
- ↑ Teal, Scott, "Crowbar Press - Professional Wrestling Legends in Print and Video", 2019.
- ↑ Amazon - Scott Teal, "Amazon Author Page - Scott Teal", 2020.
- ↑ Cauliflower Alley Club,"Honorees - Cauliflower Alley Club", 2020.
- ↑ National Wrestling Hall of Fame, "Scott Teal - National Wrestling Hall Of Fame", 2011.
• Scott Teal's Amazon Author Page
• AP News (March 30, 2018) Sputnik Monroe was body-slamming civil rights pioneer.
• Blowout Cards (July 2012) 1979 Rax Roast Beef Wrestling Premiums?
• OVW Radio (May 9, 2017). Buckler, David. Author Scott Teal Discusses Nashville’s Rich History.
• f4wonline (July 4, 2016). Meltzer, Dave. Joe Jares, “Whatever Happened to Gorgeous George?” author, passes away at 78.
• The Flagship (Feb. 24, 2016). Yiorgo. Wrestling legend has book signing in Hampton.
• Gainesville Times (Oct. 15, 2009). Davis, Katie B. Former wrestling announcer's life chronicled by family.
• ICW Wrestler Bob Roop & The $1000 Sugar Hold Challenge Backfire
• Interview (transcribed) on 6:05 Superpodcast.
• Kirkus Review. “Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls”. Kirkus Reviews
• Pro Wrestling Books (June 27, 2019). Soulman by Rocky Johnson & Scott Teal
• Radio Discussions (Aug. 2015). Scott Teal's obituary of former KAYO/KVI sports talker J Michael Kenyon
• Solie’s Vintage Wrestling (1998). Hartley, Jeremy. Scott Teal Interview.
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel (May 14, 2004). Marvez, Alex. LEGENDARY VILLAIN HAS A GRUDGE AND HE ISN'T FAKING IT
• The Sports Bookie (Nov. 24, 2015). D’Angelo, Bob. New wrestling book revives mat memories
• Sports Market Report (Sept. 28, 2018). Collecting the 1979 Gulas/Rax Roast Beef Championship Wrestling Card Set
• Style Weekly. Lord of the Ring.
• The Thoughts and Fancies of a Fake Geek Boy (July 11, 2019). Arthur. Taking a Note, Taking a Dive
WrestlingFigs.com (Jan. 11, 2009). Hatfield, W. Dwight. Review of “Is That Wrestling Fake” The Bear Facts
• Wrestling Inc. (March 29, 2019). Gunier, Robert. Legendary Pro Wrestler Willis "Roger" Kirby Passes Away
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