Whatever Happened To Art Crews?
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Over the years, people have e-mailed me asking me "Whatever happened to...". The most popular
person that people have asked about is Tommy "Wildfire" Rich (I know he wrestled Buddy Landel
in Landel's retirement match last August, anyone know what Wildfire's up to now?). Although I've
gotten a lot of e-mails wondering about Tommy Rich, I've gotten almost as many from people
wanting to know whatever happened to Art Crews.
Art Crews wrestled in the 1980's and he spent a lot of time in The Central States Area of
The National Wrestling Alliance. He won the Central States TV title in a tournament in
Wichita, Kansas by defeating Scott Ferris in the first round, Marty Jannetty in the second
round and "Crazy" Luke Graham in the finals (Ted Oates and Grappler #1 fought to a no contest
in the other semi-final match, so Art vs. Luke became the final match by default). Art Crews
teamed with "Diamond" Timothy Flowers as a tag team that was managed for awhile by Slick
before Slick left for The WWF. I am not certain of it, but I think they were also managed
by Mr. Russel Sapp, Esquire, I'll have to find that out. (No they weren't managed by Russell
Sapp, I don't think Downtown Bruno managed them either)
I received this e-mail about Art and I'll be sure to provide a link to his website once it
is open.
"Hi there, Tony. Here's the latest on information and update on Art. Thanks for the opportunity
to share it with you and his fans.
As you know, Tony, Art wrestled for approximately 8 years. He wrestled in the Pacific
Northwest, St. Louis, Kansas City, and other Midwest cities, and finally, where he met me, in
Louisiana, also in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi. He also wrestled overseas in
Africa and Japan on several tours. He was named "Rookie of the Year" in 1981 for the Northwest
Tour.
He decided to retire in 1987 to pursue a career in law enforcement and corrections. He attended
Trade School in Portland, Oregon, to learn to be a Corrections Officer. He launched his "new"
career after being hired by the Oregon State Corrections Department to teach defense techniques
and compliance holds to other Corrections Officers. He also furthered his education by obtaining
a degree in Criminal Justice Management from LaSalle University in Pennsylvania.
He worked for a short time in Louisiana at a private correctional facility where he acquired
much needed experience in the private corrections sector. He has been in corrections for some
13-plus years where he has served as an instructor, officer, and finally, an administrator and
executive manager. He is presently the Chief of Security at the Yakima Department of Corrections
in Yakima, Washington, where he supervises 184 employees.
So, Tony, after a career of pounding turnbuckles with many great wrestlers, he traded in his
wrestling boots and jacket for a badge and a distinguished law enforcement career. Dealing with
lawbreakers should be a piece of cake after facing some of the biggest and baddest in the squared
circle, he says with a shy smile.
He asked me to ask you to tell all of his fans hello and that he wishes them well. He said that
he misses them and that he misses wrestling and that he wouldn't trade that experience for
anything. But, life goes on and with that, he felt that he should pursue his law enforcement
interests.
An Official Art Crews Website is presently being planned. More on that later. Thanks, Tony,
for the opportunity for Art to say hello and that he's still alive and kickin'.
Judy"
So, there you have it, that's whatever happened to Art Crews. I've been wondering about him for
years, and I was always a big fan of him. He wrestled in the very first live wrestling match
that I ever saw in person. That was a Mid-South show on August 26, 1984 at The Downtown Assembly
Center in Tulsa in which Art lost to Steve "Dr. Death" Williams. In the main event, Ric Flair
fought Kerry Von Erich to a double disqualification. I got Art Crews' autograph on March 9, 1985.
That clears up that mystery, does anyone know whatever happened to T. G. Stone? (-:
Tony D.
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