Dory Funk grimaced in pain as he struggled to free his arm from a
double
wristlock skillfully applied by his opponent, former NCAA amateur
wrestling
champion out of Oklahoma state Wayne Martin. The crowd at the Amarillo
Sports Arena was pulling for Funk, the young and slightly balding
superintendent
of Cal Farley's Boy's Ranch. At ringside covering the wrestling matches
was Amarillo Globe News Sports Reporter Harry Gilstrap, The Ring
Announcer
was Bill Fairley, and doing the play by play coverage of the wrestling
matches on radio was Earl Curly Williams.
Forty miles north of Amarillo at the ranch, Dorothy Funk, and here
two children, Dory Jr. and Terry were glued to the radio. There were
thunderstorms
in the area and reception wasn't good as thunder and lightning
interrupted
the broadcast. Even so they listened and twisted and turned with every
move, pulling for their father to free himself from the hold and win
the
match with Martin.
Several hundred yards to the north at Boot Hill Barracks, (Residence
for the older boys, high school age) a group of the Boys Ranch
wrestlers
had also gathered to listen to the matches on radio. Curly Williams
continued,
"Funk's hand is turning white, Funk is in pain. Dory Funk is coming
to his feet and pushing Martin into the ropes. The referee is calling
for
the break, Dory lets loose with a haymaker, Martin fights back and now
ladies and gentlemen it has broken out into a pier six brawl, Funk has
a cut over his right eye, Wayne Martin is bleeding, They are swinging
wildly
at each other, and now Dory Funk has the spinning toe hold, The referee
is patting Funk on the back, Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the
match
is Dory Funk."
The crowd at the sports arena is standing and cheering, Dorothy Funk
is smiling, Terry and Dory Jr. are jumping up and down. Over at Boot
Hill
barracks the boys are celebrating. Radio announcer Earl Curly Williams
was signing off with his last words reminding everyone that for $49.95
they could get one of his famous, "Baked Enamel Paint Jobs,"
over at Earl Curly Williams' paint and body shop.
Cal Farley's idea of bringing professional wrestler Dory Funk to Boy's
Ranch to gain control of what was becoming a rowdy bunch of kids was a
success. Dory Funk had only been at the ranch a short time, but the
installation
of athletic programs especially amateur wrestling was already paying
benefits.
The ranch also had a football team, basketball team, rodeo was a part
of
the program, and his wife Dorothy was leader of the music program that
put on performances throughout the panhandle of Texas.
It had been a long day for Dory Funk, He had left the ranch early that
day to stop by the Boy's Ranch Office in Amarillo at the B.F. Goodrich
Tire store at 4th and Filmore. The Goodrich Tire Store was Cal Farley's
original business and he still maintained the office there. The ranch
was
already carrying all the kids they could, 105 boys, but Cal had another
boy from a broken family that needed a home. Funk said, "We'll make
it work."
Cal Farley was a professional wrestler himself for many years until
the duties of Boy's Ranch became too much. He used to love to tell
stories
about his friend who helped him so much in getting the ranch started,
Professional
wrestler, Dutch Mantell. "Old Dutch was mean as they come in. He used
to always come to the ring with a short stubby cigar in his mouth and
wouldn't
hesitate to rub it in an opponent's eyes, but old Dutch had a soft
heart
for kids."
Dory Funk learned much of the history of the Boys Ranch and the
Panhandle
area from Cal. The Bivins family had donated the original land to Cal
for
the construction of Boys Ranch. Cal used to talk about the days when
He,
Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers used to travel the area and at
times had to shoot Jack Rabbits for food. Because of Cal's long time
friendship
with Roy Rogers, He and his wife, Dale Evans would be appearing at this
years Boy's Ranch Rodeo.
Dory Funk was in the shower now hurrying to get changed so he could
get back to the ranch. The weather forecast was for rain that night and
he new the water could rise at the Canadian River crossing on Old
Tascossa
Road. In those days there was no bridge and you had to ford the
Canadian
River to get to the ranch. The water was usually shallow, but there was
always the danger of quicksand too. Many cars had been lost at the old
Canadian River crossing.
Over at Boot Hill Barracks, the ranch kids, E.P. Sleeth, Eddie Baker,
Bill Angus, D.K. Young, Dywane Halford, Tommy Cannon and others looked
out the window as the rain came down heavy. They were supposed to be in
for bed check by 10 pm as tomorrow was a school day. "Mr. Funk will
never make it across the river tonight" said Baker, "Lets go
the gym for a game of Murder in the dark. Mr. Funk will never know."
Dory Funk was out of the Sports Arena early that night. He stopped
to say a few words to Ray and Marie Jeffrey of Jeffrey Plow Company. He
waved at Ralph Dyckman, founder of the Maverick Club who ran the
concession
stand over on the far side of the arena, Then He went up stairs to get
his pay from wrestling promoter Dory Detton and did ask what the gate
was
that night as he knew that 10% of the wrestling gate in those days went
to Cal Farley's Boys Ranch.
As Dory left Amarillo the weather was okay however, twenty miles North
of Amarillo on Old Tascosa Road, It began to rain, then it became a
good
old Texas downpour. Dory knew he would be lucky to get just a few hours
sleep tonight as he always tried to be up with everyone at the Ranch
for
breakfast at 6:30 in the morning at the Mess Hall.
At the Boys Ranch Gym, just north of the residence where Dory and his
family lived, the Boot Hill Barracks boys were going to have a ball.
They
were sure Mr. Funk would never make it across the river especially in
his
brand new 1949 oldsmobile. He'd never take a chance with a new car in
the
Canadian River.
As Dory Funk arrived at the Canadian River, his fears were realized.
The River was flowing bank to bank. There were no hotels, and no one to
spend the night with. He didn't relish the idea of waiting till the
waters
subsided, and He didn't want to drive 40 miles back to Amarillo, and
then
80 miles around the long way through Dumas and Channing, especially
knowing
the condition of the 16 miles of dirt road from Channing to Boys Ranch.
From the Canadian River to his house on the Ranch was only a short
walk, Swimming the Canadian River flowing bank to bank at night is no
easy
task but, Dory was an excellent swimmer, having competed in freestyle,
and Butterfly stroke back in Indiana. He parked the car changed to his
wrestling tights and dove into the Canadian River.
Over at the Boys Ranch Gym the kids were whooping it up. The name of
the game was "Murder in the Dark."There fifteen or twenty kids
in pitch dark, It was like hide and seek, but when you found somebody,
you could wrestle them to the floor or get wrestled to the floor, then
you had to turn them loose and start over. The gym was bedlam. They
were
laughing, and yelling at the top of their voice.
After swimming the river, it was only a short walk home. From a quarter
of a mile away, he could hear the racket. Funk made his way to the
front
door of the gym. Inside it was pitch dark and everyone was having a
ball.
Dory Funk just slipped into the gym and joined the game of Murder in
the
Dark. No one knew the difference except there were few surprised boys
when
they were taken off their feet with such ease.
After having a little fun, Dory Funk quietly eased over to the light
switch and switched it on. "AHaaaaa I caught you guys, There is going
to be trouble now". Dory Funk loved the surprise and he loved to catch
people unaware. Fifteen kids were caught red handed and they knew there
would be punishment as Dory was a strict disciplinarian.
The punishment would be working on one of several projects at the
ranch,
painting the fence in front of the gym, pouring concrete for the
sidewalk
leading to the Mess Hall, peeling potatoes for supper, or planting
trees
in front of the old courthouse.
The next morning at the Mess Hall, 105 boys gathered for breakfast
at 6:30 am. Dorothy sat at the table with Terry, Dory Jr., Jean
Harriman
and four of the younger Boy's ranchers. Dory Funk Sr. was the head
table
discussing todays agenda with photographer and ranch publicist Sherm
Harriman.
Boy's Rancher, Tommy Berry rose and spoke over the microphone, "Let
us pray, Dear Lord thank you for this beautiful day here at Boy's Ranch
--------".
Dory Funk Jr.