About this episode

The episode explores how wrestler Sputnik Monroe used his fame to challenge segregation in Memphis before the Civil Rights Movement.

Before the Civil Rights Movement's major victories of the 1960s, a pro wrestler named Sputnik Monroe was already integrating Memphis, Tennessee one arena at a time. Born Roscoe Brumbaugh in Dodge City, Kansas, Monroe became one of the most beloved figures in Memphis wrestling history, counting Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash among his friends and fans. This episode of Gone South tells the story of how Monroe — a white heel wrestler with a bleached streak in his hair and a gift for provocation — used his fame to desegregate the Ellis Auditorium, challenge Jim Crow on Beale Street, and form one of the first interracial tag teams in the South. He was arrested repeatedly for socializing in Black nightclubs. He didn't stop. Featuring interviews with music historian Robert Gordon, wrestling journalist Steve Johnson, and Jerry Phillips (son of Sun Studio founder Sam Phillips) plus archival audio of Monroe himself. A story about race, rebellion, and one of the most unlikely civil rights figures the South ever produced. Check out Robert Gordon's book It Came From Memphis https://tinyurl.com/yys8pxdh Steve Johnson has written many fine books about wrestling history, including The Pro…

More episodes of Gone South

• Patterson Hood and the Duality of the Southern Thing · April 22, 2026 · 27 min
• The Lampshade: A Post-Katrina New Orleans Mystery · April 8, 2026 · 33 min
• The Lieutenant Governor Who Shot a Journalist: The Narciso Gonzalez Assassination · April 1, 2026 · 34 min
• The Fall of Latoya Cantrell · March 25, 2026 · 33 min
• The Alamo Myth: What Really Happened in 1836 · March 18, 2026 · 35 min
• You Might Like: Murder at The U - A suspect awaiting trial and a murder still unsolved · March 13, 2026 · 38 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Gone South podcast page.