Lance Russell

Lance Russell (March 18, 1926 – October 3, 2017) was an American sports broadcaster and ring announcer, primarily serving as a professional wrestling announcer and commentator in the Memphis region from 1959 to 1997. In NWA Mid-America and its descendant, the Continental Wrestling Association Russell's primary announcing partner was Dave Brown. He is included in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Hall of Fame and Hall of Heroes. In addition, he is in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA)'s Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame and Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Hall of Fame. Professional wrestling career Memphis (1959–1988) Russell's career began at a television station in Jackson, Tennessee. He was asked to work as an announcer for a match promoted by Nick Gulas and Roy Welch. He had previous experience calling other sports such as basketball, boxing, football, and baseball. In addition to calling matches, Russell worked as a programming director, analyzing demographics to better understand his audience. This led to a revolution in wrestling programming, where at the time, Memphis wrestling aired on Saturday afternoons, but was often preempted by shows such as Wide World of Sports. Russell decided to air wrestling at 11am, against Gulas’ wishes, and his move paid off with Saturday morning wrestling. He worked as an announcer in Memphis beginning in 1959. He called matches primarily for NWA Mid-America and its descendant promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association. His long-term announcing partner was radio disc jockey Dave Brown; their partnership began in 1967. About meeting Brown, Russell stated “I needed a guy to work with me because the guy that I had was dropping out of it. I was looking for an assistant. I got to know Dave around the station and was really impressed. When he said he would do something, he did it. Dave was just a very conscientious guy who was an extremely dependable man of his word. That attracted me to him. He had a great personality and a great sense of humor.” The two formed a remarkable announce team as well as a life-long friendship. Russell also helped Brown become the local weatherman, a career he continued for decades.