Crown Jewel: The NWA World Championship 1959-1973

In 1957, the National Wrestling Alliance found itself in an unusual situation. Dick Hutton, the man who had just beat Lou Thesz for the World Heavyweight Championship, was suddenly a champion without a belt. It took the NWA two years to have a new belt made, but in late 1959, Sam Muchnick finally presented a beautiful new title belt — the crown belt – – to then champion Pat O’Connor. This is the story of the events that led up to that long period without a championship trophy, and the developments during that time that resulted in a new NWA belt. For the first time ever, the belt itself gets a close look, including its origins, its construction, as well as the story of the promoter and the craftsman that put it all together. And of course the main event is the detailed title history of the championship during the golden era of the crown belt, and a look at the six champions who wore and defended it. Featuring dozens of photographs, some never published before, as well as over fifty pages of exhibits and memorabilia including program covers, newspaper accounts, and rare documents from the NWA archives. It’s the crown jewel of the wrestling world as you’ve never seen it before.