Sometime in the early part of 1968 Rocky and I was bumping heads.  He was running the Mobile territory except for the Mississippi end. I was booking Mississippi and we had problems booking the talent. He didn't like what I was doing and I couldn't keep up with what he was doing. Sometimes I would have something going on in say Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Rocky would just have to have one of the boys in Panama City, Florida the same night. Rocky did not want to see Mississippi draw any money. But we made it draw in spite of all he could do. We were outdrawing him in all his towns except Dothan, Alabama and sometimes we would outdraw him there too. And it didn't take us long. When I first came to Mobile from Louisiana, Rocky was running Mobile and Pensacola in the summer months only. When I saw what we could do in Mississippi with boys Rocky didn't want to use, I figured if I had control of the boys in Mobile and the TV there, I could make Mississippi better and put Mobile and Pensacola on a year around basis.

I talked to Lee about what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to start booking Mobile, Pensacola, Mississippi and start running Mobile and Pensacola every week rather than summer time only, without any interference from Rocky McQuire. Lee just looked at me and didn't say anything. I told him to look at what I had done with Louisiana, reminded him that we were drawing more when we closed than he ever had. I asked him to look at what I was doing in Mississippi at that moment. I told him that Mobile and Pensacola couldn't get much worse, so what did he have to lose.  I asked him to give me a year, promising him that he wouldn't be sorry.

Lee looked me straight in the eyes and told me I had 6 months because if I didn't get the towns up by then we would all be out of business. We shook hands on a deal that became the best thing for me, Lee and the territory. Rocky stayed around for a while as the matchmaker then finally quit coming to Mobile and just concentrated on booking and running his end of the territory. I know it sounds like I don't have much use for Rocky, but I had to tell it like it was to get the real effect on how hard I had to work and things and people I had to overcome to get to the Gulf Coast Championship, and be part of the best territory in the business. And becoming a member of the Fields family. Yes, I like and respect Rocky. We were competitors and through our efferts the territory became what it was. I learned a lot about the business from Rocky McQuire. More next month.