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I had the chance to read the autobiography of former AWA Ladies champion Penny Banner, "Banner Days" recently and thought that it was a pretty entertaining read. Although the book obviously follows her wrestling career, I found the story of Banner's different stages of her life and maturity that went with it to be a much more interesting story.
The book is a dual one in many cases, looking at the nomadic lifestyle of a young woman driving from territory to territory as she wrestles in a business that is mostly male dominated. Banner recounts horrid travels through blizzards, backstage fights, unwanted advances, and even problems in the ring with other wrestlers as she amazingly recounts events and details as if they were yesterday. Banner looks at the stars she dealt with (including a hysterical first meeting with Johnnie Mae Young, now of WWE fame), her training and the pain that came with it, travels through different areas including Stampede, the Hart family, and pursuit of the Women's championship.
At the same time, Banner looks at her childhood growing up and different relationships she maintained with men in her life (including Elvis Presley), before settling down into marriage with a husband who remained on the road. When Banner later realizes she has been betrayed, she goes about getting her personal revenge, but it takes many years of incidents and apologies before she has the strength to walk away. The book provides an amazing insight into the mindset of a lady from an older generation who despite being intelligent, still found herself believing, "This is the way things should be" because for all her travels, she had little experience in how she should be treated otherwise.
Banner's book also becomes important in that she provides an alternative look to the pioneer days of women's wrestling for a generation of fans who believe that the genre of ladies wrestling started with and always was based around the Fabulous Moolah. While Moolah has her place in history, Banner provides a spotlight for those that Moolah didn't discuss in her own autobiography, including June Byers, who becomes a regular opponent for Banner on the road.
The autobiography is bookended by Banner's comments on the current state of "girl wrestling" as she refers to it and also her thoughts and thanks to those she has worked with inside the ring and dealt with at different stages of her life. A great sidebar to the autobiography as well is the wealth of photos, captioned and explained from all the different points of her career. One almost feels as if they are watching a slideshow while Banner narrates her story.
The book, while an easy read and entertaining, is not a perfect one. Banner insists that her matches were legitimate. This is not a surprising move by someone from her era, although given the level of openness from books that have come before, the Internet, and even WWE (see their Hall of Fame DVD), it may turn off some readers. Instead of a promoter requesting she work heel, Banner is asked to "wrestle dirty." I found myself personally getting over the decision as the focus is more on Banner personally, but when I first realized the editorial decision my hopes for the book darkened.
The other decision I had a hard time with was Banner changing the identity of her husband, a well known wrestler who she later divorced after discovering he had been cheating on her, among other hardships. Perhaps Banner was providing a level of protection for him by shadowing his identity, class for one that he possibly doesn't deserve it after reading the book. When Banner finally separates and sets up a life for herself, she does so methodically and immediately in a way that makes one smile for her as she builds her new life.
Beyond the minor flaws I've noted, "Banner Days" remains an interesting read of a woman finding herself as she toured the United States and Canada, and finding peace in the same strengths in herself that she once showed inside the squared circle.
Penny Banner's Banner Days can be ordered at www.BannerDays.com. Banner will autograph the book if requested as well.
Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.
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