WATERLOO, Iowa – The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum announced on Thursday that Mark James is the 2021 recipient of the Jim Melby Award from the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

James will be presented his award during the Tragos/Thesz Pro Hall of Fame induction banquet on July 17, 2021. The Class of 2021 is Adnan Al-Kassie (Living Inductee), Don Kernodle (Posthumous Inductee), Earl Wampler (Posthumous Inductee), Trish Stratus (Lou Thesz World Heavyweight Championship Award), Mark Henry (Frank Gotch Award), and Ken Shamrock (George Tragos Award). Legendary wrestling announcer Gordon Solie will be the inaugural recipient of the Gordon Solie Award, which will be presented annually for outstanding achievement in professional wrestling broadcasting.

All-Access passes are available for $130 through May 31. Prices will increase after May 31. All-Access passes provide entry to all events, including the Hall of Fame banquet, a ringside seat for the Impact Pro Wrestling show (while available), the kickoff social, and preferred entree at the autograph session. All-Access passes can be purchased at (319) 233-0745. For more information, please email dgmstaff@nwhof.org.

Named in honor of Jim Melby, a noted professional wrestling journalist and publisher who was inducted into the Tragos/Thesz Pro Hall of Fame in 2006, the award is presented annually to a journalist or historian who has advanced professional wrestling through their writing.

James has been a professional wrestling fan for almost his entire life. He first began watching in 1973 while visiting his grandparents, who had pro wrestling on their television every Saturday night. “It was like a light switch clicking on in my head,” recalls James. “From that day forward, I was hooked.”

Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee in the days before cable television, James’ home territory was Jerry Jarrett’s Memphis Wrestling and it was his wrestling world. He began cutting out the weekly bout cards and results from the Memphis newspaper. For whatever reason, keeping the match history mattered to him. Mark discovered Stanley Weston’s wrestling magazines in 1977 and his wrestling world expanded quickly. A couple of years later, cable television arrived. Between television, magazines and attending local matches, it was a great time to be a wrestling fan.

With the advent of the internet, many classic regional wrestling territories became represented online. Memphis, however, was not. James felt a need to make sure that the amazing history of the wrestling he grew up with was not only remembered, but was documented correctly. He realized that national wrestling entities would not document the history of the territories, so he created the Memphis Wrestling History website.

James had no idea that the website would become a springboard to books, a more recognized form of history. He released his first book, Memphis Wrestling History: Cards, Matches & Results, 1970-1985. James has now released four dozen books, covering a wide array of regional territories (Atlanta, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, AWA, Detroit, Tennessee and Houston), wrestler autobiographies, programs and results. His books are available at MarkJamesBooks.com.

His goal has always remained the same, make sure that the amazing history of professional wrestling is accurately documented and preserved for future generations.