Jerry Lawler has been called a lot of things across five decades in wrestling: “The King,” a Hall of Famer, one of Memphis’s most famous sons. As of today, add “street name” to that list, and he picked the exact block himself.
The city held a ceremony Thursday renaming a stretch of Homer Street at Given Avenue, right by Treadwell Middle School (Treadwell High School when Lawler attended), in his honor. It’s the same route he walked to class as a kid, and he made sure that detail wasn’t lost on anyone.
He Picked the Route He Knows Best
“There were so many memories on this street,” Lawler said, pointing out the nearby baseball and football fields where he grew up playing before he ever set foot in a wrestling ring. He grew up close by on Vernon Avenue, and Homer Street was simply the road that got him to school and back.
Lawler‘s son Kevin, longtime collaborator Jimmy Hart, and legendary Memphis announcer Dave Brown joined him for the unveiling, alongside local political figures. Dave Brown summed up the arc of the whole career in a few lines: “He got some breaks, but he made his own breaks. He grew to become not only good in Memphis, he became the king of Memphis. Then he became the king of wrestling, and that’s where he is right now, the king of wrestling. He was local. He was regional. He was national. He’s international. They had some matches in Saudi Arabia several years ago, and Jerry was one of the wrestlers they specifically requested be a part of that show in Saudi Arabia.”
Memphis’s “Three Kings”
The honor actually goes back to June, when the Memphis City Council passed the resolution to rename the block between Given and Rhea Avenues. Councilman Dr. Jeff Warren made the case for it on the council floor: “Jerry Lawler is one of Memphis’s three kings. He has been an amazing representative of Memphis and our wonderful culture for years. He’s been an ambassador for the city. He has been involved in our local politics and our local culture, and I was very pleased to have the council vote to rename a street in his honor today.”
Still Chasing One More Match
Lawler, 76, has been recovering from a stroke he suffered in September 2025. That hasn’t dulled his appetite for the ring. Back in December, he told Action News 5 he wasn’t ready to call it a career just yet. “I have not put it out of my mind,” he said. “We have one more match in there somewhere.”
Whether that match ever happens, Memphis made sure his name is now permanently fixed to the neighborhood that made him, right down to the street he used to walk as a kid heading to class.
