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Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days – longer than anyone else in history. Considered to be one of the last true shooters in professional wrestling and described as the "quintessential athlete... a polished warrior who could break a man in two if pushed the wrong way", Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and the single greatest wrestling world champion in history, and probably the last globally accepted world champion. In Japan, Thesz was known as the 'God of Wrestling' and was called Tetsujin, which means 'Ironman', in respect for his speed, conditioning and expertise in catch wrestling. Alongside Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson, Thesz later helped train young Japanese wrestlers and mixed martial artists in catch wrestling.
Laverne Clarence Gagne was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded.
Christopher J. Taylor was an American super-heavyweight wrestler. He competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman events at the 1972 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the freestyle. At 412 pounds (187 kg), he was the heaviest Olympian ever until the appearance of judoka Ricardo Blas Jr. in 2008.
Leo Joseph Nomellini was an Italian-American Hall of Fame American football offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and professional wrestler. He played college football for Minnesota, and was a three-time tag team champion in wrestling.
Brian Leslie Blair is a retired American professional wrestler and politician. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name B. Brian Blair as one half of the tag team The Killer Bees in the 1980s.
David Allen Meltzer is an American journalist and sports historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Nicholas Warren Francis Bockwinkel was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s.
Dorrance Wilhelm Funk was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion.
Eugene Nicholas Kiniski was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and later was a successful professional wrestler recognized as a multiple-time world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he billed himself for promotional purposes, was born in Edmonton, Alberta. Like Bronko Nagurski before him, Kiniski was one of the first world champions in professional wrestling to have a previous background in football. He is the father of professional wrestler Kelly Kiniski and international amateur and professional wrestler Nick Kiniski.
Robert H. Friedrich, better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and overall recognised officially as a five-time world champion. Considered to be one of the most iconic and recognizable sports stars of the 1920s, often alongside boxer Jack Dempsey and baseball player Babe Ruth, Lewis notably wrestled in over 6,000 matches and lost only 32 of them.
Brad Rheingans is an American former Greco-Roman wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a member of the United States' Greco-Roman wrestling teams for the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as winning two gold medals in the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games and a bronze medal in the 1979 World Wrestling Championships.
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Larry Hennig was an American professional wrestler. He was the father of Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig, and the grandfather of Joe "Curtis Axel" Hennig and Amy "Ms. Perfect" Hennig. He worked in the American Wrestling Association, National Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Hennig was known by the nickname, "The Axe", a nickname he had because of his signature, often finishing move of dropping a full weight elbow onto his prone opponents.
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America.
Joseph Edgar Blanchard was an American football player, professional wrestler and promoter. His son is original Four Horseman member, Tully Blanchard and his granddaughter is former Impact Champion Tessa Blanchard.
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The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's Dan Gable Museum. The hall of fame honors wrestlers with a strong amateur background who have made an impact on professional wrestling. It is named after Lou Thesz, who helped create it, and his trainer George Tragos.
Larry Matysik was an American professional wrestling commentator, promoter and author best known for his commentary on Wrestling at the Chase.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Noted historian James C. Melby dies". SLAM! Wrestling . Retrieved 2011-10-14.
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