Verne Gagne, Wrestler Who Grappled Through Two Eras, Dies at 89
(Verne) Gagne, who died on Monday at 89, was one of the most celebrated pro wrestlers of his time, known for his quickness and finesse in the ring. “A matador,” the newspapers called him; a “matinee wrestling idol,” “the millionaire wrestler.”
A native of Minnesota, a state perhaps second only to Iowa in its ardor for wrestling, Verne Gagne had been determined to be a wrestler from the time he was a boy. He left home at 14 to pursue the sport, defying his father and turning down a career in pro football for life in the ring.
In 2002, Wrestling Digest ranked him No. 5 on its list of the 50 greatest wrestlers of the previous half-century, ahead of titans like Andre the Giant, Gorgeous George and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
But the sport that gave Gagne wealth and renown also exacted a great price. Besides the toll on his body — concussions, broken bones, cauliflower ears, hearing loss and a surgically fused ankle — there was, quite possibly, a toll on his mind: Six years ago, in the grip of the Alzheimer’s disease with which he lived for the last dozen years of his life, Gagne was involved in an altercation that resulted in a man’s death.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/sports/verne-gagne-wrestler-who-grappled-through-two-eras-dies-at-89.html
I know this is kind of a niche posting that won't appeal to most, but I'm a big fan and wanted to post his NY Times obituary.
= new reply since forum marked as read
