OT: PING David Carson - Octogenarians list submission: Verne Gagne, born May 10, 1923 or February 26, 1926; retired professional wrestling champion
ZapRatz
allegedly is LaVerne Clarence Gagne.
-------------------------
Verne Gagne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verne_Gagne
Statistics
Ring name(s) Verne Gagne
Billed height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Billed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Born February 26, 1926 (1926-02-26) (age 82)
Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Debut 1949
Retired 1981
Verne Gagne (born February 26, 1926) is a former American professional
wrestler, football player, pro wrestling trainer, and wrestling
promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling
Association (AWA), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the
predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba, Canada for
many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company
folded. His son Greg also wrestled professionally. He is part of both
the WWE Hall of Fame and the WCW Hall of Fame. He is also a member of
the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer
Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Pre-AWA career
Verne Gagne (born LaVerne Gagne) grew up on a farm in Corcoran,
Minnesota. He left home at the age of 14 after his mother died. Verne
went to Robbinsdale High School and excelled in football, baseball and
wrestling, winning district, regional and state championships in high
school wrestling, as well as being named to the All-State Football
Team. In 1943, Verne was recruited to play football at the University
of Minnesota, where he was named to the All-Conference Team. After one
year of college, he enlisted with the United States Marine Corps.
Gagne chose to return to the University of Minnesota, where he enjoyed
a successful amateur wrestling career that saw him capture two NCAA
titles, as well as being an alternate for the U.S freestyle wrestling
team at the 1948 Olympic Games; he later said that he might have
wrestled in the Olympics, but his coaches had discovered that he had
earned money winning a wrestling match at a carnival, thus putting his
amateur standing in question.
In 1949, Verne decided to wrestle professionally, starting his career
in Texas. In his debut, he defeated Abe Kashey, with former World
Heavyweight boxing Champion Jack Dempsey as the referee. In 1950,
Gagne captured the NWA Junior Heavyweight title. In 1953, Gagne won
the Chicago version of the NWA United States Championship. Verne
became one of the most well-known stars in wrestling during the golden
age of television, thanks to his exposure on the Dumont Network, where
he wowed audiences with his technical prowess. He was rumored to be
one of the highest paid wrestlers during the 1950s, reportedly earning
a hundred thousand dollars a year.
Vern Gagne and his supporters lobbied for him to become NWA World
Champion in the 1950s but this did not happen for various reasons due
to the politics of the NWA. Gagne was eventually recognized as NWA
Champion by some NWA territories through a series of events that
occurred in the late 1950s. On June 14, 1957, Edouard Carpentier
defeated NWA Champion Lou Thesz in Chicago. The NWA later overruled
the decision of the referee in Chicago and gave the title back to
Thesz. However, certain wrestling territories of the NWA including
Nebraska refused to go along with the decision and continued to
recognize Carpentier. Carpentier lost his title to Verne Gagne in
Omaha in August 1958 making Verne Gagne the recognized NWA World
champion in the NWA territories that had recognized Carpentier. Gagne
held this disputed version of the NWA World title until the formation
of the AWA in 1960.
National Football League (1947)
Verne joined the NFL soon after by being drafted in the 16th round
(145th pick) of the 1947 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
AWA
In 1960, Gagne formed his own promotion, the AWA, instantly becoming
its top star. That same year, Gagne was awarded the AWA World
Heavyweight Championship, after Pat O'Connor failed to defend the
title against the number one contender, Gagne. O'Connor had been the
reigning NWA World champion and was advised by the new AWA to grant
Gagne a title match within 90 days or else the AWA would declare Gagne
the new AWA World champion. Verne would go on to become a ten-time AWA
World Champion, a record for the promotion. He also had one of the
longest World Title reigns in wrestling history, holding the AWA Title
from August 31, 1968 until November 8, 1975, a total of 7 years, when
he finally lost the belt to Nick Bockwinkel. As well as being the
company's owner, Gagne would also train wrestlers from his farm in
Chanhassen as well.
Notable feuds
Some of Gagne's biggest feuds were against Gene Kiniski, Dr. Bill
Miller (under a mask both as Dr. X and then Mr. M), Fritz Von Erich,
Dr. X (Dick Beyer), The Crusher (Reggie Lisowski), Ray Stevens, Mad
Dog Vachon and Nick Bockwinkel. He always wrestled as a face, and
utilized the sleeper hold as his finisher.
Stars trained by Gagne
Despite already wrestling full-time and running one of the biggest
promotions in North America, Gagne operated a training school that
produced such stars as Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Curt Hennig, Gene
Anderson, Larry Heiniemi (Lars Anderson), Alan "Rock" Rogowski (Ole
Anderson), Ken Patera, Chris Taylor, Baron Von Raschke, Black Jack
Lanza, "Bulldog" Bob Brown, Jim Brunzell, his son Greg Gagne, John
Nord (The Barbarian), George Balgobin and more. Verne retired from in
ring competition in 1981 as the AWA World Champion, becoming one of
the few wrestlers to retire as a World titlist.
Dealings with Hulk Hogan
As promoter of the AWA, Gagne was known for putting on an "old school"
show. He sought out wrestlers with amateur backgrounds over the
hulking brutes who dominated wrestling in the 1980s. This led to a
problem with his biggest draw, Hulk Hogan, whom Gagne felt was not
championship material, due to the fact that Hogan was a powerhouse
wrestler and not a technical wrestler. Seeing Hogan as the company's
top draw, Gagne did, however, let Hogan feud with Bockwinkel
Eventually, as noted on the 2006 Spectacular Legacy of AWA DVD, Gagne
settled with making Hogan his champion after Hogan's feud with
Bockwinkel ran its course in April of 1983, but only under the
condition that he would receive the bulk of the revenue Hogan made off
of both merchandise sales and from his matches in Japan; Hogan
refused.
In late 1983, Hogan accepted an offer from Vincent K. McMahon to go to
the WWF. Allegedly, Gagne offered The Iron Sheik $100,000 to break
Hogan's leg during their World Title Match, with the intention that he
return to the AWA with the belt. Supposedly Sheik refused the offer
and informed Hogan, the McMahons, and Pat Patterson about the planned
double cross, and Hulkamania was born. However, Gagne claims the deal
was never made. The Iron Sheik, however, still confirmed that Gagne
did try to give him this bribe during an interview on the 2005
Greatest Superstars of the '80's WWE DVD.
Demise of the AWA
What followed was a purge of stars from various territories and
promotions, including Gagne's AWA, by Vince McMahon, who wished to
take his WWF "national", and do away with the traditional territorial
system that dominated the North American Pro Wrestling landscape for
years. The AWA suffered perhaps the most damage, losing nearly every
one of its top stars in the mid to late 1980s. By 1991, the damage had
been done, and the AWA shut down, after 30 years.
WWE Hall of Fame
In April 2006, Verne Gagne was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by
his son, Greg Gagne. Verne Gagne is one of the few wrestlers to be in
the WWE Hall of Fame, WCW Hall of Fame, Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame,
and Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame.
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur wrestling
* Amateur Athletic Union
o 1942 Northwestern AAU Championship
o 1948 National AAU Championship
o 1949 National AAU Championship
* Big Ten Conference
o 1944 Big Ten Conference Championship
o 1947 Big Ten Conference Championship
o 1948 Big Ten Conference Championship
* Minnesota State High School League
o 1943 Minnesota State Championship
* National Collegiate Athletic Association
o 1948 NCAA Championship
o 1949 NCAA Championship
* Olympic Games
o Member of 1948 United States Olympic Team
Professional wrestling
* International Pro Wrestling
o IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* NWA Chicago
o NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago
version) (2 time)[1] (First)
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) (1 time)
- with Edouard Carpentier[2]
* NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club | American Wrestling
Association
o AWA World Heavyweight Championship (10 times)(Most
Reigns)[3]
o AWA World Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Moose
Evans (1), The Crusher (1), Don Leo Jonathan (1), Billy Robinson (1),
and Mad Dog Vachon (1)[4]
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (4
times) - with Bronko Nagurski (1), Leo Nomellini (2), and Butch Levy
(1)[5]
o World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) (1 times)
* NWA Tri-State
o NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[6]
* Omaha, Nebraska
o World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) (4 times)
(Last) (Most Regins)[7]
* Southwest Sports, Inc.
o NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[8]
o NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (1 time) -
with Wilbur Snyder[9]
* World Championship Wrestling
o WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1993)[10]
* World Wrestling Entertainment
o WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)[11]
* Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
o (Class of 2004)[12]
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated
o Editor's Award (1986)
o PWI ranked him # 158 of the 500 best singles wrestlers
during the PWI Years in 2003.
* Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
o Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
Finishing Move: Sleeper Hold Favorite Moves: Flying Dropkick
Training career
Verne trained or helped train 93 wrestlers, including:
* Greg Gagne
* Ric Flair
* Gene Anderson
* Ole Anderson
* Lars Anderson
* Ricky Steamboat
* Curt Hennig
* Bob Backlund
* Iron Sheik
* Paul Ellering
* Jim Brunzell
* Blackjack Mulligan
* Brian Knobbs
* Jerry Sags
* Scott Norton
* Ken Patera
* Larry Hennig
* Jimmy Valiant
* Baron Von Raschke
* Brad Rheingans
* Buddy Rose
* Sgt. Slaughter
* John Nord
* Jimmy Snuka
* Bill Irwin
* Scott Irwin
* Bob Brown
References
1. ^ NWA United States Heavyweight Title (Chicago) history At
wrestling-titles.com
2. ^ NWA World Tag Team Title (Chicago/Indianapolis) history At
wrestling-titles.com
3. ^ AWA World Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
4. ^ AWA World Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
5. ^ NWA World Tag Team Title (Minneapolis) history At
wrestling-titles.com
6. ^ http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-j.html#5011 NWA
World Junior Heavyweight Title history] At wrestling-titles.com
7. ^ World Heavyweight Title (Omaha) history At
wrestling-titles.com
8. ^ Texas Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
9. ^ NWA World Tag Team Title (Texas) history At
wrestling-titles.com
10. ^ WCW Hall of Fame Inductees At wrestling-titles.com
11. ^ WWF/WWE Hall of Fame Inductees At wrestling-titles.com
12. ^ Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductees At
wrestling-titles.com
* Dave Meltzer & John F. Molinaro (2002). Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of
all Time. Winding Stair Press. ISBN 1-55366-305-5.
===================================
I searched for a definitive date of birth but found the following
discrepancies:
http://www.wrestling-titles.com/personalities/gagne_verne/
Real Name : LaVerne Clarence Gagne
Birth: 1926/02/26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
http://www.pwhf.org/halloffamers/bios/gagne.asp
February 26, 1926
http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/bios/halloffame/gagnebio.html
Born: May 10, 1923
http://www.wrestlingmuseum.org/people/gagne_verne.html
Born May 10, 1923
http://www.123exp-biographies.com/t/00034286392/
(born May 10, 1923)
http://www.caulifloweralleyclub.org/2006Reunion/cac-2006-lou_thesz_recipient.htm
February 26, 1926
http://www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/awa/awa44-2.htm
February 26, 1926
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Verne-Gagne
February 26, 1926
http://www.freebase.com/view/en/verne_gagne
February 26 1926
http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/vgagne.html
DOB: 5/10/23
http://www.bodyslamming.com/other/vernegagne.html
May 10, 1923
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