August 02, 2019
Harley Race RIP
Timothy Birdnow
Professional wrestler Harley Race has passed away. he was 76.
From the Fox2 News article3:
I used to go to the wrestling matches at Kiel Auditorium when I was in high school. A friend had a father who was with the athletic commission, and he got free front row seats. It was a blast; we could actually speak to the wrestlers and they would answer us. That's how close we were! Front row! If someone fell out of the ring you could get hurt; they'd land on top of you. And we could see just how fake the "sport" really was, watch these guys communicate with each-other about what they were going to do next. A couple of times I saw one of them get mad, but usually it passed, after a rather subtle apology. As my friend said, if the cops come down then you know it's out of control.
Anyway, it was fun and Harley Race was always one of my favorites. He always looked half drunk and was a hillbilly besides.
Once some kids hit him with snowballs after a match and he smacked them, winding up in jail for that. I wish I had been there to see that one!
It was fun. I once yelled at Dick the Bruiser (part of the fun was razzing these guys) and he gave me a look that withered me where I stood. I'll never forget it!
So the loss of Race is a rather sad thing to me; kind of like losing a part of my youth. Godspeed Harley!
Race died of cancer.
Professional wrestler Harley Race has passed away. he was 76.
From the Fox2 News article3:
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
×
Harley Race, legendary Missouri-born professional wrestler, dead
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
TROY, Mo. – Harley Race, the tough-talking, Missouri-born professional wrestler who rose to national prominence over three-plus decades, has passed away. He was 76. His official Twitter account says, "Today at 12:50, we lost the man that fought up until the very last of his existence. More information will be released soon, but just know that he loved pro-wrestling and the fans that loved him. Harley Race, we love you.â€
Race was born to sharecropper parents in the small town of Quitman in northwest Missouri in April 1943. As a pro wrestler, he’d be billed from Kansas City.
He began training as a teenager and started his career in the early 1960s and married his sweetheart Vivian Jones at age 18. Unfortunately, they were involved in a severe car accident one month after the wedding. Jones, who was pregnant at the time, died the crash. Race nearly had his leg amputated as a result and was told he’d likely never walk again.
After several months of physical therapy and recovery, Race returned to ring, traveling across the country and honing his craft wrestling for the famed Funk family in Texas and Verne Gagne’s AWA promotion. He’d achieve his greatest popularity competing in the National Wrestling Alliance, feuding with fellow wrestling luminaries like the Funk brothers (Terry and Dory Jr.), Dusty Rhodes, and "Nature Boy†Ric Flair.
Race won his first NWA World Title in May
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
×
Harley Race, legendary Missouri-born professional wrestler, dead
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
TROY, Mo. – Harley Race, the tough-talking, Missouri-born professional wrestler who rose to national prominence over three-plus decades, has \passed away. He was 76. His official Twitter account says, "Today at 12:50, we lost the man that fought up until the very last of his existence. More information will be released soon, but just know that he loved pro-wrestling and the fans that loved him. Harley Race, we love you.â€
Race was born to sharecropper parents in the small town of Quitman in northwest Missouri in April 1943. As a pro wrestler, he’d be billed from Kansas City.
He began training as a teenager and started his career in the early 1960s and married his sweetheart Vivian Jones at age 18. Unfortunately, they were involved in a severe car accident one month after the wedding. Jones, who was pregnant at the time, died the crash. Race nearly had his leg amputated as a result and was told he’d likely never walk again.
×
Harley Race, legendary Missouri-born professional wrestler, dead
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
TROY, Mo. – Harley Race, the tough-talking, Missouri-born professional wrestler who rose to national prominence over three-plus decades, has passed away. He was 76. His official Twitter account says, "Today at 12:50, we lost the man that fought up until the very last of his existence. More information will be released soon, but just know that he loved pro-wrestling and the fans that loved him. Harley Race, we love you.â€
Race was born to sharecropper parents in the small town of Quitman in northwest Missouri in April 1943. As a pro wrestler, he’d be billed from Kansas City.
He began training as a teenager and started his career in the early 1960s and married his sweetheart Vivian Jones at age 18. Unfortunately, they were involved in a severe car accident one month after the wedding. Jones, who was pregnant at the time, died the crash. Race nearly had his leg amputated as a result and was told he’d likely never walk again.
After several months of physical therapy and recovery, Race returned to ring, traveling across the country and honing his craft wrestling for the famed Funk family in Texas and Verne Gagne’s AWA promotion. He’d achieve his greatest popularity competing in the National Wrestling Alliance, feuding with fellow wrestling luminaries like the Funk brothers (Terry and Dory Jr.), Dusty Rhodes, and "Nature Boy†Ric Flair.
Race won his first NWA World Title in May
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
×
Harley Race, legendary Missouri-born professional wrestler, dead
Harley Race (Source: World League Wrestling, Facebook)
TROY, Mo. – Harley Race, the tough-talking, Missouri-born professional wrestler who rose to national prominence over three-plus decades, has \passed away. He was 76. His official Twitter account says, "Today at 12:50, we lost the man that fought up until the very last of his existence. More information will be released soon, but just know that he loved pro-wrestling and the fans that loved him. Harley Race, we love you.â€
Race was born to sharecropper parents in the small town of Quitman in northwest Missouri in April 1943. As a pro wrestler, he’d be billed from Kansas City.
He began training as a teenager and started his career in the early 1960s and married his sweetheart Vivian Jones at age 18. Unfortunately, they were involved in a severe car accident one month after the wedding. Jones, who was pregnant at the time, died the crash. Race nearly had his leg amputated as a result and was told he’d likely never walk again.
I used to go to the wrestling matches at Kiel Auditorium when I was in high school. A friend had a father who was with the athletic commission, and he got free front row seats. It was a blast; we could actually speak to the wrestlers and they would answer us. That's how close we were! Front row! If someone fell out of the ring you could get hurt; they'd land on top of you. And we could see just how fake the "sport" really was, watch these guys communicate with each-other about what they were going to do next. A couple of times I saw one of them get mad, but usually it passed, after a rather subtle apology. As my friend said, if the cops come down then you know it's out of control.
Anyway, it was fun and Harley Race was always one of my favorites. He always looked half drunk and was a hillbilly besides.
Once some kids hit him with snowballs after a match and he smacked them, winding up in jail for that. I wish I had been there to see that one!
It was fun. I once yelled at Dick the Bruiser (part of the fun was razzing these guys) and he gave me a look that withered me where I stood. I'll never forget it!
So the loss of Race is a rather sad thing to me; kind of like losing a part of my youth. Godspeed Harley!
Race died of cancer.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
08:55 AM
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