In Memory: On this day in 1992, the wrestling world lost the first WWWF World Champion Buddy Rogers at the age of 71. Rogers began wrestling at his local YMCA at age 9 and became a regular champion in several sports in Camden YMCA competitions. He joined the circus as a wrestler aged 17 before joining the promotion owned by Ray & Frank Hanley. His early career took him from his native New Jersey to Houston (where he gained the Buddy Rogers moniker) and from there to Columbus (where he became known as ‘The Nature Boy’). The dawn of the television era saw him competing for Sam Muchnick in St Louis, where he and Lou Thesz were billed as the top two competitors. In 1961, he defeated Pat O’Connor to win the NWA World Title and set a North American wrestling attendance record that would be unbeaten until 1984. However, controversy soon ignited. Rogers was seen to favour northeastern promoters over other territories and despite being the national champion, rarely competed in the south. The situation came to a head in 1963. Rogers was to lose the NWA World Title to Lou Thesz, but the northeastern promoters were not happy about the decision, as Thesz was not a popular wrestler in their territories. Soon after the match, Vince McMahon and Toots Mondt seceded from the NWA to form the WWWF and announced Rogers as their champion. However, Rogers suffered a mild-heart attack shortly after his crowning, and was forced to drop the title to Bruno Sammartino. With his health failing, he made only bit-part appearances until he broke his hip in a WWF match in 1978, forcing his total retirement. He remained an active figure behind the scenes in several promotions until the 1990′s, when his health took a turn for the worse. It was a series of strokes that ultimately claimed his life
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 21:00:42 +0000
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