Minnesota Golden Gopher Vern Gagne won four Big Ten and two NCAA heavyweight wrestling championships in the 1940s. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears to play football, but Gagne chose a different direction. Gagne decided to pursue professional wrasslin’. He ultimately became owner of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), based in Minnesota, which appeared in the Midwest and Canada on black and white tv. I vaguely remember as a kid watching AWA telecasts in the pre-cable era with Uncle Sonny on Sunday afternoons in his basement.
The AWA accumulated a stable of (good guy/bad guy) wrestlers such as Dick the Bruiser, The Crusher, Mad Dog Vashon, Larry “The Axe” Henning, Wahoo McDaniel, and Nick Bockwinkel as Gagne’s AWA became more popular. While I was in high school, participants included wrestler/manager Bobby “The Brain” Heenan (always one of my favorites), ex-Seattle Seahawk Ken Patera, and the pairing of Adrian Adonis and future Minnesota Governor, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, in the tag-team duo called the “East-West Connection.” The list goes on: Baron “The Claw” von Raschke; Randy “Macho Man” Savage; Jerry “The Crusher” Blackwell; the Road Warriors; and Hulk Hogan. Gagne and Bockwinkel fought for the championship belt at Comisky Park, home of the White Sox, before a crowd of 12,000 in 1980.
“Mean Gene” Okerlund, who called the match as he was the voice of the AWA, often wore a tuxedo and bow tie when interviewing AWA wrestlers.
Sometimes grapplers from other regional outlets, such as the Von Erich family and Andre the Giant, would make an AWA appearance. My Dad once shook hands with Andre the Giant in an airport. My Dad told me he could not believe the immense size of Andre the Giant, especially his hands. Here is an interview with Mean Gene and Andre.
Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Andre the Giant and others left for cable tv when Vince McMahon took wrasslin’ nationwide. The next generation of teenagers then got introduced to Mean Gene when he became the voice of McMahon’s WWE. I always liked Mean Gene. He did his best to keep order while wrestling personalities in a dazzling array of outfits went about their verbal and physical antics. Okerlund was described in the WWE’s announcement of his death earlier this month as “the most recognizable interviewer in sports entertainment history.” RIP MEAN GENE!
