James Raschke

James Donald Raschke
Data
Ring name	Jim Raschke Baron von Raschke
Additions to names	The Baron The Clawmaster
height	191 cm
Fighting weight	124 kg
birth	October 17, 1940 Omaha , Nebraska
Announced from	Berlin , Germany
Trained by	Verne Gagne
debut	1966
retirement	1994
Website	Official website of Baron von Raschke

James Donald Raschke (born October 17, 1940 in Omaha , Nebraska ) is a former American wrestler who later appeared as a wrestler under the name Baron von Raschke . He embodied a Nazi character and thus became one of the most hated, but also best-known wrestlers of the 1970s and early 1980s. Raschke has been a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame since 2002 . He is married to Bonnie.

Life

Beginnings

Raschke was an outstanding amateur wrestler and American football player in high school and especially at the University of Nebraska, and won several championships. In 1963, James Raschke was in the US national relay that competed in two countries against the Federal Republic of Germany . In Pforzheim he was defeated by the German wrestling king Wilfried Dietrich after a good fight on points (3:16 ratings) and in Kaiserslautern he was shoulder winner over Emil Neunkirchen from Rheydt. In the same year he also took part in the wrestling world championships in the Greco-Roman style in Helsingborg in the weight class over 97 kg. After a bye in the first round, he first lost to the multiple world and Olympic champion Istvan Kozma from Hungary on points, then defeated Jacob Hälg from Switzerland and Jussi Mäki-Huhtala from Finland and retired after a brief point loss to Anatoly Rosh Chin from the Soviet Union from . With these results he achieved an excellent third place and won a bronze medal . Raschke won the US national elimination in 1964 to represent their wrestling team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo , but an elbow injury prevented his participation. After his time in the Army, he returned to Omaha and, after graduating, worked as a biology teacher at a junior high school.

Wrestling

In 1966, Raschke became aware of wrestling through a friend and finally applied to the local promoter John Dusek. He referred Raschke to Verne Gagne for training . During his training, Raschke worked as a ring builder and referee before he met Mad Dog Vachon , who finally helped him to get the Baron von Raschke gimmick . Raschke shaved bald, and marched from now in goose-step through the ring and put a from Berlin coming Nazi represents -Baron. He teamed briefly with Vachon and later with Hans Schmidt. Raschke's character was so hated by the audience that they sometimes threw chairs into the ring. One wrestling action that is still associated with him today is the so-called Clawhold , which he used to end his fights. In the following years Raschke worked for several territories of the National Wrestling Alliance , for the AWA and also for Japanese leagues. He received several prestigious titles, such as the AWA World Tag Team Title , the NWA World Tag Team Title , or the NWA American Heavyweight Title . After an eventful career, he finally appeared in 1988 as manager of the Powers of Pain in the WWF , but left the organization again shortly afterwards. After that, Raschke appeared in the AWA until it was closed and in 1993 competed in a team with Ivan Koloff in a legendary fight at WCW Slamboree . In 1994 he finally stepped back completely from active activities. He worked as a substitute teacher for some time and until 2000 owned a gift and souvenir shop. Today he can be found at legendary events and fan festivals. In 2007 he played himself in a play about his career.

Greatest successes

Wrestling

• 1958 Nebraska State High School heavyweight champion
• Appointed All-American by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1961 and 1962
• Bronze medal Wrestling World Championships 1963
• Qualification for the Olympic Games 1964 (not started due to injury)
• Champion of the Amateur Athletic Union in Freestyle Wrestling and Greco-Roman Style 1964
• Champion of the United States Army in 1964 and 1965
• Champion of Worldwide Interservice 1965

Wrestling

Web links

• Official website
• Interview with von Raschke
• Report on von Raschke