Harley Race

Harley Leland Race
Data
Ring name	Jack Long Harley Race
Additions to names	Handsome King
height	183 cm
Fighting weight	115 kg
birth	April 11, 1943 Maryville , Missouri
death	August 1, 2019 St. Charles , Missouri
Trained by	Stanislaus Zbyszko Wladek Zbyszko Buddy Austin Ray Gordon Gus Karras
debut	1960
retirement	1991

Harley Leland Race (born April 11, 1943 in Maryville , Missouri - † August 1, 2019 in St. Charles , Missouri) was an American wrestler , trainer and promoter. Race has worked in all major wrestling organizations in North America and Japan during his active career. He received the world title eight times from the National Wrestling Alliance and is a member of several Halls of Fame .

Career

Race grew up as the son of George and Mary Race with five siblings in Quitman , Missouri and was a wrestling fan since his youth. He was forced to leave school at the age of 15 after having a violent argument with the principal. After dropping out of school, he worked on the farm of former wrestlers Wladek and Stanislaus Zbyszko , who taught him some basics. Race finally applied to promoter Gus Karras, who initially engaged him for his carnival fights, which often ended in real arguments. In addition, Race worked as a chauffeur for the 350 kg wrestler Happy Humphrey and as a referee and learned further details of the wrestling trade from Karras and the wrestlers Buddy Austin and Ray Gordon.

After he was finished, Race went to Nashville , where he worked for promoter Nick Gulas. Here he appeared as Jack Long and won the Southern Tag Team title with his supposed "brother" John Long. Unfortunately, Race was seriously injured in a car accident shortly thereafter, which almost ended his career early.

In 1964 he made his comeback in Amarillo , in the funk family league . Here he formed a tag team with Larry Hennig, Curt Hennig's father . Together they moved to the American Wrestling Association , where they worked in a feud program with Crusher Lisowski and Dick the Bruiser , where they were able to receive the local tag team title four times. They also received the IWA World Tag Team title in Australia.

In the early 1970s, Race decided to focus on an individual career. After winning several regional titles, he was allowed to Dory Funk Jr. on March 24, 1973 . defeat and earn the NWA World Heavyweight Title . However, he had to give the title back to Jack Brisco four months later . It took four years and nine other regional titles before he was promoted to the figurehead of the NWA and was again allowed to receive the World Heavyweight title in February 1977, this time from Dory Funk's brother Terry . He remained involved in the action for the title for four years ( interrupted by four brief title losses to Dusty Rhodes , Giant Baba and Tommy Rich), then he lost the title for a long time in 1981.

Two years later he was allowed to hold the title twice in a feud against Ric Flair , which brought him the final leap to the top of the world, before he was supposed to give it up for the last time in March 1983.

1986 Race moved to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, today World Wrestling Entertainment ), which had replaced the NWA as the dominant league. Here the “Blue Collar Champion” became an arrogant king with Bobby Heenan at his side. Race was allowed to win the King-of-the-Ring tournament in the same year , but this remained his only success in this league. His most famous feud at the time was against Junkyard Dog, which resulted in a win at Wrestlemania III. In a match for the WWF crown, Race lost to Haku, who was also accompanied by Bobby Hennan. In 1989, plagued by injuries, he left the WWF, wrestled again in Puerto Rico and ended his active career in 1991.

Later that year he worked as a manager at World Championship Wrestling and accompanied Lex Luger and Big van Vader to honors. After another car accident in 1994, Race ended this engagement and initially no longer worked in mainstream wrestling.

In 1999 he founded his own wrestling school with an attached league called World League Wrestling , which he operated until his death. In 2017 Race fell badly, broke both legs and has been dependent on a wheelchair since then. In March 2019, it was announced that he had lung cancer , the consequences of which he died on August 1 of that year.

successes

title

Tournaments

On July 14, 1986, the WWF hosted its King-of-the-Ring tournament for the second time . It took place in front of 12,000 spectators at Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro , Massachusetts . Race won this tournament after victories over George Steele , Billy Jack Haynes and the former WWF champion Pedro Morales. The same applied to a tournament that was held in 1987 in honor of the legendary promoter Sam Muchnick. Here he defeated Brian Blair, the Junkyard Dog and Ricky Steamboat .

Halls of Fame

Race is a member of the following Halls of Fame:

• WWE Hall of Fame
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, Schenectady NY
• World Championship Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame
• RSPW Hall of Fame (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)
• The Great Hisa's Puroresu Hall of Fame
• The Ring Chronicle Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
• AOL Grandstand Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Wrestler of the Year

In 1979 and 1983 Race was Wrestler of the Year for Pro Wrestling Illustrated , and in 1980 and 1981 for the Wrestling Observer .

Others

Contrary to the widespread statement by the WWF that Hulk Hogan was the first wrestler to successfully perform a body slam on André the Giant (which happened in 1987 at Wrestlemania III ), Harley Race succeeded in doing this in a match on October 13, 1978.

Harley Race Books

• Harley Race, Gerry Tritz: King Of The Ring: The Harley Race Story . Sports Publishing 2004
• Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Les Thatcher: The Professional Wrestlers' Workout & Instructional Guide . Sports Publishing 2005

Web links

• Harley Race Official Website , accessed January 8, 2014
• His WWE Hall of Fame profile
• Profile on Neckbruch.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ [1] King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story
2. ↑ [2] edition.CNN.com Pro wrestling legend Harley Race dies at 76