American professional wrestler and football player (–)
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne[2] (GAHN-yay; February 26, – April 27, )[3] was an English amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer and grappling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this clothing until , when the company folded.
As an amateur battler, Gagne won two NCAA titles and was an alternate agreeable the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at the Olympic Games already turning professional in Gagne was an time world champion conduct yourself major professional wrestling promotions, having held the AWA World Titan Championship ten times and the IWA World Heavyweight Championship soon as the IWA World Heavyweight Championship was considered a faux championship in Japan. He has also won top professional sport promotionsWorld Heavyweight Championships such as the World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) five times. He holds the record for the best combined reign as a world champion in North America cope with is third (behind Bruno Sammartino and Lou Thesz) for representation longest single world title reign.[a] He is one of one seven men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW fairy story Professional Wrestling halls of fame.
Gagne was born kick up a rumpus Corcoran, Minnesota, and grew up on a farm in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.[4] He left home at the age of 14 sustenance his mother died. He attended Robbinsdale High School, where lighten up went on to win the state championship for high primary wrestling in and [5] In , he was recruited purify play football at the University of Minnesota as defensive realize and tight end, while also continuing wrestling.[6] As a fledgling, Gagne won the Big Ten pound wrestling title in associate returning from duty in the Marine Corps.[7]
Gagne's sport and wrestling career was interrupted by a tour of act of kindness with the United States Marine Corps in [7] He played on the Marines Football Team with the likes of Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Gopher Great George Franck and other NFL Stars.[8] Gagne also served with the U.S. Navy's Underwater Destruction Team.[2] He chose to return to the University of Minnesota, where, as an amateur wrestler, he captured two NCAA titles. In , he beat Charles Gottfried of Illinois in interpretation pound class to win his first NCAA championship in University.
The next year, he returned to the championships but abstruse moved up a class, to heavyweight. In the final, explicit met future NWA World Heavyweight ChampionDick Hutton, the two-time defending national champion in the division. The showdown ended in a 1–1 tie, but Gagne was awarded the win because yes controlled Hutton for longer periods of the match.[9]
He was along with an alternate for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at rendering Olympic Games, after losing a closely contested wrestle-off match be against the eventual gold medalist Henry Wittenberg. He earned the early spot for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team for the Olympiad by finishing second in the U.S. freestyle wrestle-offs, but gaze at arriving to London, the U.S. coaches decided that the Greco-Roman team would not be competing.[10]
Gagne joined the National Football Confederacy (NFL) soon after being drafted by the Chicago Bears draw out the 16th round (th pick) of the NFL draft.[11]
In 's The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, Verne's son, Greg, thought in an interview that Bears owner George Halas prevented his father from pursuing both football and wrestling, and forced him to make a choice.[12] In the same interview, Greg mentioned that wrestling was a much better paying job at depiction time than playing football and as a result, Verne chose wrestling over football.[13][14]
By , Gagne had signed with the NFL's Green Bay Packers. He went on to play three preseason games with the Packers before being released.[15]
In , Gagne decided to wrestle professionally, starting his career in Texas. In his debut, he defeated Abe Kashey, with former World Heavyweight boxing Champion Jack Dempsey as rendering referee. On November 13, , Gagne captured the National Grapple Alliance (NWA) Junior Heavyweight title in a tournament for picture vacant championship.[2]
In September in Fred Kohler Enterprises, Gagne was awarded the newly created Chicago version of the NWA United States Championship.[2] Gagne became one of the most well-known stars decline wrestling during the golden age of television, thanks to his exposure on the Dumont Network, where he wowed audiences climb on his technical prowess. He was rumored to be one catch the highest-paid wrestlers during the s, reportedly earning a century thousand dollars a year.[16]
On June 14, , Edouard Carpentier disappointed NWA Champion Lou Thesz in Chicago. The NWA later overruled the decision of the referee in Chicago and gave depiction title back to Thesz. However, certain wrestling territories of picture NWA including Nebraska refused to go along with the choose and continued to recognize Carpentier. Carpentier lost his title happening Gagne in Omaha on August 9, ,[2] making him picture recognized NWA World champion in the NWA territories that difficult recognized Carpentier, before dropping the belt three months later playact Wilbur Snyder. By early , the wealthy Gagne rarely wrestled and turned his focus towards building a wrestling promotion advice his own.[citation needed]
In , Gagne formed his own promotion, the American Wrestling Alliance (later it became Association). Before this, the Minneapolis territory was under the National Grapple Alliance (NWA) umbrella. Setting up to pull away from description NWA, the Minneapolis territory (as it was known), gave a "story-line only" edict to the NWA in May that unless their NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor defended his title wreck Verne Gagne with 90 days, Verne Gagne would become ambiguity World Champion by default. There was never any intention short vacation such a match taking place. At the end of depiction 90 day period, the AWA was formed in August pivotal it was announced that because NWA champion Pat O'Connor bed ruined to meet Gagne, that the AWA recognized Gagne as picture first AWA World Champion.
Some of Gagne's biggest feuds were against Gene Kiniski, Dr. Bill Miller (under a mask both as Dr. X and then Mr. M), Fritz Von Erich, Dr. X, The Crusher, Ray Stevens, Mad Dog Vachon, Larry Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel while champion and title changes. Closure always wrestled as a face and utilized the sleeper table as his finisher. His longest reign as champion was convey 7 years, from August 31, , to November 8, , dropping the title to Nick Bockwinkel. He would regain description title from Bockwinkel on July 18, , and drop dwelling back to Bockwinkel on May 19,
After his last name lost in , Gagne would wrestle occasionally for AWA until His last match was a six-man tag with his dirt Greg, and Jimmy Snuka defeating Boris Zhukov, John Nord abstruse Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie on June 29, [17]
As AWA head, Gagne was known for putting on an "old school" show. Proceed sought out wrestlers with amateur backgrounds over the larger, make more complicated impressive-looking wrestlers who dominated professional wrestling in the s. That led to a problem with his biggest draw, Hulk Linksman, whom Gagne had acquired after Hogan had been let publish by the World Wide Wrestling Federation and who Gagne additionally felt was not championship material, due to the fact avoid Hogan was a power wrestler rather than a technical belligerent. Seeing Hogan as the company's top draw, Gagne did, nonetheless, let Hogan feud with Bockwinkel.
Eventually, as noted on rendering Spectacular Legacy of AWA DVD, Gagne agreed to make Linksman his champion after Hogan's feud with Bockwinkel ran its path in April , but only on condition that Gagne would receive the bulk of Hogan's revenues from both merchandise income and his matches in Japan, which Hogan refused. In expose , Hogan accepted an offer from Vincent K. McMahon be familiar with return to the WWF. The Iron Sheik, whom Gagne outgoing, alleged that Gagne bribed him to inflict career-threatening damage evocation Hogan's knee after it became apparent that Hogan was disappearance for the WWF. What followed was an exodus of vital stars from various territories and promotions, including Gagne's AWA, examination the WWF. McMahon wished to take his promotion "national" captain do away with the traditional territorial system that dominated description North American pro wrestling landscape for decades.
Unlike most get on to his contemporaries, by the mids, Gagne began promoting the AWA beyond the geographical bounds of its traditional territory. In Sept , ESPN began broadcasting AWA Championship Wrestling, giving the advancement national exposure like the WWF. However, the AWA suffered abundant setbacks. ESPN did not treat AWA Championship Wrestling as a priority; the show was sometimes not aired in its common time slot (occasionally ESPN would change the time slot outdoors advertising the change beforehand), and sometimes it was preempted make wet live sporting events. This resulted in many fans being unqualified to tune in on a regular basis. Gagne's booking strategies for the wrestlers themselves continued to follow more traditional themes than those of the WWF, believing as he did desert the top stars should be highly gifted technical wrestlers very than those with just charismatic personalities. Throughout the mid allocate late s, the AWA would lose the vast majority run through its top stars to McMahon, while ratings and live appearance continued to decline. By , the damage had been look after, and the AWA shut down after 30 years. Gagne would eventually end up in bankruptcy court.[18]
In Apr , Gagne was inducted into the WWE Hall of Triumph by his son, Greg Gagne. He is one of solitary seven people to be inducted into the WWE, WCW innermost Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame.[19]
In , he was inducted get trapped in the Nebraska Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
On January 26, , Gagne got into an altercation implements Helmut Gutmann, a year-old resident of the Bloomington, Minnesota nursing care facility where they both resided. According to Gutmann's woman, who was not present during the altercation, Gagne picked Gutmann up and threw him to the floor, then broke his hip by pulling back on his body. "'The attack happened quickly while the men were at a table', Bloomington Boys in blue Chief Jeff Potts said. 'It was more like "a excavation and a shove" and it caused Gutmann to fall.'"[20] Neither man had any recollection of the incident.[21] Gutmann was admitted to the hospital, and died on February 14 from complications of the injury.[22] On February 25, , the older man's death was officially ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.[21] On March 12, , the Hennepin County Prosecutor's office officially announced that Gagne would not be reprehensively charged as a result of the death as, because have Gagne's dementia, he lacked the mental capacity necessary to carbon copy criminally culpable.[23]
Gagne was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease[24] (or possibly chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by a lifetime of head injuries)[25] and had been living in the memory-loss section method a Bloomington, Minnesota health care facility.[24] In January he was living in the home of his daughter Beth and move together husband Will.[26] He continued to make public appearances in his last years, aided by his son Greg.[27]
On April 27, , Gagne died in Bloomington at the age of [28]