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WWE Hall Of Famer Passes Away | |
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WNT - Wrestling News Today
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
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WWE Hall Of Famer "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd Passes Away
Story By: Daniel Pena
sources: Wrestling Observer, PWInsider.com
The News Star out of Monroe, Louisiana is reporting that
WWE Hall of Famer "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd has passed away.
Ladd had been battling colon cancer, which spread to his
stomach and bones for the past three plus years. Due to
knee problems, he'd largely been confined to a wheelchair.
Here is their story:
Ernie Ladd, NFL Hall of Fame football player and wrestler,
has died
By Nick Deriso
Ernie Ladd, who rose to fame as a football player but made
his name nationally as a wrestler, died overnight, accord-
ing to family members.
Ladd, 68, had battled cancer — first in his colon, then
later in his stomach and bones — since 2004. Born Nov. 28,
1938, in Rayville, but raised in Orange, Texas, he worked
through his final years as a pastor in the Louisiana town
of Franklin.
Funeral arrangements were still pending today, according
to Roslyn Ladd, his wife of more than 45 years.
Selected 15th in the American Football League draft by San
Diego out of Grambling College, Ladd appeared in three of
that now-defunct league's championship games, winning the
1963 title.
"We were like a family," Ladd told The News-Star in May
2005. "We were one of the first integrated teams, with
black players and white players as roommates."
He had entered professional football as a heralded 1960
first-team all-league defensive college lineman under
former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson. There, Ladd helped
GSU to its first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference
championship.
At 6-9 and 315 pounds, he was arguably the biggest GSU
star to ever play for Robinson, who remains the all-time
winningest football coach in Division I history.
"The first year he was here, he taught me a lesson,"
Robinson once said. "He told me how good he was. Sure,
I'd say. Then he hurt somebody. I'd feel sorry for the
people he was tackling." Elected to four straight AFL
All-Star Games from 1962-1965, he later played with the
Houston Oilers and the National Football League's Kansas
City Chiefs. While with the Chiefs, he reunited with
future Pro Football Hall of Famer Junious "Buck" Buchanan,
another Grambling product, and was on the roster for both
of Kansas City's Super Bowl appearances.
Ladd began wrestling as a sideline during his rookie AFL
season, and found the payday and fame so alluring that
eventually he gave up pro football. It was there that he
picked up a nickname that would remain with him for life:
"Big Cat."
Ladd's storylines resonated during wrestling's earliest
flowering as a national attraction, not to mention
signature moves that included the "guillotine drop" and
a boot to the face. Rivalries with Andre the Giant and
Dusty Rhodes helped shape wrestling's 1970s persona.
Today, he's the only person in both the American Football
League and World Wrestling Federation halls of fame. Ladd
is also a 1994 inductee into the Louisiana Sports Hall of
Fame, and joined the San Diego Hall of Champions in 2004.
Ladd's knees were so damaged — his first surgery came while
still in college — that in his final years, he walked down
long staircases backward. But Ladd's boundless spirit was
unbowed by his body's failures, as he displayed a touch of
humor even after that cancer diagnosis.
"The doctor told me I had three-to-six months to live,"
Ladd said in 2005, then at the mid-way point in his nearly
four year battle with the disease. "I told him Dr. Jesus
has the verdict on me."
Ladd was a father of four and grandfather to over a dozen
more.
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Random News From The Wrestling World
Former Diva Returning To WWE?
Story By: Richard Gray
Former WWE diva Molly Holly has been living in Guatemala
for the past few months learning Spanish. There's an
article currently on WWE.com featuring Molly telling how
she was at a recent RAW house show in Guatemala. When
asked if she would ever return to wrestling she says
"never say never" but she does not plan to return right
now.
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***---***--- How To Irritate People ---***---***
We have UNCOVERED this video gem that features the Monty
Python gang. But center stage is the hilarious John Cleese,
giving us step-by-step instructions on how to get under the
skin of ANYONE... This is not available at your local video
store and gets the endorsement of our editorial staff.
TZ: "After I watched this, I managed to irritate the Hell
out of Clean Laffs Joe"
Lewis: "One of the funniest videos I have seen in the last
ten years."
Irritate your boss, coworkers etc. all in good fun.
Just $14.98. John Cleese - How To Irritate People
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TNA Lockdown Match Announced At Tapings
Story By: Devis Owens
Just announced live at the TNA iMPACT taping in Orlando,
Florida. Team 3D will be taking on Latin American Exchange
yet again, this time in an Electrified Steel Cage Match.
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Reader's Forum
Unless Vincent Kennedy McMahon reneged on a secret promise
to induct Owen Hart this year, Bret Hart's complaints have
no merit. Most of Owen's accomplishments occurred only
because he was Bret's brother, and VKM had elevated Bret
to the top spot in the company. Owen may have been as great
a guy as all of the wrestlers said he was (after the
tragedy), but for most of his WWF career, I would consider
him a 2nd tier wrestler, not a headliner. The Hall of Fame
in all sports is reserved for the very best.
- Mike
*** For More Wrestling News Visit:
http://rd.gophercentral.com/al/a?aid=xxx&ent=3441 ***
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GopherCentral's Question of the Week
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his conviction of lying to the Grand Jury?
Please take a moment to share your opinion, visit:
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END OF WNT - Wrestling News Today - Another F-R-E-E Gopher
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