| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harvey Maurice Evers (1930-06-06)June 6, 1930 |
| Died | December 22, 2012(2012-12-22) (aged 82)[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Rip Hawk |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Karl Pojello[2] |
| Debut | 1949[3] |
| Retired | 1982[1] |
Harvey Maurice Evers (June 6, 1930 – December 22, 2012) was an Americanprofessional wrestler best known by hisring name,Rip Hawk. He began his wrestling career in the Mid-Western United States before joiningJim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in the early 1960s. In the company, he teamed with fellow wrestlerSwede Hanson as the "Blond Bombers," and the duo held several championships. In the 1970s, he worked as abooker in JCP.
Evers was born on June 6, 1930, inIndiana.[2][4] He was raised inOhio.[2]
Hawk made his wrestling debut in 1949.[3] He began as an amateur in Ohio and was discovered by professional boxerJack Dempsey, who convinced him to wrestle professionally.[3] His ring name came from a variety of sources: his sister called him "Rip" as a nickname, while a promoter gave him the last name "Hawk" due to his nose and his movements in thewrestling ring. His nickname, "The Profile", was taken from actorJohn Barrymore.[5] He began wrestling professionally in Ohio around his 18th birthday, and later moved toChicago, where he trained for a year withKarl Pojello.[2] He also briefly wrestled inNew York City.[2]
Hawk was soondrafted to serve in theKorean War. He joined theUnited States Marine Corps and continued to wrestle during his service.[3] He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1954, believing he could make a better living from wrestling.[2] He competed in several territories after returning to the United States, includingTennessee andAtlanta,Georgia,Iowa.[3][6] He later moved toMissouri, where he competed inSt. Joseph andSt. Louis. In St. Joseph, he had a scriptedfeud withSonny Myers andLarry Hamilton.[3] He continued to move around and held his first championship, the NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship, while wrestling for NWA Western States Sports in 1958.[7]
Hawk moved toNorth Carolina in the early 1960s, where he began competing forJim Crockett Promotions, an organization run byJim Crockett Sr. that promoted events inthe Carolinas. He met fellow wrestlerSwede Hanson and approached Crockett about forming atag team with Hanson. Crockett agreed to the idea, and Hawk and Hanson began competing as the "Blond Bombers", named after their matching blond hair and their strength in the ring.[1][8] While competing in Australia, Hawk met managerGary Hart. He approached Crockett and convinced him to bring Hart to the Carolinas to manage Hawk and Hanson.[9]
The team competed asheels (villains) and was unique for wearing suits to their matches, as most wrestlers did not worry about dressing like professionals outside of the ring.[8] They aroused anger from many spectators, some of whom threw acid or threatened the team with knives and guns.[10] They also had a following among some fans, and a fan club was formed for them at one point.[11] During interviews, Hawk spoke for the team while Hanson stood silently; Hawk occasionally insulted Hanson in the interviews, but Hanson did not respond.[8][12] The team competed in the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as touring overseas inAustralia,New Zealand, andJapan.[1][8][13]
Hawk wrestled in other territories, includingTexas, where he held theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship and the Texas version of theNWA World Tag Team Championship (the latter while teaming with Rock Hunter).[14][15] Nine of his championships came as a member of the Blond Bombers, however. Hawk and Hanson werebooked in anangle to win their first title together, theFlorida version of theNWA World Tag Team Championship, on August 3, 1965.[16] They combined to hold theNWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship on four occasions, which was the center of their feud withJohnny Weaver andGeorge Becker.[17] They were also booked to win theIWA World Tag Team Championship on a wrestling tour ofTasmania.[18]
The Blond Bombers were involved in a series of unusual matches in Jim Crockett Promotions; they faced other heel tag teams, which was a rarity at the time because most promoters stuck to good versus evil storylines.[19] They competed against such teams asAldo Bogni andBronko Lubich,Gene andOle Anderson, andSkull Murphy andBrute Bernard.[1] Hawk, along withJohnny Weaver, was also involved inbooking, or scheduling, events in Jim Crockett Promotions, a task he took on in the early 1970s.[13][20] He also collaborated with Johnny Ringo to design theNational Wrestling Alliance logo.[11]
In 1971, Hanson suffered aheart attack and had to take time off of wrestling.[21] Hawk competed as a singles wrestler and feuded with the Brisco brothers (Jack andJerry). During this rivalry, Hawk held theNWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship four times.[22] He was then paired withRic Flair, who was billed as his nephew.[23] On July 4, 1974, Hawk and Flair were booked theNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship.[24]
Hanson returned to wrestling but soon became aface (fan favorite) and feuded with Hawk. The former partners faced each other in tag team matches in which Hanson teamed withTiger Conway Jr. and Hawk teamed with Flair. Eventually, the partners were dropped and the two faced each other in a series of singles matches.[25] Hawk left Jim Crockett Promotions permanently in 1975 due to differences with bookerGeorge Scott.[2][26]
Hawk then took on a new partner, Roger Kirby, with whom he held theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship twice over the next two years.[27] Hawk and Hanson reunited as a tag team in Texas, where they competed for NWA Western States Sports. In 1976 and 1977, they were booked to win theNWA Western States Tag Team Championship three times.[28] After their final title reign, Hanson left to wrestle elsewhere while Hawk continued to wrestle in Texas.[1]
Hawk and Hanson were inducted into the NWA Legends Hall of Heroes in 2007.[29] Hawk returned in 2008 to posthumously induct long-time rival and real-life friend Johnny Weaver.[30]
After retiring from wrestling, he moved toHereford, Texas, where he lived with his wife, Kitty.[2] They have 2 daughters.[4] He worked as apersonal trainer and wrestling coach at theYMCA in Hereford until 2011.[1][3][4] Several of his trainees went to the Junior Olympics and received athletic scholarships to college.[2]
Evers died on December 22, 2012.[2] He had suffered from cardiac problems prior to his death.[2]
Matches rarely put face against face, or heel against heel.
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