 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward F. Gossett (1930-01-15)January 15, 1930 Dayton, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 1985(1985-01-21) (aged 55) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
Spouse | Lucy Gossett |
| Children | Mike Graham |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Eddie Gossett Rip Rogers Eddie Graham |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Cowboy Luttrell[1] |
| Debut | 1947 |
| Retired | 1982 |
Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), better known by hisring nameEddie Graham, was an Americanprofessional wrestler, promoter, booker, and trainer.
He debuted in 1947, initially wrestling under the ring nameRip Rogers in Texas. In 1958, he adopted the ring name Eddie Graham upon joiningCapitol Wrestling, where he teamed withDr. Jerry Graham as hiskayfabe brother, winning theNWA United States Tag Team Championship(Northeast version) four times. In 1960, Graham joinedChampionship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), where he won theNWA Southern Heavyweight Championship(Florida version) three times, theNWA World Tag Team Championship(Florida version) seven times, theNWA Brass Knuckles Championship(Florida version) twice, theNWA Florida Heavyweight Championship, and theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship. During the 1970s, Graham served as the promoter and booker for the CWF (a position he held until his death) and was President of theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1976 to 1978.
Graham died as a result of suicide on January 21, 1985, at the age of 55. He was posthumously inducted into theWCW Hall of Fame in 1993, theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, theNWA Hall of Fame in 2006, theWWE Hall of Fame in 2008, and theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2018.
Edward Gossett was born on January 15, 1930, blind in one eye, to Jess and Velma Louise Gossett inDayton, Tennessee.[2][3] His mother worked as a clerk in a dime store and in lunchrooms, and his dad was an itinerant laborer.[2][4] He began working as apaperboy and delivered eggs inChattanooga at the age of 12.[2] However, his father regularly beat him and stole his earnings.[4] The newspaper rewarded Gossett with a free membership to theYMCA, where he received physical training and was exposed to professional wrestling.[2]
Gossett, under his real name, wrestled his first match in 1947 against Lucky Gilpin at a benefit show run by local restaurateurs in Chattanooga. After the match, he was paid with a 25-lb turkey.[4][5] In August 1950, he teamed withRoy Welch to win his firstchampionship, theNWA Southern Tag Team Championship(Mid-America version), which they held again in December.[6] He briefly stopped wrestling in February 1951 to join theUnited States Army, before being released in September after it was discovered he was blind in one eye.[2]
In 1956, Gossett adopted thepersona ofRip Rogers, thekayfabe brother of"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.[1][3] On April 22, 1958, he andJohnny Valentine defeatedAlberto andEnrique Torres for theNWA Texas Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles on May 23 toLarry Chene andPepper Gomez,[7] who subsequently defeated Rogers in aloser leaves town match, forcing him to leave Texas.[1]
In June 1958, Gossett began working forVincent J. McMahon's promotion,Capitol Wrestling (the forerunner ofWWE), where he changed his ring name toEddie Graham and was billed as the kayfabe brother ofDr. Jerry Graham.[3][8] Known collectively as the "Golden Grahams", they were a successfulvillainoustag team on the east coast of the United States, main eventing six shows inMadison Square Garden againstAntonino Rocca andMiguel Pérez.[9] They held theNWA United States Tag Team Championship(Northeast version) on four occasions from September 1958 to April 1960, winning the belts three times in victories overDon Curtis andMark Lewin, and once against the Bastien Brothers (Red andLou Bastien).[10] He continued to wrestle for Capitol Wrestling until December 1961.[11]
Graham reunited with Jerry inCalgary in 1962, and he briefly returned to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, formerly Capitol Wrestling) in 1964 to team with him.[9] After twice unsuccessfully challengingGene Kiniski andWaldo von Erich for the NWA United States Tag Team Championship in February 1965, the two quit teaming and Graham's appearances for the WWWF became increasingly sporadic.[11] He made his final appearance on February 26, 1973, facingVerne Gagne for theAWA World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort.[11]
Graham, who split his time between Capitol Wrestling and Florida, relocated to Florida full-time in 1960 to wrestle forChampionship Wrestling from Florida (CWF).[3][9] He was cast as a topbabyface and briefly teamed withHans Schmidt until heturned on Graham in late 1961.[4]
On March 17, 1962, Graham won a tournament to become the inauguralNWA Southern Heavyweight Champion, but vacated the title on May 24 due to an injury caused from an attack byBoris Malenko, leading to afeud between the two.[12] He regained the title from Malenko on November 29, and won it once more fromHiro Matsuda on August 1, 1963.[12] From August 1961 to July 1967, he held theNWA World Tag Team Championship(Florida version) seven times with the likes of Ike Eakins,Sam Steamboat,Bob Orton andJosé Lothario.[13] Their feud intensified in anangle where Graham saved Steamboat from an attack by Malenko, who attempted to bite off Steamboat's ear, stomping out Malenko's false teeth.[14] This led to a series ofRussian Chain matches between the two.[15][16][17] It also grew to involve theNWA Brass Knuckles Championship(Florida version), which Graham won fromJohnny Valentine on June 10, 1968, only to lose it to Malenko on July 4.[18] On October 8, Graham was lacing his boots in the locker room at theFort Homer W. Hesterly Armory when a 75-lb steel window fell on his head, detaching both of hisretinas and causing him an injury that required more than three hundred stitches.[1][3] TheFlorida Legislature awarded him $23,399 for the incident, which sidelined him for fifteen months.[5]
In 1971, Graham and Malenko ended their feud when Malenko turned face and offered him $5,000 to be his partner in a feud withDick Murdoch andRene Goulet.[14] During this time, Graham began teaming with his son,Mike.[5] On December 29, 1972, they defeated Rocket andSputnik Monroe to win theNWA Georgia Tag Team Championship, but lost the titles in May 1973 to the Super Infernos (Doug Gilbert and Don Smith).[19] They also held theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship in 1976.[18] Graham officially retired from in-ring competition in 1980.[2] However, he wrestled two more matches in 1982. On February 14, Graham defeatedTerry Funk, and on March 3, their rematch ended in a draw.[20]
In September 1970, Graham took over booking and promoting for the CWF.[21] He also trained several wrestlers, including his son Mike,Bob Orton Jr.,Bob Roop,Hulk Hogan,[22]Paul Orndorff, andSteve Keirn.[3] In August 1976, Graham was elected as the President of theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) during a press conference inLake Tahoe.[3] He was responsible for promoting the inaugural NWA vs. WWWF Championshipunification match betweenNWA World Heavyweight ChampionHarley Race andWWWF World Heavyweight Champion"Superstar" Billy Graham in 1978.[1] Graham was forced to step down as President in April 1978 due to health issues.[23] Two years later, he bought half interest in theOrlando Sports Stadium, which he renamed the Eddie Graham Sports Stadium.[2]
Graham made his first trip to Japan in May 1966 for theJapan Wrestling Association (JWA).[24] On June 27, Graham andKiller Karl Kox defeatedHiro Matsuda and Yoshimura Michiaki to win theAll Asia Tag Team Championship. Four days later, on July 1, they lost the titles toGiant Baba and Michiaki.[25] In January 1967, he wrestled for theInternational Wrestling Enterprise (IWE) as part of its "Pioneer Series" tour. Graham did not appear for another Japanese promotion until February 1974, as part ofAll Japan Pro Wrestling's (AJPW) "Excite Series" tour, where he remained until March.[24]
Gossett met his wife, Lucille, in 1949, and they married on December 24, 1950.[2] He was an accomplished pilot and learned how to fly a plane by reading books in the back seat of cars on the way to his matches.[2]
In July 1958, Gossett and his tag team partner,Dr. Jerry Graham, were arrested on concealed weapons charges inWilmington, Delaware, after authorities found a .22-caliber pistol in Gossett’s car and a .45 automatic in Jerry’s car. The charges were dismissed after $7 was paid in court costs.[4][26]
Gossett made contributions to a number of charitable causes. In 1957, he, alongside Clarence “Cowboy” Luttrall andR. Ed Blackburn Jr., began efforts to establish theFlorida Sheriff's Boys Ranch. Over $500,000 produced from every match promoted by Championship Wrestling from Florida went to the Boys Ranch and Girls Villa. He served on its board of directors for ten years.[2][5] In 1963, he was given an Achievement Award from the Tampa Police Athletic League for his work with kids.[2] In 1977, he donated $10,000 to theUniversity of Florida for a wrestling room that was named after him.[27] The following year, he was named Sportsman of the Year by the Tampa Sports Club.[2] In 1980, Graham was awarded an American flag that had flown over theWhite House bySenatorRichard Stone.[5] After hosting a birthdayroast in January 1981, the proceeds went to theLeukemia Society of America.[28]
On January 20, 1985, Gossett shot himself in the right temple with a .38-caliberSmith & Wesson revolver at his Tampa home, 2410 S. Dundee, in asuicide attempt. He was found in bed by Lucille, whom he had told he was not feeling well.[2][27] Gossett was taken toSt. Joseph's Hospital at 12:15 P.M., and was pronounced dead the next day at 10:03 A.M., aged 55.[29][30] He had been suffering fromalcoholism anddepression, which was believed to have been caused by financial issues stemming from "questionable dealings in real estate".[31] His son Mike and grandson Stephen committed suicide in similar manners on October 19, 2012, and December 14, 2010, respectively.[31]
The CWF held a moment of silence for Gossett at their event the day after his death.[32] He was posthumously inducted into theWCW Hall of Fame in 1993 (becoming the first posthumous inductee),[33] theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996,[34] and theNWA Hall of Fame in 2006.[35] On March 29, 2008, he was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame byDusty Rhodes. His son, Mike, accepted the honor on behalf of his father.[36] He was also inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2018.[37]
Eddie Graham and The Great Malenko will meet in a Russian Chain Match to top the professional wrestling card Monday night at Legion Arena.
It took the Great Malenko just eight minutes to defeat Eddie Graham in a Russian Match in a feature wrestling match at the Polo Grounds here Monday night.
Eddie Graham defeated the Great Malenko in a steel-cage Russian chain match, the feature of Tuesday night's wrestling program at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory.
Eddie Graham showed me how to hit the ropes and run, how to take a back-drop, stuff like that.
,Cagematch,Internet Wrestling Database| Preceded by | President of theNational Wrestling Alliance 1976–1978 | Succeeded by |
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