Ernie Ladd | |||||||
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 Ladd in 2004 | |||||||
| Born | Ernest Ladd (1938-11-28)November 28, 1938 Rayville, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | March 10, 2007(2007-03-10) (aged 68) Franklin, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||
| Alma mater | Grambling State University | ||||||
| Spouse | Roslyn Ladd | ||||||
| Children | 4 | ||||||
American football player American football career | |||||||
| No. 77, 99 | |||||||
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 290 lb (132 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Wallace (Orange, Texas) | ||||||
| College: | Grambling State | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 1961: 4th round, 48th pick | ||||||
| AFL draft: | 1961: 15th round, 119th pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career AFL statistics | |||||||
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| Ring name(s) | Ernie Ladd[1] | ||||||
| Billed height | 6 ft 9 in (206 cm)[1] | ||||||
| Billed weight | 320 lb (145 kg)[1] | ||||||
| Billed from | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||
| Trained by | Bobo Brazil | ||||||
| Debut | 1961 | ||||||
| Retired | 1988 | ||||||
Ernest L. Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "the Big Cat", was an American professionalfootballdefensive tackle andprofessional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd attendedGrambling State University on abasketball scholarship before being drafted in 1961 by theSan Diego Chargers of theAmerican Football League (AFL). Ladd found success in the AFL as one of the largest players in professional football history at 6′9″ and 290 pounds. He helped the Chargers to fourAFL championship games in five years, winning the championship with the team in 1963. He also had stints with theKansas City Chiefs andHouston Oilers. Ladd took up professional wrestling during the AFL offseason, and after a knee injury ended his football career turned to it full-time in 1969.
As a professional wrestler, Ladd became one of the topheels in the business. For the majority of his career, he played a villainous character who would arrogantly taunt both opponents and crowds. Laddfeuded with many popular wrestlers of the time, includingWahoo McDaniel,André the Giant,Bobo Brazil,Dusty Rhodes, andMr. Wrestling, and even had a heel to heel feud withProfessor Toru Tanaka,[2] before retiring from the ring in 1986.
For his American football career, Ladd was inducted into theChargers Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Grambling State University Hall of Fame in 1989. For his professional wrestling career he was inducted into theWCW Hall of Fame in 1994, theWWF Hall of Fame in 1995, theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, and theNWA Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ladd was diagnosed withcolon cancer in the winter of 2003–2004, and died from the disease on March 10, 2007, at the age of 68.
Ladd was born inRayville, Louisiana, and raised inOrange, Texas by his mother Louada and stepfather James Ford.[3] He was ahigh school football andbasketball star.[4] His football coach at Wallace High School was the legendary William Ray Smith Sr., father of NFL starBubba Smith.[3] Ladd subsequently attendedGrambling State University on a basketball scholarship.[5] He also played defensive tackle on the football team at Grambling under another legend,Eddie Robinson.[3][6] He was the nephew of Grambling andHouston Oilers teammateGarland Boyette.[7]
Ladd was drafted in the fourth round of the1961 NFL draft by theChicago Bears.[8] He was also taken by theAmerican Football League'sSan Diego Chargers with their 15th pick (119th overall) in the 1961 AFL draft.[9] He chose to sign with the Chargers.
At 6 ft 9 in and 290 pounds, Ladd was said to be the biggest and strongest man in professional football during his era. His physical measurements included a 52-inch chest, 39-inch waist, 20-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, and size 18D shoes.[5]
Ladd played in fourAFL championship games, helping the Chargers win theAmerican Football League title in1963 with teammateEarl Faison, both members of the originalFearsome Foursome.[10][11] Ladd, anAmerican Football League All-Star from 1962 through 1965,[12] was one of the AFL players that organized a walkout on the 1965AFL All-Star Game due to the racism they experienced inNew Orleans.[13]
Although Ladd found success with the Chargers, he had a contentious relationship with the Chargers front office.[4] He started the1965 season being indefinitely suspended from the team by Coach/General ManagerSid Gillman.
Ladd stated he and teammate Earl Faison would play out their contract options, opting to take a 10 percent cut in salary in exchange for becoming free agents at the end of the season.[14] A planned trade with theOilers in early 1966 would have sent Faison and Ladd to Houston.[15] However, both were declaredfree agents by AFL commissionerJoe Foss, who ruled Oilers ownerBud Adams had tampered in trade dealings with the Chargers.[16] Ladd refused to re-sign with the Chargers and suggested he might instead turn to professional wrestling full-time.[17]
Eventually, Ladd signed with the Oilers and spent the 1966 season playing for them before moving in1967 to theKansas City Chiefs.[5] There, with similarly king sized Grambling teammate and futurePro Football Hall of FamerBuck Buchanan (6 ft 7 in, 286 lbs), he filled out what was probably the biggest defensive tackle tandem in history. Both Ladd and Buchanan were inducted into the Grambling State University Athletic Hall of Fame.[18]
Boston Patriots centerJon Morris said Ladd was so big "It was dark. I couldn’t see thelinebackers. I couldn’t see the goalposts. It was like being locked in a closet."[5] In 1981, Ladd was inducted into theChargers Hall of Fame.[19]
He played in 112 consecutive games.[20] He is a member of the Museum of the Gulf Coast Sports Hall of Fame.[6]
Ladd started wrestling in 1961. As a publicity stunt, some wrestlers in the San Diego area challenged Ladd to a private wrestling workout. Before long, Ladd was a part-time competitor in Los Angeles, during football's off-season.[9] Ladd became a huge draw in short order. When knee problems cut his football career short, Ladd turned to the more financially lucrative business of wrestling full-time in 1969. Ladd also said he could have continued playing football, but wrestling was more lucrative. He made $98,000 his first full year wrestling, and over $100,000/year after that, and “‘That was big money back in the ‘60s.’”[20] After a run as afan favorite, Ladd became one of wrestling's most hatedheels during the 1970s, as well as one of the first African American wrestlers to portray a heel character.[4] It was Ladd’s idea to become a heel.[20] He riled crowds with his arrogant and colorful demeanor during interviews, especially with his derogatory nicknames for opponents such asWahoo McDaniel (whom he referred to as "the Drunken Indian"), andMr. Wrestling (whom he called "the Masked Varmint" and insisted he was an escaped criminal). Ladd also controversially employed a taped thumb, claiming the support was needed due to an old football injury.[9] Often when Ladd appeared to be in serious trouble during a match, he would walk out of the arena and accept a countout loss, known since as "pulling an Ernie Ladd".
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Ladd wrestled for a number of different professional associations, including theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation numerous times from 1968 to 1981. Additionally, he had several successful runs in the NWA territories, TheMid-South promotion,NWF, andWWC promotion.
Known for his immense size and power, it was a natural for Ladd to engage in feuds with other giants, including famously withAndré the Giant (whom Ladd antagonizingly referred to as "Andre the Dummy" or "The Big Fat French Fry" during interviews).
In certain areas, Ladd's wrestling nickname was "The King", and he would wear an ornate crown.[9] In other wrestling associations, he was "The Big Cat", and entered wearing a big cowboy hat.
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After handily pinningEarl "Mr. Universe" Maynard the month prior, Ladd challengedBruno Sammartino at Madison Square Garden for the WWWF title on March 1, 1976. In 1978, he wrestled WWWF champion Bob Backlund. When theInternational Wrestling Association had its brief run in the New York area, Ladd lost a two out of three falls match at Roosevelt Stadium, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to champion Mil Mascaras, two falls to one (he pinned Mascaras the first fall, was disqualified in the second, and was pinned by Mascaras in the third).
After leaving the WWWF, Ladd ventured to the Mid-South territory promoted byBill Watts. While there, Ladd feuded withPaul Orndorff,Ray Candy, andJunkyard Dog. He also served as a manager toAfa andSika,The Wild Samoans. Ladd also had a decent run as part of a tag team with"Bad" Leroy Brown in the early 1980s. Ladd also assisted Watts as a booker behind the scenes and had a large part in the development ofSylvester Ritter as the area's top draw.
Ladd retired from wrestling in 1986 due to recurring knee problems.[5] He then returned to the WWF as a color commentator, calling the 20-man battle royal atWrestlemania 2 (which featured NFL players) and then earning a trial run doing commentary for various shows, including the April 1986 show atMadison Square Garden. He was also used as a fill-in for matches on syndicated programming such asWWF Championship Wrestling. Ladd also teamed withGorilla Monsoon andJohnny Valiant in the broadcast booth duringThe Big Event atC.N.E. Stadium in Toronto, Ontario. Ladd, Monsoon, and Valiant were the original three-man team for the first few weeks ofWWF Wrestling Challenge, before Ladd was replaced byBobby Heenan and Valiant's role was reduced significantly to only calling matches when Heenan had to be at ringside for one of the wrestlers he managed. Following this, Ladd quietly left the WWF.
He wrestled one more match on January 3, 1988, at a WWF house show in Long Island, New York in a 20-man battle royal won byBam Bam Bigelow.
He was inducted into theWCW Hall of Fame in 1994 and theWWF Hall of Fameclass of 1995, becoming the first (and for several years only) inductee in both halls.
Ladd was a longtime friend of theBush family and supported the2000 campaign ofGeorge W. Bush.[21] Ladd also owned and operated Big Cat Ernie Ladd's "Throwdown" BBQ Restaurant inNew Orleans, Louisiana, until it was destroyed byHurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. In the disaster's aftermath, he ministered to Katrina evacuees at theAstrodome. He was a friend of WWE Hall of Fame commentatorJim Ross. Ladd also appeared in an episode ofThat '70s Show entitled "That Wrestling Show." He was in the locker room withThe Rock, who was playing his own father "Soul Man"Rocky Johnson.[22] Ladd was also a basketball coach for young kids inFranklin, Louisiana.
Ladd was diagnosed withcolon cancer in the winter of 2003–2004, being advised he had three to six months to live. He reportedly ignored the doctor's diagnosis, stating “The doctor told me I had three to six months to live…I told the doctor that he’s a liar and that Dr. Jesus has got the verdict on me! I also told him, ‘You’re working with a miracle when you work with me.”[23] The cancer eventually spread to his stomach and bones, and three years passed before he died on March 10, 2007, at the age of 68.[4][24]
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