.jpg) O'Connor in the 1950s | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patrick John O'Connor[2] 22 August 1924 Raetihi, New Zealand |
| Died | 16 August 1990(1990-08-16) (aged 65)[2] St Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Alma mater | Massey Agricultural College[2] |
Spouse | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | New Zealand |
| Branch | Royal New Zealand Air Force |
| Years of service | 1945 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Pat O'Connor |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (100 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Wanganui, New Zealand[1] |
| Trained by | Butch Levy |
| Debut | 1950[2] |
| Retired | 1987 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'swrestling | ||
Representing New Zealand | ||
| British Empire Games | ||
 | 1950 Auckland | Heavyweight |
Patrick John O'Connor (22 August 1924 – 16 August 1990), was a New Zealand/Americanamateur wrestler andprofessional wrestler. Regarded as one of the premierworkers of his era, O'Connor held theAWA World Heavyweight Championship andNWA World Heavyweight Championship simultaneously, the latter of which he held for approximately two years. He was also theinaugural AWA World Heavyweight Champion.[2][1] He is an overall two-timeworld champion.
Patrick John O'Connor was born on 22 August 1924 inRaetihi, New Zealand, to parents John Frederick and Isabella. He attended primary schools in Raetihi andOrautoha, thenFeilding Agricultural High School. During his schooldays, he also helped tend to the sheep and cattle on his parents' farm. He later attendedMassey Agricultural College, and later served for six months in theRoyal New Zealand Air Force duringWorld War II in 1945.[2][3]
Before entering the world of professional wrestling, O'Connor was anamateur wrestler. He trained under Dave Scarrow, and later Don Anderson, while working as ablacksmith to pay the bills. After a tournament in 1947, he joined the Wellington wrestling team and trained underAnton Koolmann. In 1948, he represented New Zealand in the Pan American games.[4] O'Connor won the New Zealand Heavyweight Championship in amateur wrestling in both 1949 and 1950. The 1949 win earned him entry into the1950 British Empire Games.[2] At the Empire Games, O'Connor, once again representing New Zealand,[4] won a silver medal winner in the (freestyle) heavyweight division. He later trained to be a professional wrestler underLen Levy.[4]
On 19 March 1955, O'Connor won theNWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) withtag team partner Roy McClarity, and held thetitle until February 1956. Later in the year, he worked forMaple Leaf Wrestling. In March, he won theNWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version), but lost it on 2 May 1957 toGene Kiniski. That same month, O'Connor andWhipper Billy Watson won theNWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship, but lost it to Gene Kiniski andFritz Von Erich on 31 October of that year.[citation needed]
O'Connor held theNWA World Heavyweight Championship from 1959 to 1961. He first won the title on 9 January 1959 fromDick Hutton, who had held the title for thirteen months. O'Connor's reign was recognised by both theNational Wrestling Alliance and theNational Wrestling Association. The title change was part of therivalry betweenbookersSam Muchnick and Fred Kohler, the latter of whom did not want to waste any money announcing O'Connor as the new champion. Kohler also wanted O'Connor to pay him $10,000 (equivalent to $107,865 in 2024) to wrestle at shows in Chicago, while being paid less than champions usually earned. O'Connor was so angry at the suggestion that he walked out of their meeting and later told Muchnick not to book him for any events in Chicago. The men later worked out a deal of sorts, and beginning on 19 February 1960, O'Connor wrestled in Chicago againstBruno Sammartino andJohnny Valentine, among others.[4][2]
On 29 July at one of Fred Kohler's events, O'Connor defeatedYukon Eric at an event with an attendance of 30,275. During this time, television also became a factor in the burgeoning market for professional wrestling, and as a result, the demand to trade wrestlers, including O'Connor, throughout theterritories, was eased due toVincent McMahon'sCapitol Wrestling. In December, he worked for McMahon in the Northeast. In March 1961, he was suspended for sixteen days when he missed a match in New York. On 30 June 1961, O'Connordropped the title toBuddy Rogers in front of 38,622 fans atComiskey Park, a North American professional wrestling attendance record that lasted until Toronto'sThe Big Event in 1986.[4] The ticket revenue of $148,000 (equivalent to $1,557,000 in 2024) was a professional wrestling record for almost twenty years.[4] The match, atwo out of three falls match, was billed as the "Match of the Century".[4] During the match, both men had gained apinfall, when O'Connor missed adropkick and suffered alegit groin injury on the ropes, after which Rogerspinned him to win the match.[2][4]
In May 1960, while still the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) named O'Connor as the first holder of theAWA World Heavyweight Championship when they seceded from the NWA.[5] Therefore, he held both the AWA and NWA World Heavyweight Championships simultaneously.[6] However, he never defended the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, and was stripped of it in August, after ninety days, whenVerne Gagne was recognised as the new champion.[5] O'Connor never appeared in an AWA event during, or prior to, this period. Naming the current NWA champion as its champion and then ordering him to defend his new title against the number one contender was a way of legitimizing the AWA's claim that its champion was the "true" world champion (by showing a lineage to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship).
Long after he had lost the NWA Championship, O'Connor did appear in the AWA. On 10 November 1967, the team of O'Connor andWilbur Snyder defeatedLarry Hennig andHarley Race to win theAWA World Tag Team Championship. They lost the title on 2 December toMitsu Arakawa andDr. Moto. O'Connor and Snyder also defeated Arakawa and Moto for theWorld Wrestling Association'sWWA World Tag Team Championship on 24 September 1968. They lost the title on 26 October to the same team.
On 13 October 1970, O'Connor was introduced asJim Crockett Promotions's firstNWA Eastern Heavyweight Champion as part of a storyline to introduce the title. The title was later awarded to theMissouri Mauler with the announcement that Mauler won it in New York.
On 1 January 1982, O'Connor was part of thecard that comprisedpromoter Sam Muchnick's last professional wrestling show, located in St. Louis. O'Connor was also one of the owners of theSt. Louis Wrestling Club. O'Connor, along with Verne Gagne,Harley Race, andBob Geigel purchased the territory from Sam Muchnick the day after Muchnick's retirement.[7][8] On 18 September 1983, O'Connor was named as a co-conspirator in the monopoly that controlled professional wrestling in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa. O'Connor filed a counterclaim.[2]
On 16 November 1987, O'Connor participated in aWorld Wrestling Federation "Legends"battle royal, which was won byLou Thesz.
O'Connor married the American Remember Carly Ford on 7 July 1953; the couple had three daughters before divorcing in 1968. At the time of his death, O'Connor's partner was Julie Browne. O'Connor became anaturalized American citizen in 1958 and lived in the United States for the rest of his life.[3]
O'Connor died of cancer on 16 August 1990.[6]
In December 1990,World Championship Wrestling held thePat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament, an eight-team international tag team memorial tournament atStarrcade in honour of O'Connor. In 1996, he was inducted into theWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. In 2007, theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted O'Connor.[6] He is also a member of theStampede Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2016, O'Connor became a"Legacy" member of theWWE Hall of Fame.
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