A couple of years ago we lost one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots in Harley Race, making This Day in Wrestling History a somber one.
It’s often been said that professional wrestling isn’t a sport of tough guys entertaining, but entertainers playing tough.
While that may be true, there’s been more than a fair share on tough guys that helped grow the business and make it what it is today, and Harley Race was one of those.
For myself, I remember him mainly as King Harley Race in the WWE in the 1980s where he challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and feuded with the Junkyard Dog.
He carried an air about him that made us pay attention and watch, and every move he made looked as real as any fight.
Fond memories
This Day in Wrestling History loves to hear wrestlers tell their stories. It adds a whole new dimension to what they’ve accomplished. Race was one of my favorites growing up, and this one touches a special spot.
Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian ( https://www.instagram.com/awrestlinghistorian/ ) for the excerpt.
“I’m now working in the same small town that I once wrestled in while climbing my way up the ladder in the early 1970s. I started out as a simple country boy where people wave as they drive by, even if they don’t know you. I’ve ended up in a similar rural Missouri town – the kind where you slow down rather than speed up at a yellow light. In between the two towns, I’ve given my all to be the best. I lost enough sweat to fill up an Olympic sized pool and shed enough blood on the job to make slaughterhouse workers cringe. Through the grace of God and a lot of hard work, I made it to the top of my profession – not once, but eight different times.
“Along the way, I’ve gone through several lifetimes worth of physical and emotional pain, but the price I’ve paid has been a small one to live such a charmed life. People sometimes ask if I’d do it all over again and to me, it seems like such a no-brainer. Of course I would. And if I did it a second time around, there’s not a whole lot I would change in my personal life, and even fewer things in my professional life.
“When it’s my turn to go the great squared circle in the sky, I hope I leave a legacy as not only being one of the best at what I did, but I also hope I’m remembered as someone who taught another generation of wrestlers what it takes to be “the best wrestler on God’s green earth.” – Harley Race, King Of The Ring book.
By all accounts, Race is remembered fondly by many, and Vince McMahon reportedly paid for him to be transferred to another hospital before he passed away.
It’s just another bit of the legacy Harley Race left us, and it’s something we’ll never forget.
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