Wednesdaymania 232: Harley Race

Once upon a time, there was a man named Harley Race. Harley Race was born to wrestle.

Harley Leland Race
1943-2019
Rest in Peace

If ever there was a man whose life deserved a biopic, it's Harley Race. Seriously, just a skim over his Wikipedia article is jawdropping, and if even a third of it is true, then the Dos Equis guy needs to move the heck over because there's a new most interesting man in the world, and it's Race.

Some Highlights:

• Beat polio as a child
• Expelled for wrestling his principal after his principal kneed him in the back of the head
• Lost first wife, first child, and almost his leg in a car accident early in his wrestling career
• Used to come to the ring to The Great Gates of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussgorsky

The classical opening was due to his becoming "King" Harley Race.
He was well-deserving of the title.

Race wrestled all over the world. He was a genius in the ring, and he could speak as well as he wrestled, though with a completely different style. Inside the squared circle, Harley was a rough, wicked wrestler. He was mostly a heel, and he showed it with strikes and sneaky moves. On the microphone, however, Harley Race spoke like the king he was. While he could certainly shout and sneer, he was equally comfortable giving measured, almost Jake The Snake Roberts-styled promos assuring his opponent of their impending doom.

As an eight-time winner of the NWA championship, one of the oldest and most prestigious on the continent, Harley was a true mega-champion. He seemed to refuse to settle down and live out his career with any one company, and as a territory man, he was easily able to show his worth wherever he went.

And it was incredible worth.
Harley Race was a man worth his weight in gold.

We lost Harley Race on August 1, 2019 to lung cancer. He was 79 years old.

Whether he was wrestling Terry Funk in Amarillo or giving an interview to Nick Aldis, Harley Race was the true King of Pro Wrestling, and he will be missed.

Rest In Peace, Harley Race.


FC