| "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers |
 | | Statistics | | Ring name(s) | Herman Rhode
Dutch Rogers | | Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | | Weight | 227 lb. | | Born | February 20, 1921
Camden, New Jersey | | Died | June 26, 1992 | | Trained by | Joe Cox & Fred Grubmeyer | | Debut | June 1939 | "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers (born Herman C. Rohde Jr., but later legally changed his name to Buddy Rogers) was a professional wrestler and one of the biggest stars in the beginning of the television era. Buddy Rogers with NWA World Heavyweight Championship This work is presumed to be copyrighted, but its source has not been determined. ...
February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Map Political Statistics County Camden County Mayor Gwendolyn Faison Geographic Statistics Area - Total - Land - Water 26. ...
June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ...
1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...
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Career
The son of German immigrant parents, Rogers was discovered by a local promoter and soon became a top wrestler using his real name around his hometown where he gained his first major win over the legendary Ed "Strangler" Lewis. He continued his career in Houston where he assumed the name "Buddy Rogers." Rogers would get his first major taste of gold in during his tenure there, winning the promotion's Texas Heavyweight title four times, one time from a man he would have an interesting history with, the legendary Lou Thesz. After his time in Houston he went to Columbus, Ohio and the final pieces of his character were added. He bleached his hair and was given the moniker "Nature Boy" by promoter Jack Pfeffer after the popular jazz song. Flag Seal Nickname: Space City Location Location in the state of Texas Government Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Mayor Bill White Geographical characteristics Area - City 1,558 km² (601. ...
Lajos Tiza, translated from Hungarian to Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), better known as Lou Thesz, was a professional wrestler and multiple time World Heavyweight Champion. ...
Flag Seal Nickname: The Arch City The Discovery City Location Location in the state of Ohio Government Country State Counties United States Ohio Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Geographical characteristics Area - City 550. ...
Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ...
With the advent of television, Rogers' flashy look, great physique and bombastic personality instantly caught the ire of audiences. The first sign of Rogers' impact was his involvement in Sam Muchnick's opposition promotion in St. Louis, Missouri, a major wrestling market at the time. He was pitted against the well respected Lou Thesz as a draw. In the end, Muchnick's promotion was powerful enough with Buddy Rogers as its main star that the two promotions merged. Rogers continued control of the Midwest as a booker and wrestler, most notably in Chicago, frequently selling out the 11,000 seat arena. In the 1950's, Rogers also expanded into Vince McMahon Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling Corporation. Nickname Gateway City, Gateway to the West, or Mound City Location Location in the state of Missouri Government Country State County United States Missouri Independent City Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Geographical characteristics Area - City - Land - Water 66. ...
Lajos Tiza, translated from Hungarian to Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), better known as Lou Thesz, was a professional wrestler and multiple time World Heavyweight Champion. ...
Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area - City 606. ...
Vincent J. McMahon Vincent J. McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984) was a U.S. professional wrestling promoter. ...
In 1961, the National Wrestling Alliance voted him NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He took the belt off of Pat O'Connor on June 30 in front of 38,622 fans at Comiskey Park, the largest crowd for an NWA and a wrestling attendance record that would not be matched until Wrestlemania III at the Pontiac Silverdome. To many promoters, it seemed that Buddy Rogers favored northeastern promoters over other territories. Promoters and noted shooters Karl Gotch and Bill Miller confronted Rogers in Columbus and broke his hand. Another injury in Montreal in a match against Killer Kowalski kept Rogers on the sidelines. On his return, the heads of the NWA voted to switch the title back over to Lou Thesz, who made it public that he did not like Buddy Rogers. On January 24, 1963, the match took place in Toronto. Promoter Sam Muchnick put in place two safeguards to guarantee Rogers' cooperation. First, the match was only one fall, out of the ordinary since most title matches were two out of three falls until the mid-seventies. The second safeguard was his threat to give Rogers' bond away to charity. Thesz took the belt for his last run with NWA championship. The National Wrestling Alliance is a group of independent professional wrestling promotions, in operation since 1948. ...
National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a wrestling title that was spun off from the first World Title; which tracks its lineage to George Hackenschmidts 1905 title and Frank Gotchs 1908 version. ...
Comiskey Park (35th Street & Shields Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. ...
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event from the World Wrestling Federation. ...
The Pontiac Silverdome is a domed stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. ...
A shooter is a professional wrestler who has a background in legitimate fighting (such as mixed martial arts), or otherwise has a reputation as a tough guy. ...
City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area - % water 366. ...
Wladek Kowalski Wladek (Walter) Killer Kowalski was a professional wrestler. ...
January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...
Northeast promoters, led by McMahon and Toots Mondt, withdrew their membership from the NWA and formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) since Thesz was not a strong draw in the area. Soon, Rogers was awarded the WWWF World Title as its first holder in April 1963. However, his reign was cut short by a mild heart attack that greatly hindered his endurance. He finally dropped the title to Bruno Sammartino on May 17 of that year in a match that lasted 47 seconds. Legend says that Toots Mondt dragged Rogers out of his hospital bed and forced him into the match, but it was obvious that Rogers could not take the burden of a world championship in his condition. By the end of the year, he was retired and only wrestled an occasional show for The Sheik's promotion in Detroit and Montreal. Toots Mondt(1886-1976) is a former wrestling promoter in the mid-20th century who promoted with Vincent J. McMahon. ...
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ...
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (born October 6, 1935 in Pizzoferrato, Abruzzi, Italy), is a former professional wrestler, known most for being the longest-running champion of the Worldwide Wrestling Federation, holding the title across two reigns for over 12 years in total. ...
Edward George Farhat (June 11, 1924 – January 18, 2003) was a professional wrestler best known as The Sheik (or The Original Sheik to distinguish him from the wrestler the Iron Sheik of the 1980s). ...
Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815 County Wayne County Mayor...
In 1978, Rogers returned to wrestling as a babyface in Florida although he was in his late 50s. He later moved up to Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas as a heel manager managing wrestlers like Jimmy Snuka, future WWE Intercontinental champion Ken Patera, Gene Anderson of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and Big John Studd. His most notable achievement during his run in the Carolinas was his feud with the new "Nature Boy", Ric Flair. The two had a hot feud until Rogers was finally defeated on July 9, 1978. Ric Flair would use this legitimacy to further his career and follow in Rogers' footsteps, becoming the second and last person to win the WWE World title, which he would do in 1992, and the official NWA World title, Rogers' being the first. After his time in Mid-Atlantic, he moved back into WWF where he was a babyface manager and part time wrestler who also hosted the interview segment "Rogers' Corner." During a feud teaming his old protégé Jimmy Snuka against Lou Albano and Ray Stevens, Rogers broke his hip and retired from wrestling for good. Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area Ranked 22nd - Total 65,794 sq. ...
Jim Crockett Promotions was the name of a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. ...
James Reiher (born May 18, 1943 in Fiji) is an American professional wrestler, especially popular in the 1980s as Superfly Jimmy Snuka. ...
John Minton (February 19, 1948 —- March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. ...
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee), better known by his ring name The Nature Boy Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler currently with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on its RAW brand. ...
July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ...
1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...
Lou Albano playing the live-action role of Mario on The SMB Super Show. ...
He was set to wrestle yet another "Nature Boy", this time Buddy Landell, in a comeback match early 1992 but the promoter went out of business and the match never happened. Later in the year, Rogers was weakened by a severe broken arm and suffered three strokes, two on the same day. He was put on life support and died a short time afterwards on July 6, 1992. Nature Boy Buddy Landel William Ansor is a professional wrestler better known as Nature Boy Buddy Landel. ...
July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ...
1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...
Rogers was not well liked during his prime years because he had a habit of taking advantage of opponents in the ring. With age he mellowed and became a very respected veteran. Rogers was considered the first total package wrestler. He had all the looks, physique, personality and ability promoters wanted. He is often attributed with developing the psychology that several heels went on to use with great success and inventing the "Figure Four Grapevine" (later renamed the Figure-Four Leglock). He had one of the longest consistent top drawing periods of any main eventer, 15 years, and the ability to draw in several different territories successfully. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by competitors to immobilize their opponents. ...
1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated like the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ...
WWE Hall of Fame logo, 2005-present. ...
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