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Bios

Verne Gagne

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 215 lbs.

From: Minneapolis, MN

Birthday: Feb 26th

Pro Debut: 1949

Feds Worked For: AWA, NWA, TSW, WWWF, International Wrestling Alliance

Finisher: Sleeper Hold

Signature Moves: Flying Dropkick

Career Highlights: -AWA United States Champion
-AWA World Champion (10x)
-AWA World Tag Team Champion (9x; 2 w/ Leo Nomellini; 1 each w/ Bronko Nagurski, Butch Levy, Moose Evans, Crusher Lisowski, Don Leo Jonathan, Billy Robinson, and Mad Dog Vachon)
-IWA Champion
-Nebraska Tag Team Champion (w/ Tex McKenzie)
-NWA (Central States) United States Champion
-NWA (Chicago) United States Champion (2x)
-NWA (Chicago) World Tag Team Champon (w/ Eduoard Carpantier)
-NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team Champion (4x; 2x w/ Leo Nomellini; 1 each w/ Bronko Nagurski and Butch Levy)
-NWA Texas Champion (2x)
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion
-Omaha World Champion (5x)
-(Montreal) Canadian International Champion

Affiliates: Greg Gagne, Moose Evans, Crusher Lisowski, Don Leo Johnathon, Billy Robinson, Mad Dog Vachon, Leo Nomellini, Bronko Nagurski, Butch Levy

Notable Feuds: Ray Stevens, Fritz Von Erich, Billy Robinson, Larry Hennig, Nick Bockwinkel, Kokina Maximus

Other Facts: -Full name was Laverne Clarence Gagne
-Father of professional wrestler Greg Gagne and pro wrestling ring announcer Donna Gagne.
-Former father-in-law of professional wrestler Larry Zbyszko
-Grew up on a farm and left home at age 14 after his mom passed away.
-Played football and baseball while in high school. He also wrestled and was district, regional and state champion. He was part of the All-State Football team and was recruited to play football at the University of Minnesota in 1943.
-In 1943, he was a member of the All Conference football team, but after 1 year of college, he joined the United States Marine Corps and moved to California, where he played on the Marine football team.
-Big Ten Wrestling Champion (1944, 1947, 1948, 1949)
-NCAA Wrestling Champion in 1948 & 1949.
-In 1948, Verne was a alternate on the United States Olympic Wrestling Team. He later said that he might have wrestled at the Olympics but his coaches had discovered that he had earned money winning a wrestling match at a carnival, thus putting his amateur standing in question.
-AAU Wrestling Champion in 1949
-Briefly played professional football for the Chicago Bears. Team owner George Halas forced Gagne to choose between football and wrestling. Gagne made money as a wrestler and left football/
-Made his professional against Abe "King Kong" Kashey on May 10, 1949, his 23rd birthday. Gagne won the match, which was officiated by former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey.
-After spending time in Oklahoma, he was contacted by promoter Fred Kohl in Chicago. Kohl believed Gagne was too small to be a believable grappler on TV as himself, so he offered Gagne a gimmick where he would be dressed up like a Martian and lowered into the ring from the ceiling. Gagne refused this and offered to take on every member of the roster. If he couldn't beat them, he would quit wrestling.
-Was one of the first athletes to appear on mainstream TV, making appearances on talk shows as well as the Howdy Doody children's show.
-Headlined a wrestling show at Madison Square Garden on February 1953. A riot occurred when 5000 fans were turned away from the event.
-Creidited with training 133 professional wrestlers. Less than 1% of them did not make it to main event status in at least 1 territory.
-Retired on May 10, 1981 (his 55th birthday) by defeating Nick Bockwinkel for his 10th AWA World Title. He was the first person to retire as World Champion. He returned for some special matches later in that decade. This also put him in the record books as the oldest person to ever win a World Heavyweight Title in any organization.
-Principal owner & promoter of the AWA from 1960 until the company filed bankruptcy in 1991.
-Was prominent in the training of Ric Flair, Bob Backlund, Jim Brunzell, Ken Patera, Ricky Steamboat, Buddy Rose and many others.
-According to Hulk Hogan's biography, Verne tried to pay The Iron Sheik to break Hogan's legs when Hogan was leaving AWA for WWF.
-Executive producer of the movie "The Wrestler" (1974)
-Sold the AWA video library to WWE in 2005
-Inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1993
-Inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999
-Inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004
-Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006
-Posthumously inducted into the Nebraska Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018
-With his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, he became only one of six people to be inducted into the WCW, Pro Wrestling, and WWE Halls of Fame
-Passed away April 28, 2015 at the age of 89. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for many years.