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Harley Race: The Greatest Wrestler On God’s Green Earth

Posted: May 28th 2026 By: Robert Segedy - RingTheDamnBell.com

Born Harley Leland Race on April 11, 1943, the man became known as a wrestler, a promoter and a trainer. He was an impressive individual, both in and out of the ring, and was infamous for his toughness and gravely voice. At 15 he was expelled from high school after he assaulted the school principal and he soon found work on a farm that was owned by Stanislaus and Wladek Zbyzsko, two legendary wrestlers from the early 1900’s and 1920’s. The brothers used to amuse themselves by placing their student in painful submission holds and tell him “try to get out.” Race who would later become a 6 foot 1, 230-pound grappler was known for his legendary grip strength.

Gus Karras, a promoter hired Race to be a driver for fellow grappler 700-pound Happy Humphrey; he would chauffeur the giant from town to town in a 1951 Pontiac that had been specially reinforced to accommodate the man’s excessive bulk.
Race was the first NWA World Champion, and he was one of only six men to have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the NWA Hall of Fame, WCW Hall of Fame, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. He is  widely considered  as one of the greatest pro-wrestlers of all time. 

Race was driving with his pregnant wife Vivian Jones and was involved in a tragic accident when a tractor trailer swerved into his lane. His wife and unborn child were killed in the accident. Race managed to survive, but was told by the doctors that his leg would require amputation. Karras said he ran into the hospital and stopped the operation; a last-minute operation by a specialist somehow managed to save the leg. Race was repeatedly told that he wouldn’t walk again. But Race being the tough bastard that he was, refused to accept the prognosis and dedicated himself to a series of intense rehabilitation exercises. He returned to the ring by late 1963.

“Today we lost not only a great personal friend, but in my estimation the one and only real-world champion. Without Harley Race, there was no Ric Flair. I tried my hardest every day to live up to his standard in the ring.” -Ric Flair

Race returned to the ring in 1964 and wrestled for Dory Funk’s Amarillo territory. While there he met fellow up and coming wrestler Larry Hennig. The duo formed a tag team, and they moved to Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA). Race and Hennig labelled themselves as “Handsome” Harley Race and “Pretty Boy” Larry Hennig, a heel team with plenty of attitude and a rule breaking style. They defeated in 1965, Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher at the sold-out Minneapolis Auditorium to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship. The deadly duo was given three title reigns; in 1967, Gagne was credited with breaking one of Hennig’s legs, thus giving him a much-needed break from the squared circle.

Race shifted his attention to wrestling for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in the early 70’s and he also renewed his feud with Terry Funk in Amarillo, Texas. Race was widely regarded as a gifted territorial wrestler, but he wasn’t quite ready for the big time yet. As a single wrestler, he held the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship as well as the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. He started the first of what would become many tours of Japan while working for All Japan Pro-Wrestling where he faced Giant Baba numerous times. He worked with All Japan from 1973 to 1989.

In 1973 Race faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr. in Kansas City. Race emerged as the new world champion in what was widely perceived by the fans as a stunning loss; behind the scenes Funk had pulled out of losing the title to Jack Brisco, a fan favorite. Race was under orders from the NWA not to let Funk leave the ring as champion that night. It was this match that ensured that Race would be regarded as a first-class superstar and a personal championship contender.

“My whole thing, in all the years I wrestled, was to entertain the people who had paid to see it, as much as my mind and body would allow me to do, to be as good as I could be at doing that. That’s what I tried to do my whole career.” -Harley Race

“Race was determined to eventually regain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, often moving between territories and collecting several regional titles, including eight Central States Heavyweight Championships, seven Missouri Heavyweight Championships, the Georgia Heavyweight Championship, the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship in Canada, the Japan-based NWA United National Heavyweight and PWF World Heavyweight Championships, and becoming the first holder of the Mid-Atlantic United States Heavyweight Championship, still defended today as the WWE United States Championship.”

Among his claims to fame was being the first man to body slam Andre the Giant in 1978 when Andre weighed over 500 pounds. Race joined the WWE in 1986 where he was voted to become the second King of the Ring after beating the Junkyard Dog. 

“The longer your body is on the mat, the longer you are in the business….When you’re in the air, you gotta land somewhere. If you got the background in basic mat wrestling, you can wrestle anybody.”-Harley Race.

After retiring from the ring, Race taught young wrestlers at Harley Race’s Wrestling Academy in Troy, Missouri.

“In his prime, Harley changed the direction of an entire industry.” WWE Vice President Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Race died on August 1, 2019, and he truly was one of a kind. We surely will not see another like him in the near future.