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Former Pro Wrestler "The Lariat" Enjoys Watching Sons Play For Baylor, Midway

Posted: May 18th 2008 By: CMBurnham

Stan Hansen came upon his moment of clarity during Christmas 2006.

Lying in a Colorado hospital, the former pro wrestler had just undergone his fourth shoulder operation in less than a month. He had a lot of time to think about his life, his four children and his future.

"If they keep putting you under, you don't know if you're going to wake up," said Hansen, whose sons play baseball in Central Texas -- Shaver at Baylor and Sam at Midway. "I knew I had to enjoy life. That was when we decided to move to Waco and enjoy watching Shaver play baseball"

It's become an ideal situation for the Hansen family.

After moving from Grand Junction, Colo., to Hewitt last August, Stan has watched Shaver lead Baylor in hitting as a sophomore this season. He's also seen his youngest son, Sam, start at third base and pitch for Midway after he transferred from Fruita Monument High School in Grand Junction.

"I go to five or six baseball games a week, and my wife (Yumi) is with me when she's not working at her nursing job," Stan Hansen said. "It's great to see Shaver compete at a high level and watch Sam chase his dreams. This is really the boys' time of life, and I stay out of the limelight."

Stan spent 27 years in the limelight on the pro wrestling circuit before retiring eight years ago. Nicknamed "The Lariat" because of his clothesline forearm move that sent wrestlers sprawling, Hansen starred from 1981-2000 in Japan, where pro wrestling is a popular sport like in the United States. Hansen also met his wife when he was wrestling in Japan.

Even now, his sons watch old films of their father body slamming other wrestlers, including 7-5, 500-pound Andre the Giant.

"My favorite is my dad wrestling in an outdoors match, and he body slams a guy into the river," Shaver said.

"It's always a big hit when my buddies get together and watch my dad wrestling on YouTube," Sam said.

After spending most of his youth in the United States, Shaver was amazed how popular his dad was in Japan when he attended his 2001 retirement ceremony. Shaver, who was born in 1987 in Jackson, Miss., lived in Japan for two years in the mid-1990s.

"There must have been about 30,000 people at the Tokyo Dome at his retirement," Shaver said. "I didn't realize how big he was in Japan until I saw how many people were there that day."

While Stan was grateful for his long wrestling career, he encouraged his sons to play baseball. Wrestling has taken a toll on his body as he's had both knees and shoulders replaced with artificial joints. Before he began his pro wrestling career in 1973, Hansen played middle linebacker at the former West Texas State University on a team that included future NFL running backs Mercury Morris and Duane Thomas.

"I loved playing football, and I got my clothesline move from hitting tight ends coming across the middle," said Stan, who will turn 59 in October. "But I regret not pursuing baseball more. I'm glad my boys got into it, and I was happy to get a chance to coach them in Little League and Babe Ruth League."

Both Shaver and Sam learned how to switch hit as 8-year-olds and have proven to be naturals at baseball. Before Shaver went into high school, the family moved from tiny Hotchkiss, Colo., to Grand Junction, the home of the NJCAA World Series.

"I went from playing on an all-dirt infield to playing on one with grass," Shaver said. "Our home field in high school is the site of the NJCAA World Series, so it's a great place to play. I got to see a lot of good baseball by teams from Florida, Mississippi and Texas at the World Series. I remember seeing two guys play for San Jacinto College who later played for Baylor -- Kevin Russo and Matt Czimskey."

DETERMINED TO MAKE HIS MARK

Shaver emerged as one of the best high school shortstops in Western Colorado, hitting over .490 as a junior and senior at Fruita Monument High School. But he didn't get a great deal of attention from major colleges until he attended a tryout in Denver for the prestigious Area Code Games, a Southern California showcase for the top high school players in the country.

"Shaver wasn't even invited to the Denver tryout," Baylor coach Steve Smith said. "So he got into his car and drove to Denver with his dad and asked if he could try out. That said a lot about Shaver, and how big his dreams are."

Shaver performed well enough in Denver to get an invitation to the Area Code Games, where he hit .500 against top-caliber high school pitchers. He began getting a lot of attention from recruiters, but was sold on a Baylor program that was coming off a 2005 College World Series appearance.

"The facilities at Baylor are awesome and it's a great academic school," Shaver said. "It's also important to me that Baylor has Christian-based coaches. The only problem was that Baylor was a long way from home."

As a Baylor freshman, Hansen struggled badly during the first month of the season before going 5-for-5 with six RBIs in a nonconference game against Texas Southern. Suddenly, a light clicked on for Hansen as he raised his batting average to .296 with three homers and 35 RBIs.

"During that slump at the start of my freshman year, I'd lay in bed at night and wonder how I'm going to get out of this," Shaver said. "But in baseball, you've got to learn how to deal with failure, and it made me tougher mentally. I learned how to take a steadier approach at the plate and things started to click."

After moving to the leadoff spot, Hansen is Baylor's top hitter this season with a .327 average with five homers and 38 RBIs. He's also made a seamless transition from second base to third where he's teamed with shortstop Beamer Weems to form one of the best left sides of the infield in the Big 12.

"THAT CRAZY COWBOY WRESTLER"

Before the Hansen family moved from Grand Junction to Hewitt, their biggest concern was how it would affect Sam. He had just completed his sophomore year at Fruita Monument where he was a pitcher and outfielder last season for the varsity baseball team. But Sam has made a smooth adjustment to Midway, and has thrived in the baseball program.

"It's always hard to leave your friends, but I've made some new ones here," Sam said. "I knew I was getting into a great baseball program here at Midway, and the weather is a lot better than it was in Colorado. I've learned a lot from playing here, and it's good to be close to Shaver because he's a great role model. I hope I can play Division I baseball like him."

Sam has had a solid junior year for the Panthers, hitting .376 with three homers and 26 RBIs while going 3-0 as a pitcher. Like older brother Shaver, he's starting at third base and has done a superb job fielding grounders for the Panthers, who are playing in the Class 4A playoffs.

"He's really fit in with the rest of the guys and is a big plus in our lineup because he can switch hit," Midway coach Tom Gladney said. "He's also done a real good job at third base."

Yumi Hansen, a nurse at Providence Health Center, said the family prayed about whether to move from Colorado before taking the plunge.

"It's not easy to pick up and leave, but it's been a good move," Yumi said. "Our family bond is stronger than ever."

With his wrestling days behind him, Stan is content to sit in the stands and watch his sons play baseball. Driving across town is a lot easier than driving across a couple of states, and no one appreciates it more than Shaver.

"Even when my dad was wrestling, he was always there to support us," Shaver said. "He was that crazy cowboy wrestler on TV, but he's such a nice guy in real life. It's a dream come true to look up into the stands and see my parents here."

Tags: Stan Hansen, Andre the Giant