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Wrestling Hall of Fame: "Dr. Death" Escapes Deadly Disease

Posted: Jul 15th 2007 By: CMBurnham

His professional ring name was "Dr. Death."

It was the kind of moniker most professional wrestlers hope to obtain. It had flair. It was intimidating and it was fun for the fans.

The nickname took on a different meaning for Steve Williams four years ago.

Make no mistake, Williams feels like he cheated death in 2003 and is thankful for every day he has been given.

Williams, a former Oklahoma wrestling and football star who later went on to become a highly successful professional wrestling star, is one of five wrestlers to be honored today at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum's George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He is joining Ghulam Muhammad (The Great Gama), Red Bastien, Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig and Dale Lewis in the Class of 2007.

"I tell you what, I'm really blessed," said Williams who participated in the Celebrity Golf Tournament on Friday at Gates Park. "A lot of people don't know that I was stricken with throat cancer in September of 2003. They gave me only six months to live.

"Now, I'm 47 and three years cancer free. And to be inducted into this Hall of Fame (today), I give all the glory to God for being alive."

Under beautiful conditions Friday, Williams enjoyed a round of golf with his son, as he was part of 22 different celebrities to partake in the tournament.

Amongst the other celebrities were former Waterloo greats Don Perkins, Rich Folkers and Dan Gable, along with Chuck Yagla, Mike Reilly, Sherwyn Thorson, Johnny Orr, Jim Duschen, Bill Smith, Ed Banach and Dan Hodge.

"What a great day. I feel so blessed to be here with some of the great hall of famers like Danny Hodge and Dan Gable and some of the other greats," Williams said. "My mom and brother are coming in (Friday) and my son is already here. I'm probably going to be 20 feet off the ground (today) during the ceremonies with my family here and all these other great athletes who are going to be honored. It is going to be one great day with great emotions."

Museum founder and director Mike Chapman said he couldn't have asked for a better day for his eighth annual tournament, which is a primary fund-raiser for the Gable Wrestling Institute and Museum.

"I'm delighted with the turnout, delighted with the weather, delighted with the course, and most of all, I'm delighted with how everybody is having such a great time," Chapman said. "And what I think is really neat is we have arguably the greatest football player in the history of Waterloo, arguably the greatest baseball player in the history of Waterloo and arguably the greatest wrestler in the history of Waterloo.

"We wanted to do something really special for Waterloo, and it's just been fantastic."

For much of the day, Gable held court between the No. 1 and No. 10 tees, while Hodge, the former three-time Oklahoma national champion, crippled many golfers hands with his legendary grip.

"It's a pretty impressive number of great athletes who have come here in support of the museum," Gable said. "I just want to see this museum succeed. It's real critical for our sport to have the museum succeed. I feel the guys running the show are doing something very positive."

"The museum is first class and this golf event not only brings back many great wrestlers, but great athletes for a great cause," added former Hawkeye great Ed Banach. "It's been a fun time and a wonderful event."

Bios for Hall of Fame inductees

RED BASTIEN

Bastien has a long and varied background in professional wrestling. He began his storied career as a carnival wrestler taking on all comers. He soon moved into the professional ranks and became a major attraction around the world, winning various singles and tag-team championships. Bastien has been president of the CAC (Cauliflower Alley Club) for many years and is the brother-in-law of Jim Morgan, another legendary carnival wrestler. He is also the uncle of Marty Morgan, former NCAA champion and the current head assistant coach at the University of Minnesota.

STEVE 'DR. DEATH' WILLIAMS

Williams was a huge pro wrestling star following an extensive and illustrious amateur career. He wrestled heavyweight for Oklahoma where his battles with Iowa's Lou Banach are legendary. He was a four-time all-American for the Sooners and played in four bowl games for the OU football team. He was an NCAA runner-up to Bruce Baumgartner. As a professional, Williams won wrestling titles all over the world, and was a huge star in Japan.

THE GREAT GAMA

Competing in more than 5,000 matches from 1901 to 1933, The Great Gama was never defeated. He was born Ghulum Mohammed to the wrestler Aziz in Amritsar, Punjab of Indian in 1882. Together Gama and his brother Imam Bux suffered one career loss. The trained Imam's four sons to create a 60-year Indian wrestling dynasty. Gama died in 1953 at the age of 71.

DALE LEWIS

Lewis was a two-time NCAA heavyweight champion for Oklahoma and a two-time Olympian. in 1956, six months after he had started wrestling, Lewis earned a spot on the United States Greco-Roman Olympic team that competed in Melbourne, Australia. Four years later he wrested at the Rome Olympics. Professionally, Lewis spent most of his career in Florida and won several regional titles. He wrestled professionally for two decads and died of leukemia on Aug. 30, 1997.

CURT HENNIG

Hennig is the son of 2006 Hall of Fame Inductee Larry Hennig. During the 1980s, Curt teamed up with his father as the tag-team partners in Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association. Wrestling as Mr. Perfect, Curt won many titles during his career as a professional wrestler. He was a two-time Intercontinental champion in the WWE as well as the United States heavyweight champion in the WCW. Hennig passed away Feb. 10, 2003.

Frank Gotch Award

TED DIBIASE

Known as "The Million Dollar Man", DiBiase has made a huge impact on professional wrestling inside and outside of the ring with his Christian ministries. He is the son of 2006 Hall of Fame inductee Mike DiBiase and Helen Hilde, who also wrestled. As the "Million Dollar Man", DiBiase wrestled in some of the biggest venues in the world, including Madison Square Garden, The Superdome, The Skydome, The Toyko Dome and Wembly Stadium. A neck injury ended his career in 1993 and he became a ringside manager and commentator.