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Ernie Ladd: 1939-2007. Jesus Loves You...

Posted: Mar 12th 2007 By: CMBurnham

I must admit that I have been thinking a lot of "The Big Cat"
lately...

Over the period of the last few years, I've had an opportunity to
meet and get to know some of wrestling's greatest heroes and
villains. In my childhood, one of the biggest, meanest wrestling
heels was Ernie Ladd. I loved his intimidating promos, and he was
just so huge, a real giant of a man.

I had never met or spoken with Ernie Ladd until about this time last
year, as I was preparing for our Capitol Wrestling Legends Fanfest
near Washington, DC. "The Big Cat" answered my first phone call with
"Jesus Loves You," which I'd later discover was his standard
telephone greeting instead of "Hello." In my phone conversations that
followed, I would have never known that he was losing his battle with
cancer. He was always very positive and upbeat.

On a weekend with mass chaos at the airports and some folks looking
for any excuse possible not to travel, Mr. Ladd made it his mission
to make his way to Rockville, Maryland. Travelling alone, his
mobility impaired, through all the havoc at the airports, Mr. Ladd
made it to fanfest and, like most of the others signed autographs for
nearly five hours on Sunday afternoon. We had dinner that evening and
breakfast the next morning. Me, my friend Roy, Ernie Ladd and Tony
Atlas all went together to the Baltimore airport the next morning.
Tony was a big help to "The Big Cat." Both had tremendous respect for
each other. Those are times creating memories I will treasure for a
lifetime.

In retrospect, I knew this had been a tremendous challenge for "The
Big Cat." I have no doubt that if I were in a similar physical
condition, I would've likely found an excuse to stay at home. But,
Ernie Ladd didn't. He came to fanfest and, I believe, enjoyed every
minute of it. I did too. I hadn't spoken to Mr. Ladd since last Fall,
but one of the main reasons I was looking forward to next month's fan
convention in New Jersey was the opportunity to see Mr. Ladd again.
And buy his dinner. He liked to eat. And eat a lot. I'll miss Ernie
Ladd.

And I'll always remember our phone conversations. Ernie Ladd, Jesus loves you!

Please make plans now to be with us for 3 HUGE DAYS celebrating wrestling tradition!

This will make a great summer vacation!

NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 10-12, 2007
Hilton University Place Hotel; Charlotte, North Carolina