15.08.2007, 08:26
Tampa Tribune
Tampa, Florida
18 June 1972
Jim Selman
Fatherly Interference
it's going to become awfully tempting in the eddie and mike graham father-son relationship for one not to interfere in what the other is doing.
not even when one is locked in mortal combat and suffering excruiating pain can there be interference, except at the risk of defeat by disqualification.
forty-two year old eddie graham, a veteran of 25 years in professional wrestling, and 20 year old mike are about to launch a career as father-son tag team partners.
it will be a lifetime dream come true for eddie graham.
mike? well as a 3 year old toddler he began hanging around the gyms where his dad trained and wrestled and it was about all he ever knew. as impossible as it seemed, he, too, began to hope hemight someday team with his dad in the ring.
after all, not many men achieve such a relationship in sports or public life.
in the last 20 years, there have been only five father-son wrestling teams of note. of these, only two won sufficient fame to be generally recognized by the average sports fan.
that would be leo and gino garibaldi of california, who were fighting in the days when old channel 38 provided our first televised wrestling, and then dory funk sr., and his two boys, world heavyweight champion dory jr. and terry of texas.
lesser knowns are len and chip rossi of tennessee, buddy, ron, and robert fuller (buddy has succeeded eddie graham as the wrestling matchmaker in florida so graham can wrestle full-time again), and les, jack, and roy welch.
debuts in garden
mike graham is like a young bull. he won the state aau championship three times as well as the junior olympics title. a year ago last november in tallahassee he bench pressed 430 pounds to set a state record in his 198 pound weight class.
he has been wrestling professionally about a month, has become involved in one of those characteristic wrestling fueds with bobby shane and the first of july will make his debut in madison square garden.
eddie graham is not certain whether that appearance will be a tag team venture or whether mike will go as a siingle. in the latter case, eddie graham also will appear on the card as a single.
how do the grahams view this unusual relationship?
well, daddy graham is worried about the boy.
"with mike just starting, i hope he isn't overmatched and gets hurt or something," the veteran wrestler said.
"it's a strange thing, really. of course, i'm really proud that he has the desire to go along with the life i have lived. at the same time just because he weighs 220 pounds and is strong, he's still a little boy to me and i worry about him.
"when i was 19 i had my jaw broken. my leg was broken when i was 21.
"so, naturally, you kinda live in a little bit of terror that these things might happen. but i guess it is part of life. you gotta grow up sometime.
"i feel, too, like all parents, that he's over the hump as far as drugs and things are concerned. i'm sure he came in contact with that. but i am proud that he never fooled with it. i would like to think that it was our association, that he trusted us and thought enough of us to take our advice.
" there re so many pitfalls that young people get into today. they wreck their lives before they really get a chance."
almost blinded
wrestling has been good to edie graham, although it has severely crippled him and, for a while, almost blind.
in 1963, the great malenko salmmed him backwards across his knee and eddie suffered a rotation of the lumbar which sidelined him for a year.
some orthopedic people told him he was through wrestling. he was not.
in 1968, a heavy window in the fort hesterly dressing room somehow became unattached, fell and struck graham on the head as he was dressing for a match. he had to have about 100 stitches taken on his skull. worse than that, graham, who is blind in the left eye, almost lost the sight of his right eye as the retina was torn. he had to have surgery in houston to save it. again, he was told he was through as a wrestler.
but in september of 1970, eddie graham wrestled again in the gator bowl in acksonville.
he's held the southern heavyweight title five times and thre times was co-holder of the world tag team championship.
in 1964 he defeated freddie blassie in atlanta. blassie was recognized as heavyweight champion by several states, but not the national wrestling alliance. graham did not claim the title.
he did fight champions lou thesz and gene kiniski in 1 hour no decisions.
graham took over l & g promotions in tampa from cowboy luttrall, whose health was failing. promotions in the state by the two men have provided something like $50,000 in percentages for the florida sheriff's boys ranch in live oak and a special benefit show by the wrestlers in live oak turned over another $3,700 to the ranch. graham himself donated his entire purse of $1,013 from a fight with dick murdoch recently to the tampa boys' club. he once had a boys' camp in northwest hillsborough county and let many underprivileged kids get the feel of the good life there.
graham has been a god, philanthropic citizen. he's had many successes and big moments.
but to have his own kid team with him? that's something else.
"it's knd of a strange feeling," said the boy, mike. "when he's out there and i know the hold hurts, he hurts. but i gotta get used to it and can't interfere to the point where we get disqualified.
"it is inbelievable for me to team with him.
"but i would imagine it probably is even more so for him."
Tampa, Florida
18 June 1972
Jim Selman
Fatherly Interference
it's going to become awfully tempting in the eddie and mike graham father-son relationship for one not to interfere in what the other is doing.
not even when one is locked in mortal combat and suffering excruiating pain can there be interference, except at the risk of defeat by disqualification.
forty-two year old eddie graham, a veteran of 25 years in professional wrestling, and 20 year old mike are about to launch a career as father-son tag team partners.
it will be a lifetime dream come true for eddie graham.
mike? well as a 3 year old toddler he began hanging around the gyms where his dad trained and wrestled and it was about all he ever knew. as impossible as it seemed, he, too, began to hope hemight someday team with his dad in the ring.
after all, not many men achieve such a relationship in sports or public life.
in the last 20 years, there have been only five father-son wrestling teams of note. of these, only two won sufficient fame to be generally recognized by the average sports fan.
that would be leo and gino garibaldi of california, who were fighting in the days when old channel 38 provided our first televised wrestling, and then dory funk sr., and his two boys, world heavyweight champion dory jr. and terry of texas.
lesser knowns are len and chip rossi of tennessee, buddy, ron, and robert fuller (buddy has succeeded eddie graham as the wrestling matchmaker in florida so graham can wrestle full-time again), and les, jack, and roy welch.
debuts in garden
mike graham is like a young bull. he won the state aau championship three times as well as the junior olympics title. a year ago last november in tallahassee he bench pressed 430 pounds to set a state record in his 198 pound weight class.
he has been wrestling professionally about a month, has become involved in one of those characteristic wrestling fueds with bobby shane and the first of july will make his debut in madison square garden.
eddie graham is not certain whether that appearance will be a tag team venture or whether mike will go as a siingle. in the latter case, eddie graham also will appear on the card as a single.
how do the grahams view this unusual relationship?
well, daddy graham is worried about the boy.
"with mike just starting, i hope he isn't overmatched and gets hurt or something," the veteran wrestler said.
"it's a strange thing, really. of course, i'm really proud that he has the desire to go along with the life i have lived. at the same time just because he weighs 220 pounds and is strong, he's still a little boy to me and i worry about him.
"when i was 19 i had my jaw broken. my leg was broken when i was 21.
"so, naturally, you kinda live in a little bit of terror that these things might happen. but i guess it is part of life. you gotta grow up sometime.
"i feel, too, like all parents, that he's over the hump as far as drugs and things are concerned. i'm sure he came in contact with that. but i am proud that he never fooled with it. i would like to think that it was our association, that he trusted us and thought enough of us to take our advice.
" there re so many pitfalls that young people get into today. they wreck their lives before they really get a chance."
almost blinded
wrestling has been good to edie graham, although it has severely crippled him and, for a while, almost blind.
in 1963, the great malenko salmmed him backwards across his knee and eddie suffered a rotation of the lumbar which sidelined him for a year.
some orthopedic people told him he was through wrestling. he was not.
in 1968, a heavy window in the fort hesterly dressing room somehow became unattached, fell and struck graham on the head as he was dressing for a match. he had to have about 100 stitches taken on his skull. worse than that, graham, who is blind in the left eye, almost lost the sight of his right eye as the retina was torn. he had to have surgery in houston to save it. again, he was told he was through as a wrestler.
but in september of 1970, eddie graham wrestled again in the gator bowl in acksonville.
he's held the southern heavyweight title five times and thre times was co-holder of the world tag team championship.
in 1964 he defeated freddie blassie in atlanta. blassie was recognized as heavyweight champion by several states, but not the national wrestling alliance. graham did not claim the title.
he did fight champions lou thesz and gene kiniski in 1 hour no decisions.
graham took over l & g promotions in tampa from cowboy luttrall, whose health was failing. promotions in the state by the two men have provided something like $50,000 in percentages for the florida sheriff's boys ranch in live oak and a special benefit show by the wrestlers in live oak turned over another $3,700 to the ranch. graham himself donated his entire purse of $1,013 from a fight with dick murdoch recently to the tampa boys' club. he once had a boys' camp in northwest hillsborough county and let many underprivileged kids get the feel of the good life there.
graham has been a god, philanthropic citizen. he's had many successes and big moments.
but to have his own kid team with him? that's something else.
"it's knd of a strange feeling," said the boy, mike. "when he's out there and i know the hold hurts, he hurts. but i gotta get used to it and can't interfere to the point where we get disqualified.
"it is inbelievable for me to team with him.
"but i would imagine it probably is even more so for him."