The Greatest Wrestler on God's Green Earth

In professional wrestling, there are many who could be considered the "Greatest Of All Time" (G.O.A.T.). Some would say Ric Flair, others would point towards the Undertaker. Still others would say Bret Hart, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, and even Hulk Hogan. But for pure honesty in terms of work rate, longevity, and impact, the list narrows and becomes centered on very specific names. Flair pops up again, but soon names such as Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, Jr and his brother Terry, Verne Gagne, and Nick Bockwinkle replace most of the previously mentioned. But the one that no one can dispute in any legitimate argument is that of Harley Race, who very well might be the G.O.A.T. for all intents and purposes. 

The Missouri born and billed Race had a long career, competing in four different decades (from the territorial days of the 1960s all the way to the global infrastructure built by the WWF in the 1980s, ending his full time career with that company) and put in the work between most of the then-major wrestling companies in North America. Between AWA, WWF, NWA, and finally WCW Race won championships from one end of the country to the other, in many of the major territories and had battles with many names, including Hall of Fame legends like Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Greg Valentine, Chief Jay Strongbow, Jack Brisco, Gerald Brisco, Dick Slater and many, many more. He broke Lou Thesz's record of NWA World Heavyweight title wins with seven (an eighth was later recognized in the late 1990s) and was also the inaugural United States Champion, beating NWA stalwart Johnny Weaver in a tournament final for the new belt (a lineage that continues on to this day in the WWE). By the time he got to the World Wrestling Federation in 1986, Race was already in a state that could be labeled as "past-it" thanks to the years being on top had wrought on his body. But, McMahon and company, who didn't always acknowledge the legacy of most of their acquisitions, preferring to downplay them, felt it appropriate to crown Race as the inaugural winner of the King of the Ring tournament, giving the wrestler a high caliber of prestige to a new audience while Race found himself in top feuds with everyone from Hulk Hogan, Junkyard Dog, and even an incoming Ultimate Warrior towards the end of his career.  

Race wasn't all just championship wins. As a wrestler, he was the first to say that he was no technical wonder like Verne Gagne or Jack Brisco or even Terry Funk. He was purely and simply a ground and pound guy, who would work every body part over until his opponent couldn't go on anymore. Race set the template for a what a long-running heel champion would be. Unlike Ric Flair, who utilized his friendships with the Four Horsemen to not lose his belt, Race--a legit tough guy who once beat up a member of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club--would just as soon put out a hit to take an opponent out or do the job himself (similar to when he offered $25,000 to any man to take Flair out of wrestling ahead of their epic confrontation at Starrcade in 1983). Stories of his toughness abound, and for further proof look up any of his matches in Japan, where squaring off against the likes of Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta in the ultra-stiff All-Japan Pro Wrestling you almost had to be. 

Race has been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the NWA Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, an accolade that he shares with just six other men and not one easily obtained (except for the WWE, induction into the other halls of fame are based upon a vote by an individual's peers and a Board of Governors). Race largely retired in 1991 and continued on for a while as a manager in WCW, before finally retiring completely following a sever car accident in 1995 that caused him to have hip replacement surgery. These days, Race exists in near constant pain, getting around in a motorized walker as one of the old-timers of a by-gone day. But you wouldn't really know it unless you looked real hard. Wrestling was all Race wanted to do his entire life and while not enjoying the cozy retirement of some of the young millionaires who came after his day, he gives back thanks to his wrestling training school, where he imparts the fifty years in the business he's accumulated to generations who seek him out.