Harley Race, NWA Champion Pro Wrestler, Dies at 76

Harley Race, Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee and 8-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, died of lung cancer on Thursday at the age of 76, according to WWE and a statement from his Twitter page. “Today at 12:50, we lost the man that fought up until the very last of his existence. More information will be released soon, but just know that he loved pro-wrestling and the fans that loved him,” read a statement from Race’s reps. Born in Missouri in 1943, Race overcame polio as a child and began training as a wrestler under the tutelage of famed champion brothers Stanislaus and Wladek Zbysko. His early career was filled with many obstacles, including his expulsion from the Zbyskos’ school after a fight with a student and a car accident that nearly led to his leg being amputated and required months of physical therapy to recover. Also Read: Russi Taylor, Voice of 'Minnie Mouse' for 3 Decades, Dies at 75 In spite of this, Race overcame the odds and got his big break with the American Wrestling Association in 1965, becoming the promotion’s tag team champion with Larry Hennig, father of future WWE wrestler Curt Hennig. Five years later, he...