30.08.2007, 08:52
Baltimore Sun
Baltimore, Maryland
20 June 1972
Alan Goldstein
ladd asks respect for pro wrestlers
it's time for the sports media and the general public to stop looking down their noses at professional wrestlers and regarding them as a bunch of feeble-mided refugees from the circus sideshow doing somersaults to the tune of a greedy promoter.
nothing could be further from the truth, claims ernie ladd, the 6-9, 345 pound amn mountain who earned $115,000 on the grunt and groan circuit last year.
ladd, the former celebrated tackle for the san diego chargers and houston oilers, was in town yesterday to help promote his championship match with titleholder pedro morales at the civic center tomorrow night.
it seems to the casual follower that every wrestling bout is for some championship or other and it always ends with the challenger being disqualified for tossing the champion into the lap of the pretty blonde in the third row.
but this is the typical cynicism of non-believer, says ladd, who supports his raguments with more tahn his formidable frame.
"everybody who doesn't know any better knocks wrestling," he said. "but there were 30 or 40 wrestlers last year who earned between $40,000-$50,000. only about four or five boxers make that kind of meney. you see a lot of old boxers shining shoes, but you don't see any old wrestlers, do you.
in reply to the old charges that wrestling matches are about as honest as the roller games and horse racing, if you believe "mr. byrne", ladd contends that you can only fool the public for so long.
a wise guy
"i remember the story or pimo carnera, the ex-heavyweight champion, who became a wrestler," said ladd. "cernera went on a wrestling tour of italy. the first time he visited each city, he drew terrific crowds because of his name. but they saw he didn't know the first thing about wrestling. he was a triple-threat --stumble, fumble, and fall. the next time primo came to town he couldn't draw flies."
ladd, who contends he signed a richer contract with the houston oilers (it reportedly extends through 1989) than joe namath received from the new york jets, also thought wrestling would be mere child's play compared to the violent world of pro football.
"i remember my first wrestling match," he said. "i was a real wise guy. a super football player. they put me in with some guy who weighed only 225. well, he turned me every which way, but loose. he rubbed my nose in the mat for 25 or 30 minutes."
it convinced the giant ladd that he needed more than his substantial bulk to survive on the mat circuit. he "took his lumps for three years," but now is considered one of the more skilled wrestlers on the tour and one of the top draws.
asked why he gave up his lucrative football career, ernie said, "football was good to me, but i paid my debt to football. i found out in football that i wasn't a complete man. i could't spend much time with my family, and there were other things in life.
"in football, a coach could call me up at four in the morning and i'd have to lsiten to him. but, in wrestling, i can call my own shots. i don't have to wrestle if i don't feel like it. i take three months off every year. for me, football was just a stepping stone."
but ladd will never knock his old profession.
greats don't knock
"if you check the record, the guys like dave meggyesy, who knocked football, never really amounted to much," he said. "jim brown never knocked it. neither did the greats like alan ameche and raymond berry."
someone asked ladd the age-old question of whether an outstanding boxer could beat a topnotch wrestler.
"no way," he said. " he'd have to knock him out with his first punch or it would be all over in a matter of minutes."
ladd believes he could have been a heavyweight contender if he had concentrated on boxing instead of wrestling.
he has an opportunity durng football days in san diego when he spent a lot of time in the company of former light-heavyweight king archie moore.
"he tried to get me to box, but i was happy just playing him billiards," ernie laughed, and the whole room shook.
Baltimore, Maryland
20 June 1972
Alan Goldstein
ladd asks respect for pro wrestlers
it's time for the sports media and the general public to stop looking down their noses at professional wrestlers and regarding them as a bunch of feeble-mided refugees from the circus sideshow doing somersaults to the tune of a greedy promoter.
nothing could be further from the truth, claims ernie ladd, the 6-9, 345 pound amn mountain who earned $115,000 on the grunt and groan circuit last year.
ladd, the former celebrated tackle for the san diego chargers and houston oilers, was in town yesterday to help promote his championship match with titleholder pedro morales at the civic center tomorrow night.
it seems to the casual follower that every wrestling bout is for some championship or other and it always ends with the challenger being disqualified for tossing the champion into the lap of the pretty blonde in the third row.
but this is the typical cynicism of non-believer, says ladd, who supports his raguments with more tahn his formidable frame.
"everybody who doesn't know any better knocks wrestling," he said. "but there were 30 or 40 wrestlers last year who earned between $40,000-$50,000. only about four or five boxers make that kind of meney. you see a lot of old boxers shining shoes, but you don't see any old wrestlers, do you.
in reply to the old charges that wrestling matches are about as honest as the roller games and horse racing, if you believe "mr. byrne", ladd contends that you can only fool the public for so long.
a wise guy
"i remember the story or pimo carnera, the ex-heavyweight champion, who became a wrestler," said ladd. "cernera went on a wrestling tour of italy. the first time he visited each city, he drew terrific crowds because of his name. but they saw he didn't know the first thing about wrestling. he was a triple-threat --stumble, fumble, and fall. the next time primo came to town he couldn't draw flies."
ladd, who contends he signed a richer contract with the houston oilers (it reportedly extends through 1989) than joe namath received from the new york jets, also thought wrestling would be mere child's play compared to the violent world of pro football.
"i remember my first wrestling match," he said. "i was a real wise guy. a super football player. they put me in with some guy who weighed only 225. well, he turned me every which way, but loose. he rubbed my nose in the mat for 25 or 30 minutes."
it convinced the giant ladd that he needed more than his substantial bulk to survive on the mat circuit. he "took his lumps for three years," but now is considered one of the more skilled wrestlers on the tour and one of the top draws.
asked why he gave up his lucrative football career, ernie said, "football was good to me, but i paid my debt to football. i found out in football that i wasn't a complete man. i could't spend much time with my family, and there were other things in life.
"in football, a coach could call me up at four in the morning and i'd have to lsiten to him. but, in wrestling, i can call my own shots. i don't have to wrestle if i don't feel like it. i take three months off every year. for me, football was just a stepping stone."
but ladd will never knock his old profession.
greats don't knock
"if you check the record, the guys like dave meggyesy, who knocked football, never really amounted to much," he said. "jim brown never knocked it. neither did the greats like alan ameche and raymond berry."
someone asked ladd the age-old question of whether an outstanding boxer could beat a topnotch wrestler.
"no way," he said. " he'd have to knock him out with his first punch or it would be all over in a matter of minutes."
ladd believes he could have been a heavyweight contender if he had concentrated on boxing instead of wrestling.
he has an opportunity durng football days in san diego when he spent a lot of time in the company of former light-heavyweight king archie moore.
"he tried to get me to box, but i was happy just playing him billiards," ernie laughed, and the whole room shook.