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One of the biggest name pro wrestlers world wide, and a longtime local celebrity and Alameda resident, Pepper Gomez passed away at age 77 on Thursday. Pepper passed away at Kaiser Hospital and years back kidded about having to go to Kaiser so much while waiting years for a critical replacement kidney. He ribbed Kaiser’s trademark slogan “it should really be good people, good medicine, good luck.” Pepper retired in 1983 "give or take a year," he told me a few years back.
Pepper was a huge pro wrestling star worldwide main-eventing at the old Madison Square Garden, the top arenas in Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Australia, New Zealand and was regarded as Pro Wrestling’s Jackie Robinson in terms of other Latino athletes breaking the barrier and finally getting work in U.S. rings. "And I had one of wrestling's best bodies a long time before any of these guys picked up a steroid needle. I've never approved of those cheap shortcuts," Pepper said recently when he was training some future stars at the IRON dojo in nearby San Leandro.
Even though he held world championships everywhere, the Bay Area was where the always popular Gomez set his incredible string of SRO attendance records at the Cow Palace, Oakland Kaiser Center, Sacramento Auditorium, etc and usually against the likes of another great, late San Francisco legend; Ray Stevens. “Ray and I sold out the Cow Palace for many years and still hold the all time attendance and gate record there in 1963 which now would be against the law because they kept letting people in and we
turned away usually 5,000 more each time. The fire marshals wouldn’t allow that now. Our feud was so big with media coming from all over the world every couple weeks at the Cow Palace and all the other supporting arenas here, that promoter Roy Shire set up our big blow off match to be at Candlestick, me and Stevens. But Ray was such a jock, and this would happen twice; right before Candlestick started the advertising, Ray was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident. Candlestick management gave a conservative estimate that we would’ve drawn at least 40,000 if the weather was ok and Ray hadn’t gotten hurt. I had many favorite guys in the business--Stevens and Pat who were great pals, my best friend of course Heenan and his wife, John and Chris Tolos, Morris Seigel and Paul Boesch, Walt Kowalski, Lou Thesz-what a great star and man he was, Al Costello, Pat O'Connor, Wilbur Snyder and later my friends Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson. I was and still am very proud of that kid (The Rock) who used to sit on my lap," Pepper said last year.
Once Bay Area wrestling promoter Roy Shire began in 1961 with Friday night weekly tv shows at KTVU, Pepper was a main event fixture and often the promotion’s U.S. champion and World Tag Team champion. Various times in the 60’s he additionally held other world tag team titles with such partners as Pedro Morales, at the same time as being world champion in the Bay Area. Pepper defeated some of the industries biggest names during wrestling’s golden age including Stevens, The Sharpe Brothers, Classy Freddie Blassie, John Tolos, Kenji Shibuya, Mitsu Arakawa, Stan “the man” Stasiak, and another local legend who would become WWE’s main scriptwriter behind the scenes and the propelling promotional force behind Hayward-born Duane “The Rock” Johnson; S.F. wrestling great Pat Patterson. Pepper and Rocky were world tag champions on several occasions here and friends for over 40 years. Pepper was U.S. Champ many times, and tag champs more times than any other Roy Shire wrestler.
Pepper was being groomed in the early 60's for the biggest world title that was held by the top athletes like Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers and Strangler Lewis: the NWA world championship in the 60’s by Houston promoter Morris Seigel. “Bigotry and too much politics prevented me from getting that title, but I held so many other world singles and tag titles I never complained about it. It hurt Mr. Seigel that there was still prejudice in wrestling for Latino and Black wrestlers, not among fans but some of the
promoters who’d have to approve me being champ. I traveled the world many, many times and have so many beautiful friends and family in the Bay Area I wouldn’t trade for anything. This was my home here and when I retired from wrestling; I guess I was one the Wharf attractions at Scoma’s as a matre’d and manager. People and press would request me as a server, coming from all over the world. I would always feel good when the WWF invited me to come to one of their local shows and introduce me to the crowd, who’d give me a standing ovation. It felt good to know people still remember some of the things I did here from the 1950’s on.
Pepper’s strong selling point or gimmick worldwide was that he possessed a cast-iron stomach and during tv promos, he’d have wrestlers climb up 20 foot ladders and dive feet-first onto his stomach to prove his physical toughness. Sadly all the abuse he took selling his stomach promotionally may have contributed to his failing intestinal health recently. To help get a feud going, sometimes one of the bad guys would intentionally come off the ladder wrong, purposely aiming their feet or knee into Pepper’s throat ala a Stevens or Killer Kowalski which would cause riots around the world, Pepper was so loved and respected for his sportsmanlike manner. Pepper told Lano on his tv show in 1996, “they always called me ‘The Man with the Cast Iron Stomach and I prided myself on my physique. One time for a charity event for a Bay Area children's hospital, the owner of the Oakland A’s Charlie Finley duplicated right on TV, the stunt they’d do on me, driving a VW over my stomach. The stunt was duplicated in the AWA, WWA, Chicago Bob Luce TV, Australia, etc establishing Pepper's toughness and legend.
“Pepper was in an Alameda Hospital’s Intensive care unit for 30 days, with his fans constantly trying to sneak in. At times it was a zoo scene, and even hospital workers wanted to come visit him, he was the celebrity here,” widow Bonnie Gomez said. His kidney kept going out before he got the new one and it was years on various waiting lists before his life was saved about 3 years ago finally getting his new kidney. What caused the most recent hospitalization was all abdominally-related, diverticulitis, and he had 3 emergency surgeries on his colon which we weren’t sure he could survive. And he was packed with bacteria.”
" I’m going through with his wish to be cremated as tough as it is. Pepper loved all his fans worldwide, and was concerned they might worry about his health problems the last few years. He had people calling and writing all the time from around the world to this day,” Bonnie said.
He lost his twin sister Julie several years back, “and doctors said she would’ve been the ideal kidney replacement person for me but she died before my kidney failed,” Pepper said.
He is survived by his loving wife Bonnie Gomez of 27 years. They were totally devoted to one another “never a minute apart”, and Pepper helped take great care of her mother who lived at their home on Central Avenue as well as various kids and grandkids who were helping get his website going. His daughter Terry told me that Bonnie and Pepper were still like lovebirds to this day. He became comatose halfway thru his hospital stay on April 15th, but Bonnie and the family never left his side, never stopped praying and talking to him. For those fortunate enough to see Pepper and Bonnie together, it was truly one of wrestling's great love stories a bit like Vicky and Terry Funk or Carol and Bruno Sammartino.
His grandson spent all his free time helping Pepper on his website. “Sometimes we get several thousand hits a day from friends all over the world, so people still remember this Alameda boy,” Pepper told me last October. “I was always gifted, I think. My father wanted me to be a plumber, because he had been a plumber. But no, I was an athlete and won many body building awards and went to L.A. City College and tried to make something of myself. And when I saw wrestling and could use my body to sell myself as a pro wrestler, it was a natural place for me to work.” Born Joseph Serapio Palemino Gomez, Jr, Gomez was born and raised in Los Angeles. “I loved playing high school football, did some pole vaulting, gymnastics and track and field and that led to my years in body building and later getting into pro wrestling with this body. I was a regular at Muscle Beach in Venice and Santa Monica and made many bodybuilding magazine covers each time I won a competition. I was fiery about everything including my conditioning, so the other athletes kept calling me ‘hot pepper, hot pepper. This guys like hot pepper, so that’s where I got my nickname,” Pepper said.
Pepper had 5 blood kids (plus many others he helped take care of and support): 4 girls and one boy, and 4
grandkids (plus 2 more) in Los Angeles alone who’ve been models and actresses.
He passed away (May 6) after spending 30 days in Kaiser hospital's ICU (he hated Kaiser but was stuck with it), then was taken off life support Wednesday tragically on Cinco de Mayo (he was the first Latino wrestling star to break the prejudicial promotional barriers still existing in U.S. pro wrestling, sort of the Jackie Robinson of his day). “There were some promoters in the 60’s and 70’s who wouldn’t use me, but once they heard I main evented against Dick the Bruiser and Lou Thesz at Madison Square Garden and sold it out, I guess money was more important than being prejudiced for some of these promoters. After what I had to go through, all of that was a thing of the past later and the door was finally open for guys that followed me like Pedro Morales, Mil Mascaras and more great stars,” Pepper said.
Pepper's website
http://www.peppergomez.com/
credit: 1wrestling.com
