Harley Race
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Harley Leland Race (born April 11, 1943 in Quitman, Missouri), is an American professional wrestler and promoter. During his career as a wrestler, he amassed eight National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Heavyweight Championship reigns at a time when wrestlers rarely repeated as champion, and worked for all of the major wrestling promotions, including the NWA, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). His ring skill, legitimate toughness, and classic matches with the icons of pro wrestling make him a legend in the business.
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Career
Early career
Race was an early fan of pro wrestling, watching programming from the nearby Chicago territory on the DuMont Network. He began training as a pro wrestler as a teen under former world champions Stanislaus and Wladek Zbysko, who operated a farm in his native Missouri. At age 15, while in high school, an altercation with another classmate led to the principal kneeing Race in the back of the head as he tried to break up the fight. Enraged, Race attacked him, resulting in his expulsion. Already 6'2" and 225 pounds, Race decided to get his start in pro wrestling.
Race was recruited by St. Joseph wrestling promoter Gust Karras, who hired Race to do odd jobs for his promotion. Eventually, Race started wrestling on some of his shows, and some of Karras' veteran wrestlers helped further Race's training. At the age of 18, he moved to Nashville and began wrestling under the alias of "Jack Long", forming a tag team with "brother" John Long. The duo quickly captured the Southern Tag Team Championship. Race was seen as a rising star in the business with a bright future, until a car accident left Race temporarily paralyzed. Although he recovered from his paralysis, doctors told him that he might never walk again, and his wrestling career was over. Undaunted, Race endured grueling physical therapy for several months and made a full recovery. He returned to the ring in 1964, wrestling for the Funks' Amarillo, Texas territory. This time, he wrestled under his own name, after his father told him that he shouldn't work to make anyone else's name famous. Race never used a stage name again.
In Amarillo, Race met fellow up-and-coming wrestler Larry Hennig (later Larry "The Axe" Hennig and father of Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig). The two formed a tag team and moved to the American Wrestling Association.
AWA career
In the AWA, Race and Hennig branded themselves as "Handsome" Harley Race and "Pretty Boy" Larry Hennig, a cocky heel tag team with a talent for breaking the rules to win matches. They quickly become top contenders, and in January, 1965, they defeated the legendary tandem of Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher to capture the AWA Tag Team Championship. Race and Hennig continued to feud with the Bruiser and Crusher and other top teams for the next several years, amassing five title reigns. Verne Gagne, in particular, was a hated rival of the team, and recruited many different partners to try to defeat Race and Hennig during their AWA run.
Despite his tag team success, Race left the AWA after several years at the top of the division to pursue a singles career in the NWA.
NWA singles career
Race jumped from territory to territory in the early 70's, renewing his rivalry with Terry Funk in Amarillo and winning a regional title. He was seen as a gifted territorial wrester, not quite ready for the worldwide spotlight, until 1973.
In 1973, Race faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk, Jr. in Kansas City, Missouri. Race emerged from the battle as the new World Champion in a stunning upset, a match Race considers the best of his career. Though Race held the title for only a few months, losing it to Jack Brisco in Houston, Texas in July, he became a worldwide superstar and perennial championship contender.
Race was determined to evetually regain the World Championship, often moving between territories and collecting several regional titles, including 8 Central States Titles, 7 Missouri Titles, the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Title (he was the first holder of this title ever), the Georgia Heavyweight Championship, and the Stampede North American Title. This kept Race in contention for the World Championship, and Race vowed that he would only need one chance against the champion to regain it.
Race finally got his wish in 1977, facing familiar rival Terry Funk, who had become the champion since their previous encounters, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Race won the title by submission with the Indian Deathlock, a rarely-used submission move but one that put great pressure on Funk's injured leg. The NWA Champion once again, Race this time established his dominance, defending the title up to six times a week and holding it for four years (excluding extremely short reigns by Tommy Rich, Dusty Rhodes, and Giant Baba). At the time, the NWA, AWA and WWF were on good terms, and Race engaged in title vs. title matches with WWF Champions "Superstar" Billy Graham and Bob Backlund, as well as AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel. Race toured extensively all over the country and the world, including many stints in Japan, where he was already well-known from his visits with Larry Hennig.
Race finally lost the title to Dusty Rhodes in 1981, and despite many attempts, could not regain it from the popular fan favorite. Rhodes lost the title to up-and-coming star Ric Flair, though, and Race was able to defeat Flair in St. Louis in 1983 for his seventh reign as champion, breaking the record previously held by Lou Thesz. What followed was one of the classic angles of the 80's, which led to the first-ever NWA Starrcade event.
Determined not to lose the title again, Race offered a $25,000 bounty to anyone who could eliminate Flair from the NWA. Bob Orton, Jr. and Dick Slater attacked Flair, inflicting what appeared to be a career-ending neck injury, and collecting the bounty from Race after Flair announced his retirement. However, Flair's retirement was a ruse, and he eventually returned to action, much to Race's surprise. NWA officials set up a championship rematch, to be titled "NWA Starrcade: A Flair for the Gold." The match was to be held in Flair's backyard, Greensboro, North Carolina, which enraged Race. Race lost the title to Flair in the bloody and memorable Starrcade cage match in November, 1983. He would regain the NWA title for a quickie two-day reign in New Zealand in 1984 (a change not recognized by the NWA in the US until 1999, making Race an eight-time champion), but his loss to Flair at Starrcade was largely seen as the torch-passing from Race to Flair, who would go on to an unparalleled 16 reigns as World Heavyweight Champion and largely credits Race for igniting his legendary career.
Earlier in his career, Race became involved in the ownership side of wrestling, buying a portion of the Kansas City and later St. Louis territories. St. Louis was a stronghold of the NWA, and around this time in 1984, WWF owner Vincent K. McMahon began his invasion of NWA territories, including St. Louis, in his ambition to build a truly national wrestling promotion. Race was enraged, famously confronting Hulk Hogan and attempting to burn down a WWF ring in Kansas City. Race lost over $500,000 as an owner of the St. Louis territory, and despite his championship years being at an end and wishing to retire from active competition, was forced to rely on continuing to wrestle to make a living. He continued to travel in the US and abroad, and in an ironic turn, signed with McMahon's WWF in 1986.
WWF career
Race entered the WWF managed by longtime friend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, bleaching his hair blond and billing himself again as "Handsome" Harley Race. After winning the 1986 King of the Ring tournament, however, he referred to himself as "King" Harley Race, coming to the ring in a royal crown and cape. He participated in a notable feud with the Junkyard Dog, culminating in a match at the WrestleMania III mega-event in front of 93,000+ fans at the Pontiac Silverdome. While Race never won the WWF Championship (at the time dominated by Hulk Hogan), his career was notable enough to earn him an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. He left the WWF in 1989 due to an injury, which was the end of his in-ring career. After recovering, he joined WCW as a manager a few years later.
WCW career
Race excelled as a manager as he had as a wrestler, immediately leading Lex Luger to the WCW World Championship. Later, he led Vader to win the title as well. The wily veteran was popular among the young WCW talent, and developed close friendships with Mick Foley and Steve Austin, among others. However, as his early wrestling career had been nearly derailed due to a car accident, another car accident forced Race out of the wrestling business altogether (and also from providing support to Vader who was then locked in a feud with Hulk Hogan over the WCW World title). Race required hip replacement surgery, which, along with injuries accumulated after years in the ring, prevented him from even being a manager.
Retirement and World League Wrestling
Race spent several years away from the business, which was very difficult for Race as it had always been his life. In 1999 he started World League Wrestling, an independent promotion which runs shows near Race's hometown of Kansas City. A year later, he started Harley Race's Wrestling Academy, which seeks to train up-and-coming wrestlers who will benefit from Race's unique experience and prespective on the wrestling business. Race's events are family oriented, and usually raise funds for local charities. As well as featuring his students, legends like Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Bret Hart, and even Mitsuharu Misawa make guest appearances. WLW has a working agreement with Misawa's Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Harley is also famous for his barbeques, to which he invites current and former wrestlers and friends. He and his wife, BJ, live in Eldon, Missouri.
Harley's autobiography, King of the Ring: the Harley Race Story (ISBN 1582618186), became available in 2004.
Championships and accomplishments
National Wrestling Alliance
- 8-Time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA North American Tag Team Champion (with Roger Kirby)
- 7-Time NWA Missouri Heavyweight Champion
- 8-Time NWA Central States Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA Central States Tag Team Champion (with Roger Kirby)
- 1-Time NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion
- 3-Time NWA Florida Tag Team Champion (with Roger Kirby twice and Bob Roop once)
- 1-Time NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (with Buddy Colt)
American Wrestling Association
- 3-Time AWA World Tag Team Champion (with Larry Hennig)
All Japan Pro Wrestling
- 1-Time AJPW United National Champion
- 1-Time PWF Heavyweight Champion
Other Titles
- 1-Time WWC Caribbean Champion
- 1-Time Stampede Wrestling North American Champion
- 1-Time WWA Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time NWA Mid-American Heavyweight Champion
Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked Race # 8 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Race won two PWI Wrestler of the Year Awards: 1979 and 1983. He was also involved in three PWI Match of the Year Awards. They were in 1973 (vs. Dory Funk, Jr.), 1979 (vs. Dusty Rhodes) and 1983 (vs. Ric Flair).
| NWA World Heavyweight Championship | ||
| Preceded by: Dory Funk, Jr. |
First reign | Followed by: Jack Brisco |
| Preceded by: Terry Funk |
Second reign | Followed by: Dusty Rhodes |
| Preceded by: Dusty Rhodes |
Third reign | Followed by: Giant Baba |
| Preceded by: Giant Baba |
Fourth reign | Followed by: Giant Baba |
| Preceded by: Giant Baba |
Fifth reign | Followed by: Tommy Rich |
| Preceded by: Tommy Rich |
Sixth reign | Followed by: Dusty Rhodes |
| Preceded by: Ric Flair |
Seventh reign | Followed by: Ric Flair |
| Preceded by: Ric Flair |
Eighth reign | Followed by: Ric Flair |
| King of the Ring winners | ||
| Preceded by: Don Muraco |
First Time | Followed by: Randy Savage |
