Ernie Ladd

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Ernie Ladd
The "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd
Date of birth	November 28, 1938
Place of birth	Rayville, Louisiana
Date of death	March 10, 2007 (aged 68)
Place of death	Franklin, Louisiana
Position(s)	Defensive tackle
College	Grambling
AFL Draft	1961 / Round 15
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	AFL All-Star 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1961-1965 1966-1967 1967-1968	AFL San Diego Chargers AFL Houston Oilers AFL Kansas City Chiefs

Ernest Ladd (November 28, 1938 - March 10, 2007), nicknamed "The Big Cat," was an American collegiate and professional football player and a professional wrestler.

1 Football career
2 Wrestling career
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Football career

The American Football League's San Diego Chargers selected the Grambling State University standout with their 15th pick in the 1961 draft. At 6'9" and 315 pounds, Ladd was arguably the biggest and strongest man in professional football during his era: 52-inch chest, 39-inch waist, 20-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, 20-inch calf, and size 18D shoes. (According to different sources, the tallest player in NFL history was Morris Stroud (1970 Chiefs) at 6'10", or Richard Sligh (1967 Raiders) at 7'0". The heaviest player in history was Aaron Gibson, at 410 pounds.) Ladd played in three AFL championship games, helping the Chargers win the American Football League title in 1963 with fellow teammate Earl Faison, both members of the original Fearsome Foursome.

Ladd spent the 1966 season playing for the Houston Oilers before moving in 1967 to the Kansas City Chiefs. There, with former Grambling teammate Buck Buchanan, he filled out what was probably the biggest defensive tackle tandem in history, and won another AFL title. Both Ladd and Buchanan are members of the Grambling State University Athletic Hall of Fame. (Another teammate was Bud Abell.)

Boston Patriots center Jon Morris said Ladd was so big, he blocked out the sun: "It was dark. I couldn’t see the linebackers. I couldn’t see the goalposts. It was like being locked in a closet." Ladd was an American Football League All-Star from 1962 through 1965.

[edit] Wrestling career

Ladd started wrestling in 1961. As a publicity stunt, some wrestlers in the San Diego area challenged Ladd to a private wrestling workout. Before long, Ladd was a part-time competitor in Los Angeles, during football's off-season. Ladd became a huge draw in short order. Ladd became one of wrestling's most hated heels during the 1970s, as well as one of the first Black wrestlers to portray a heel character. In addition to riling crowds with his arrogant and colorful demeanor during interviews, all without being portrayed with any stereotyping, Ladd also gained infamy through use of his controversial taped thumb, which Ladd claimed was from an old football injury. Often, when Ladd appeared to be in serious trouble during a match, he'd walk out of the arena and accept a countout loss. This practice has since become known as "pulling an Ernie Ladd" in some circles.

In 1968, Ladd debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), where he became a mainstay until 1980. Ladd was managed by The Grand Wizard of Wrestling for much of the 1970s, and provided WWWF Champions Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund some of the toughest challenges of their respective title reigns^{[citation needed]}. Known for his immense size and power, it was a natural for Ladd to engage in feuds with other giants. His feud with André the Giant (who Ladd referred to as "Andre the Dummy" during interviews) was one of the most talked-about of the decade^{[citation needed]}. In the mid-1970s, Ladd's wrestling nickname was "The King", and he would wear an ornate crown to emphasize it.

After leaving the WWF, Ladd ventured to the Mid-South territory promoted by Bill Watts. While in the Mid-South area, Ladd feuded with Paul Orndorff, Ray Candy, Junkyard Dog and served as a manager to Afa & Sika, the Wild Samoans. Ladd also had a decent run as part of a tag team with "Bad" Leroy Brown in the early 1980s.

Ladd retired from wrestling in 1986. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995 and inducted the Junkyard Dog into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Ladd died on March 10, 2007, having battled cancer since 2004.^[1]