Freddie Blassie

In the 1950s, Fred Blassie was hands down the most hated wrestler in the southeastern territory.

Fred Blassie was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Accounts about his early athletic career do not quite agree, but he first tried to make his mark as a boxer, despite warnings that his arms were too short. After being pounded by a longer-limbed opponent, he switched to professional wrestling. His career began in earnest after his service in the United States Navy during World War II. Blassie wrestled as a dark-haired good guy until he found out that the "heels" (bad guys) got better pay. He bleached his hair and quickly became a heel's heel, outraging crowds by gleefully breaking every rule in the book. His penchant for biting opponents earned him the nickname "The Vampire". One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United States. Between matches, he gave loud and boastful interviews, making him a favorite of talk shows and reportedly influencing a fellow egomaniac then known as Cassius Clay. Blassie originally wrestled mainly in the Southeast and West Coast, winning many titles in both. In the late 1960s, he moved to the East Coast and the World-Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, later the World Wresting Federation (WWF) and now World Wrestling Entertainment WWE)). Managed by "Loud" Lou Albano, Blassie continued his winning ways, but never won the WWWF's championship.

In January 1962, Blassie and Mr. Moto defeated Hans Hermann and Jesus Ortega for the California version of the WWA International TV Tag Team title.

Notable Title Wins Include: NWA Southern Heavyweight title (14); WWA (Los Angeles) World Heavyweight title (4); WWA World Tag Team title (2 times w/Mr. Moto-1964 and w/Buddy Austin-1967); NWA America's Heavyweight championships (5); Georgia Heavyweight title; "Beat The Champ" TV Title; NWA America's Brass Knuckles Title

In 1973, knee problems largely forced Blassie to stop wrestling personally, though he occasionally donned the tights to tag-team with one of his heels, as he did in Madison Square Garden in June 1974, teaming with the hulking Nikolai Volkoff to face then-champ Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow in a tag team match (Blassie was forced to submit for the final fall by a Bruno bearhug, and the fans almost tore the Garden's roof off). He started a second career as a manager in the WWWF. He, Albano, and "The Grand Wizard of Wrestling" (Ernie Roth) formed the WWWF's "Evil Trinity" of heel managers. Blassie was a regular on the WWWF's "All-Star Wrestling" and "Championship Wrestling" weekly TV shows that were videotaped at small arenas in Pennsylvania and aired throughout the Northeast. He continued to outrage crowds by distracting referees so that his men could cheat and by getting in his own cheap shots when the refs weren't looking. Occasionally, he would get too close to the action and get beaten up himself, much to the crowd's delight. Still a motormouth, he gave interviews in which he bragged about himself and his protégés and denounced anybody he didn't like as a "pencil necked geek". His heels were always a bit more exotic and meaner than most.

In 1976 he managed Muhammad Ali during his shoot match

Credited with bringing a young Hulk Hogan into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in late 1979.

Around 1980, he adopted a new moniker: "Ayatollah Blassie.

Following his 1986 on-camera retirement (he remained an executive for the WWE), still made occasional on-camera appearances since then, and his last came on "WWE Raw" in May, just a few weeks before his death (to promote his newly-released biography, "Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks"). In that storyline, he is menaced by Eric Bischoff and his henchmen, before calling on the Dudley Brothers to "Get the tables!" (and of course, Bubba Ray and D-Von take care of Bischoff and his cronies).

One of the 100 Greatest Wrestlers of the 20th Century (Inside Wrestling Presents, Summer 2000).

Inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.