Legends: ‘Classy’ Freddie Blassie
Our resident philosopher and historian, Jay Shannon, takes a look at one of the most colorful wrestlers/managers to ever grace the sport of professional wrestling.
A chaotic youth
Fred Blassman was born near St. Louis, Missouri in 1918. Fred’s parents came to America from Germany, just before World War I. Fred’s father was an abusive alcoholic, so Fred was often sent to live with his grandparents. At the age of 13, Fred threatened to kill his father with a baseball bat to prevent his father from hurting his mother.
Fred dropped out of high school to help support the family. Fred took a job in a meat packing plant to make ends meet. The family hoped that it would lead to a successful position as a butcher. It did, but not the kind of butcher that the family expected. Fred was introduced to boxing during his time at the meat packing plant. He won the local Heavyweight Boxing title, but became interested in wrestling.
Fred attended the matches on a regular basis. The local promoter and several of the wrestlers noticed the large man at ringside. Fred received a lot of unofficial training during this time. Fred’s first match was taken to impress a girl that he had brought to a local carnival. Within a few months, Fred was a regular on the carnival circuit. He would move from the carnivals to regular pro wrestling over the next year or so. He worked in both the St. Louis and Kansas City markets. His wrestling career was put on hold by his military career. Fred served almost four years in the Navy.He was honorably discharged and returned to the St. Louis/Kansas City area.
From a Sailor to a Vampire
After his service in the Navy, the local wrestling promoters tried to play up his military career. He was billed as “Sailor” Fred Blassie and wore a seaman’s costume to the ring.His surname was changed to Blassie to avoid any post-war, anti-German sentiment. The “Sailor” gimmick failed miserably. He would try a “Fabulous Fred” gimmick, but it was discarded almost immediately. He finished up his time in the mid-west as simply, Fred Blassie.
Fred got an offer from promoter Paul Jones to relocate to the Georgia area. It was in Georgia that the wrestler that most fans know came into being. Fred became an instant heel because the southern fans considered him “a Yankee”. Technically, Fred was a Mid-westerner, but he went along with the character. He changed his look by bleaching his hair blonde (a true sign of a heel) and by cheating in his matches. He also began to gnaw on the foreheads of his opponents. Due to his boxing days, Blassie had jagged teeth. He put forth that story that he filed his teeth down to a point. That was a massive exaggeration. Blassie won the Southern Heavyweight Championship. That put him first in line to battle the NWA champion. Blassie didn’t win the NWA top title while in Georgia. It would take a relocation to help send him to the top.
Hollywood comes a callin’
In 1952, Fred had worked for Jules Strongbow in California. He found himself in a unique tag team. He teamed with Billy McDaniel. It was a odd situation where the team changed identities based on where they wrestled. In California, where McDaniel was more well-known, Fred became Fred McDaniel. They were billed as the McDaniel Brothers. On the east coast, Billy became Bill(y) Blassie, and the tandem were marketed as the Blassie Brothers.
In 1960, Blassie returned to Strongbow’s WWA promotion in Los Angeles. This time around, he got to stay with his main character, Fred Blassie. Blassie would come to adore California and owned a home there up until the time of his death. He would wrestle the lion’s share of his career in and around California. Fred was absolutely despised in California. He often had to have police protection to and from the ring. In one memorable story, Fred told about barely avoiding severe burns from acid thrown on his back by a fan. Fred would win the NWA and WWA World titles on several occasions during his career.
Japanese Legend
Blassie began a feud with Japanese icon, Rikidozan, in 1962. That feud set Blassie as one of the top American wrestlers on Japan during that era. He made frequent trips to Japan over the next decade.
It was in Japan that Blassie would meet his third wife, Miyako. Blassie’s first marriage had failed due to his wrestling obligations, among other reasons. Blassie met and married a second, unnamed, woman between his first wife and Miyako.
Blassie caused a few legal issues for local Japanese wrestling promoters. His penchant for drawing blood from his opponents, reportedly, actually caused several Japanese fans to have heart attacks. A few were reported to have died of shock. The promotions were faced with lawsuits over the deaths. It is unclear how much of that story is true and how much was scripted by the promoters for publicity. The promoters actually used the publicity to increase the box office take. Blassie became an even more marketable property due to his outrageous blood-letting.
Forced retirement
Blassie split his time between 1963 and 1974 working in Japan, California and the WWWF. Blassie challenged both Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales for the top title. He was never able to capture the World title. Interestingly, Blassie was managed in the WWWF by “Captain” Lou Albano. They would later face each other at Wrestlemania I, as managers.
In 1974, Blassie faced an opponent that he couldn’t beat, the California government. There was a minor law on the books that prevented anyone over the age of 55 from being an active wrestler or boxer. Blassie, with Lou Albano’s help, converted to a manager. He would have a twelve year career as a manager before age and health forced him into full retirement.
Due to the close relationship that Blassie had with all four generations of McMahons (Jess, Vince K, Vince J and Shane/Stephanie), Blassie remained on the WWE payroll from 1974 until his death in 2003. Blassie made occasional appearances between 1986 and 2003. Blassie’s final appearance was on May 12, 2003. He served as a one-night manager for the Dudley Boyz. His last remarks were: “D-Von, get the tables”. Blassie died of heart and kidney disease on June 2, 2003.
The multiple talents of Blassie
In addition to his wrestling career, Blassie managed several men. He managed Hulk Hogan during his first WWF run (1980). He also helped the Iron Sheik win two different World titles. In 1983, Blassie led the Iron Sheik to a submission win over WWF champ, Bob Backlund. At Wrestlemania I, Blassie led the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff to the World tag titles (they beat Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham).
Blassie also recorded several novelty records. His most famous Pencil Neck Geek was based on his famous insult to opponents. The story has it that the name was first issued to a carnival sideshow freak that Blassie dealt with during his early wrestling days. That song, along with King of Men, have been favorites on the Dr. Demento Show for many years.
Blassie was had a minor acting career. He did a cameo on The Dick Van Dyke Show in mid 60s. Blassie joined with Andy Kaufman in an odd film called Breakfast with Blassie. Among the weird topics that were discussed was Blassie’s refusal to shake hands with people. Blassie would also star in another strange film called Mr. Blassie Goes to Washington. It was a film that basically followed Blassie as he toured the nation’s capital. Both films show up from time to time on cable movie channels, usually around 3 in the morning.
In Conclusion:
“Classy” Freddie Blassie was one of the most hated grapplers during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. He had a phenominal managerial career in the WWF. He received a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame in 1994. He also received a Lifetime Acheivement Award from the WWE in 1996. He was one of the most respected and loved members of the WWE family. Numerous modern managers have based their characters, at least in part, on Blassie. Blassie is respected and honored both in the US and in Japan. He is a success in so many different areas of his life. He is the definition of a Legend.
–Jay Shannon
JayofPWD@SBCGlobal.net
(5/9/08)
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