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Post by franko on Nov 21, 2013 17:29:20 GMT -5
 Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon, one of Quebec’s biggest wrestling icons, died in his sleep Thursday morning in Omaha, Nebraska. He was 84.
Originally from Ville-Émard, Vachon’s professional wrestling career was built on his unorthodox style, his legendary beard and his bad temper.
“He’s the best-known Quebec wrestler outside of Quebec. A legend,” says Pat Laprade, the author of a book on wrestling in the province.
Vachon participated in the 1948 London Olympics, where he finished 7th.
In the 1960s, his career as a heavyweight wrestler took off after being recruited to the American Wrestling Association. He was the AWA’s World Champion five times in the 1960s.
On July 14, 1973, Vachon fought opponent Wladek “Killer” Kowalski in front of 29,127 spectators at Montreal’s Jarry Park.
Laprade says Vachon’s fiery temper was put on for wrestling crowds, but that outside of the ring, he was a lovable character.
“He was the guy that people love to hate for years,” he says.
“He was known for helping others. He recommended wrestlers to new promoters. He helped wrestlers relaunch their careers,” Laprade continues.
Vachon retired from wrestling in 1986 after a 46-year-long career in the ring.
The next year, he lost one of his legs after being hit by a car. Later on, he lost the use of his other leg due to diabetes. He used a wheelchair until the end of his life.
He leaves behind six children and a large extended family.I remember watching him as a kid . . . great memories of him and his brother . . . |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Nov 21, 2013 17:45:48 GMT -5
A lot of good triggers associated with Maurice Vachon. La Lutte Grand Prix made it to Ottawa every second week, but soon started a weekly show because of its popularity.
I don't have the date, but at the time the cage match between Vachon and Wladek “Killer” Kowalski in Ottawa set a municiple record for attendance at an indoor sporting event.
Good times.
RIP
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Post by jkr on Nov 21, 2013 19:24:25 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times  |
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Post by franko on Nov 21, 2013 19:29:06 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times pre-steroid madness . . . how many chairs did the Vachons throw around, anyway? |
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Post by jkr on Nov 21, 2013 21:05:54 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times pre-steroid madness . . . how many chairs did the Vachons throw around, anyway? Love the new avatar. Is that Mad Dog or the Habs new enforcer? |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Nov 21, 2013 21:54:49 GMT -5
Brings back lots of memories!
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Post by franko on Nov 22, 2013 5:59:29 GMT -5
pre-steroid madness . . . how many chairs did the Vachons throw around, anyway? Love the new avatar. Is that Mad Dog or the Habs new enforcer? must be the Mad Dog . . . Habs haven't had an enforcer since . . . what . . . Nilan? |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Nov 22, 2013 7:25:49 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times Don Leo Jonathan was probably my dad's favourite "wrastler." Remember Tarzan "the boot" Tyler, War Eagle, Billy Two Rivers, Killer Kowalski, Dino Bravo, Gino Brito? Fun times for sure. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Nov 22, 2013 7:28:45 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times pre-steroid madness . . . how many chairs did the Vachons throw around, anyway? Pre-steroid period for sure, man. These guys even stayed in character when they came out to sign autographs. And when you caught them out of character they were all friends outside the ring. Too many good tiggers. Cheers. Edit: Wish I had hung onto all of those black and white 8"x10" photos I used to have. I see them at collectables shows here and there, and they're worth a lot more now than the quarter(s) I paid for them back in the day. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Nov 22, 2013 13:27:27 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times pre-steroid madness . . . how many chairs did the Vachons throw around, anyway? Brings back lots of memories. Edouard Carpentier, Little Beaver, Killer Kowalski, Yukon Eric, Sky Lo Lo. Almost shared a pizza with Andre the Giant on Peel Street. Put in perspective of todays athletes, Mad Dog was 5'9". He would tower above Frankie Bouillon by one inch, look Brendon Gallagher straight in the eye and look up to Daniel Briere by one inch. Hard to believe that John Ferguson, feared enforcer was 5'11" and 185 lbs. |
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Post by jkr on Nov 22, 2013 14:22:35 GMT -5
pre-steroid madness . . . how many chairs did the Vachons throw around, anyway? Brings back lots of memories. Edouard Carpentier, Little Beaver, Killer Kowalski, Yukon Eric, Sky Lo Lo. Almost shared a pizza with Andre the Giant on Peel Street. Put in perspective of todays athletes, Mad Dog was 5'9". He would tower above Frankie Bouillon by one inch, look Brendon Gallagher straight in the eye and look up to Daniel Briere by one inch. Hard to believe that John Ferguson, feared enforcer was 5'11" and 185 lbs. LOL - Little Beaver & Sky Lo Lo - I had forgotten about the politically incorrect midget wrestling. Way at the other end of the scale - anybody remember Haystack Calhoun? |
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Post by CentreHice on Nov 22, 2013 20:48:43 GMT -5
The husband of a colleague of mine produced a series featuring the Vachon brothers a few years back.
She recounted on Facebook:
My husband wrote, produced and directed the series 'Wrestling With The Past' several years ago. It's a heartfelt, whimsical look at the pro wrestlers of the 50's and their crazy, circus like lives, past and present. It's a hugely entertaining show. During filming, Mad Dog stayed with us, living in our basement. I knew nothing of this crazy and super popular world, and suddenly this eccentric, one legged character with no teeth was holding our 3 month old daughter and charming us in a bellowing French Canadian accent with his stories while making home made "stove bread" served with Pepsi. Wow. He was gentle, funny, kind, philosophical and utterly full of heart and joy. That experience served to remind me not to judge a book by its cover. He remained one of my husband's good friends, which was a thrill for him because he grew up idolizing these guys. A sad day for sure, but this was a man who loved his life.
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Post by franko on Nov 22, 2013 23:11:17 GMT -5
the memories flooding back . . . Baron von Raschke and "the claw" and Sweet Daddy Siki
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Post by GNick99 on Nov 26, 2013 21:50:28 GMT -5
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Post by CentreHice on Nov 27, 2013 18:54:11 GMT -5
^^
Ha! I hope he was paid decently...or at least in a goodly sum of suds!
Tons of vids of him on YouTube. Fun to watch.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Nov 27, 2013 22:18:31 GMT -5
the memories flooding back . . . Baron von Raschke and "the claw" and Sweet Daddy Siki Saw Sweet Daddy Siki here in Kingston back in the early 80's. He was front man for a band and he couldn't sing worth a pile of beans. I'd never tell him that, though ... he'd probably RAKE my back!!!  |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Nov 27, 2013 22:40:20 GMT -5
I used to watch wrestling quite a bit as a boy growing up in Montreal. I remember him as well as his brother - Paul "The Butcher" Vachon. It was quite a crew - Andre the Giant, Gilles "The Fish" Poisson, Abdullah the butcher etc. Fun times Don't forget Paul and Jos LeDuc. They were billed out of Godbeau (sp?) Quebec, but they weren't from there at all. A cut and paste from Wikipedia: LeDuc's long-time friend and tag team partner died in 1999. The pair had played the role of brothers so well that, when it was revealed that they were not related, the news was widely discussed on talk shows in Quebec.[4][9] Paul LeDuc's son, Carl, is also a professional wrestler.[10]Pretty cool.  |
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