Harley Race Passes Away At 76

https://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-hall-of-famer-harley-race-passes-away

This is one of the big ones.Race is one of those wrestlers that people talk about in complete awe and it’s for a good reason.  There are very few people in wrestling (or any sport for that matter) as revered as Race is, with almost everyone talking about him as one of the best of all time.  Rather than list off his ridiculous amount of accomplishments, I’m going to go with some of the awesome stories I’ve heard of him over the years.

Back in WCW, Race and Vader rode together.  Race would have been in his 50s at this point and retired from the ring.  Vader had two jobs: keep a fresh beer ready for Harley and shut up.  Vader did both, mainly out of fear.

Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes were on an episode of Legends Roundtable, where Flair was bragging about himself even moreso than usual.  Flair asked Rhodes who he had been in the ring with that was a better opponent than him.  Dusty said the greatest opponent he had ever been across the ring from was Harley Race.  Flair looked at him, looked down, and carried on because he had no comeback.

A few years back, Race hurt himself in a fall but had an appearance a few hours away.  Within a few days he tried to drive, got about 200 miles and turned back because the pain was too great.  It turned out he had two broken legs.

Jim Cornette was asked who would win in a fight between Haku, Steve Williams, Danny Hodge and Harley Race.  Cornette said Race, because he would just pull out a gun and shoot all three of them, then go off and have a cigarette while he waited for his cab.

I got to meet Race a little over a year ago in New Orleans.  I’ve met a lot of wrestlers, and other than Hulk Hogan, I’ve never been more in awe of meeting someone.  Race was a legend and one of the best ever, who deserves every tribute and accolade he receives.  This is a big one and there aren’t many bigger.

Harley Race’s robe from WM III