Harvey Maurice Evers (June 6, 1930 – December 22, 2012) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

best known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

, Rip Hawk. He began his wrestling career in the Mid-Western United States before joining

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the pro ...

(JCP) in the early 1960s. In the company, he teamed with fellow wrestler Swede Hanson as the " Blond Bombers," and the duo held several championships. In the 1970s, he worked as a booker in JCP.

Early life

Evers was born on June 6, 1930 in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

. He was raised in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The s ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Hawk made his wrestling debut in 1949. He began as an amateur in Ohio and was discovered by professional boxer

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

, who convinced him to wrestle professionally. His ring name came from a variety of sources: his sister called him "Rip" as a nickname, while a promoter gave him the last name "Hawk" due to his nose and his movements in the

wrestling ring A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped. Configuration and construction The configuration and construction of the tra ...

. His nickname, "The Profile", was taken from actor

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Barrymore family, Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage ...

. He began wrestling professionally in Ohio around his 18th birthday, and later moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he trained for a year with Karl Pojello. He also briefly wrestled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Hawk was soon drafted to serve in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. He joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

and continued to wrestle during his service. He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1954, believing he could make a better living from wrestling. He competed in several territories after returning to the United States, including

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to th ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to ...

. He later moved to

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to ...

, where he competed in St. Joseph and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

. In St. Joseph, he had a scripted

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...

with Sonny Myers and Larry Hamilton. He continued to move around and held his first championship, the NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship, while wrestling for NWA Western States Sports in 1958.

Jim Crockett Promotions

Hawk moved to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in the early 1960s, where he began competing for

, an organization run by Jim Crockett Sr. that promoted events in

the Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

. He met fellow wrestler Swede Hanson and approached Crockett about forming a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

with Hanson. Crockett agreed to the idea, and Hawk and Hanson began competing as the " Blond Bombers", named after their matching blond hair and their strength in the ring. While competing in Australia, Hawk met manager

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart ('' né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs ...

. He approached Crockett and convinced him to bring Hart to the Carolinas to manage Hawk and Hanson. The team competed as

heels The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exert ...

(villains) and was unique for wearing suits to their matches, as most wrestlers did not worry about dressing like professionals outside of the ring. They aroused anger from many spectators, some of whom threw acid or threatened the team with knives and guns. They also had a following among some fans, and a fan club was formed for them at one point. During interviews, Hawk spoke for the team while Hanson stood silently; Hawk occasionally insulted Hanson in the interviews, but Hanson did not respond. The team competed in the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as touring overseas in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Hawk wrestled in other territories, including

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where he held the

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has ...

and the Texas version of the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

(the latter while teaming with Rock Hunter). Nine of his championships came as a member of the Blond Bombers, however. Hawk and Hanson were booked in an

angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

to win their first title together, the

Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

version of the

, on August 3, 1965. They combined to hold the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship on four occasions, which was the center of their feud with

Johnny Weaver Kenneth Eugene Weaver (November 17, 1935 – February 15, 2008) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver. Career 1960s Weaver's career spa ...

and George Becker. They were also booked to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship on a wrestling tour of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The Blond Bombers were involved in a series of unusual matches in Jim Crockett Promotions; they faced other heel tag teams, which was a rarity at the time because most promoters stuck to good versus evil storylines. They competed against such teams as Aldo Bogni and Bronko Lubich,

Gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ...

and

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...

, and

Skull Murphy The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

and Brute Bernard. Hawk, along with

, was also involved in

booking Booking may refer to: * Making an appointment for a meeting or gathering, as part of event planning/ scheduling * The intake or admission process into a prison or psychiatric facility. * ''Booking'' (manhwa), a Korean comics anthology magazine ...

, or scheduling, events in Jim Crockett Promotions, a task he took on in the early 1970s. He also collaborated with Johnny Ringo to design the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a g ...

logo. In 1971, Hanson suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

and had to take time off of wrestling. Hawk competed as a singles wrestler and feuded with the Brisco brothers ( Jack and

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian film ...

). During this rivalry, Hawk held the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship four times. He was then paired with

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

, who was billed as his nephew. On July 4, 1974, Hawk and Flair were booked the

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship was a tag team title defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coa ...

. Hanson returned to wrestling but soon became a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may ...

(fan favorite) and feuded with Hawk. The former partners faced each other in tag team matches in which Hanson teamed with Tiger Conway Jr. and Hawk teamed with Flair. Eventually, the partners were dropped and the two faced each other in a series of singles matches. Hawk left Jim Crockett Promotions permanently in 1975 due to differences with booker George Scott.

Later career

Hawk then took on a new partner, Roger Kirby, with whom he held the

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

twice over the next two years. Hawk and Hanson reunited as a tag team in Texas, where they competed for NWA Western States Sports. In 1976 and 1977, they were booked to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship three times. After their final title reign, Hanson left to wrestle elsewhere while Hawk continued to wrestle in Texas. Hawk and Hanson were inducted into the NWA Legends Hall of Heroes in 2007. Hawk returned in 2008 to posthumously induct long-time rival and real-life friend Johnny Weaver.

Personal life and death

After retiring from wrestling, he moved to Hereford, Texas, where he lived with his wife, Kitty. They have 2 daughters. He worked as a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

and wrestling coach at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, original ...

in Hereford until 2011. Several of his trainees went to the Junior Olympics and received athletic scholarships to college. Evers died on December 22, 2012. He had suffered from cardiac problems prior to his death.

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abr ...

**Men’s Wrestling Award (2010) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to a ...

( 2 times) - with Roger Kirby ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) - with Swede Hanson *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

** NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) - with Swede Hanson ** NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) **

( 1 time) - with

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 1 time) - with Swede Hanson * NWA Western States Sports **NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** NWA Western States Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) - with Swede Hanson * Southwest Sports Inc. **

( 1 time)* **

( 1 time) - with Rock Hunter * St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2014 *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays and ...

** IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Swede Hanson

References

External links

Online World of Wrestling profileRip Hawk And The Fear Of Flying
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawk, Rip 1930 births 2012 deaths American male professional wrestlers Anderson family Professional wrestlers from Indiana People from Hereford, Texas 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version) IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia)