Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), professionally known as Eddie Graham, and Rip Rogers was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He was also the promoter and booker for

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

and President of the NWA in the 1970s.

Early life

Edward Gossett was born on January 15, 1930, in Dayton, Tennessee, blind in one eye. He lived in a troubled household and sold newspapers and eggs to make a living while in Chattanooga at the age of 12. The newspaper provided YMCA gym memberships to newsboys, allowing him to receive physical training.

Professional wrestling career

Texas (1947–1958)

Gossett started wrestling in 1947 in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

at the age of 17 after being trained by Clarence "Cowboy" Luttrall.John Molinaro, ''The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time'', (Winding Stair Press: 2002), page 200. He was occasionally billed as the brother of

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers Buddy Rogers (born Herman Gustav Rohde Jr.; February 20, 1921 – June 26, 1992), better known by the ring name "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, was an American professional wrestler who was one of the biggest professional wrestling stars in the begin ...

under the name of Rip Rogers. He lost a loser-leaves-town match to

Pepper Gomez José Serapio "Joseph" Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder, better known by his ring name, Pepper Gomez. Known for his exceptional abdominal muscles, he would allow rivals to perf ...

in May 1958 in Texas. While down in Texas many people kept on telling him that he looked like pro wrestler

Dr. Jerry Graham Jerry Martin Graham (born Jerry Martin Matthews, December 16, 1921 – January 24, 1997) better known as "Dr. Jerry Graham" was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time spent in the World Wide Wrestling Federation and as ...

so Eddie called up Jerry and they came up with the idea that they were both brothers and that was when "The Golden Grahams" were born.

Tag team wrestling (1958–1960)

In June 1958, he changed his ring name, adopting the persona of Eddie Graham, who was billed as the "brother" of

, "Crazy" Luke Graham and (

Superstar Billy Graham A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

would later join the group of brothers). Jerry and Eddie were a very successful villainous

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 ...

on the east coast of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They had popular feuds with teams such as

the Fabulous Kangaroos :''This team is not to be mistaken for the similarly named team The Royal Kangaroos of Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III'' The Fabulous Kangaroos were a professional wrestling tag team who existed in various forms from 1957 until ...

, the Bastien Brothers,

Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. He worked for various promotions throughout his 35-year career, including Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and the World Wide Wrestling Fede ...

and

Don Curtis Donald B. Curtis (born Donald Beitelman) (May 22, 1927 – March 6, 2008) was an American professional wrestler, best known for being a member of a tag team with Mark Lewin in the 1950s and 1960s. During his partnership with Lewin, they won the ...

, and

Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian naturalized Argentinian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez (wrestler), Miguel Pérez. He was posthumous ...

and Miguel Pérez. They held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version) together in

Capitol Wrestling Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

(the forerunner of

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

) four times, winning the belts three times in victories over Lewin and Curtis, and once against

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and Lou Bastien.

Florida and NWA President (1960–1985)

In the spring of 1960, Eddie left the team and went to the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

's territory in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to wrestle. While there, in 1966, he had a feud with Professor Boris Malenko. Eddie took over booking and promoting for

in 1971. He wrestled in tag team matches with his son, Mike Graham, until 1977, when he retired from the ring due to health problems. Graham returned to the ring a year later. In 1979, he defeated

Killer Khan was a Japanese professional wrestler. Popularly known as Killer Khan, he was billed from Mongolia and had numerous high-profile matches with André the Giant in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1980s, including a high profile "M ...

by pinfall after the referee was knocked out and subsequent interference by

Mr. Hito (April 25, 1942 – April 21, 2010), better known as Mr. Hito, was a Japanese professional wrestler who competed in North American and Japanese regional promotions from the 1950s until the mid-1980s. Most notably, he was the tag team partner of ...

and

Kazuo Sakurada , better known as Mr. Sakurada, The Dragonmaster, and as the Japanese version of , was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was best known for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sak ...

on Khan's behalf was fought off by his son Mike and

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

. Graham's last recorded match was against

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

on March 3, 1982, which was ruled a draw. He was the President of the NWA from 1976 to 1978, thanks in part to

Gordon Solie Gordon Solie (born Francis Jonard Labiak, later Jonard Pierre Sjoblom, January 26, 1929July 27, 2000) was an American professional wrestling play-by-play announcer. He is best known for working for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wr ...

and

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

. Graham was absent as NWA President in 1977 and 1978 due to serious health problems he suffered from, and was forced to step down as a result.

Personal life

In the fall of 1968, Graham was lacing his boots in the locker room when a 75-lb steel window fell on his head, detaching both of his

retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...

s and causing him an injury that required three hundred stitches. The Florida Legislature awarded him $23,000 for the incident. According to Jim Wilson in his book ''Chokehold'', Graham's eyesight was poor because of blade jobs, and because he needed surgery to correct the problem and could not afford the money, he had some wrestlers tamper with the window in order to pass it off as though it was the responsibility of the building. This allegation is disputed by eyewitnesses. Also, "blading" does not cause eye damage according to noted optometrist Dr. Robert W. McCullough and other eye doctors. Due to the injury, Graham was unable to wrestle for fifteen months. Graham made contributions to a number of charitable causes, as chief of the Florida Boys and Girls Ranch Villa. In 1957, Graham, C.P. “Cowboy” Luttrall, and Hillsborough Sheriff Ed Blackburn began efforts to establish the organization. Graham donated funds from every Championship Wrestling from Florida show to the Villa, bringing in a reported $100,000, also donating to high school and college level amateur wrestling events.

Death and legacy

Graham remained as the promoter in Florida until January 21, 1985, when he committed suicide by multiple gunshots after a lifelong battle with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and depression. It is believed that Graham's participation in a land deal gone wrong, which led to him needing to raise over $500,000 (), as well as financial and relationship problems (Graham was never married to the mother of his child) contributed to his death. His son Mike and grandson Stephen committed suicide in similar manners on October 19, 2012, and December 14, 2010, respectively. He was posthumously inducted into the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

on March 29, 2008, by Dusty Rhodes, while his son, Mike Graham, accepted the honor on behalf of his father.

Championships and accomplishments

* Capitol Wrestling Corporation / World Wrestling Entertainment ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version)'' (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) - with Jerry Graham **

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

( Class of 2008) *

** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF an ...

( 1 time) **

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 ...

( 1 time) - with Mike Graham ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 3 times) ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) - with Don Curtis (1) and Lester Welch (1) ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) - with Dick Steinborn ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 7 times) - with Ike Eakins (1), Sam Steamboat (3),

Bob Orton Robert Keith Orton Sr. (July 21, 1925 – July 16, 2006) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. The patriarch of the Orton wrestling family, his two sons Bob Orton Jr. and Barry Orton, and grandson Randy Orton, have all wr ...

(2), and

Jose Lothario Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta *J ...

(1) *

Japan Wrestling Association The , also known as the Japan Pro Wrestling Association and the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA), was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963 ...

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Originally, it was the top tag team title in the JWA, but its status became secondary once the NWA International Tag Team Championship was brou ...

( 1 time) - with

Killer Karl Kox Herbert Alan Gerwig (April 26, 1931 – November 10, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Killer Karl Kox. Kox competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Ja ...

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Sam Steamboat Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat. Early life Mokuahi grew up in Honolulu, attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he pl ...

WCW Hall of Fame The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Hall of Fame was an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was established in 1993 to honor wrestlers who began their careers long before the 199 ...

( Class of 1993) *

Mid-South Sports Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was r ...

( 1 time) - with Mike Graham ** World Heavyweight Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (1 time) * Midwest Wrestling Association ** MWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemor ...

( Class of 2006) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (

) - with

Roy Welch Roy Edward Welch (December 19, 1901 – September 27, 1977) was an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is best known as the promoter of the NWA Mid-America territory (also known simply as the Nashville office) alongside Nick Gulas. ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

** Class of 2018 * Southwest Sports, Inc. **

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NWA ...

( 1 time) - with

Johnny Valentine John Theodore Wisniski (September 22, 1928 – April 24, 2001), better known by his ring name Johnny Valentine, was an American professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame ...

Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

** NWA Southwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Art Nelson ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' (

) - with Art Nelson (2),

Dory Funk Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Earl ...

(1) and

(1) *

( Class of 2008) * ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

( Class of 1996)

References

External links

* * *
''Tampa Bay Tribune''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Eddie 1930 births 1985 suicides 1985 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male professional wrestlers Championship Wrestling from Florida Graham family (professional wrestling) People from Chattanooga, Tennessee Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestlers from Tennessee Professional wrestling promoters American professional wrestling trainers Suicides by firearm in Florida Professional wrestlers from Tampa, Florida WWE Hall of Fame inductees Multiple gunshot suicides 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version) NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions WWWF United States Tag Team Champions American disabled sportspeople