Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), professionally known as Eddie Graham, and Rip Rogers was an American professional wrestler. 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 under the name of Rip Rogers. He lost a loser-leaves-town match to Pepper Gomez in May 1958 in Texas. While down in Texas many people kept on telling him that he looked like pro wrestler Dr. Jerry Graham 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 Dr. Jerry Graham, "Crazy" Luke Graham and ( Superstar Billy Graham 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, the Bastien Brothers, Mark Lewin and Don Curtis, and Antonino Rocca and Miguel Pérez. They held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version) together in Capitol Wrestling (the forerunner of World Wrestling Entertainment) four times, winning the belts three times in victories over Lewin and Curtis, and once against Red 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 by pinfall after the referee was knocked out and subsequent interference by Mr. Hito and Kazuo Sakurada on Khan's behalf was fought off by his son Mike and Ray Stevens. Graham's last recorded match was against Terry Funk 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 and Dusty Rhodes. 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 retinas 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) - with Jerry Graham ** Hall of Fame ( Class of 2008) *

** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 2 times) ** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Mike Graham ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 3 times) ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 2 times) - with Don Curtis (1) and Lester Welch (1) ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 2 times) - with Dick Steinborn ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 7 times) - with Ike Eakins (1), Sam Steamboat (3), Bob Orton (2), and Jose Lothario (1) * Japan Wrestling Association ** All Asia Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Killer Karl Kox * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling /

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 ** WCW Hall of Fame ( Class of 1993) * Mid-South Sports ** NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship ( 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 ( Class of 2006) * NWA Mid-America ** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 2 times) - with Roy Welch ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 1 time) - with Sam Steamboat * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2018 * Southwest Sports, Inc. ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Johnny Valentine * Western States Sports ** NWA Southwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Art Nelson ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 4 times) - with Art Nelson (2), Dory Funk (1) and Sam Steamboat (1) * World Wrestling Entertainment **

( 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 ( 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