Larry Cameron (November 4, 1952 – December 13, 1993) was an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...

Football career

Larry Cameron was born and raised in Natchez, MS. When he was a teenager, he played football in high school and college. He was drafted in the NFL in 1973 by the Denver Broncos and later by the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

, where he played with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

and

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

. In 1975 and 1976 he was an all-star and won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

with Ottawa. His football career would be cut short due to injuries.

Wrestling career

After his football career ended, Cameron became Mr. Minnesota and Northern States Bodybuilding champion before he got discovered by Ed Sharkey and wrestled in his Promotion AWA. Later he also went up to Calgary to train with

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...

in the Dungeon, where he trained alongside another former NFL and CFL star, former

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

, and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third ...

nosetackle

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extrem ...

. Cameron made his wrestling debut with

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the pr ...

in 1985, where he would wrestle as "Lethal" Larry Cameron. He was a straight up powerhouse with a bad attitude. He would also wrestle in various promotions in the United States. He won his first championship in September 1987, when he won

Pro Wrestling America Pro Wrestling America is a regional independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey, a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Associatio ...

's Heavyweight Championship, defeating

Ricky Rice Ricky Rice is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance with the Minneapolis-based promotions Pro Wrestling America and the American Wrestling Association. Professional wrestling career Early career Trained ...

. In 1988, he had wrestled handful of shows for 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 ...

and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

. In April 1989, he defeated

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

to win the

Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship The Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestli ...

. He would hold on to the title, until the promotion closed in December 1989. After Stampede shut down, he would return to the AWA in 1990. He would also wrestle for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

and

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (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 Natio ...

, where he was managed by

Teddy Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance an ...

. After the AWA shut down and a tryout with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

, he went on a tour of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where he caught the eye of

Otto Wanz Otto Wanz (June 13, 1943 – September 14, 2017) was an Austrian professional wrestler and boxer. He made his professional wrestling debut in 1968. He is a one time American Wrestling Association champion and former operator of the Catch Wrestlin ...

. Wanz offered Cameron to work for his promotion,

Catch Wrestling Association The Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) was a professional wrestling organization based in Austria and Germany that was founded in 1973. It was run by Otto Wanz. The CWA featured a traditional brand of mat wrestling mixed with various “Strong Ma ...

. And in September 1991, Cameron began touring with the CWA. He would return to NJPW for a month in April 1992. In July 1992, he won the

CWA World Tag Team Championship The CWA World Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1980 through 1983. Title history Footnotes References See also *Continental Wrestling ...

with his partner Mad Bull Buster. The two would hold the titles for 53 weeks, before losing them to Dave Taylor and

Mile Zrno The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

. In April 1993, he wrestled one show in the United States for an NWA territory in Minnesota. That October, he and Mad Bull Buster regained the CWA Tag Team titles and held them, until the unfortunate accident.

Death

On December 13, 1993, during his match with Tony St. Clair in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, Cameron 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 m ...

. He was 41 years old. As a result of Cameron's death, Mad Bull Buster had to vacate the CWA World Tag Team Championship, on behalf of himself and his late partner.

Championships and accomplishments

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) with Mad Bull Buster *International Wrestling Association **IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

**PWI ranked him #103 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 1991 **PWI ranked him #327 of the Top 500 Singles Wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 *

(1 time) **

Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the ...

(Class of 1995)

References

External links

Online World of Wrestling ProfileCagematch ProfileGenickbruch ProfileFind A Grave Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Larry 1952 births 1993 deaths American male professional wrestlers BC Lions players Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Ottawa Rough Riders players Players of American football from Chicago Professional wrestling deaths Sport deaths in Germany Sportspeople from Chicago 20th-century American male actors Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions