Raymond Fred Gunkel (February 16, 1924 - August 1, 1972) was an American

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and

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 ...

and promoter in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Gunkel was a two-time AAU national champion and, as a professional, a three-time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion. He died of heart trauma after a match in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, in which he defeated

Ox Baker Douglas Baker (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014), known professionally as Ox Baker, was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Professional wrestling attacks#Heart punch ...

Amateur wrestling career

Gunkel was born on February 16, 1924, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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. He attended Kelvyn Park High School before attending

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. He competed on the university's wrestling and football teams. As an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n wrestler, he was undefeated in his junior and senior years and helped his team win the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

twice. As an individual, he finished second in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

final to Dick Hutton. He also won the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

national championship in both 1947 and 1948.

Professional wrestling career

Texas

Gunkel originally wanted to become a teacher, but he entered professional wrestling immediately after leaving university. He made his debut in

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, in 1948. He then moved to Texas, where he competed for throughout the early 1950s. On September 4, 1951, he defeated Duke Keomuka to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. After dropping the title belt to Miguel Guzmán, he later regained it by defeating Keomuka again. His third and final Texas Heavyweight Championship came in 1953, when he defeated Mr. Moto to win the vacant championship. He was also successful as 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 ...

wrestler, as he won the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship seven times with six different partners. While wrestling in Texas, Gunkel was managed 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 boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. One of the most iconic athl ...

Georgia

After Gunkel and his last partner, Amazing Zuma, dropped the tag team title in Texas, Gunkel left the promotion. He moved to

, where he competed for the remainder of his career and won two dozen championships. His first title belt in Georgia came when he teamed with Don McIntyre to win the Georgia version of the

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

Death

On August 1, 1972, Gunkel wrestled Ox Baker in Savannah, Georgia. During the match, Baker punched Gunkel in the chest. Gunkel won the match, but he died later that day of heart problems. An autopsy showed that Gunkel suffered from undiagnosed

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis, literally meaning "hardening of the arteries", is an umbrella term for a vascular disorder characterized by abnormal thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries; this process gradually restricts th ...

, but that his death was a result of heart trauma. It was determined that Baker's punch created a

hematoma A hematoma, also spelled haematoma, or blood suffusion is a localized bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillaries. A hematoma is ...

, which led to a blood clot that caused his death when it reached his heart. Gunkel was buried in Arlington Memorial Park in

Sandy Springs, Georgia Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and a suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's 7th most populous city. It is the site of several corporate headquar ...

. Following his death, Gunkel's wife Ann announced her intention to take his place in the ABC Booking wrestling organization. Gunkel's partners objected and closed the promotion. They immediately opened a new promotion that excluded Ann Gunkel. Ann Gunkel formed the All-South Wrestling Alliance, which operated until November 1974, when she was forced to sell the company because of declining business. Ray Gunkel was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame in 2008. His daughter Pam accepted the award on his behalf.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) – with “Cowboy” Bob Ellis *Dallas Wrestling Club / Southwest Sports, Inc. ** NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times)* ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 7 times) – with Miguel Guzman (1), Ricki Starr (2), Wilbur Snyder (1), Prince Maiava (1), Herb Freeman (1), and Amazing Zuma (1) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2008 * Mid-South Sports ** NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

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 ...

( 5 times) - with Buddy Fuller (4) and El Mongol ** NWA Georgia Television Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (7 times) – with Don McIntyre (2),

Billy Red Lyons Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked fo ...

, Ron Etchison, Nick Roberts, Dick Gunkel and Dick Steinborn ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Georgia version)'' ( 7 times) **NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (1 time) – with Don McIntyre

References

External links

Ray Gunkel Wrestling History at LegacyofWrestling.com
* \ {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunkel, Ray 1924 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA National Television Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions Professional wrestling deaths American professional wrestling executives Professional wrestlers from Chicago 20th-century American sportsmen