Ralph "Ruffy" Silverstein (March 20, 1914 – April 5, 1980) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

. He won 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. ...

light heavyweight championship and the Big 10 championship as an amateur wrestler. As a professional, he was a two-time

AWA World Heavyweight Champion The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). A ...

Early life

A Chicago native, he received the nickname "Ruffy" as a child from his Russian-born mother. He grew up in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood. He started wrestling at Lawson playground. He polished his skills at the Boys' Brotherhood Republic (BBR), the Jewish People's Institute (JPI) and Crane Technical High School. He married Evelyn Epstein and had two children, a son (Roger) and a daughter. He served in the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, rising to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Silverstein was enrolled at

Camp Ritchie Fort Ritchie in Cascade, Maryland was a military installation southwest of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania and southeast of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, Waynesboro in the area of South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania), South Mountain. Followin ...

as an officer at the end of 1944 which places him among the ranks of the

Ritchie Boys The Ritchie Boys, part of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service (MIS) at the War Department, were an organization of soldiers in World War II with sizable numbers of German and Austrian recruits who were used primarily for interrogation of pri ...

; military intelligence trainees and officers who were responsible for obtaining much of the actionable intelligence in the European Theatre during the war. He served under General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

, and advised MacArthur about the Japanese study of martial arts during the U.S. occupation of Japan.

Amateur wrestling career

In college Silverstein wrestled for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and, in 3 years of varsity competition, did not lose a match, He became the 1935 (175 pounds) and 1936 (heavyweight)

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champion, the 1936

champion (175 pounds) and an All-American in 1935 (175 pounds). He was a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic team but, because the Olympics were held in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, Silverstein was one of several Jewish athletes who boycotted that year's Olympics.

Professional wrestling career

An expert in wrestling fundamentals, Silverstein was one of the first to blaze the transitional trail from collegiate to professional wrestling. Strait-laced Silverstein won the Illinois State Championships in his first event as a pro, a victory which laid the groundwork for his celebrated professional career. Undefeated for many years, he ultimately won two AWA World Titles and was twice the WLW Television Champion (1951 and 1952). To many people, Silverstein represented an honest and clean style of pro wrestling, traits that were fast disappearing as the sport grew in popularity. Silverstein's favorite and signature wrestling move was the "Falling Arm Drag". He had a notable match against NWA

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...

in a losing effort in 1950. Retired from wrestling in 1960.

Coaching and teaching career

After his professional wrestling career, Silverstein served as a coach in the

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in Israel. He also taught wrestling at Chicago's Duncan Y.M.C.A. Interested in education, Silverstein later became a high school gym teacher and founded and coached the Nicholas Senn Chicago Public High School wrestling team (with co-coach Harold Brownstein, a mathematics teacher). He also was Head Coach of the school's swim team. Besides sporting techniques, Silverstein offered his philosophy of life to his students. In November 1977, Silverstein was diagnosed

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and lo ...

. He died as he neared retirement from teaching.

Championships and accomplishments

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 *

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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

** AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) (2 times) * Other titles **Illinois State Championship **WLW Television Champion (2 times)

References and notes

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Ralph Ruffy 1914 births 1980 deaths American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United States Jewish American sportspeople Jewish professional wrestlers Military personnel from Illinois Professional wrestlers from Illinois Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Martial artists from Chicago United States Army personnel of World War II Ritchie Boys 20th-century American Jews 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 20th-century American sportsmen