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Fritz Von Goering

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Fritz Von Goering
Von Goering, circa 1956
Birth nameHarold Ray Jennings
Born(1930-03-31)March 31, 1930
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 13, 2024(2024-08-13) (aged 94)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Fritz Von Goering[1]
Fritz von Ulm[1]
John Gabor[1]
Johnny Gabor[1]
Ray Jennings[1]
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2]
Billed weight255 lb (116 kg)[2]
Billed fromBerlin, Germany[3]
Frankfurt, Germany[3]
Nuremberg, Germany[3]
Debut1949[1]
Retired1973[3]

Fritz Von Goering (March 31, 1930 – August 13, 2024) was an American professional wrestler, known for playing a villainous German character in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.[4]

Early life

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Fritz Von Goering was born as Harold Ray Jennings in San Francisco, California, on March 31, 1930,[5][6] to an Irish-American family.[3] Prior to his death, it was reported that he was born as John Gabor;[7] he used the Gabor name throughout his personal life, including on legal documents.[5] He reportedly grew up in Chicago, Illinois.[3] After finishing high school, Gabor enlisted in the California National Guard, later serving in the United States Air Force.[5]

Professional wrestling career

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Gabor became interested in combat fighting at a young age when his uncle brought him to boxing matches and he grew to admire profession wrestlers such as Lou Thesz and Bobby Managoff, both of whom he would wrestle with later in his career. According to Mercury News, Gabor was trained in gyms, where wrestlers "beat him up badly just to see how much he wanted to learn," writing: "Von Goering is one of the few successful wrestlers who does not have an amateur background; he isn't the product of a wrestling academy, nor did he rise up through the college or Olympic ranks."[2] Greg Oliver reported that Gabor was trained by Joe Pazandak, whom Gabor recounted had subjected him to intense training.[5]

Gabor started wrestling in aftermath of World War II, when it was common for heels (villains) to be portrayed as being from countries in the Axis Powers. Despite not being of German descent, he was billed as "Fritz von Ulm", until a promoter in Minnesota altered it to include the Goering surname, which was based on Nazi Party figure Hermann Göring.[3] As part of his character, he was billed as being from various German cities, but in reality had never been out of the United States at that point.[8] Eventually his character was modified to be of East German origin, after relations with West Germany softened during the Cold War.[7]

During his career, he captured several tag team championships. In 1962, he won the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship.[2] Frequent rivals included Thesz and Managoff, as well as Dick Hutton, Pat O'Connor, and Bronko Nagurski.[7] He was also paired against Buddy Rogers; Von Goering stated that he "hated [Roger's] guts offstage as well as on".[3] He finished his career in Roy Shire's Big Time Wrestling promotion, where he teamed with Luke Graham.[7]

Retirement and death

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After retiring in 1973, Gabor moved to Campbell, California, with his wife, Kay.[2] He found work as a truck driver and a car salesman,[3] which he said he sometimes found more difficult than wrestling.[2] At the behest of Thesz, Gabor supported the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame after its creation in 1999.[7] In 2009, he was personally inducted into the hall of fame, which typically inducts wrestlers with a background in amateur wrestling. Mike Chapman, then-executive director of the museum which oversaw the hall of fame stated: "Even though he never had an amateur background, Fritz was voted in quite easily, frankly, because the hall of fame recognized the kind of respect he had in the ring."[2]

Gabor died on August 13, 2024, at the age of 94. His death was reportedly the result of heart failure.[5][6]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Fritz Von Goering". Cagematch. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Vongsarath, Chris (March 2, 2009). "Longtime Campbell resident Fritz von Goering to be inducted into wrestling hall of fame". Mercury News. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Greene, Bob (September 18, 2010). "Fritz von Goering is on Facebook". CNN. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  4. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database".
  5. ^ a b c d e Oliver, Greg (August 24, 2024). "Fritz von Goering dead at 94". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Fritz Von Goering". Legacy. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e Steven, Johnson (July 9, 2009). "For von Goering, a long journey to Hall of Fame". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  8. ^ Greene, Bob (February 25, 1982). "Lex Has A Hold On Pro Wrestling Trend". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Johnson, Mike (June 30, 2009). "Ricky Steamboat, Nick Bockinkel Among 2009 Class Honored By Wrestling Museum & Institute". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Lentz III, Harry M. (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. McFarland Publishing. p. 374. ISBN 978-0786417544.
  11. ^ "Alberta Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. April 4, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  12. ^ Hoops, Brian (November 5, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (11/05): Ric Flair & Roddy Piper win WWE tag team gold". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
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