Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine. One of the true greats of pro wrestling. Johnny Valentine was the standard for pro wrestling in the 50's to 70's. His legend lives on.
The following article was written by Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Weekly.
By Bryan Alvarez
"Handsome" Johnny Valentine, 76, passed away at 3:00 AM April 24th after being hospitalized on and off since August 2000 with a variety of ailments.
Valentine — father of Greg "The Hammer" Valentine — was a legend in the wrestling industry, having begun his career with the advent of television in the late 1940s and working as a superstar throughout various territories until October 4, 1975 when his career was cut short in a tragic plane crash. He was a superstar everywhere he went, from Florida in the late 40s to the Mid-Atlantic in the mid-70s, and held more major regional titles from different territories than probably any other wrestler in history.
At a legit 6’3" and 250 pounds, the tan, muscular, bleached-blonde Valentine had a superstar look that was copied by countless wrestlers throughout the years. Even after his career-ending back injury forced him to walk with the aid of a steel brace and hand crutches, he continued to work out as long as he was physically able, doing chest and shoulder exercises three to five days a week up until just a couple of years ago. He was also universally known for being extremely tough and resilient, working a very solid wrestling style which incorporated stiff strikes and forearm blows. Although he was never dangerous, he was solid enough that many wrestlers weren’t too excited to get into the ring with him, because he always beat the hell out of them and often said: "Wrestling isn’t for wussies." Even into his early 70s he’d been known to pound younger wrestlers almost to the ground with forearm shots to the back of the neck when they asked him how he managed to make such a loud slapping noise when striking his opponents during his matches.
Although he had a look that probably would have made him a superstar even today, he would certainly have had to tweak his style. Besides the fact that most main eventers today wouldn’t go for the hard blows, he also built his matches very slowly, often taking as long as twenty minutes to get "warmed up" for a series of highspots. Wrestling in the middle part of the twentieth century was obviously slower than it is today, but Valentine’s style was so methodical that the first ten or fifteen minutes of many of his matches bored fans even back then. But he always picked it up as he got going and usually had the fans on their feet screaming for the finish. He was a classic heel, able to generate a violently negative reaction with something as simple as walking up the ring steps, or simply staring at his opponent for a couple of minutes while barely moving a muscle.
Valentine’s title history best reflects his travels as a main eventer spanning almost three full decades — Two time Southern Heavyweight Champion in Tampa, FL in both 1950 and 1973; Eight time Texas Heavyweight Champion from 1954 though 1971; Texas Brass Knuckles Champion in 1954; AWA World Tag Champion in 1957 in Minneapolis; Texas Tag Team Champion in 1958; Canadian Heavyweight Champion in 1959; Four time NWA US Tag Champion from 1959 through 1966 in New York; Four-time US Champion (Toronto version) from 1962 through 1968; Three-time International Tag Team Champion (Toronto version) in 1963; IWA World Champion in Chicago in 1963; Three-time US Champion (Detroit) from 1964 through 1973; Three time NWA American Heavyweight Champion in World Class from 1966 through 1972; Three consecutive Florida Heavyweight Title reigns from 1967 through 1968; Two time Georgia Heavyweight Champion in 1968; Southern Tag Team Champion in 1968 in Florida; Florida Brass Knuckles Champion in 1968; Two time NWA US TV Champion in Chicago in 1969; Three time NWA American Tag Team Champion for World Class from 1971 through 1972; NWF North American Champion in 1972; AWA International/IWA World Heavyweight Champion in Canada in 1972; Two time NWF World Champion from 1972 through 1973 in Ohio; Missouri Champion in 1973; NWA International Tag Team Champion in Osaka Japan in 1972; NWA United National Heavyweight Champion in 1973; Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion in 1974; and the United States Champion (Mid Atlantic version) in 1975.
The plane crash which ended his career was actually a pivotal event in wrestling history. Valentine, along with promoter David Crockett and wrestlers Tim Woods, Bobby Bruggers and a 24-year-old Ric Flair, was traveling in a twin-engine Cessna 310 airplane from Charlotte to Wilmington, NC. When the wrestlers boarded the plane, pilot Joseph Michael Farkas, 28, neglected to distribute their weight properly, so when the plane was unable to take off, he chose instead to dump some fuel. The plane subsequently ran out of gas as they were approaching Wilmington and slammed into the ground 100 yards short of the runway.
Bruggers, Valentine and Flair all suffered broken backs. Crockett, whose head slammed through the seat in front of him and cracked Woods’ ribs, suffered a concussion and spinal compression. Farkas, after a two month battle for life in the New Hanover County Hospital in Wilmington, died. Bruggers had a steel rod inserted in his back, and while he probably could have continued his wrestling career, never worked another match. Flair, who was initially told that his career was probably over, refused to give up and returned to the ring in February 1976 to continue his feud with Wahoo McDaniel. In a strange twist of fate, Flair and Valentine actually traded seats before the plane took off, as Flair was scared to sit up front with the pilot.
Valentine, at the time of the crash, was Jim Crockett’s top star and US Heavyweight Champion, scheduled to wrestle an NWA World Title match against Dory Funk Jr. a week later. Unfortunately, the crash left his back ravaged beyond repair. A clamp had to be inserted to put his spine back together and he was subsequently paralyzed from the waist down, never to wrestle again.
His legendary toughness continued through his final days, as doctors at the Ft. Worth, TX ICU unit told his wife Sharon on several occasions that there was nothing more that they could do for him and that he had just hours to live. He was first admitted on August 14th, 2001 after suffering a fractured back and twisted colon in a fall off their porch. For eight months Sharon fought to get top-notch care for her husband despite an HMO which didn’t want to pay for the high costs of treatment. Valentine had saved his money during his career, but it all went to paying medical bills following the plane crash, forcing him to live on Social Security afterwards. His time in the hospital was a depressing comedy of errors, from doctors attempting to move him out of the ICU several times because they mistakenly felt it was all over to a nurse accidentally jerking an intravenous feeding tube out of his body. But, through it all, Valentine hung on, even after an incident on September 5th when doctors felt he was so far gone that they wouldn’t even bother to move him back into the ICU. The Cauliflower Alley Club and other organizations took donations throughout most of last year to help offset Valentine’s medical costs.
Cards and condolences can be sent to The Valentine Family, PO BOX 10792, River Oaks, TX 76114. For more information on the Cauliflower Alley Club, write to CAC, HCR 33, BOX 107, Rolla, MO 65401.
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