
The wrestling world will never be the same as the great Harley Race has left us at the age of 76. Race was a native of the Midwest growing up in Missouri. He was known as one of the toughest men to ever enter the ring, with his entertaining and believable skills he earned respect around the globe. Race would capture the NWA Worlds Championship 8 times, and become just one of six men to have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the NWA Hall of Fame, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Race was known for his great relationship with his fans. Throughout his years as a promoter at World League Wrestling, there must be hundreds of thousands, if not a million photos he gladly took with his fans. Kids lit up around him and you could really see him enjoy interacting with them. His penmanship and the time that he took with his autographs were one of the best in the sport.
I grew up watching All- Star Wrestling from Kansas City at 12 o’clock midnight. To say he is the reason I am writing this today is an understatement. I have always felt blessed that the Midwest had Harley in the area. He could of retired anywhere in the world or promote in an area that was given more love by the media, thus make more money but Harley always gave back to the Midwest. Through his fundraisers with WLW he helped those with disabilities, as well as school and communities. Through his wrestling school, young wrestlers from Trevor Murdoch, CM Punk to Tommaso Ciampa took their time to learn from the best.
Even with all the awards that the man received, I feel as if he deserved so much more fan fare. I am so thankful to have been with his promotion WLW for the past 10 plus years. Thanks to one of my best friends Dan Gier, I got to know my hero a little more when I started MWR. Race allowed MWR to present awards in his ring from the start when WLW was on tour. With Race’s seal of approval it allowed me not to only do something I love but build friendships with his wrestlers, ring crew, announcers and referees that will last a lifetime.
We gave Harley Race a MWR lifetime Achievement Award from MWR, and let’s be honest with as many awards as the great Race has received it could of been just thrown in the closet. Yet, I was so honored to had seen it one day while talking to him in his office on his wall. It may sound silly, but it was a personal highlight of mine. He also agreed to be a part of the MWR Trading card set adding the icing on the cake for a set of 100 cards of stars in the Midwest and around the country. I have cherished memories of speaking to Harley Race at the CAC with my fiancée as we all were getting ready for the banquet, taking photos of him with superstars, fans and his students. You just can not put a price tag on that.
I will always remember where I was when I heard that he passed away. Forever August 1st will always be Harley Race day.
Thank you Harley for being you.
We love you and will miss you.

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