Bob Backlund began life as a poor farm boy in the little village of
Princeton, Minnesota, with a population of just over 2,000 people.
He was a below-average student with a lackluster work ethic and a
bad attitude, who hung with the wrong crowd and made a lot of bad
choices. He was a kid whose life was headed for disaster-until a
local coach took interest in him, suggested that he take up amateur
wrestling, and offered to work with him if he promised to stay out
of trouble. It was in North Dakota that Bob Backlund had the first
of several chance encounters that would shape his destiny. While
working out at the YMCA gymnasium in Fargo, North Dakota, where he
wrestled for North Dakota State, Backlund met a well-known
professional wrestler, "Superstar" Billy Graham. The men talked,
and at Graham's suggestion, Backlund was inspired to pursue a
career in professional wrestling. Less than five years from that
day, on February 20, 1978, Backlund would find himself halfway
across the country, standing in the middle of the ring at Madison
Square Garden with his hand raised in victory as the newly crowned
World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion. The man
Backlund pinned for the championship that night was none other than
Superstar Billy Graham. Featuring contributions from Bruno
Sammartino, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Pat Patterson, Ken Patera,
Sergeant Slaughter, The Magnificent Muraco, George "The Animal"
Steele, "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas, The Iron Sheik, and many others, this
book tells the incredible story of the life and nearly forty-year
career of one of the most famous men to ever grace the squared
circle. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing
imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers
interested in sports-books about baseball, pro football, college
football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a
book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular
team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes
and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling,
horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping,
hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title
we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national
bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that
are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose
work might not otherwise find a home.
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