Gene Stanlee
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| Birth name | Eugene Stanley Zygowicz |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 1, 1917 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | September 23, 2005 (aged 88) Los Angeles, California |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Gene Stanlee |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Debut | 1946 |
Eugene Stanley Zygowicz (January 1, 1917 – September 23, 2005) was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Gene Stanlee. During his wrestling career, he was known by the nickname "Mr. America".
Zygowicz was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Victoria and Paul Zygowicz, were Polish immigrants. Zygowicz was the eighth child of fifteen—he had eight brothers and six sisters.
When he was five, Zygowicz fell down a set of stairs, and was partially paralyzed. He was given his last rites; however, he regained his health after being partially inspired by seeing a strongman at a church. He began wrestling and competing against other boys when he was eight, and collected iron from a railyard to fashion his own homemade gym to develop his physique. By his own count, he claimed to have 165 bodybuilding trophies and 50 gold medals from bodybuilding competitions.
During World War II, Zygowicz, along with his brother Steve, served on a U.S. Navy floating repair ship as a machinist. He reportedly wrestled 134 matches for the entertainment of other servicemen in the South Pacific area during the war. He was termed "pinup boy of the Navy", and once he received his discharge from the Navy, he was sought out by wrestling promoters, who wanted to capitalize on his publicity.
Zygowicz's first professional match was April 26, 1946 in Milwaukee against Leo Kirilenko under the ring name "Gene Stanlee". All his early matches took place in the Chicago–Milwaukee area.
His career as Gene "Mr. America" Stanlee picked up in 1951. After defeating Pat O'Hara on September 24 of that year Gene became NWA Southern Heavyweight Champion, and it was around this time he formed a tag team with his real life brother Steve Stanlee. Bob Merrill also worked as a kayfabe third brother, Bob Stanlee.
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