Ray Gunkel
| Ray Gunkel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | Raymond Fred Gunkel |
| Born |
February 16, 1924 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | August 1, 1972 (aged 48) Savannah, Georgia |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Ray Gunkel |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (120 kg) |
| Trained by | Billy Thom |
| Debut | 1948 |
Raymond Fred "Ray" Gunkel (February 16, 1924 - August 1, 1972) was an American professional wrestler and promoter in the state of Georgia. He died of heart trauma after a match in Savannah, Georgia in which he defeated Ox Baker.
Gunkel was born on February 16, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Kelvyn Park High School before attending Purdue University. He competed on the university's wrestling and football teams. As an All-American wrestler, he was undefeated in his junior and senior years and helped his team win the Big Ten Conference twice. As an individual, he finished second in the NCAA final to Dick Hutton. He also won the Amateur Athletic Union national championship in both 1947 and 1948.
Gunkel originally wanted to become a teacher, but he entered professional wrestling immediately after leaving university. He made his debut in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1948. He then moved to Texas, where he competed for throughout the early 1950s. On September 4, 1951, he defeated Duke Keomuka to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. After dropping the title belt to Miguel Guzmán, he later regained it by defeating Keomuka again. His third and final Texas Heavyweight Championship came in 1953, when he defeated Mr. Moto to win the vacant championship. He was also successful as a tag team wrestler, as he won the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship seven times with six different partners. While wrestling in Texas, Gunkel was managed by professional boxer Jack Dempsey.
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