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Mike DiBiase

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Mike grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and began his amateur career there. He wrestled in the NCAA tournament while attending the University of Nebraska, and lost a close match to a Dick Hutton, a three-time NCAA champion and a hall of famer himself.

Mike became a national champion in 1946 when he won the AAU heavyweight title, one of the most prestigious honors in all of amateur wrestling. In 1956, he embarked upon a pro career and was known as "Iron" Mike DiBiase for his superb strength and conditioning.

As a professional, he held many titles in his two-decade career, including the NWA world junior heavyweight championship. He was also a three-time NWA North American champion and Pacific Northwest champion. He was AWA International champion, as well. Mike married Helen Hilde, also a professional wrestler, and was the adopted father of wrestler Ted Dibiase, "The Million Dollar Man."

He died of a heart attack in the ring following a match on July 2, 1969, in Texas. His pro career lasted just 13 years but it was a great run that made many fans for "Iron Mike."

Harley Race

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Born in Missouri, Harley Race worked his way up through the ranks to become one of the best-known wrestlers of his generation. Beginning his pro career in 1959, he has won so many titles it is hard to keep track of them all. He and Larry Hennig were AWA world tag team champions in the 1960s, and Harley went on to claim the NWA world heavyweight championship on eight different occasions. He won it for the first time on May 24, 1973, from Dory Funk, Jr.

Known as "Handsome Harley Race" for much of his career, the Missouri native was one of the ring's best brawlers, taking on everyone from coast to coast. Entering the WWF in the mid-1980s, Race was managed by Bobby Heenan. He won the King of the Ring title in 1986.

Harley wrestled in the WCW in the early 1990s and then retired to become a trainer of aspiring pro wrestlers, running a camp in his native Missouri. He later formed the WLW (World League Wrestling) and became a booker and promoter, operating mostly in the Midwest.

For nearly three decades, Harley Race battled all the top stars in wrestling, from Verne Gagne to Ric Flair and earned recognition as one of the top wrestlers of all time.

John Pesek

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One of the greatest shooters and hookers of all time, John Pesek was born and raised on a farm near Ravenna, Nebraska. He wanted to become a boxer but when his mother objected he turned to wrestling and became one of the most respected and feared wrestlers of all time.

Known as a "trustbuster," John disliked taking orders from promoters and believed in wrestling for real, at all times. He disdained pre-arranged outcomes and battled his way up through the ranks. Called "The Nebraska Tigerman" for his aggressive style, he won numerous titles and was declared heavyweight champion of the world by several different groups in the 1930s. He toured Australia and most of the States, drawing large crowds all over.

Robin Reed, legendary Olympic champion of 1924 and professional world welterweight champion, said John Pesek and Farmer Burns (Class of 2001) were the greatest "masters" of wrestling he ever met.

John Pesek was almost as well known for his dogs and outdoors lifestyle as for his wrestling prowess. He raised Greyhounds and his dogs won numerous national titles. He is a member of the Greyhound National Hall of Fame.

When John Pesek passed away in 1978, at the age of 84 he was already considered a legend in the sport he loved so much.

Bill Miller

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Growing up on a farm in Ohio, Bill Miller set out to earn a college degree and become a veterinarian. Miller was a great college athlete, winning a total of nine letters at Ohio State University, three each in football, wrestling, and track. He was a two-time Big Ten champion in wrestling in the heavyweight division and he also placed fourth in the NCAA tournament in 1951.

When his college career ended, he took up professional wrestling and became a huge star (literally as well as figuratively), under the names of Big Bill Miller, Dr. X and Mr. M. As Dr. X, he held the world championship several times from 1959 through 1961.

As a major attraction of the AWA, he won numerous titles and had a number of classic matches with Verne Gagne, whom he also wrestled in college. In the summer of 1965, Bill and his brother, Dan Miller, defeated Gorilla Monsoon and Bill Watts to claim the WWWF world tag-team title.

After retiring from the ring, he turned to his first love of veterinarian medicine and opened a practice in Ohio. He died of a heart attack on March 24, 1997, at the age of 72.

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