30 Facts About Killer Kowalski

Killer Kowalski held numerous championships including the WWWF World Tag Team Championship with Big John Studd billed as the Executioners and managed by Lou Albano.

Killer Kowalski worked part-time at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit to help pay his way.

Killer Kowalski was only being paid $50 a week at the Ford plant and was told he could make more as a wrestler.

Killer Kowalski wrestled from 1947 to 1977 in a number of organizations, including the National Wrestling Alliance and American Wrestling Association as a heel.

Killer Kowalski's first recorded match occurred on May 6,1948, and by November 29 of the same year, Kowalski was facing NWA champion Orville Brown in a heavyweight championship match.

Killer Kowalski stood out in his era for his larger-than-normal size, and for a faster-paced style in the ring.

Killer Kowalski wrestled as a demonstrative "heel," or villain, except when facing the even-more-hated Buddy Rogers.

Outside of the ring Killer Kowalski was considered so friendly and polite that some wrestling promoters complained about the way he would "drop character" in public.

Killer Kowalski had done much the same to boost Giant Baba's fame in Japan, with a televised 1963 match.

On October 15,1952, in a match in Montreal versus Yukon Eric, Killer Kowalski ripped off a part of Yukon Eric's ear while performing a knee drop.

Killer Kowalski gained some notoriety in Boston for an incident in late June 1958 when he was wrestling Pat O'Connor.

Also in the late 1950s, Killer Kowalski fought what was supposed to be a best two out of three match in Fall River, Massachusetts against Mr Moto.

Just before the bell starting the first fall, Killer Kowalski had his back turned to Moto while doing some stretches in his corner.

The bell rang and a seemingly dazed Killer Kowalski staggered around the ring and was quickly pinned by Moto.

Killer Kowalski was billed as the heavyweight champion at that time and, as such, was not supposed to lose the match.

Just after the second fall started, Killer Kowalski was hit in the right eye with a pea or bean shot by someone in the audience using a pea shooter.

Semi-blinded and genuinely stunned, Killer Kowalski staggered around the ring covering his eye with his right hand.

Finally, he approached Killer Kowalski, bumped into him and fell to the mat.

Killer Kowalski reached down, applied the claw hold and Moto was not only counted out, but deemed by the referee too hurt to continue.

Killer Kowalski became the main antagonist of Bruno Sammartino in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1960s and 1970s.

Killer Kowalski formed a tag team with fellow heel Gorilla Monsoon and took Red Berry as his manager; Monsoon and Killer Kowalski held the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship, winning the belts in two straight falls from Skull Murphy and Brute Bernard on Washington, DC television, and later losing to The Tolos Brothers in two straight falls in Teaneck, New Jersey in December 1963.

On May 11,1976, Killer Kowalski won the WWF World Tag Team Championship with Big John Studd.

Killer Kowalski returned to wrestling on independent shows in 1982, and worked only sparingly after that.

Killer Kowalski would remain a fixture on the Northeast independent wrestling scene taking autograph and personal appearances.

Killer Kowalski made numerous post-retirement television appearances, including Late Night with David Letterman in 1982, and was featured in a comic role in Michael Burlingame's surrealist film To a Random in 1986.

On June 11,2007, Killer Kowalski was inducted into The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Killer Kowalski became a vegetarian after being influenced by middle-distance runners Roger Bannister and John Landy in 1953.

Killer Kowalski has been described as an "outspoken vegetarian" and vegan.

Killer Kowalski took interest in photography and had a book published in 2001.

Killer Kowalski began experiencing escalating health problems in the time leading up to his death.