39 Facts About Luther Lindsay

For much of the early 1950s and '60s, Lindsay was billed as the US Colored Heavyweight Champion and took part in the first interracial professional wrestling matches held in the United States.

Luther Lindsay was considered one of the top submission wrestlers of his day working with Don Leo Jonathan and Stu Hart.

Luther Lindsay was one of the few men who bested him in the infamous "Hart Dungeon" and later became one of Hart's best friends.

Luther Lindsay was held in high regard by his fellow wrestlers such as Lou Thesz, JJ Dillon, Rip Hawk and Les Thatcher.

Luther Lindsay Goodall was born on a farm outside Norfolk, Virginia, on December 30,1924.

Luther Lindsay moved to Sedalia but later resided in Gibsonville, North Carolina, and later played college football for Norfolk State and nearby Hampton Institute where he was a CIAA wrestling champion.

Luther Lindsay played two years of professional football in Hamilton and Victoria for the Canadian Football League.

Luther Lindsay was one of the few African-Americans in professional wrestling and, in accordance with state segregation laws at the time, he was only allowed to travel with and compete against other African-American wrestlers during his early career.

Nagurski had pinned him after a series of flying tackles and a full body press, however Luther Lindsay recovered to score the second fall after making Nagurski submit to a neckbreaker.

Luther Lindsay was eventually awarded the match when referee Freddie Steele disqualified Nagurski after refusing to break a hold.

Luther Lindsay injured his right pinky finger during the game, however the wrestlers later celebrated at Steve's Restaurant.

Luther Lindsay was the fifth man eliminated in the battle royal and, that same night, fought Jack O'Reilly to a draw.

Luther Lindsay faced Thesz again the following spring where they fought to another draw in Portland on April 29 and Seattle on April 1,1954.

Later that year, Luther Lindsay was brought to Texas by promoter Morris Siegel.

Later during the main event between McShain and Mills, Luther Lindsay appeared to help McShain in his match.

Luther Lindsay defeated Danny Plechas via disqualification when his partner interfered.

Luther Lindsay was scheduled to face Duke Keomuka in the opening rounds of a tournament to meet NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz.

Thesz scored the first pinfall and, while Luther Lindsay rallied to take the second, Thesz took the third fall for the victory.

In late 1957, Luther Lindsay wrestled for promoter Pedro Martinez in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Luther Lindsay later fought to draws with Joe Blanchard and Tiger Tasker.

Luther Lindsay later lost the NWA Pacific Northwest title to Mad Dog Vachon on October 4,1962.

Luther Lindsay faced Pat Patterson and Dean Ho during their first stints in Portland defeating them both in two matches each.

Luther Lindsay defeated Dean Ho in a singles match at the end of the month.

Several days later, Luther Lindsay became involved in a car accident when he smashed his car into a utility pole to avoid hitting another vehicle.

Luther Lindsay was replaced by Hodge and lost the tag team titles to The Destroyer and Art Michalik in Salem on September 9,1963.

On July 28,1964, Luther Lindsay was part of an 18-man battle royal which featured Gene Kiniski, Tosh Togo, Mr Moto and King Curtis Iaukea.

Luther Lindsay returned to the Pacific Northwest later that year and was one of several tag team partners of Pepper Martin.

Luther Lindsay regained the NWA Hawaii United States Heavyweight Championship from King Curtis Iaukea on September 29,1965.

Luther Lindsay lost the heavyweight title to Ron Reed the following night.

Luther Lindsay joined a number of other African-American wrestlers in the Mid-Atlantic territory for promoter Jim Crockett and, during a televised match at the television studio in late 1966, an incident between Lindsey and Ike Eakins caused WDBJ to cancel Crockett's weekly television show All Star Wrestling.

However, Luther Lindsay remained in the promotion defeating Pedro Godoy in Roanoke, Virginia on January 31,1967.

Luther Lindsay won the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight title from Beauregard, substituting for Moondog Mayne, on November 30,1968.

Luther Lindsay scored a string of victories the following spring defeating Art Nelson, Bill Bowman, Bobby Paul, Frank Morrell and Johnny Heidman within a six-week period.

Luther Lindsay apparently suffered a fatal heart attack when he made the pin and died on top of his opponent.

When Luther Lindsay did not respond to the referee after scoring the pinfall, the police were called.

Luther Lindsay was taken back to the dressing room where he was declared dead shortly thereafter.

Luther Lindsay's body was kept at his old alma mater, Hampton Institute, for a week before his burial.

Luther Lindsay's funeral was attended by several well-known wrestlers including Les Thatcher who was one of the pallbearers.

On March 31,2017, Luther Lindsay was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Legacy wing.