Wahoo McDaniel is notable for having held the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship five times.
20 Facts About Wahoo McDaniel
2.
Wahoo McDaniel is often compared to his contemporary, Chief Jay Strongbow, due to both portraying similar Native American gimmicks.
3.
Unlike Strongbow, Wahoo McDaniel was legitimately Native American.
4.
Wahoo McDaniel was born in the small town of Bernice, Louisiana, in 1938.
5.
Wahoo McDaniel's father worked in oil and he moved to several towns before settling down in Midland, Texas, while McDaniel was in middle school.
6.
Wahoo McDaniel attended Midland High School, where he was a track state champion in the shot put and second in the state in the discus.
7.
The name "Wahoo McDaniel" actually came from his father Hugh, who was known as "Big Wahoo McDaniel".
8.
Wahoo McDaniel became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and was a part of Wilkinson's Sooners football program, where he holds the record for the longest punt at 91 yards.
9.
Wahoo McDaniel began his career as a professional football player in 1960, playing for the Houston Oilers during their inaugural AFL Championship-winning season.
10.
Wahoo McDaniel then played for the Denver Broncos between 1961 and 1963.
11.
When his football career ended in 1969, Wahoo McDaniel became a full-time wrestler.
12.
In 1974, Wahoo McDaniel came to Mid-Atlantic to wrestle for Jim Crockett Promotions and help build up the territory as a singles territory in a feud with a rival from Texas, Johnny Valentine.
13.
Wahoo McDaniel won the Mid-Atlantic title from Valentine on June 29,1975, in Asheville, North Carolina.
14.
In 1977, Johnny Valentine's son Greg Valentine attacked Wahoo McDaniel and broke his leg in an angle to establish Greg as Johnny's successor.
15.
Valentine originally won the title on June 11,1977, with Wahoo McDaniel regaining it in Raleigh, North Carolina, two months later.
16.
Wahoo McDaniel worked in independent shows until retiring in 1996.
17.
Wahoo McDaniel has four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren from Dustin and Brittany through Nikki and twins, Morgan and Taylor, through Cindi.
18.
Wahoo McDaniel's health started to deteriorate in the mid-1990s, which led to his retirement in 1996, and he eventually lost both kidneys in 2000.
19.
Wahoo McDaniel was awaiting a kidney transplant when he suffered a stroke and died of complications from diabetes and kidney failure on April 18,2002, in Houston, Texas.
20.
Wahoo McDaniel's body was cremated and his ashes are with his daughter Nikki Houston, Texas.