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Angelo Mosca

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Angelo Mosca
No. 68
Mosca, circa 1984
Born:(1937-02-13)February 13, 1937
Waltham, Massachusetts,U.S.
Died:November 6, 2021(2021-11-06)(aged 84)
Hamilton, Ontario,Canada
Career information
CFL statusNational
Position(s)DT
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight275 lb (125 kg)
CollegeNotre Dame
NFL draft1959,Round: 30, Pick: 350
Drafted byPhiladelphia Eagles
Career history
As player
1958–1959Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1960–1961Ottawa Rough Riders
1962Montreal Alouettes
1962–1972Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1963,1970
CFL East All-Star1960,1963,1965,1966,1970
AwardsCFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award - Runner Up(1963,1970)
Honors5×Grey Cupchampion (1960,1963,1965,1967,1972)
Career stats

Angelo Valentino Mosca[1](February 13, 1937 – November 6, 2021) was an American professionalfootballplayer andprofessional wrestler.He was adefensive linemanin theCanadian Football League(CFL). As a wrestler, Mosca was known by the nicknamesKing Kong Moscaandthe Mighty Hercules.He had a son, Angelo Jr., who also wrestled. Mosca was elected to theCanadian Football Hall of Famein 1987, the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and theOntario Sports Hall of Famein 2013.[2]

Early life[edit]

The second oldest boy in a family of four boys and seven girls,[3]Mosca was born on February 13, 1937, inWaltham, Massachusetts,to Agnes and Angelo Mosca.[1]His father Angelo was an immigrant fromPanniin southern Italy, and his mother's mother was an African-American (and also half-Italianand half-Black), which was kept a secret from neighbours in their segregated, working-class neighbourhood in Waltham sinceNew Englandwas not known for its racial tolerance at the time.[1][4]Mosca's parents were alcoholics, and he was often neglected and abused by them, which opted Mosca to run away from home at the age of 16.[3]His father died in 1986, and his mother died at the age of 93.[3]

Football career[edit]

Mosca attended theUniversity of Notre Dameon a scholarship, but was kicked out forbookmaking.[4]He then went toWyoming,but was booted out for theft, allegedly stealing typewriters and cameras from stores and selling them on campus.[3][4]He was drafted by theNFL'sPhiladelphia Eaglesin 1959 in the 30th round (350th overall).[2][4]He had already decided to play in theCFL,in 1958 for theHamilton Tiger-Cats.[2]He went toHamiltonthe same year after graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in business administration.[4]He was traded to theOttawa Rough RidersforHardiman Curetonon August 15, 1960, and played for the Rough Riders in 1960 and 1961 before joining theMontreal Alouettesin 1962 for 5 games.[2]He played his remaining years, 1962 to 1972 in Hamilton and was a five-time all star.[2]

Mosca played both offensive and defensive tackle, middle guard and end.[5]He played in nineGrey Cupgames, more than any other player in CFL history, tied with his teammateJohn Barrow.[2][5]Mosca's teams won five Grey Cup games, one with theOttawa Rough Ridersand four with theHamilton Tiger-Cats.[2]

He is infamous for the51st Grey Cupgame out-of-bounds and late hit onBC Lionsstar running backWillie Fleming.[6][3]With Fleming out of the game, the Tiger-Cats went on to win theGrey Cupand Mosca's reputation as being the meanest CFL player grew.[6][3]It was a reputation he later promoted as the notorious professional wrestler "King Kong" Mosca.[6][3]Mosca was the runner-up for the Schenley Most Outstanding Lineman award in 1963 and 1970.[5]He also only missed one game his entire football career.[3]

On August 25, 2015, the Tiger-Cats announced that they would retire Mosca's jersey number 68.[3]

Professional wrestling career[edit]

Angelo Mosca
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)King Kong[7]
King Mosca[7]
Angelo Mosca Sr.[7]
Billed height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[8]
Billed weight319 lb (145 kg)[8]
Debut1960
Retired1986

Mosca was brought into wrestling by Montreal promoterEddie Quinn.[4]He began wrestling in the off-season, and became a full-time wrestler after his retirement from football.[4]He wrestled all across North America, always at or near the top of the card, and almost always as a heel, even in Toronto until the late 1970s, then he became a face, and in the early 1980s, the lead face.[4][3]He also wrestled in Verne Gagne'sAmerican Wrestling Associationand inStu Hart'sStampede Wrestling,where he was frequently paired withSuperstar Billy Grahamin tag team competition.[4]During the mid '70s and '80s, Mosca worked in the Carolinas, facing top stars such asRic Flair,Wahoo McDaniel,Blackjack Mulligan,andIvan Koloff.[3]

Mosca and Bob Backlund,c. 1982

In 1981, during his time in theWorld Wrestling Federation,Mosca wrestled as (often – in a reversal of his character in Canada) as the promotion's most hated heel due to his brutal style.[4][3]He became a top challenger to WWF ChampionBob Backlund's World Championship, but was not successful in winning the belt.[9]He also engaged in a feud withPat Patterson,a part-time wrestler who also did color commentary on the WWF's syndicated programs, after Mosca attacked Patterson at a television taping with a water pitcher; Patterson had grown disgusted with Mosca's rulebreaking tactics and, setting off the attack, publicly thanked a referee for disqualifying Mosca for refusing to pin his jobber opponent.[9]

Mosca was the colour commentator and wrestled for the WWF TV tapings in Ontario from August 1984 until January 1985 as a babyface.[3][9]After being fired by the WWF, Mosca promoted the NWA in Ontario in 1985-87. He and Milt Avruskin hosted a TV show featuring compilations of NWA matches. Mosca organized an NWA card in Hamilton in February 1986 called "Moscamania" that drew an excellent house of 12,000 but the follow-up a year later drew only 3,200. He retired from wrestling in 1986.[3][9]

Mosca's son, Angelo Mosca Jr., had a brief wrestling career.[4][10]Mosca managed his son for a brief time in late 1984.[10]

Personal life[edit]

Mosca lived in and around Hamilton for many years, and lived inSt. Catharines, Ontario,with his wife, Helen, a real estate agent.[2]He first met her in 1996 at a Ticats game; they married in 1998.[11]His first wife, the mother of his two children, died of cancer.[3]His second wife, to whom he was married 20 years, suffered a fatal heart attack.[3]

He authored a book with Steve Milton calledTell Me To My Face,published by Lulu Canada Inc.[2][4]The book was released in September 2011.[12]

In 2011, Mosca got into a fight with formerB.C. LionsquarterbackJoe Kappat a CFL alumni luncheon regarding a controversial hit Mosca had made in the 1963 Grey Cup game, where Mosca ended up hitting Kapp on the head with his cane.[13][3]The video of the fight went viral, receiving over 647,000 views on YouTube[14]and mentions onESPN'sMonday Night Footballand onFox TV'sThe O'Reilly Factor.[15]Mosca auctioned off the cane he used against Kapp at the following year's alumni luncheon for $7,700 (equivalent to $9,923 in 2023), with the money going towards the alumni association's "dire straits" fund for struggling former players.[14]

Mosca appeared in several Canadian TV commercials in the 1970s and 1980s.[2]Mosca still made PR appearances for the league and the Ticats and for other businesses.[2]

In February 2015, he revealed that he had been diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease,[11]which took away his ability to swallow or eat solid foods.[4][3]

His number 68 football jersey was retired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football club on August 27, 2015, in a ceremony at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.[3]

In July 2016, Mosca was named part of aclass actionlawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[16]US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryantdismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.[17]

Death[edit]

Mosca died at the Maccassa Lodge in Hamilton at age 84 on November 6, 2021.[4]He had stayed there for a number of years.[4]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

North American football[edit]

Professional wrestling[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcHawthorn, Tom (November 11, 2021)."Hulking Hamilton Ticats legend Angelo Mosca was known as Mr. Nasty".The Globe and Mail.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  2. ^abcdefghijkl"Angelo Mosca".oshof.ca.Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.Archived fromthe originalon December 28, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 25,2014.
  3. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrsMooneyham, Mike (November 27, 2021)."Sports giant Angelo Mosca was a character for the ages".The Post and Courier.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnoOliver, Greg (November 6, 2021)."Angelo Mosca dead at 84".Slam! Wrestling.RetrievedJanuary 18,2022.
  5. ^abcd"Angelo Mosca – Class of 1987".Canadian Football Hall of Fame.RetrievedJanuary 18,2022.
  6. ^abcHeroes of the Game, A History of The Grey Cup - Stephen Thiele, Moulin Publishing 1997
  7. ^abc"Wrestler's Database: Angelo Mosca".Cagematch.RetrievedSeptember 20,2021.
  8. ^abShields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009).WWE Encyclopedia.DK.p.14.ISBN978-0-7566-4190-0.
  9. ^abcdRose, Bryan (November 6, 2021)."Angelo Mosca passes away at 84 years old".Wrestling Observer Newsletter.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  10. ^ab"Angelo Mosca Jr. bio".Online World of Wrestling.RetrievedJanuary 18,2022.
  11. ^abRush, Curtis (February 27, 2015)."Sports giant Angelo Mosca copes with Alzheimer's | Toronto Star".Toronto Sun.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  12. ^Simmons, Steve (September 14, 2011)."Simmons: The two sides of Angelo Mosca".Toronto Sun.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  13. ^"CFL greats' fight 'most bizarre thing'".CBC Sports.November 27, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  14. ^abKennedy, Brendan (November 23, 2012)."Grey Cup: Angelo Mosca's cane auctioned for charity".Toronto Star.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  15. ^"Angelo Mosca to discuss Grey Cup fight on Dr. Phil".Toronto Star.December 2, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 28,2015.
  16. ^"WWE sued in wrestler class action lawsuit featuring Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, Paul 'Mr Wonderful' Orndorff".FoxSports.com.Fox Entertainment Group(21st Century Fox). July 18, 2015.RetrievedJuly 20,2016.
  17. ^Robinson, Byron (September 22, 2018)."Piledriver: WWE uses 'Hell in a Cell' as springboard to future shows".Montgomery Advertiser.RetrievedOctober 23,2018.
  18. ^"AWA British Empire Heavyweight Title".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  19. ^"AWA/NWA United States Heavyweight Title (San Francisco)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  20. ^Kreikenbohm, Philip."NWA Florida Bahamian Championship".Cagematch.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  21. ^"NWA Global Tag Team Title (Florida)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  22. ^"Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  23. ^"Columbus Heavyweight Title (Georgia)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  24. ^"NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  25. ^"Macon Heavyweight Title (Georgia)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  26. ^Hoops, Brian (January 17, 2019)."Pro wrestling history (01/17): Vader wins IWGP heavyweight title".Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online.RetrievedJanuary 18,2019.
  27. ^"NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  28. ^"Brass Knuckles Title (Oklahoma & Louisiana)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  29. ^"North American Heavyweight Title (Alberta & Saskatchewan)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.
  30. ^Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990".Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart.Event occurs at 27:55.Shaw Cable.Calgary 7.
  31. ^"Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)".Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Archived fromthe originalon March 11, 2005.
  32. ^"Caribbean Heavyweight Title (Puerto Rico)".Wrestling Titles.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.

External links[edit]

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