Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
Luther Lindsay
Luther Goodall was a stand out football player in his college years. After graduating, he found it impossible to play professionally in the segregated NFL. He decided to move up north to Canada and play with the Canadian Football League. It was there where Luther met Stu Hart and Hart convinced him to try his hand at professional wrestling. Luther was trained by Hart in the infamous Hart Dungeon and quickly adapted to the business. Luther began assisting Stu in training upcoming wrestlers. He would take the name ‘Luther Lindsay’ and have his very first match in 1951.
Luther Lindsay and Hart became close friends, so much so that Hart gave his son Ross the middle name of Lindsay to honor his best friend. Luther also held the distinction of making his mentor Hart submit during a match. Lindsay would eventually be crowned the Negro Heavyweight champion in the United States (which was a segregated championship) and defended against the likes of Art Thomas, Dory Dixon and Bearcat Wright. Lindsay became so popular with fans and his fellow wrestlers, that he was placed in interracial matches during a time where segregation was still the norm.
Lindsay would challenge then NWA world champion Lou Thesz and ‘Whipper’ Billy Watson for the title on a number of occasions. Thesz paid Lindsay the ultimate compliment by saying he was the greatest black wrestler of all time, but also added that his place in history was not because he was black, but in spite of being black.
On February 21st, 1972…Lindsay faced Bobby Paul in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lindsay used a top rope splash to pin Paul. After the match, Lindsay remained motionless on top of his opponent. He was rushed to the locker room, where he was pronounced dead. Luther suffered a heart attack at the conclusion of his match. Luther Lindsay was just 47 years old at the time of his death.