Chris Taylor
- Thread starter CrossCyed
- Start date
I guy I see at the gym remembers when Chris was a bouncer. I'll have to ask him about that.
My guess is that when Chris asked someone to leave there was no discussion...
Oh yes, I remember hearing of him. A mountain of a man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Taylor_(wrestler)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930718/SPORTS11/50710012
http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosT/taylor_olympics.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Taylor_(wrestler)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19930718/SPORTS11/50710012
http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosT/taylor_olympics.html
I was getting a haircut at the west street barber back in 1970 or 71 don't remember. The barber was telling me about this huge heavyweight wrestler who was transferring to ISU....as I recall he was a JC transfer.
Later watched him wrestle for ISU, along with Gable and Chuck Jean.
I have a framed 1972-73 wrestling poster, showing Chris holding up Hilton Coliseum between his outstretched hands.:wink:
He was very fast on his feet for his size...If he took you down to the mat when you were standing up position, call for an ambulance immediately cause his body slam and 400 lbs were lethal to everyone he took down.
He was a gentle giant of a man who drank pitchers of beer like I drank a mug. He got Phlebitis in his legs when on the pro circuit and died of heart attack. Bio says heart attack but prob the combination of Phlebitis and liver problems caused a heart attack.
I saw him wrestle as a pro in Hilton also.
His widow and daughter lived in Story City at the time of his death, thinking Chris worked part time as a deputy for Story City. Bio says he was single at the time of his death, but know he had a wife and a child.
Believe it or not, there were 24 wrestling meet dates on that poster. Three or four times with back to back major meets in 2 days, home and away. Colorado had a wrestling team back then, don't think they do now. :yes:
Last edited:
Here's some info on his professional wrestling career:
[SIZE=-1]Wrestler: [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Chris Taylor[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Real Name:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Chris Taylor[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Birthday:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]June 13, 1950 [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Hometown:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Dowagiac, Michigan[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Marital Status:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Single (at time of death)[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Height & Weight:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]6'5" / 412 lbs[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Trained by:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Verne Gagne
Billy Robinson[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Debut:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1974 vs Rene Goulet[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Previous Gimmicks:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Finishing Move:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Bearhug [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Favorite Moves:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Notable Feuds:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Aleksandr Medved[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Bronze Medal In Freestyle Wrestling (8/30/72 - Olympics - Munich Germany);
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]1973: Chris Taylor began wrestling professionally and briefly teamed with fellow olympian Ken Patera..
????: Chris Taylor won a big 2-ring battle royal while working in the American Wrestling Association..
1977: Chris Taylor was forced into retirement due to serious illnes..
June 30, 1979: Chris Taylor (age 29) died of a heart attack in Story City, Iowa..
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Wrestler: [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Chris Taylor[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Real Name:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Chris Taylor[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Birthday:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]June 13, 1950 [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Hometown:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Dowagiac, Michigan[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Marital Status:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Single (at time of death)[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Height & Weight:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]6'5" / 412 lbs[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Trained by:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Verne Gagne
Billy Robinson[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Debut:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]1974 vs Rene Goulet[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Previous Gimmicks:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Finishing Move:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Bearhug [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Favorite Moves:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Notable Feuds:[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Aleksandr Medved[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Bronze Medal In Freestyle Wrestling (8/30/72 - Olympics - Munich Germany);
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]1973: Chris Taylor began wrestling professionally and briefly teamed with fellow olympian Ken Patera..
????: Chris Taylor won a big 2-ring battle royal while working in the American Wrestling Association..
1977: Chris Taylor was forced into retirement due to serious illnes..
June 30, 1979: Chris Taylor (age 29) died of a heart attack in Story City, Iowa..
[/SIZE]
We had a discussion about Chris about a year ago.....I used to be a ring second for the AWA, back in Denver.....had the pleasure of walking Chris to the ring back in the day, he was a gentle Giant of a man.....
I remember when Chris first appeared on campus. A big deal was made about the fact that there was no "normal" scale on campus large enough to weigh him so they took him to the meat lab and weighed him there. I think there was a story in the Daily back then about it.
Not sure if they still do it today, but back in those days there were actually some of the cheerleaders at wrestling meets. When Chris wrestled, sooner or later he would get the opposing wrestler into a pin position and Chris would sometimes look to the cheerleaders for a thumbs down signal before he pinned him.
There also was a famous photo of him holding two little kids, Cyclone fans, one in the palm of each hand.
One other instance I remember was one match where the other wrestler got in on a single leg with Chris, but then he couldn't lift the leg. The wrestler looked up at the ref who just held out his hands and shrugged his shoulders.
Chris was fun to watch.
Not sure if they still do it today, but back in those days there were actually some of the cheerleaders at wrestling meets. When Chris wrestled, sooner or later he would get the opposing wrestler into a pin position and Chris would sometimes look to the cheerleaders for a thumbs down signal before he pinned him.
There also was a famous photo of him holding two little kids, Cyclone fans, one in the palm of each hand.
One other instance I remember was one match where the other wrestler got in on a single leg with Chris, but then he couldn't lift the leg. The wrestler looked up at the ref who just held out his hands and shrugged his shoulders.
Chris was fun to watch.
Chris was fun to watch.[/quote]
When Chris walked on to the mat, the crowd went crazy. We all stood and cheered until he pinned the opponent. Usually in the first period.
When Chris walked on to the mat, the crowd went crazy. We all stood and cheered until he pinned the opponent. Usually in the first period.
Once I saw Chris warming up for his match when a small boy with a yoyo came by to talk to him. Chris started trying to make the yoyo work rather than continue warm up and really entertained the kid. Sometimes it didn't make a difference because if the opposing team wasn't in a position to win, they would often forfeit the heavyweight match causing a massive round of boos from the audience who came to see Chris wrestle.
Chris always wore short sleeves and did not wear a coat even in winter. He did try to be like every athlete so he would only take one towel instead of two and he would wedge himself into a coach seat rather than sit in a larger first class seat when the team traveled.
Chris did like to help ISU and it's teams. He went out for football with Johnnny Majors. He never saw the field because they couldn't find a helmet large enough to fit him. Tightend Keith Krefle (later played for the Philadelphia Eagles) put on Chris' shoulder pads to show us how large they were. They were so large that even Keith could not keep them on his shoulders. Majors said he would have played on the offensive line and that he was best on pass protection because no one could get around him. He was less effective on run blocking because he moved laterally a lot better than he charged straight ahead. Chris also tried to help the fledgling hockey team. They played in Hilton at the time but crowds were sparse. They invited Chris to play broomball against the cheerleaders during the intermissions. They did get a big crowd for that. It was hilarious seeing Chris with those cheerleaders buzzing around him.
Chris always wore short sleeves and did not wear a coat even in winter. He did try to be like every athlete so he would only take one towel instead of two and he would wedge himself into a coach seat rather than sit in a larger first class seat when the team traveled.
Chris did like to help ISU and it's teams. He went out for football with Johnnny Majors. He never saw the field because they couldn't find a helmet large enough to fit him. Tightend Keith Krefle (later played for the Philadelphia Eagles) put on Chris' shoulder pads to show us how large they were. They were so large that even Keith could not keep them on his shoulders. Majors said he would have played on the offensive line and that he was best on pass protection because no one could get around him. He was less effective on run blocking because he moved laterally a lot better than he charged straight ahead. Chris also tried to help the fledgling hockey team. They played in Hilton at the time but crowds were sparse. They invited Chris to play broomball against the cheerleaders during the intermissions. They did get a big crowd for that. It was hilarious seeing Chris with those cheerleaders buzzing around him.
I went to South Hamilton High School in Jewell. I think it was 1972 when we got our first Universal weight machine. Chris Taylor was one of the people that delivered it to the school. Chris lifted one side of the machine and three or four of us high school kids lifted the other to set it in place. He was a big, strong man!
I once heard Chris tell someone about what happened when he gave up on an attempt at dieting. He said that he got worried when he gained 45 lbs in two days. I'm not sure what the diet involved or what he consumed in those 2 days, but I sure wouldn't have wanted to pay the tab for whatever it was.
CT was weighed in the meat lab next to Kilde. In the Daily archives, there is a picture of him hanging on the meat hooks. My roommate wants to turn it into a poster.
One article I read a while back stated that CT weight would fluctuate between 400 and 450 pounds depending on what he had ate and what time of day it was. One day he would be 450, the next 400.
I wish I would been able to watch him wrestle.
One article I read a while back stated that CT weight would fluctuate between 400 and 450 pounds depending on what he had ate and what time of day it was. One day he would be 450, the next 400.
I wish I would been able to watch him wrestle.
I was not there to witness it, but heard a story about a party he went too. It was at the time there was talk of maybe trying to make him a football player.
The party was during off season. And was attended by a number of players, girlfriends, etc. Everyone was having a good time and as the night wore on, Chris sat in the middle of a couch.
The couch went straight into a "V". After Chris got off the couch four linemen, two on each side tried bending the couch back into a normal position. It couldn't be done. Whenever someone sat on that couch one side would raise an inch or two.
Everyone had a great laugh about it, but it bothered Chris the rest of the night. He just kept apologizing. But there was no need too, heck we're talking about a house with garage sale furniture and a bunch of 20 year olds just having a good time.
It was the winter of 1971. This story was shared with me by one of the tenants of the house - my brother.
The party was during off season. And was attended by a number of players, girlfriends, etc. Everyone was having a good time and as the night wore on, Chris sat in the middle of a couch.
The couch went straight into a "V". After Chris got off the couch four linemen, two on each side tried bending the couch back into a normal position. It couldn't be done. Whenever someone sat on that couch one side would raise an inch or two.
Everyone had a great laugh about it, but it bothered Chris the rest of the night. He just kept apologizing. But there was no need too, heck we're talking about a house with garage sale furniture and a bunch of 20 year olds just having a good time.
It was the winter of 1971. This story was shared with me by one of the tenants of the house - my brother.
