BLOND AND BRAVERY
By Peter Vuono

     When my son was young we watched together a plethora of kids' TV shows. One of our favorites was "Hey Arnold". In the second season there was an episode called "Eugene Goes Bad". The gist of the story is that Arnold's  pal, Eugene finds out first hand that an action star he admires is just an actor and not really a hero at all. Eugene acts out and is disruptive at both home and school. One evening as Eugene walks the streets of NYC, he sees his hero,"Maurice" risking his life to save a child who is dangling from a fire escape. Eugene's faith in his hero is restored and he goes back to being the great person he once was.
     I am certain that some film or sports heroes would do the right thing if the opportunity arose but these incidents are rare in occurring in front of the eyes of a child or fan. This is a rare story of a time in the 90's when a king of the ring proved himself to be an avenger of the bullied.
     Herman Rhode Jr .who was the son of German immigrant parents was born in 1921 in Camden NJ. Herman loved sports and immediately joined the Camden YMCA. There he started wrestling  at age 9! He later expanded his interests and excelled in boxing, track and swimming. As he grew older he was incredibly handsome with the kind of chiseled body that a top bodybuilder would have. In a chance meeting with promoters Ray and Frank Hanley, Rhode became a professional wrestler and changed his name to Buddy Rogers.
     Rogers took the formula of the great Gorgeous George and pushed it up several notches. He bleached his hair, became a "heel" and developed an arrogant strut and swagger that made even the most docile fan incensed! Rogers became a fan favorite and was later dubbed"Nature Boy" by promoter Jack Pfefer. He became so popular, that he became world heavyweight champion in both of the major wrestling organizations, the NWA and the WWWF. When Rogers won his title at Comisky Park against Pat O'Conner on June 30, 1961 it registered an attendance record of 38,622. A record which would not be broken until 1984. After beating O'Conner, Rogers defiantly grabbed the microphone and yelled,"To a nicer guy, it couldn't happen!"
     Shortly before Buddy lost the belt to Bruno Sammartino in 1963, he incurred a mild heart attack. He continued to wrestle for the Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas but suffered a broken arm and broken hip. The hip injury made him retire from actual competition and he would from there on walk with a cane. He decided to do color commentary for two big leagues, the AWA and of course, the WWF.
    Rogers retired  to Lauderdale-By-The- Sea at age 69. By this time he had suffered, a heart attack, a by- pass operation and walked with a cane. He , at this time, was about to participate in an incident that would prove to all that he was much more than a ring icon.
   According to an article in the July 6, 1992 issue of the Brockton Enterprise, authored  by famed Chicago columnist, Bob Greene, the following occurred.: " It happened in a sandwich shop called LaSpada's Original Hoagies.near his house. As Nature Boy waited for his turkey hoagie, a huge, angry 29 year old man burst through the front door.According to local police, the man started screaming obscenities and calling the female employees vulgar names."
    " As the man turned to leave the sandwich shop, he noticed Nature Boy. The 29 year old allegedly said to Nature boy,'What are you looking at'? Nature Boy replied,'I don't think you talked to those girls very nice'. The 29 year old allegedly cursed at Nature Boy and then said,'If you want a piece of me, old man, let's go!"
  Greene goes on to say,"As Nature Boy recalled for me later, 'He was a big dude- I'd say 6 foot 4, 235lbs.,but nobody calls Buddy Rogers an old man.'
     "According to the police, the 29 year old lunged at Rogers.'I shoved him against the wall' .Nature Boy said. 'Then he grabs a metal chair. A big folding metal chair. He swings the chair and hits me in the mouth with it. I'm bleeding pretty bad. So I unload on him. The first thing I do is slug him in the solar plexus. He goes back against the refrigerator. I'm an old man, right!'
     'Then I give him another shot, and he goes flying into the kitchen and lands against the sink. I grab him again. He's holding on to my hair and he's screaming'Please stop it!' The guy's begging for mercy By now he's got me so tuned up.I'm ready to go some more. This guy; he's all mouth. This guy, he can't go'.
     Nature Boy walked away from the sandwich shop fight in great shape. The 29 year old was a scared mess. The Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Police praised Nature Boy. Sandwich shop employee Cynthia Marshall told reporters."Buddy was definitely a gentleman come to our aid".
     Two years later, Rogers would incur three strokes; two in one day. He was hooked up to life support but succumbed June 26, 1992 at age 71. He would later be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1994.
     Arnold's fictional pal Eugene would have loved Buddy Rogers for he was a champ both in and out of the ring. I'm sure he doesn't strut any longer in the hereafter as heroes who have received their reward don't have to. "To a nicer guy, it couldn't happen".