Bob Backlund travelled a lot of miles to earn his way into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame last Saturday night.
The Princeton, Minnesota native was inducted into that professional wrestling organization’s Hall of Fame with a class that included Bruno Sammartino and Donald Trump, a friend of the McMahon family that runs the WWE. The WWE Hall of Fame event was held at Madison Square Garden, the famous New York venue where Backlund wrestled so many times.
“I sold it out about 68 of 72 appearances,” Backlund told Sports Headliners. “I was an All-American boy.”
Among the appearances he won’t forget was February 20, 1978. That was the night he won the World Wrestling Federation title against Superstar Billy Graham.
Backlund then held the title for five years and 10 months. That rein was second only to his friend Sammartino’s championship run. “I am very happy we’re going in (the Hall of Fame) together,” Backlund said last Friday.
These days Backlund operates a heating oil business in Connecticut, is a spokesman for the WWE and has a training product called Gym in a Box. He’s come a long ways since being trained by Eddie Sharkey at the Seventh Street Gym in Minneapolis during the winter of 1973.
Later that year Backlund set out for his professional wrestling debut in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, driving a 1968 Chevy Impala. “I had $20 in my pocket,” Backlund recalled. “When I arrived I had 30 cents.”
Backlund’s career was launched, beginning a series of one night appearances in various parts of the United States and other places. It was a career that lasted on and off for three decades, and followed his wrestling success at Princeton High School and North Dakota State.
At Princeton High Backlund was a Minnesota state champion at 175 pounds, and he also played high school football for coaching legend Ron Stolski. At North Dakota State he was a defensive tackle who in January of 1972 helped the Bison win the national championship by making 20 tackles and recovering two fumbles. Two months later he dropped 40 pounds and was an NCAA champion at 190 pounds.
USA Network had scheduled a one hour WWE Hall of Fame special earlier this week . The Hall of Fame event was part of a WWE weekend that featured Sunday’s Wrestlemania 29.