Scott Teal - The Last Outlaw

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hansen, Stan
The Last Outlaw / by Stan Hansen, with Scott Teal Kindle ed.
1. Hansen, Stan. 2. SportsUnited StatesBiography. 3. WrestlingUnited StatesBiography.
I. Teal, Scott. II. Title.

I began writing this book because I wanted people to enjoy stories and remember some of the great characters from the professional wrestling business. When people look back and remember professional wrestling of the past, the individual wrestlers werent carbon copies of each other. They all had different styles, physiques, personalities, and talent. I think most of the modern day wrestling fans have no idea of the amount of talent the wrestlers from the 60s through the 90s had. Not only were they independent, but they were innovative, both in and out of the ring. They brought wrestling to the cities on a weekly basis and only had their charisma to draw fans to the arenas. Their success was solely dependent on how well they sold their character to the people. They didnt have nationwide television programs to sell their shows. They had nothing more than their own talent and ring psychology. And with the new era of "sports entertainment," that psychology and empathy with the audience has faded into history.

For those reasons, it is to those great professionals that I dedicate this book.

Most of all, I want to thank my wife Yumi, the love of my life. She saved me by changing the direction I was headed years ago. She righted the ship (Hansen in Japanese) and made my life.

I want to thank my family for putting up with all my faults and all the long periods of time that I was away from them. They were the backbone for my purpose of wrestling all these years.

Two special people in my life who deserve special mention are

Terry Funk, who broke me into the wrestling business. Without him, I never would have had the opportunity to write this book.

Pete Roberts, the true brother that I never had. His friendship is one of the best things that came out of my years of wrestling.

I also would like to acknowledge:

Bruiser Brody, my partner, and friend. Together, we achieved a position that few others have achieved. He was definitely a major part of that success.

Giant Baba, who gave me the opportunity to be promoted in Japan and to be an integral part of All Japans business.

Andre the Giant, for helping "make" Stan Hansen in Japan.

Antonio Inoki, for giving me my first opportunity to get over in Japan.

Ole Anderson, for being a friend during some hard personal times and for being up front with me from the promotional side of the business in the States.

Last, but not least, I want to thank all the great talent I fought over the years: Bruno Sammartino, Terry Funk, Andre the Giant, Steve Williams, and Terry Gordy, just to name a few. And most of all, I want to acknowledge the Japanese wrestlers: Giant Baba, Antonio Inoki, Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, and Kenta Kobashi. Without those great Japanese opponents, there could not have been the great matches I was involved in over the 27 years.

A big thank you to my friend in Japan, Koji Miyamoto, who answered questions about wrestling in Japan when my editor couldn't find what he needed elsewhere. J Michael Kenyons expertise in both my football and wrestling background also proved invaluable to us and Bill Burnett is to be commended for doing a fine job of proofreading.

I also want to thank Scott Teal for all the time he has invested in this book. We have been working on it for a little more than four years and his patience is surely appreciated. Although the words are mine, his proofreading and editing have made it so much better and it could never have been published without his expertise. I also thank him for adding historical data to the many, many years and matches that are referenced to. After years of working together, we have developed a friendship through both our common Christian faith and our love for the wrestling business.

Stan and I first met in January 1977 when we were both booked on a tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling. At the time, the promotion would bring in a variety of nationalities a few Americans, a couple of Canadians, and a couple of Englishmen. I went over with Dave Taylor, another Englishman, but he contracted peritonitis and went to the hospital. Stan and I went to the hospital to visit him. We hit it off and our friendship grew from there.

The thing I remember the most about that first tour was that we had to sleep on the floor of one of the hotels. Another story I like to tell took place in a club to which we were invited by the Japanese. They had a small band playing on a stage. After we downed several drinks, they invited Stan to get on stage and sing something. With two guitars and a drummer trying to follow along, Stan proceeded to belt out his rendition of "Deep in the Heart of Texas." The funny thing was, none of the Japanese there could understand English, so they didnt know what he was saying. When he finished, Stan said, "You guys take it easy. After the band takes a fifteen-minute break, well be back." As soon as he finished the last sentence, he tossed the microphone over his shoulder and jumped down off the stage. What Stan didnt realize was that the mike hit the drummer in the forehead. Stan just walked on as if nothing had happened.