Rickard - Wrestlings Greatest Moments

Success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan....

Ive always wondered why so many writers have phonebook size acknowledgments, now I know. This book would never have happened without the help of many, chief among them Derek The Dean Burgan and Sir James Guttman. Derek got me started writing about wrestling for his site Gumgod.com and James encouraged me to write for World Wrestling Insanity. Both are great guys, and both represent the new generation of wrestling journalists people who respect the sport but arent afraid to question. Thanks also go out to Stu Saks from Pro Wrestling Illustrated for giving me a shot as well.

Special thanks to my editor Michael Holmes who was nothing short of amazing in helping to make this happen. His guidance and encouragement helped keep this project on track and helped me keep my sanity. Thanks also to Mallory Mahling who read the book back when it was still just a manuscript. Thanks to David Dale for proofreading and offering some much needed constructive criticism. Id also like to thank the legions of fans online that filled me in on angles I hadnt had the chance to see.

During the last year, Ive had a lot of encouragement from friends and family. Thanks to my parents, my brother Dave and his family, Laura, Tabby, Mighty Mel, Chris, and everyone else who asked, Hows the book coming? and rallied me to make it the best it could be.

Of course, none of this would have happened without my grandmother; she got me hooked on wrestling and believed in me when not too many other people did. This book is for her and the generations of fans who have enjoyed the sport of kings.

And, last but not least, thanks to the men and women who have given so much to make professional wrestling one of the greatest forms of entertainment in the world.

Pages : Globe Photos

Page : George Napolitano

Pages : Archive Photos

Page : Howard Baum

All other photos from the ECW archives.

All uncredited photos are from the ECW archives.

Andre the Giant

Rock meets wrestling

Dick Murdoch in St. Louis

Andy Kaufman and Jerry The King Lawler

The Iron Sheik

Bob Backlund

Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes
HOWARD BAUM

Greg Valentine in action

Cowboy Bill Watts and Krusher Kruschev

Big John Studd

Black Jack Mulligan

Superfly Jimmy Snuka

Ric Flair

Ricky The Dragon Steamboat

Paul Orndorff

Rowdy Roddy Piper

The Von Erichs

The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and Virgil

Jake The Snake Roberts DDTs Sting

A Freebird, A Rebel, Michael Hayes

Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert

The American Dream and Magnum T.A.

Triple H

Kane

The Undertaker