Verne Gagne
| Verne Gagne | |
|---|---|
Gagne in 1964 as AWA World Heavyweight Champion | |
| Birth name | Laverne Clarence Gagne |
| Born | February 26, 1926 Corcoran, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | April 27, 2015 (aged 89) Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
| Children | 4, including Greg Gagne |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Verne Gagne |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Trained by | Joe Pazandak Tony Stecher |
| Debut | 1949 |
| Retired | 1986 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Unit | Underwater Demolition Team |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Collegiate Wrestling | ||
| Representing the Minnesota Golden Gophers | ||
| NCAA Championships | ||
| 1948 Bethlehem | 191 lb | |
| 1949 Fort Collins | Heavyweight | |
| 1947 Champaign | Heavyweight | |
| Part of a series on |
| Professional wrestling |
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Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne (/ˈɡɑːnjeɪ/ GAHN-yay; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded.
As an amateur wrestler, Gagne won two NCAA titles and was an alternate for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at the 1948 Olympic Games before turning professional in 1949. Gagne was an 11-time world champion in major professional wrestling promotions, having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship ten times and the IWA World Heavyweight Championship once as the IWA World Heavyweight Championship was considered a world championship in Japan. He has also won top professional wrestling promotions World Heavyweight Championships such as the World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) five times. He holds the record for the longest combined reign as a world champion in North America and is third (behind Bruno Sammartino and Lou Thesz) for the longest single world title reign. He is one of only seven men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW and Professional Wrestling halls of fame.