Gene Anderson

Gene Anderson (born 1933 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died October 31, 1991) was a professional wrestler famous for his days of teaming with his "brother" Ole Anderson.

Career

Gene Anderson started wrestling in 1958 after being trained by Verne Gagne. In the late 1960's, he formed a tag team with his "brother", Lars Anderson. They wrestled in the Florida territories and won some tag team titles together.

Gene then formed a tag team called the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with his "brother" Ole Anderson in the 1970's that was one of the most successful heel tag teams in the history of professional wrestling. They dominated the tag team scene until Gene retired to become a manager in 1981.

Gene and Ole would hold tryouts for wanna-be wrestlers during the late 1970's and early 1980's. They would beat the guys who showed up until they were bloodied an beaten. They also charged them for this torture. If anybody made it through that, they really had to want to be a wrestler. Al Snow is one that did.

When Gene quit wrestling, he became a heel manager for a few years, before retiring from wrestling in 1984. He managed Ivan Koloff, Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka.

After retiring, Gene became a Deputy Sheriff in North Carolina but died of a sudden heart attack on October 31, 1991.

Trivia

• Gene's son, Brad Anderson, is also a professional wrestler and still competes on the independent circuit.
• Gene was only related to his son Brad. He was not related to Ole, Lars or Arn Anderson. He has sometimes been portrayed as Ric Flair's cousin, but this is not true either.

Profile

• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 250 lbs.
• Birthday: 1939
• Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Death Date: October 31, 1991
• Cause of Death: Heart Attack
• Trainer: Verne Gagne
• Nickname: "Pretty Boy"

Championships/Accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance

• 7-Time NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Ole Anderson 6 times and Lars Anderson once)
• 4-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion (with Ole Anderson)
• 1-Time NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Champion (with Ole Anderson)

Georgia Championship Wrestling

• 1-Time Georgia Television Champion
• 6-Time Georgia Tag Team Champion (with Ole Anderson)

Florida Championship Wrestling

• 2-Time Florida Southern Tag Team Champion (with Lars Anderson)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 60 of the best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003 with Ivan Koloff. He was not ranked with Ole because PWI said their team was before the PWI Years.
• Gene won the PWI Tag Team of the Year Award with Ole in 1975 and 1977.