Maurice Vachon

Career

Maurice Vachon, the second of fourteen children, began amateur wrestling when he was 12 years old. Over the years, he developed a powerful musculature that brought him success in the sport.

In May 1947, he won his first Canadian championship in the middleweight category in Athabasca, Alberta. Now confirmed to be one of the best wrestlers in the country, Vachon followed up his success in 1948 by representing Canada at the Summer Olympic Games in London, England. After beating the champion from India, which had recently become an independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth, in 22 seconds, he finished his Olympic performance in seventh place. He returned to international competition in 1950 for the British Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games) in Auckland, New Zealand. He made it to the finals and won the gold medal.

Upon returning to Canada, he decided to pursue a career in professional wrestling. He managed to make a name for himself in the sport by being aggressive and using unfair tactics. Witnessing his boundless energy, an American promoter nicknamed him "Mad Dog," a nickname that stuck with him for the rest of his career. Continental champion on several occasions in various wrestling associations, crowds flocked to see him all over America and he always put on a good show. By the end of Vachon’s career in 1986, the 57-year-old had taken part in over 13,000 amateur and professional matches.

A year after his retirement, while out for his morning jog, he was involved in a traffic accident. As a result of this unfortunate accident, his right leg had to be amputated below the knee.

Honours

In 2009, Maurice Vachon was inducted into the Québec Sports Hall of Fame The following year, he was also inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame.