One
of the most accomplished wrestlers ever was Andre the Giant and over his nearly
30-year career he also became one of the most famous wrestlers too. You can
even say it was Andre who made Hulk Hogan who he is because of their WrestleMania
III match when Hogan defeated him with the “Body slam heard around the world”.
Andre began wrestling at
the age of 17 in 1963 but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that he began to make
a name for himself while he was in Japan. His first card, his rookie card of sorts,
was included in the 1973 Wrestling Annual #6 magazine. In 1974 he had cards in
the Yamakatsu set and in 1978 he appeared in the Amada Kings set.
The 1978 Amada Kings
release was made up of regular sized cards as well as minis and I believe Andre
appeared on at least four cards. This is one of those cards, and it is the mini
version. The card was $7 and was part of my COMC order, the reason it was
relatively cheap is because the bottom left corner is clipped.
You may not have noticed
but the guy about to be suplexed by Andre is fellow WWE Hall of Famer Antonio
Inoki.
They picked a great photo for the card. Andre's in-ring career was basically over when I started watching in the early 90's, but he had an amazing career.
ReplyDeleteGreat card! There is also menko set of the Amada Kings of the Square Ring.
ReplyDeleteI never really got into wrestling but Andre the Giant is one of the few that I can ID on sight without a second thought. Neat card. He's about double the size of the guy about to get slammed.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great card! I loved Andre even though I only got a chance to see him wrestle in the twilight of his career.
ReplyDelete"I'm on the brute squad!"
ReplyDeleteYou are the brute squad.
DeleteReal or not... I would never trade places with Mr. Inoki. That's straight up crazy. Beautiful card though.
ReplyDelete