Ernie Ladd

Early life Ladd was born in Rayville, Louisiana, and raised in Orange, Texas by his mother Louada and stepfather James Ford. As a sophomore he was on Wallace's 1954 state championship football team. As a senior, he was the football team co-captain. Ladd was also an All-State basketball player who helped lead Wallace to a state championship in basketball.

College career Ladd subsequently attended Grambling State University on a basketball scholarship. Robinson won his first Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship with Ladd on the team. Another teammate at Grambling and later with the Kansas City Chiefs was fellow tackle Buck Buchanan, who would go on to be considered one of the greatest professional players of all time.

In 1969, celebrating college football's centennial, the Louisiana Sportswriters Association selected Ladd to the Louisiana Collegiate All-Time Football Team, along with Boyette and Buchanan, among others.

Professional football career Ladd was drafted 48th overall in the fourth round of the 1961 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. He was also taken by the American Football League's San Diego Chargers with their 15th pick (119th overall) in the 1961 AFL draft. He chose to sign with the Chargers. He started all 14 games at right defensive tackle in his rookie season. The Chargers were 12–2, going to the AFL championship game against the Houston Oilers (losing 10–3). As a rookie, Ladd was selected first-team All-AFL by The Sporting News, the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI), as was fellow rookie defensive linemate Earl Faison.

The Chargers fell to 4–10 in 1962. Ladd started 13 games at right defensive tackle, with a team-high 9.5 quarterback sacks. In 1963, he started only two games, with three sacks. The Chargers were 11–3 that season, and went on to win the 1963 AFL championship, 51–10 over the Boston Patriots. Ladd had a sack in the championship game. In 1964, he spent time on the injured deferred list with an ankle injury. He started nine games at right tackle that season, with three sacks. In 1965, he started all 14 games for the first time since his rookie season, with six sacks.

During Ladd's five-year Chargers' career (1961 to 1965), the Chargers played in four AFL championship games, winning the American Football League title in 1963. He played all of those seasons on the same line as All-AFL and AFL All-Star left defensive end Faison, both being members of a defensive line labelled the Fearsome Foursome. After both Ladd and Faison left the team after 1965 season, the Chargers were not in another championship game until the 1980 American Football Conference championship game. He started the 1965 season being indefinitely suspended from the team by Coach/General Manager Sid Gillman.

Ladd stated he and teammate Earl Faison would play out their contract options, opting to take a 10 percent cut in salary in exchange for becoming free agents at the end of the season. A planned trade with the Oilers in early 1966 would have sent Faison and Ladd to Houston. However, both were declared free agents by AFL commissioner Joe Foss, who ruled Oilers owner Bud Adams had tampered in trade dealings with the Chargers. Ladd refused to re-sign with the Chargers and suggested he might instead turn to professional wrestling full-time.

Eventually, Ladd signed with the Oilers and spent the 1966 season playing for them before moving in 1967 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Legacy and honors Ladd was one of the AFL players that organized a walkout on the 1965 AFL All-Star Game due to the racism they experienced in New Orleans.

At 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) and 290 pounds (131.5 kg), Ladd was said to be the biggest and strongest man in professional football during his era. His physical measurements included a 52-inch chest, 39-inch waist, 20-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, and size 18D shoes.

In 1981, Ladd was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame. Both Ladd and Buchanan were inducted into the Grambling State University Athletic Hall of Fame. He was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game from 1962 to 1965. In addition to his All-AFL selections in 1961, in 1963, the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) named him second-team All-AFL. In 1964 and 1965, the NEA, Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) all selected Ladd first-team All-AFL. The Sporting News also named him first-team All-AFL in 1965. Faison was also first-team All-AFL in 1964 and 1965.

Professional wrestling career Ladd started wrestling in 1961. As a publicity stunt, some wrestlers in the San Diego area challenged Ladd to a private wrestling workout. Before long, Ladd was a part-time competitor in Los Angeles, during football's off-season. Ladd also owned and operated Big Cat Ernie Ladd's "Throwdown" BBQ Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana, until it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. In the disaster's aftermath, he ministered to Katrina evacuees at the Astrodome. He was a friend of WWE Hall of Fame commentator Jim Ross. Ladd also appeared in an episode of That '70s Show entitled "That Wrestling Show." He was in the locker room with The Rock, who was playing his own father "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson. Ladd was also a basketball coach for young kids in Franklin, Louisiana.

Death Ladd was diagnosed with colon cancer in the winter of 2003–2004, being advised he had three to six months to live. He reportedly ignored the doctor's diagnosis, stating "The doctor told me I had three to six months to live…I told the doctor that he's a liar and that Dr. Jesus has got the verdict on me! I also told him, 'You're working with a miracle when you work with me." The cancer eventually spread to his stomach and bones, and three years passed before he died on March 10, 2007, at the age of 68.

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club Other honoree (2005) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bruiser Brody Championship Wrestling from Florida NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time) Georgia Championship Wrestling NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ole Anderson Hollywood Wrestling / Worldwide Wrestling Associates NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (3 times) WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Edouard Carpentier WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Edouard Carpentier National Wrestling Alliance NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2013) National Wrestling Federation NWF Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time) NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWF North American Heavyweight Championship (6 times) NWA Big Time Wrestling NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (1 time) NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling Association Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship (2 times) Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Mid-South Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Leroy Brown NWA Arkansas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Tri-State version) (5 times) NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) – with The Assassin Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him # 205 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame Inducted 2020 World Championship Wrestling WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1994) World Wrestling Association WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Baron von Raschke World Wrestling Council WWC North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation WWF Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)