Pat O'Connor

Early life Patrick John O'Connor was born on 22 August 1924 in Raetihi, New Zealand, to parents John Frederick and Isabella. He attended primary schools in Raetihi and Orautoha, then Feilding Agricultural High School. During his schooldays, he also helped tend to the sheep and cattle on his parents' farm. He later attended Massey Agricultural College, and later served for six months in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II in 1945.

Amateur wrestling career

Before entering the world of professional wrestling, O'Connor was an amateur wrestler. He trained under Dave Scarrow, and later Don Anderson, while working as a blacksmith to pay the bills. After a tournament in 1947, he joined the Wellington wrestling team and trained under Anton Koolmann. In 1948, he represented New Zealand in the Pan American games. O'Connor won the New Zealand Heavyweight Championship in amateur wrestling in both 1949 and 1950. The 1949 win earned him entry into the 1950 British Empire Games. O'Connor never appeared in an AWA event during, or prior to, this period. Naming the current NWA champion as its champion and then ordering him to defend his new title against the number one contender was a way of legitimizing the AWA's claim that its champion was the "true" world champion (by showing a lineage to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship).

Long after he had lost the NWA Championship, O'Connor did appear in the AWA. On 10 November 1967, the team of O'Connor and Wilbur Snyder defeated Larry Hennig and Harley Race to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship. They lost the title on 2 December to Mitsu Arakawa and Dr. Moto. O'Connor and Snyder also defeated Arakawa and Moto for the World Wrestling Association's WWA World Tag Team Championship on 24 September 1968. They lost the title on 26 October to the same team.

Later career (1970–1987)

On 13 October 1970, O'Connor was introduced as Jim Crockett Promotions's first NWA Eastern Heavyweight Champion as part of a storyline to introduce the title. The title was later awarded to the Missouri Mauler with the announcement that Mauler won it in New York.

On 1 January 1982, O'Connor was part of the card that comprised promoter Sam Muchnick's last professional wrestling show, located in St. Louis. O'Connor was also one of the owners of the St. Louis Wrestling Club. O'Connor, along with Verne Gagne, Harley Race, and Bob Geigel purchased the territory from Sam Muchnick the day after Muchnick's retirement. On 18 September 1983, O'Connor was named as a co-conspirator in the monopoly that controlled professional wrestling in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa. O'Connor filed a counterclaim. AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Wilbur Snyder Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (3 times) NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Brown NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (2 times) – with Sonny Myers NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Central States version) (3 times) NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (5 times) – with Sonny Myers (1 time), Tiny Mills (1 time), Bob Geigel (1 time), Harley Race (1time), and Omar Atlas (1 time) Eastern Sports Association ESA North American Championship ( 1 time ) Fred Kohler Enterprises NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) (1 time) – with Roy McClarity George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2004 Maple Leaf Wrestling NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (1 time) NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Whipper Billy Watson Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling NWA Eastern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (1 time) - with Tony Baillargeon Midwest Wrestling Association Ohio Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Montreal Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (2 times) National Wrestling Alliance NWA Hall of Fame (class of 2011) NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Roy McClarity and Yukon Eric NWA New Zealand NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version) (2 times) NWA Rocky Mountain NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2007 Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) St. Louis Wrestling Club NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2007 World Wrestling Association WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Wilbur Snyder Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) WWE WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)

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