Larry Heiniemi (born March 14, 1939) is an American retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

, Lars Anderson. His career spans over a decade of performing in

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) territories as well as the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA).

Professional wrestling career

Heiniemi started wrestling in 1965. He formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with his "brother"

Gene Anderson Gene Anderson may refer to: * Gene Anderson (actress) (1931–1965), British actress * Gene Anderson (basketball) (1917–1999), American professional basketball player * Gene Anderson (wrestler) Eugene Avon Anderson (October 4, 1939 � ...

and also tagged with his other "brother" Ole Anderson. Anderson was only the real last name for Gene Anderson . Ole and Lars had changed their names to pretend to be the real life brothers of Gene.Bourne, Dick
Anderson Brothers Timeline
The Glory Days (Retrieved November 19, 2007) He occasionally wrestled with them as the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. Lars did not have the success that the other Andersons had. He did win numerous NWA regional championships, including winning the Georgia version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Gene Anderson. Lars wrestled briefly in the Carolinas as "Luscious" Lars Anderson. In the early 1970s, he wrestled in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

bay area (again as Luscious Lars Anderson), winning the NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team title with partner Paul DeMarco in 1972. On the microphone, Larry was one of the best

talkers ''Talkers Magazine'' is a trade-industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media". In addition to radio, it also covers talk shows on broadcast and cable television, a ...

in an era when getting

over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

on the microphone was important. In the early '70s, after leaving Gene Anderson, he returned to the AWA and hooked up with Larry "Pretty Boy" Hennig. The latter needed a new partner after the departure of "Handsome" Harley Race who ventured to the NWA. In the mid 1970s, Heiniemi was joined by his college friend, Les "Budd" Wolfe. Together they formed a solid combination, and many felt they should have won the AWA World Tag Team titles. In March 1975, Heiniemi announced he was retiring from the ring, and after losing his last match to England's Billy Robinson, Larry left the AWA. However, he did not retire; he was back to using the Lars Anderson handle and briefly feuded with his "brothers" Gene and Ole in Atlanta in 1977. He spent the last years of his career wrestling in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

for Polynesian Pacific Wrestling (PPW). When its owner,

Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982) better known as Peter Maivia was a Samoan-American professional wrestler. Maivia was the maternal grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and was also part o ...

, died in 1982, his wife hired Heiniemi as head booker. This lasted until 1988 when the dwindling promotion folded.

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

, former wrestler and grandson of Peter Maivia, spoke of Heiniemi in his 2000 autobiography, ''The Rock Says...''. Johnson described a scene where, as a teenager, he angrily confronted Heiniemi when he refused to

drop Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowi ...

the Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight title to

Allen Coage Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 S ...

, who was wrestling as Bad News Allen at the time. In 1996, Heiniemi established World League Wrestling. This little known promotion consisted largely of wrestlers from his training school and former PPW talent. The promotion officially folded in 2000.Metcalf, Cody
"Hawaii: The Forgotten Wrestling Territory"
Online World of Wrestling (November 22, 2006).

Championships and accomplishments

** AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Larry Hennig **

AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship The AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship was a title in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the American Wrestling Association. It was primarily defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and t ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) *American Wrestling Federation **AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (

) ** NWA Florida Southern Tag Team Championship (

) - with

* Georgia Championship Wrestling ** NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (

) - with Ole Anderson ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia Version)'' ( 1 time) - with Gene Anderson *

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemorat ...

(class of 2010) * NWA Polynesian Wrestling **NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (5 times) **NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Seiji Sakaguchi *

NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1 ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco Version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Paul DeMarco Paul J. DeMarco (born July 20, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Alabama. He is a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the 46th district since 2005. He ran in the United States H ...

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

** IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Dick Murdoch

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Lars 1939 births American male professional wrestlers American people of Finnish descent Anderson family Living people People from Bovey, Minnesota Professional wrestlers from Minnesota Professional wrestling promoters St. Cloud State University alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia) NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions