José "Joseph" Serapio Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an American

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 o ...

and

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

, better known by his ring name, Pepper Gomez. Known for his exceptional

abdominal muscles The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

, he would allow rivals to perform stunts such as jumping onto his stomach from the top of a ladder or driving a

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

over his stomach, earning him the nickname "The Man with the Cast Iron Stomach". He wrestled as a

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

Latino

babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

Early life

Gomez was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1927. While at high school, he competed at football,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

and track. He attended

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

, where he played football as a fullback.

Bodybuilding career

In 1947, Gomez began participating in

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

. His training partners included Armand Tanny and

Joe Gold Joe Gold (born Sidney Gold; March 10, 1922 – July 11, 2004) was an American bodybuilder and businessman. He was the founder of Gold's Gym and World Gym. He has been credited with being the father of the bodybuilding and the fitness craze. ...

. He took part in a series of bodybuilding competitions over the next five years, winning the " Mr. Muscle Beach" contest in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

in 1950. In 1951, he placed fifth in the

AAU Mr. America The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. A ...

contest. Gomez was featured in the November 1948 issue of '' Strength & Health'' and the January 1952 issue of ''Muscle Power''.

Professional wrestling career

Pepper Gomez - Mesquite Wrestling Official Program - 14 April 1960

Gomez was trained to wrestle by Black Guzmán. He debuted in January 1953 in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. Early in his career, he toured

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

with the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

-based Big Time Wrestling promotion, winning the Northwest Tag Team Championship three times in 1953. In the mid-1950s, Gomez joined the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

-based promotion Big Time Wrestling, winning the

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...

15 times between 1955 and 1971. Gomez also held the

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NW ...

on ten occasions between 1955 and 1961 and the Texas-version of the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

five times between 1958 and 1961. In the early-1960s, Gomez began competing for the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

-based American Wrestling Alliance (later renamed Big Time Wrestling). In 1962, Gomez embarked on a heated feud with

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

. After Stevens convinced Gomez to allow him to jump off a ladder onto Gomez' stomach, Stevens instead delivered his signature "Bombs Away" diving knee drop to Gomez' throat, leaving him coughing up blood. Gomez and Stevens went on to wrestle in a series of matches that sold-out the

Cow Palace The Cow Palace (originally the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena located in Daly City, California, situated on the city's northern border with neighboring San Francisco. Because the border passes through the property, a por ...

and the

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed ...

. Gomez won the vacant

AWA United States Heavyweight Championship The AWA United States Championship was a short-lived title in the early days of the American Wrestling Association. It started out as the NWA United States Championship promoted in the Chicago, Illinois from 1953 until 1958. in 1958 then champion ...

in July 1962, losing the championship to Stevens in February 1963. Gomez also held the AWA World Tag Team Championship on three occasions between 1963 and 1968 and the San Francisco version of the

on seven occasions between 1963 and 1977. In the late-1960s, Gomez began competing for the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

-based American Wrestling Association. He began a heated feud with

Killer Kowalski Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...

after Kowalski delivered a knee drop to his throat in an echo of the Ray Stevens angle. The feud saw Kowalski unable to apply his signature stomach claw to Gomez' muscular stomach. In the mid-1970s, Gomez joined the Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

-based

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...

. In November 1975, he defeated

Ox Baker Douglas Albert Baker Sr. (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes c ...

for the

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...

. He held the championship until May 1976, when he was defeated by The Masked Strangler. Gomez also won the

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. A ...

with

Wilbur Snyder Wilbur Snyder (September 15, 1929 – December 25, 1991) was an American football player and professional wrestler. Wrestling career Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during football's 1953 off-season. He was trained by Sandor Szabo and Warren ...

in 1974 and 1978. Gomez retired in 1982. He went on to work as a '' maître d''' in a restaurant in

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf is a neighborhood and popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, California. It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street. T ...

Personal life

Gomez was of Mexican descent. He had five children. At the time of his death, he was married to Bonnie.

Death

Gomez underwent surgery in April 2004 and was placed on life support. He died of

gastritis Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Other possi ...

on May 6, 2004.

In popular culture

A minor character in the 2008 video game ''

Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...

'' is named after Gomez.

Championships and accomplishments

Bodybuilding

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

**"Junior Mr. America" (8th, 1952) **" Mr. America" (5th, 1951) **"Mr. California" (2nd (Tall), 1947; 5th, 1952) **"Mr. Los Angeles" (2nd, 1947; 3rd, 1949; 3rd, 1950; 2nd; 1951; 3rd, 1952) **"Mr. Pacific Coast" (4th; 1948) **"Mr. Western America" (3rd, 1947) *Miscellaneous **"Mr. Muscle Beach" (winner, 1950)

Professional wrestling

* Big Time Wrestling ''(Boston)'' **BTW New England Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * American Wrestling Alliance / Big Time Wrestling ''(San Francisco)'' **

(1 time) **AWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with

José Lothario Guadalupe Robledo (December 12, 1933 – November 6, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler, best known by the ring name of José Lothario. He performed for such promotions as the NWA and the WWF. Professional wrestling career Lothario st ...

(1 time) and

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federatio ...

(2 times) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' (7 times) – with

(2 times),

Jose Lothario Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Galil ...

(1 time),

Al Madril Alberto "Al" Madril (born March 20, 1950) is an American retired professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Madril began his wrestling career in 1970. During the first half of the decade, he competed in Pacific Northwest Wrestling, t ...

(1 time), Pat Patterson (1 time),

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 ...

(1 time), and

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...

(1 time) * Big Time Wrestling ''(British Columbia)'' **Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Johnny Demchuck (2 times) and Ivan Kameroff (1 time) * Big Time Wrestling ''(Texas)'' **

(15 times)* **

(10 times) – with Bill Melby (1 time), Cyclone Anaya (1 time),

Dory Dixon Dorrel "Dory" Dixon (born February 1, 1935) is a Jamaican retired professional wrestler who worked for the majority of his career in Mexico, where he eventually became a Mexican citizen. He is currently a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Churc ...

(2 times), Hogan Wharton (1 time),

Larry Chene Arthur Lawrence Beauchene (June 22, 1924 – October 2, 1964) was an American professional wrestler who mainly worked in Detroit during most of his career. Professional wrestling career Born in Detroit to French and Italian parents. Chene took ...

(1 time), Luigi Macera (1 time), El Medico (2 times), and

Rito Romero Rito Romero Loza (May 19, 1927 - January 18, 2001) was a successful luchador who wrestled in Mexico and in the NWA territories of Texas and Los Angeles. He appeared in several films in his native country along with a number of other luchadors. H ...

(2 times) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Texas version)'' (5 times) – with El Medico (1 time), Rito Romero (1 time), Ciclone Anaya (1 time), Torbellino Blanco/

(1 time), and Dory Dixon (1 time) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

**Other honoree (1992) *

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 Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' (1 time) *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship ...

(1 time) – with Black Gordman *

Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 1 time) - with Jose Lothario * Pacific Northwest Wrestling **

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of O ...

(1 time) – with Herb Freeman *

(1 time) **

(2 times) – with

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Pepper 1927 births 2004 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers American bodybuilders American male professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) People associated with physical culture People from Los Angeles Professional wrestlers from California NWA Americas Tag Team Champions