Ralph "Ruffy" Silverstein (March 20, 1914 – April 5, 1980) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and

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 ...

. He won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

light heavyweight championship and the Big 10 championship as an amateur wrestler. As a professional, he was a two-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

A Chicago native, he received the nickname "Ruffy" as a child from his Russian-born mother. He grew up in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood. He started wrestling at Lawson playground. He polished his skills at the Boys' Brotherhood Republic (BBR), the Jewish People's Institute (JPI) and Crane Technical High School. He married Evelyn Epstein and had two children, a son (Roger) and a daughter. He served in the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, rising to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and serving under General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

, advising MacArthur about the Japanese study of martial arts during the U.S. occupation of Japan.

Amateur wrestling career

In college Silverstein wrestled for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and, in 3 years of varsity competition, did not lose a match, He became the 1935 (175 pounds) and 1936 (heavyweight)

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

champion, the 1936

champion (175 pounds) and an All-American in 1935 (175 pounds). He was a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic team but, because the Olympics were held in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Silverstein was one of several Jewish athletes who boycotted that year's Olympics.

Professional wrestling career

An expert in wrestling fundamentals, Silverstein was one of the first to blaze the transitional trail from collegiate to professional wrestling. Strait-laced Silverstein won the Illinois State Championships in his first event as a pro, a victory which laid the groundwork for his celebrated professional career. Undefeated for many years, he ultimately won two

AWA Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

World Titles and was twice the WLW Television Champion (1951 and 1952). To many people, Silverstein represented an honest and clean style of pro wrestling, traits that were fast disappearing as the sport grew in popularity. Silverstein's favorite and signature wrestling move was the "Falling Arm Drag". He had a notable match against

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

in a losing effort in 1950.

Coaching and teaching career

After his professional wrestling career, Silverstein served as a coach in the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

in Israel. He also taught wrestling at Chicago's Duncan Y.M.C.A. Interested in education, Silverstein later became a high school gym teacher and founded and coached the Nicholas Senn Chicago Public High School wrestling team (with co-coach Harold Brownstein, a mathematics teacher). He also was Head Coach of the school's swim team. Besides sporting techniques, Silverstein offered his philosophy of life to his students. In November 1977, Silverstein was diagnosed

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

. He died as he neared retirement from teaching.

Championships and accomplishments

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

**Class of 2018 *

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 World Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) (2 times) * Other titles **Illinois State Championship **WLW Television Champion (2 times)

References and notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Ralph Ruffy 1914 births 1980 deaths American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in the United States Jewish American sportspeople Jewish professional wrestlers Military personnel from Illinois Professional wrestlers from Illinois Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Sportspeople from Chicago United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American Jews 20th-century professional wrestlers