Angelo Mosca

At 87 years old, Angelo Mosca has this physical status:

Angelo Mosca (born February 13, 1937) is a former Canadian Football League player and professional wrestler.

He is also known as King Kong Mosca and The Mighty Hercules in wrestling.

Angelo Jr., Mosca's son, also wrestled.

He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987, the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Early life

Mosca was the second oldest boy in a family of four boys and seven girls when he was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, to Agnes and Angelo Mosca on February 13, 1937. Angelo's father, a native of Panni in southern Italy, was an African-American (and also half-Italian and half-Black), who was kept anonymous from neighbors in Waltham's segregated, working-class neighborhood, who didn't know about its racial tolerant community at the time. Both parents of Mosca were alcohol users, and he was often neglected and abused by them, who pushed Mosca to leave home at the age of 16. His father died in 1986, and his mother died at the age of 93.

Personal life

Mosca lived in and around Hamilton for many years, as well as his partner, Helen, a real estate agent, who lived in St. Catharines, Ontario. He first met her in 1996 at a Ticats game; they married in 1998. He died of cancer as the mother of his two children. His second wife, to whom he had been married 20 years, had a fatal heart attack.

Tell Me To My Face, Steve Milton's book, was published by Lulu Canada Inc. In September 2011, the book was published.

Mosca was involved in a brawl with former B.C. Freddie O'Hare in 2011. Joe Kapp of the Lions discusses a contentious hit Mosca had made in the 1963 Grey Cup match, in which Mosca ended up striking Kapp on the head with his cane. The fight went viral, earning over 647,000 views on YouTube and mentions on ESPN's Monday Night Football and Fox TV's The O'Reilly Factor. The cane he used against Kapp at the following year's alumni luncheon was auctioned off by Mosca, with the proceeds going to the alumni association's "dire straits" fund for struggling former athletes.

Mosca appeared on several Canadian television commercials in the 1970s and 1980s. Mosca has still appeared on television shows for the league and the Ticats as well as other companies.

He revealed in February 2015 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which also disabled his ability to swallow or eat solid foods.

On August 27, 2015 at a service at Tim Horton Field in Hamilton, the Hamilton Tiger Cats football team announced his number 68 football jersey was retired by the Hamilton Tiger Cats football team.

Mosca was involved in a class action lawsuit brought against WWE in July 2016, alleging that wrestlers suffered severe brain injury during their employment and that the company failed to warn of injury risks. Attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE, brought the complaint. Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant of the United States dismissed the case in September 2018.

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Football career

Mosca obtained a scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame, but was refused a place for bookmaking. He then headed to Wyoming, but was refused for robbery, reportedly stealing typewriters and cameras from stores and selling them on campus. In 1959, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 30th round (350th overall). In 1958, he had already signed up for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and had already decided to play in the CFL. He came from Notre Dame with a degree in business administration and moved to Hamilton the same year. He was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders for Hardiman Cureton in 1960 and 1961 and appeared for the Rough Riders in 1960 and 1961 before joining the Montreal Alouettes in 1962 for 5 games. He appeared in Hamilton from 1962 to 1972 as a five-time all star.

Mosca played both offensive and defensive tackle, middle guard, and end. He appeared in nine Grey Cup games, more than any other player in CFL history, and he was a teammate of John Barrow. Three Mosca teams played in Grey Cup games, one with the Ottawa Rough Riders and four with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Willie Fleming, the BC Lions' running back, is known for his 51st Grey Cup game out-of-bounds and late penalty. The Tiger-Cats went on to win the Grey Cup and Mosca's reputation as the meanest CFL player grew. He later became known as the notorious professional wrestler "King Kong" Mosca. In 1963 and 1970, Mosca was runner-up for the Schenley Most Valuable Lineman award. He also missed just one game in his entire football career.

The Tiger-Cats announced on August 25, 2015, that they would no longer be able to distinguish Mosca's jersey number 68.

Professional wrestling career

Eddie Quinn, a Montreal promoter, brought Mosca into wrestling. He began wrestling in the off-season and became a full-time wrestler after being cut from football. He wrestled all around North America, always at or near the top of the card, and almost every time as a heel, before being spotted in Toronto in the late 1970s. He was then the lead figure, and in the early 1980s, he became a hero. He competed in Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association and in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, where he was often partnered with Superstar Billy Graham in tag team competition. Mosca spent time in the Carolinas in the 1980s and 1990s, competing with top actors like Ric Flair, Wahoo, Blackjack Mulligan, and Ivan Koloff.

Mosca wrestled as (often), the promotion's most feared heel because of his brutal style during his time in the World Wrestling Federation in 1981. He became a leading challenger to WWF Champion Bob Backlund's World Championship, but he was unsuccessful in winning the belt. After Mosca's beating Patterson with a water pitcher, he became dissatisfied with the WWF's syndicated services; Patterson became disgusted with his punishment for refusing to pin his workber opponent; and he launched the assault on Thursday.

Mosca, the colour commentaryator and wrestled in Ontario from August 1984 to January 1985 as a babyface. In 1985-1987, Mosca promoted the NWA in Ontario after being dismissed by the WWF. Milt Avruskin and Henley hosted a television show starring compilations of NWA matches. In February 1986, Moscamania, a fabulous house of 12,000, was launched in Hamilton, but the sequel drew only 3,200. In 1986, he retired from wrestling.

Angelo Mosca Jr., Mosca's nephew, had a brief and unsuccessful wrestling career. In late 1984, Mosca worked with his son for a brief period.

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