the Wrestling Bear
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Terrible Ted lets Billy Graham put a headlock on him in the dressing room. Billy Graham wrestled Ted every night during one of Ted's trips through the territory. They worked great together and you could tell Billy had a great time wrestling Ted, even if Ted did pin him in every single match!
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That is me feeding Terrible Ted a snack. This was taken in Stockton on January 3, 1972. I was 16 in this photo. I forget how old Ted was, but he weighed about 750 pounds. When Ted wrestles he wears a muzzle, but in the dressing room you always had to be careful. I was a little nervous with him standing up like that but Ted just wanted the food I was holding in my hand. Don Carson took this picture with my camera. I took one of him just like this, too.
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This is Terrible Ted wrestling Roger Kirby in December, 1972. Nick Adams is watching on the right. Ted was usually in a Handicap Match -- two wrestlers against one wrestling bear. Ted still won every match -- and who was going to carry a finish to Ted and tell him to do a job? Not me! If he wanted to win I wasn't going to try to stop him! Nick Adams carpooled around the country with Terrible Ted. The referee is Larry Williams. Ted really wrestled! It was amazing to see how many wrestling holds he knew. He was really an amazing animal. Sadly, he was killed a several years ago in a freeway accident on his way to the Cow Palace right before a show. There will probably never be another wrestling bear the way laws have changed, protecting wildlife. That's probably for the best, even though he seemed happy to me.
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Don Carson was fascinated with Terrible Ted, too. When you stand next to Ted, he looks MUCH larger than he does here in the photos. He was trained, but he was still a wild animal, and you always had to be careful around him. (Ted that is.)
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Ted wants to give Billy Graham a kiss. Billy Graham wrestled Ted during one of Ted's tours through the territory. Ted spent the summers in Canada living with his owners. In the winter, when he normally would be hibernating, Ted travelled to the United States to wrestle.
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One of Terrible Ted's favorite treats was a bottle of Root Beer! He loved it! I took these pictures of Ted on Big Time Wrestling getting his Root Beer from Nick Adams. Ted didn't wrestle on the show -- you had to pay to see that! But he did do this interview as a teaser so fans could see how big and talented he was.
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Terrible Ted won't give the bottle back until he is convinced nothing else will come out, no matter how nicely Nick Adams asks!
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After a visual inspection and one last lick, Terrible Ted returns his bottle to Nick Adams.
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Bears are very sensitive to blood and sensing it makes them very dangerous. Wrestlers had to be very careful that they did not have any open cuts on them when wrestling Ted. Frankie Cain wrestled Ted once when he was still wrestling as one of the Infernos. Ted's muzzle had broken open a cut Frankie had sustained on his forehead in a match the night before. Ted got enraged and chased Frankie right down the aisle to the back of the building! True story! When Ted was living at home with his owners, Ted tore down the door to their bedroom and killed his owner's girlfriend while she was menstruating.
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Copyright 2003 Viktor Berry •
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
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