Manager’s Corner: “Classy” Freddie Blassie
Originally published on September 16, 2003
Written by Kenneth Coker
He was a man who kept giving. He was a man despised by many fans in the United States and overseas for his “Classy” Freddie Blassie character. Yet, when the curtain went down, Freddie Blassie, real name, Fred Blassman, was one of the most charitable men to ever step into a wrestling arena.
Freddie Blassie began his wrestling career at the ripe age of 17. Blassie, the son of blue collar working class parents, worked two jobs at this point in his life, serving as a butcher, while feeding his wrestling obsession during the evening.
During World War II, Blassie made the ultimate sacrifice, and gave of himself. Putting his life on the line, as part of what Tom Brokaw has called “The Greatest Generation” during that conflict.