View source for Angelo Poffo

{{short description|American professional wrestler and the father of Randy Savage}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
|name           = Angelo Poffo
|image          = Angelo Poffo - 1955 (cropped).jpg
|caption        = Poffo in 1955
|image_size     = 200px
|names          = Angelo Poffo<ref name=oww/><br>The Carpet Bagger<br>Masked Miser<ref name=oww/>
|height         = 6 ft 0 in
|birth_name     = Angelo John Poffo
|spouse         = {{marriage|Judith Sverdlin <ref name= Mom/>|June 6, 1949<!--|March 4, 2010|reason= his death-->}}
|weight         = 200 lb
|alma_mater     = [[DePaul University]]
|children       = [[Randy Savage]]<br>[[Lanny Poffo]]
|family         = [[Miss Elizabeth]] (former daughter-in-law)
|birth_date     = {{birth date|1925|4|10}}<ref name=slam/>
|death_date     = {{death date and age|2010|3|4|1925|4|10}}<ref name=slam/>
|birth_place    = [[Downers Grove, Illinois]], U.S.<ref name=slam/>
|death_place    = [[Sarasota, Florida]], U.S.
|billed         = [[Chicago, Illinois]]
|trainer        = [[Karl Pojello]]
|debut          = 1948
|retired        = 1991<ref name=slam/>
{{Infobox military person 
| embed         = yes
| embed_title   = Military service
| allegiance    = [[United States]]
| branch        = [[United States Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 
| rank          = [[Pharmacist's mate]]
| unit          = [[Naval Base San Diego]]
| awards        = 
| battles       = [[World War II]] 
}}
}}
'''Angelo John Poffo''' (April 10, 1925 &ndash; March 4, 2010) was an American [[professional wrestler]] and wrestling promoter. He ran [[International Championship Wrestling]] for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. He is the father of [["Macho Man" Randy Savage]] and [["The Genius" Lanny Poffo]] and the father-in-law of [[Miss Elizabeth]].

==Early life, family and education==
Poffo was born in [[Downers Grove, Illinois]] (a suburb of [[Chicago]]), to [[Italian Americans|Italian immigrants]].<ref name=oww/><ref name="SPTimes"/> At the time of beginning [[first grade]], he spoke no English.<ref name="TampaBayTimes"/>

Poffo enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. He served as a [[pharmacist's mate]] at [[Naval Base San Diego]]. While in the Navy, Poffo began [[weight training]].<ref name="TampaBayTimes"/> On July 4, 1945, he set a world record for [[sit-up]]s.<ref name=slam/> He completed 6,033 sit-ups in four hours and ten minutes. According to his son Lanny, after 6,000 sit-ups he did 33 more, one for each year of [[Jesus]]'s life.<ref name=slam/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestleinfo.com/Page8.html |title= Poffo, Angelo| year= 2005 |first= Mike II |last= Rickard |website= Wrestleinfo.com | publisher= |access-date=2010-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070106021157/http://www.wrestleinfo.com/Page8.html |archive-date=2007-01-06 }}</ref>

After leaving the Navy, Poffo attended [[DePaul University]] and was a [[catcher (baseball)|catcher]] for the [[DePaul Blue Demons]] baseball team.<ref name=slam/> He studied [[physical education]] and was a competitive [[chess]] player.<ref name=slam/>

== Professional wrestling career ==
Poffo started wrestling in 1948 at [[Karl Pojello]]'s gym in Illinois.<ref name=slam/> His first match was in 1949 against Ruffy Silverstein.  He sometimes wrestled as "the Masked Miser" (an in-joke about Poffo's real life extreme frugality with money) and managed other wrestlers as "the Miser".<ref name=slam/> He became a [[heel (professional wrestling)|villainous character]] for the first time in 1950.<ref name=slam/> In the mid-1950s, [[Bronco Lubich]] acted as his manager.<ref name=slam/> He won the [[NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship|NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version)]] in 1958.<ref name=slam/>

He formed a villainous tag team with [[Chris Markoff]] called "The Devil's Duo" in 1966, and they were managed by [[Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]].<ref name=slam/> Prior to that, in 1964 he briefly teamed with Nicoli Volkoff (often confused with [[Nikolai Volkoff]], who did not begin wrestling in the US until 1970) and held the WWA tag team championship. In 1973, he formed the team "The Graduates" with Ken Dillinger.<ref name=slam/>

Poffo wrestled in the 1970s and 1980s under a mask as the "Carpet Bagger" for [[Emile Dupree]]'s [[Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling]] in the [[The Maritimes|Maritime Provinces]] of Canada. He also bought into the promotion, when his sons were old enough to join.<ref name=slam/> He wrestled wearing a yellow mask with a dollar sign on the forehead and a blue sequined ring jacket with a big dollar sign on the back. In addition, Poffo ran [[International Championship Wrestling]] from 1979 to 1983 in Kentucky.<ref name=slam/> From 1983 to 1985 he worked for [[Continental Wrestling Association]].

According to Poffo's son Lanny, [[Vince McMahon]] declined to include Poffo in a 1987 [[World Wrestling Federation]] event featuring legends. Lanny Poffo claims that this decision caused an early rift in the relationship between McMahon and Poffo's other son, Randy Savage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tbo.com/news/wwe-hall-of-fame-against-spurns-macho-man-20140331/|title=WWE Hall of Fame again spurns Macho Man| first= Paul |last= Guzzo| work= [[The Tampa Tribune]] |date=March 31, 2014|access-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722111416/http://www.tbo.com/news/wwe-hall-of-fame-against-spurns-macho-man-20140331/|archive-date=July 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> His last match was in 1991 against Luis Martinez.<ref name=slam/>

He made a few appearances in [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW) in 1995 managing his son, Randy Savage. At [[Slamboree 1995]], Poffo became involved in his son's feud with [[Ric Flair]], who put him in a [[figure four leglock]]. At the event, he was inducted into the [[WCW Hall of Fame]] as a member of the class of 1995.<ref name=slam/>

==Personal life==
During Poffo's time in college, he met another student at DePaul, Judith (Judy) nee Sverdlin<ref name=slam/> from Naperville, Illinois; they wed on June 6, 1949.<ref name= Mom /> They were married for more than 60 years, and together they had two sons, [[Randy Savage|Randy]] (1952–2011) and [[Lanny Poffo|Lanny]] (1954–2023), both professional wrestlers.<ref name=slam/> After retiring from professional wrestling, Poffo taught physical education in Illinois.<ref name=slam/> His son Randy would support his parents, sending them on trips abroad until they were too old to travel. On Angelo's 70th birthday in 1995, Randy paid $50,000 ({{Inflation|US|50000|1995|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) to buy his father a yellow Cadillac automobile, the same car Poffo had purchased in 1959 and drove around the wrestling circuit for 200,000 miles. When Poffo was sick, Randy installed an invalid toilet and walk-in bathtub in his parents' home.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Greenberg|first=Keith Elliot|title=The Final Days of Randy 'Macho Man' Savage|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1643969-the-final-days-of-randy-macho-man-savage|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Bleacher Report|language=en}}</ref> He was also known for saving money to help provide his family.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-22|title=Angelo Poffo, Dead at 84|url=https://wrestlerdeaths.com/angelo-poffo-death/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Wrestler Deaths|language=en-US}}</ref>

On March 4, 2010, Poffo died in his sleep at age 84. His son Randy told the ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'', “I have always been proud to call Angelo Poffo my father, he is a great example of a self-sacrificing, hard-working man who always put his family first. He has always been my hero and my mentor, and the priceless gifts he gave I will have and cherish forever.”<ref>{{Cite web|last= |first= |publisher= Tampa Publishing Company |title=Pro wrestler's legacy expanded through his sons, Randy 'Macho Man' Savage and Leapin' Lanny Poffo|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/Pro-wrestler-s-legacy-expanded-through-his-sons-Randy-Macho-Man-Savage-and-Leapin-Lanny-Poffo_173580337/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Tampa Bay Times|language=en}}</ref>

Poffo is buried at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in [[Hillside, Illinois]], near his hometown of Downers Grove.

==Championships and accomplishments==
*'''All-South Wrestling Alliance''' 
**ASWA United States Tag Team Championshp(1 time) - with Rock Hunter
*'''[[Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling]]'''
**AGPW North American Tag Team Championship (1 time) with [[Fidel Sierra|Cuban Assassin]]<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.wrestling-titles.com/canada/maritimes/agpw/agpw-na-t.html |title= AGPW North American Tag Team Championship| work= Wrestling-Titles.com | date=| access-date= March 18, 2019}}</ref>
*'''[[Cauliflower Alley Club]]'''
**Other honoree ([[Cauliflower Alley Club#1996|1996]])
*'''[[Fred Kohler Enterprises]]'''
**NWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship (7 times)<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/il/nwa/mw-h.html| title= Midwest Heavyweight Championship (Illinois & Wisconsin)| work= Wrestling-Titles.com | date=| access-date= March 18, 2019}}</ref>
**[[NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship|NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Chicago version)'']] ([[NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]])<ref name=slam/>
**NWA Midwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with [[Bronko Lubich|Bronco Lubich]]<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/il/nwa/mw-t.html| title= Midwest Tag Team Championship| website= Wrestling-Titles.com | date=| access-date= March 18, 2019}}</ref>
*'''[[International Championship Wrestling]]'''
**[[ICW Television Championship]] ([[ICW Television Championship#Title history|1 time]])
*'''[[NWA Detroit]]'''
**[[NWA Detroit World Tag Team Championship|NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Detroit version)'']] ([[NWA Detroit World Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) – with [[Lanny Poffo]]
*'''[[Southwest Sports, Inc.]]'''
**[[WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship|NWA Texas Tag Team Championship]] ([[WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) – with [[Bronko Lubich|Bronco Lubich]]<ref name=ETexTagTitleBook>{{cite book| last1=Will | first1=Gary | first2=Royal | last2= Duncan | title=Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present | publisher=Archeus Communications | year=2000 | location=Pennsylvania | chapter=Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich] | isbn=0-9698161-5-4 | pages=275–276}}</ref><ref name=ETexTagTitle>{{cite web| url = http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/tx/tx-t.html | title = NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas] | work= Wrestling-Titles.com| access-date = December 27, 2019}}</ref>
*'''[[World Championship Wrestling]]'''
**[[WCW Hall of Fame]] ([[WCW Hall of Fame#1995|Class of 1995]])<ref name=slam/>
*'''[[World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis)|World Wrestling Association]]'''
**[[WWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[WWA World Tag Team Championship#Title history|3 times]]) – with [[Chris Markoff]] (2), Nicoli Volkoff (1) <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/in/wwa/in-wwa-t.html |title=W.W.A. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis) |year=2003 |publisher=Puroresu Dojo | work= Wrestling-Titles.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name= Mom>{{cite news| url= https://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/the-macho-mom-judy-poffo-mother-of-wrestlers-randy-savage-and-lanny-poffo/2326147/ | title= The Macho Mom: Judy Poffo, mother of wrestlers Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, dead at 90| work= [[Tampa Bay Times]]| via= tampabay.com| publisher= | date= June 6, 2017| first= Paul| last= Guzzo| access-date= June 24, 2021}}</ref>

<ref name=oww>{{cite web| url= http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/a/angelo-poffo.html |title=Angelo Poffo profile|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|access-date=2009-12-29| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100130010802/http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/a/angelo-poffo.html| archive-date= 30 January 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

<ref name=slam>{{Cite web|url=https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2010/03/04/angelo-poffo-was-wrestler-promoter-father-to-two-stars/|title=Angelo Poffo was wrestler, promoter, father to two stars|author=Oliver, Greg| website= slamwrestling.net| publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=2010-03-04|date=March 4, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="SPTimes">{{cite news| url= http://www.sptimes.com/News/122701/Floridian/A_wrestling_dynasty.shtml| title= Floridian: A wrestling dynasty| website= sptimes.com| publisher= | date= | access-date= | archive-date= 2002-02-14| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020214002034/http://www.sptimes.com/News/122701/Floridian/A_wrestling_dynasty.shtml| url-status= dead}}</ref>

<ref name="TampaBayTimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times/22926101/ |title=The making of a champion |work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |location=[[St. Petersburg, Florida]] |date=December 27, 2001 |access-date=March 30, 2024 |page=31 |archive-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330174029/https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times/22926101/ }}</ref>

}}

== External links ==
* {{Professional wrestling profiles}}

{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Detroit version)}}
{{NWA World Tag Team Champions (Indianapolis version)}}
{{WCW Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poffo, Angelo}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century male professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:20th-century American professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Canada]]
[[Category:American male professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Italian descent]]
[[Category:DePaul Blue Demons baseball players]]
[[Category:Heenan Family members]]
[[Category:NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Detroit version)]]
[[Category:NWA World Tag Team Champions (Detroit version)]]
[[Category:People from Downers Grove, Illinois]]
[[Category:American professional wrestling trainers]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling promoters]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]