Ric Flair Bio - Flairing Up

by Jack Windham
April 2 , 2008

Ric Flair's wrestling career almost never happened. For most wrestling fans, that's almost impossible to even imagine.

Mysterious Beginnings

The only thing that is really known about Ric Flair's birth is that it happened on February 25, 1949.

Ric Flair tells people that he was born in Memphis, Tennessee. However, there are others that claim that he was born elsewhere.

No one actually knows his real birth name either. The adoption home that Ric Flair was placed into a child was actually a front for a black market adoption ring.

His adopted parents named him Richard Morgan Fliehr. At the time, the couple had no idea that they would be naming one of the greatest entertainers in the history of professional wrestling.

To make his name more marketable in the wrestling business, his name was changed to Ric Flair.

Exposed to Wrestling

It almost seemed like destiny that Ric Flair ended up in the wrestling business. Various people that he met throughout his life helped to guide him towards his career.

As a teenager, Ric Flair met Mad Dog Vachon and Butcher Vachon while he was working as a swimming pool lifeguard.

That left an impression on him.

In high school, Ric Flair was a very good amateur wrestler, winning a couple of state championships.

If you've ever wondered why it meant so much to Ric Flair to take time off from WCW to attend his son's wrestling tournaments, this is one of the big reasons.

Ric Flair's athletic accomplishments in high school led to him attending the University of Minnesota on a football scholarship.

The Gagnes

One of his teammates on that football team was Greg Gagne. His father just so happened to own a wrestling promotion called the AWA (American Wrestling Association).

When Ric Flair started working as a bouncer, he met Ken Patera. He was an Olympic weightlifter who was looking for a new career.

Together, Ric Flair, Ken Patera, and Greg Gagne all started training under Verne Gagne for a career in professional wrestling.

Verne Gagne, at the time, was also training the Iron Sheik and Jim Brunzell (of the Killer Bees).

The training was extremely brutal, and Ric Flair tried to quit on several occasions. However, Vern Gagne would not allow him to quit.

Three decades later, and every single wrestling fan on the planet owes a debt of gratitude to Verne Gagne for not allowing Ric Flair to quit.

...CONTINUED