Real Name - Ed Gossett
Lifespan - ?/?/29 - 1/20/85
5'11" 215 lbs. - Chattanooga, TN
Aliases - Eddie Gossett, Roy Rogers
Athletic background - n/a
Peak Years - `58-`68

Place in History - Eddie Graham is remembered in many ways: a legendary wrestler from wrestling's golden age, the promoter in one of the hottest territories ever, one of greatest minds in pro-wrestling history and even as a man who couldn't cope with the demise of regional wrestling. Eddie Gossett began in Tennesee as a teenager in the late 40s and gained his seasoning before getting his first push as the brother of rising star Buddy Rogers. Soon after he transformed into Eddie Graham, the younger brother of Dr. Jerry Graham in New York City in the late 50s and they established themselves as a major tag team. The Graham family would extend out to "Crazy" Luke and a young Billy Graham, which was one of the great wrestling families that isn't even real. Soon after he headed to Florida and stayed for the rest of his career. Eddie Graham established himself as a very good wrestler who could draw money in the 60s, namely his blood feud with Boris Malenko. After a heavy window fell on him and did tremendous damage to him, Eddie's in-ring career dropped off, but his work outside the ring would turn Florida into the major player in the next few years. Graham took over the promotion in 1971 and he turned out perhaps the best product of the 70s. Graham had a tremendous understanding of wrestling and ran a tough camp with an amazing eye for detail. He began recruiting local athletes and Florida Championship Wrestling developed some of the greatest talents of the 70s, 80s and even the 90s. He ran a brutal training camp with Hiro Matsuda, Bill Watts, Jack Brisco, Bob Roop and others that turned out superstars (Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger), working stars (Dick Slater, Paul Orndorff, Keiji Muto) and a host of others. Graham even became the NWA President from 1976 to 1978 (during the reigns of Terry Funk and Harley Race), which helped elevate Florida to even greater heights with the NWA Champion frequently in town. The 1980s started to see things unfold however. Vince McMahon went national and Graham was one of the regional promoters who fought the losing battle and it created enormous financial woes that led to his suicide in 1985. Eddie Graham's genius in and out of the ring is hard to concisely summerize, but it is fair to say he is one of the most influential men that the pro-wrestling world has ever known.