For the wrestling fans.
The late Ed "Wahoo" McDaniel was born 85 years ago today. McDaniel was one of the more colorful characters on the first Miami Dolphins team in 1966. A full blooded Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American, McDaniel's legend began in his hometown of Midland, TX. He was always a gifted athlete. McDaniel was a catcher on a Pony League baseball team that advanced to the state tournament in San Antonio. The team's coach was George Herbert Walker Bush, who later became President. McDaniel finished second in the state in the shot put and third in the discus in high school. He turned down a football scholarship from Texas A&M, then coached by Bear Bryant to attend the University of Oklahoma coached by Bud Wilkinson. McDaniel was a 3-year letterman at OU and played on powerful Sooner teams that went 27-5 from 1957 to 1959.
McDaniel went on to play 9 seasons of professional football-- all in the American Football League, including a 3-year stint as a linebacker and punter with the Miami Dolphins from 1966 to 1968. McDaniel is still the only player in Dolphins history to have his nickname on the back of his jersey. McDaniel was also known as one of the more unique characters of the game. There wasn't a challenge or bet he would ever turn down. He once drank a quart of motor oil. In another bet, he consumed a gallon of jalapeno peppers just because someone dared him. He was married 5 times to 4 different women.
During the offseason, McDaniel was also a professional wrestler-- a career he would continue long after his football days. According to McDaniel, he wrestled in more than 10,000 matches and had 2,000 to 3,000 stitches. McDaniel's health started to deteriorate in the mid-1990s, which led to his retirement in 1996 from wrestling. He eventually lost both kidneys. He was awaiting a kidney transplant when he died of complications from diabetes and kidney failure on April 18, 2002. Wahoo McDaniel was 63 years old.
The late Ed "Wahoo" McDaniel was born 85 years ago today. McDaniel was one of the more colorful characters on the first Miami Dolphins team in 1966. A full blooded Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American, McDaniel's legend began in his hometown of Midland, TX. He was always a gifted athlete. McDaniel was a catcher on a Pony League baseball team that advanced to the state tournament in San Antonio. The team's coach was George Herbert Walker Bush, who later became President. McDaniel finished second in the state in the shot put and third in the discus in high school. He turned down a football scholarship from Texas A&M, then coached by Bear Bryant to attend the University of Oklahoma coached by Bud Wilkinson. McDaniel was a 3-year letterman at OU and played on powerful Sooner teams that went 27-5 from 1957 to 1959.
McDaniel went on to play 9 seasons of professional football-- all in the American Football League, including a 3-year stint as a linebacker and punter with the Miami Dolphins from 1966 to 1968. McDaniel is still the only player in Dolphins history to have his nickname on the back of his jersey. McDaniel was also known as one of the more unique characters of the game. There wasn't a challenge or bet he would ever turn down. He once drank a quart of motor oil. In another bet, he consumed a gallon of jalapeno peppers just because someone dared him. He was married 5 times to 4 different women.
During the offseason, McDaniel was also a professional wrestler-- a career he would continue long after his football days. According to McDaniel, he wrestled in more than 10,000 matches and had 2,000 to 3,000 stitches. McDaniel's health started to deteriorate in the mid-1990s, which led to his retirement in 1996 from wrestling. He eventually lost both kidneys. He was awaiting a kidney transplant when he died of complications from diabetes and kidney failure on April 18, 2002. Wahoo McDaniel was 63 years old.
