[1][3] Race was an early fan of professional wrestling, watching programming from the nearby Chicago territory on the DuMont Television Network.

After overcoming polio as a child,[4] he began training as a professional wrestler as a teen under former world champions Stanislaus and Wladek Zbyszko, who operated a farm in his native Missouri.

They quickly became top contenders, and in January 1965, they defeated Dick the Bruiser and the Crusher in the sold-out Minneapolis Auditorium to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship.

Verne Gagne, in particular, was promoted as a hated rival of the team, partnering with several other wrestlers in matches, against Race and Hennig during their AWA run.

Race's choice was Chris Markoff, but the duo was defeated in their first title defense match against the team of Pat O'Connor and Wilbur Snyder in November 1967.

For the next several months, Race teamed with Hard Boiled Haggerty (Don Stansauk) who over the years presented Gagne with some of his greatest matches.

Despite his tag team success, Race left the AWA after several years at the top of the division to pursue a singles career in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

Race jumped between National Wrestling Alliance territories in the early 1970s, renewing his rivalry with Funk in Amarillo, Texas and winning a regional title.

Though Race held the title for only a few months, losing it to Brisco in Houston, Texas, in July, he became a worldwide superstar and perennial championship contender.

Race feuded with many of the legends of the NWA including Dory Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Dick the Bruiser, Pat Patterson and Angelo Poffo.

Race toured extensively all over the country and the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and many stints in Japan, where he was already well known from his visits with Larry Hennig.

[8] Race lost the title to Flair in the bloody and memorable Starcade steel cage match (with Gene Kiniski as the special referee.)

He participated in a notable feud with the Junkyard Dog, culminating in a match at WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome, in which Race cleanly pinned JYD after a belly-to-belly suplex.

On Dec 3, 1988, on WWF Superstars he defeated Jim Gorman; after the match Race declared that he desired to regain the crown from Haku and complained that Bobby Heenan never visited him in the hospital.

He defeated Miguel Perez Jr. for the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship on January 6, 1990, in Puerto Rico making it his last title reign until dropping it to José González on March 4.

Race made his return to the promotion at The Great American Bash on July 7, 1990, when he defeated former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tommy Rich.

He began making appearances on house shows and immediately would fill in for Ric Flair in several tag team matches, pairing up with Barry Windham against Lex Luger and Sting.

In October, Race renewed his rivalry with the Junkyard Dog in two matches on the WCW house show circuit and finished the year facing Michael Wallstreet.

During a house show match in St. Joseph, Missouri on December 7, 1990, Race sustained a shoulder injury and would ultimately retire from active competition.

In 1992, Race began to add other wrestlers to a stable that would include Big Van Vader, Super Invader and Vinnie Vegas.

This was actually part of the booking strategy of then-WCW head Bill Watts to build support for Simmons, whom he would eventually make champion.

Race continued to manage Vader in the following months in rematches against Flair, and on May 22, 1994, he was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame during the Slamboree PPV.

At the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2007 ceremony on March 31, 2007, Race and Dusty Rhodes were "inducted" into the Four Horsemen by Ric Flair and Arn Anderson.

On the August 8, 2008, episode of Monday Night Raw, Race sat in the front row and was acknowledged by commentators Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Before the show, Race accompanied then-GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima to the ring for a dark match against Charlie Haas.

[18] Race also made an appearance at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Lockdown pay-per-view in 2007 as the special guest gatekeeper for the main event.

[19] On January 4, 2014, Race took part in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome event, participating in the title presentation before a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and punching out defending champion Rob Conway's manager Bruce Tharpe.

[20] Earlier in his career, Race became involved in the ownership side of wrestling, buying a portion of the Kansas City and later St. Louis territories known as Heart of America Sports Attractions.

Race lost over $500,000 as an owner of the Kansas City territory, and despite his championship years being at an end and wishing to retire from active competition, was forced to rely on continuing to wrestle to make a living.

As well as featuring his students, legends like Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Bret Hart, and even Mitsuharu Misawa have made guest appearances.