As an amateur wrestler, Gagne won two NCAA titles and was an alternate for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at the 1948 Olympic Games before turning professional in 1949.

[6] As a freshman, Gagne won the Big Ten 175 pound wrestling title in 1944 after returning from duty in the Marine Corps.

[7] Gagne's football and wrestling career was interrupted by a tour of duty with the United States Marine Corps in 1943.

[7] He played on the Marines Football Team with the likes of Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Gopher Great George Franck and other NFL Stars.

[9] He was also an alternate for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team at the 1948 Olympic Games, after losing a closely contested wrestle-off match to the eventual gold medalist Henry Wittenberg.

[11] In 2006's The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, Verne's son, Greg, said in an interview that Bears owner George Halas prevented his father from pursuing both football and wrestling, and forced him to make a choice.

On November 13, 1950, Gagne captured the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Junior Heavyweight title in a tournament for the vacant championship.

[2] In September 1953 in Fred Kohler Enterprises, Gagne was awarded the newly created Chicago version of the NWA United States Championship.

[2] Gagne became one of the most well-known stars in wrestling during the golden age of television, thanks to his exposure on the Dumont Network, where he wowed audiences with his technical prowess.

Some of Gagne's biggest feuds were against Gene Kiniski, Dr. Bill Miller (under a mask both as Dr. X and then Mr. M), Fritz Von Erich, Dr. X, The Crusher, Ray Stevens, Mad Dog Vachon, Larry Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel while champion and title changes.

His last match was a six-man tag with his son Greg, and Jimmy Snuka defeating Boris Zhukov, John Nord and Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie on June 29, 1986.

McMahon wished to take his promotion "national" and do away with the traditional territorial system that dominated the North American pro wrestling landscape for decades.

In September 1985, ESPN began broadcasting AWA Championship Wrestling, giving the promotion national exposure like the WWF.

Throughout the mid to late 1980s, the AWA would lose the vast majority of its top stars to McMahon, while ratings and live attendance continued to decline.

[22] On February 25, 2009, the older man's death was officially ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.

[23] Gagne was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease[24] (or possibly chronic traumatic encephalopathy caused by a lifetime of head injuries)[25] and had been living in the memory-loss section of a Bloomington, Minnesota health care facility.