Gordon Solie

Dubbed the Walter Cronkite of pro wrestling by the sport's most dedicated fans, Gordon Solie was one of the most respected commentators wrestling had ever been privy to for almost five decades. Solie first got into the wrestling game in Tampa, Florida in 1950, before moving on to primarily work for the NWA's Georgia & Florida territories. He briefly worked for WCW in the early 1990's, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1995. Solie unofficially retired after that but continued to work for some of the smaller NWA territories' local broadcasts. He is often credited with teaching many wrestlers, including Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan, how to talk and use adjectives and descriptive sentences. In 1999 he had surgery to remove the cancer that had formed in his throat and, in a cruel irony, lost his voice in the process. The surgery was not successful, and he succumbed to brain cancer a year later. He was 71.