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Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and later was a successful professional wrestler recognized as a multiple-time World Heavyweight Champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he billed himself for promotional purposes, was born in Edmonton, Alberta.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Gene Kiniski profile )〕〔National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 211, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 1-55022-741-6〕 Like Bronko Nagurski before him, Kiniski was one of the first World Champions in professional wrestling to have a previous background in football. He is the father of professional wrestler Kelly Kiniski and international amateur/professional wrestler Nick Kiniski. ==Early life== One of six children of local politician Julia Kiniski, who emigrated from Poland. At the age of seventeen he was over six feet tall. Gene Kiniski wrestled and played football at St. Joseph's High School. In March 1947, he entered the annual Edmonton School's Boxing and Wrestling Tournament at Westglen gymnasium. Due to his size, he was the lone heavyweight competing.〔National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 212, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 1-55022-741-6〕 Kiniski captured the attention of Annis Stukus, a scout for the Edmonton Eskimos, of the then Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1949, (which later merged with the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union to form the Canadian Football League). Along with Kiniski, wrestlers Al Oeming and Stu Hart were at the training camp as well. Two of his Eskimos teammates were future wrestlers Wilbur Snyder and Joe Blanchard. He secured himself a spot on the defensive line and his play earned him a scholarship to the University of Arizona.〔 He was enrolled there from September 18, 1950 to January 26, 1952 and played on the defensive line for Bob Winslow. Rod Fenton recruited Kiniski into professional wrestling in Arizona in 1952.〔 He returned to Edmonton to play football for the Eskimos too, and he suffered a torn kneecap in the team’s first game against Saskatchewan in August 1952. Kiniski retired from football in 1953 to resume wrestling full-time. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gene Kiniski」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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