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''This article is about the wrestler. For other people named William Cobb, see William Cobb (disambiguation)'' 〕 |birth_date = 〔 |death_date = 〔 |birth_place = Payne, Georgia, US〔 |death_place = Augusta, Georgia, US〔 |resides = |billed = |trainer = |debut = 1953〔 |retired = 1962〔 }} William Joseph Cobb (July 16, 1926 - March 14, 1989), best known by his ring and screen names of Happy Humphrey, Happy Farmer Humphrey, and "Squasher" Humphrey, was an American professional wrestler and the heaviest professional wrestler of all time. His most active period was in the 1950s and 1960s when he billed himself as "the world's largest wrestler".〔("Reduction of Happy Humphrey". ''Time Magazine'' July 30, 1965 )〕 Humphrey averaged during his career.〔Stokes, Mike. "XXXXL: from Kamala the Ugandan Giant to Yokozuma to Haystacks Calhoun, we present the 10 greatest super-heavyweights in wrestling history - Special section: the heavyweights." ''Wrestling Digest'' August, 2002. ()〕 Several times, he weighed in at over , and on one occasion he weighed over ==Professional wrestling career== Humphrey, who at the time was working on a farm where he was known for his uncommon strength, began his wrestling career in 1953 by wrestling a bear for 28 minutes.〔Schramm, Chris. "Happy Humphrey was the giant." ''SLAM! Wrestling'' April 1, 1999. ()〕 For about eight years, Humphrey wrestled a number of matches, some of them televised, often against Haystacks Calhoun who regularly weighed over himself. Humphrey's most notable match was a sold-out main event against Calhoun at Madison Square Garden, promoted by Vince McMahon Sr.〔 Humphrey's promoters had a 1951 Pontiac〔 heavily modified to carry the wrestler around: seats were removed and extra shocks were installed to support Humphrey's enormous weight (and also as a gimmick).〔 In addition, he was usually weighed before matches on meat scales at rendering facilities.〔 In 1960, Humphrey met future multiple NWA World Champion Harley Race, who was only 17 at the time.〔 Race, who was just beginning his own career, was hired as Humphrey's driver and he also wrestled Humphrey on multiple occasions.〔 Race earned $5 per day, plus room and board, for driving Humphrey, and $25 for each match he wrestled with Humphrey.〔 According to Race, Humphrey was so large that normal showers could not accommodate him. As a result, Humphrey was obliged to lie naked on the ground while Race would apply liquid soap to his body, scrub him with a mop and then rinse him off with a garden hose.〔 Race also stated that while Humphrey was a huge man who taught Race how to take bumps properly, he was also a very kind person and one of the few wrestlers of his era who took the time to sign an autograph for everyone and to socialize with fans.〔 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「Happy Humphrey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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