February 13, 1937
Angelo "King Kong" Mosca
(Photo; listchallenges.com)
Born in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
A former Canadian Football League player and professional wrestler. Mosca has lived in and around Hamilton for many years, and currently lives in St. Catharines, Ont.
Mosca attended the University of Notre Dame and was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1959 in the 30th round. He had already decided to play in the CFL, in 1958 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders for Hardiman Cureton on August 15, 1960, and played for the Rough Riders in 1960 and 1961 before joining the Montreal Alouettes in 1962. He played his remaining years, 1963 to 1972 in Hamilton. He was a 5-time all star. Angelo played in 9 Grey Cup games, more than any other player in CFL history, tied with his teammate John Barrow. Mosca's teams won 5 Grey Cup games, one with the Ottawa Rough Riders and four with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
He began wrestling in the off-season, and became a full-time wrestler after his retirement from football. He wrestled all across North America, always at or near the top of the card, and almost always as a heel, even in Toronto until the late 1970s, then he became a face, and in the early 1980s, the lead face. He often used a sleeper as his finisher in later years.
He is also known by the wrestling nicknames King Kong Mosca and The Mighty Hercules. Mosca has a son, Angelo Jr., who also wrestled. He was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He was elected to the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. His number 68 football jersey was retired by the Hamilton Tiger Cats football club on August 27, 2015 at a ceremony at Tim Horton Field in Hamilton.
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