Professional wrestling great Nick Bockwinkel died Nov. 14 at age 80. The image above is from what was probably his last appearance in Duluth, as special referee during a World Wrestling Federation card at the Duluth Arena in 1987. (WWF is now World Wrestling Entertainment; Duluth Arena is now the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena.)
Bockwinkel held the American Wrestling Association’s World Heavyweight Title four times, along with numerous other championship belts. He was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.
The image above, from 1996, shows Bockwinkel with Duluth native Leonard Carlson, who was then a champion on the independent circuit, wrestling under the name Lenny Lane, and would later win World Championship Wrestling’s cruiserweight title.
