Happy drew the crowds

Happy Humphrey was a professional wrestler.

He stood out because he weighed over 600 pounds.

Happy came to Boise near the twilight of his career, and the place where he wrestled had to be reinforced due to his weight.

The wrestling promoter had tried to convince me that I should cover pro wrestling.

I told the promoter that I would cover Happy’s match if he would let me interview him before the match.

Happy wore britches and a huge shirt, and he resembled a rodeo clown.

He was huge.

I challenged him and said I didn’t think he weighed over 600 pounds.  

“Let me sit on your lap,” he responded. I then took his word for the 600 pounds.

He told the story of his wrestling career. His first professional match was with a bear.

He had a young man helping him who would bathe Happy with a mop and garden hose. He couldn’t fit in the shower.

He said he once got stuck in a theater seat, and they had to get someone to cut the seat away to free him. He also got stuck in a phone booth.

Happy ballooned up at one point to over 900 pounds, although he was fighting in Boise at 500 pounds.

Happy had to get weighed at meat packing plants. No one else had scales big enough.

His strategy, Happy said, was to get his opponent off his feet and then sit on him.

This strategy was staged, and he won the match. The people went crazy.

He wrestled into his 60s and then went to a private clinic where he lived for two years while doctors did weight studies on him.

At the end of the two years, Happy was down to 230 pounds.

As Happy, he was well named. He was a very pleasant guy, with a nice smile.

Pro wrestling today is a mean sport. I never was a regular sports reporter for wrestling and don’t enjoy the sport.