ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Bob Backlund

I want to start by giving a big thank you to Rob for reaching out and sending me the letter that got this whole project started. Many other people reached out to me in the past, but I had been waiting for the right person to come along—and the words that Rob put in his letter convinced me that he was that person to write the book about my life. When we met in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the first time, I was amazed, because I thought that meeting would never take place and that I would have to leave this earth without having had the opportunity to tell my story. When we met, I was also very concerned that Rob would be disappointed in me, because I would not live up to my billing as his childhood hero—I was just me. But after we met, it reconfirmed for me that Rob was indeed the guy. He wanted to know the truth about my life, to tell the real story, and to learn about who I was not just as a wrestler, but as a person. I wasn’t into the politics of wrestling, so I knew very little about what was going on behind the scenes and was amazed to learn, through this project, about some of the things that were going on in the wrestling business. The sheer amount of research that was done and the conversations that Rob had with a variety of my peers has really helped to flesh out my history in the wrestling business and to make this a far more interesting book than it otherwise might have been.

When I received Rob’s letter, I owned an oil company, and was a long way away from the wrestling business. This project brought me back to life and has given me the opportunity to do the things I’ve always dreamed of doing: to get back into the limelight a little bit with an eye on motivating young people and being a positive role model again. The project has opened doors for me all over the world, with the WWE, with youth groups, and others that remember me and want to hear from me again, and for all of that I am truly grateful. I can’t wait to get back out on the road and meet all of you again and talk to you about your lives and mine and what we’ve all been up to for the past thirty years.

Of course, I want to thank my wife, Corki, with whom I just celebrated my fortieth wedding anniversary, and my daughter Carrie for supporting me during my wrestling career, and for supporting everything else I have done in my life. I know it hasn’t always been easy for them, moving from territory to territory and place to place, but they have both always been very patient and supportive through all of the havoc of the business. I know they’re both very proud and excited about this book and what it represents.

I would like to thank Mr. Barry Trievel for allowing us to use some of his interviews and content about me that he collected years ago. Barry was an old teammate of mine from the North Dakota State University football team, so we go way back and share a lot of history. Thank you, Barry, for all you have done and contributed to this story.

Big thanks also to Mike Gratchner, for his willingness to let us use so many photos from his personal collection in this book.

I would also like to gratefully thank the many people who took time out of their busy and hectic schedules to make time for us, including “Rowdy” Roddy Piper for his gracious foreword, Bruno Sammartino for the generosity of his time and thoughts on my career, and to both Harley Race and Terry Funk for their contributions to understanding the history of my career in this business, but also for having faith in me in the early years to push me along my path.

To Vince McMahon Jr. and Triple H for opening the door and allowing me to come home to the WWE, inducting me into the Hall of Fame, and entrusting me with the responsibility to talk to children and adults about the choices I made in my life and why I made them. To Scott Amann for helping to make it possible for wrestling fans the world over to find and enjoy this book and meet me out on the road with the WWE. And to Sue Aitchison from WWE Talent Relations, who handles my scheduling with the WWE with such grace.

To Jake Elwell, our literary agent at Harold Ober Associates, who believed in this project from the beginning, helped us find the right publisher for it, and for his many bits of great advice along the way.

To Tony Lyons and Jason Katzman at Skyhorse Publishing for their faith in the project despite the many delays that it took to make it the way we wanted it, and for their great work in taking the book from a large pile of paper to what you now hold in your hands.

And finally to Vince McMahon Sr., no doubt riffling a stack of quarters in a back hallway up in Heaven, for trusting me to be his “All-American Boy” and giving me the chance of a lifetime.

Rob Miller

First and foremost, to Bob, for trusting me to voice the project that he had been waiting twenty-five years to write, and for his generosity, honor, and steadfastness of character. Few people in this world get to meet their childhood hero. Far fewer find that person more worthy of that status than your imagination had allowed.

To Jake Elwell, my literary agent at Harold Ober, who for five books and fifteen years has provided me with his wisdom, ideas, and good counsel.

To Tony Lyons and Jason Katzman at Skyhorse Publishing for their entrepreneurial spirit and undying faith in this project, and to Tom McCarthy for his editorial notes and assistance.

To Napoleon Hill, for all of the inspiration that has fed Bob and me for the long years in the making.

And finally, to Carolyn, Nick, and Lucas, for putting up with all of the stories and time away that was necessary to make this project possible. I love you guys.