On Saturday evening, I hit the local (40 miles away) Barnes & Noble to purchase the Freddie Blassie biography. I look forward to reading this book. I find stories about the days of territories quite interesting.

Sadly, less than 48 hours after my book purchase, Mr. Blassie passed away. Fred Blassie has a long line of in-ring accomplishments. He will long be remembered for his contributions to the business. Additionally, he did something not many pro-wrestlers can... he lived to be an old man. He lived to be 85 years old.

Some of my earliest wrestling memories involve Freddie Blassie. I remember him as the manager of The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. The Iron Sheik (Iran) and Nikolai Volkoff (USSR) were in constant battle with Barry Windam and Mike Rotunda for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Freddie was the mouthpiece for a team of evil foreigners. I wish I had some of those matches on videotape/DVD.

As a teenager, I collected various wrestling memorabilia. I have a couple of videotapes from the Golden Era of wrestling. Legends like Antonio Rocca, Gorgeous George, Crusher, and Freddie Blassie locked horns in the squared circle.

It is fantastic to look back on these matches. The crowd was deafening. They were screaming and hollering. They were standing for most of the matches. When the fans weren't standing, they were sitting on the edge of their chairs. The matches all had "clean" finishes. There wasn't use of chairs, belts, and tables. The "bad" guys didn't have to pull the tights or have their feet on the ropes to win. When Gorgeous George finally delivered the headlock takeover (his finishing maneuver) fans booed loud and long. Someone they couldn't stomach had fairly beaten their hero.

Wrestling was quite different back then. Guys like Freddie Blassie paid a tremendous price to be a part of the business. They were legitimate tough guys in a business that was more sport than show. Freddie Blassie was a showman and one tough bastard to boot.

• Click here for the information on "Classy" Freddie Blassie.