You Say Gag-Knee, I Say Gon-Ya

Big doin's at the Minnesota Historical Society - where the Hobbled Wife goes every day to "make history". We (meaning every good Minnesotan) is celebrating the Sesquicentennial- the 150th birthday of the North Star State. It's one big party - let me tell ya - MN150 they call it.

A few days ago she was reading the list of folks who planned on being at last night's opening (members-only) event. It was an impressive list.

"Hey, who's Vern Gag-Knee?" she asks.

"You mean Vern Gon-Ya, the famous professional wrestler," I quickly responded.

That's Vern Gagne (picture at top). Not to be confused with Greg Gagne (pronounced Gag-Knee) famous Twins player (below). Anyway - Vern was one of the 150, Greg was not.



Here's what the MNHS folks had to say about Vern:

Verne Gagne's succesful wrestling career at the University of Minnesota was just the beginning. He turned pro in 1949, and through the new medium of television, became a national sports star by the 1950s, capturing several heavyweight titles and becoming one of the nation's highest-paid wrestlers. In 1960, Gagne formed the American Wrestling Association as a promotional vehicle for his sport-and, overnight, became its biggest star. By the time he retired in 1981 Gagne had won 10 World Heavyweight Championship titles.

And to make matters more confusing, the Wrestler Vern had a son who was also a famous wrestler - named (of course) Greg.