He is a one-time world champion in professional wrestling. I added some texture with a palette knife here and there, and also created almost an ‘aura’ of energy around him mainly with the knife. In 1969, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and in 1977, the College Football Hall of Fame. He won his first tag team championship in NWA San Francisco on March 14, 1952 when he teamed Hombre Montana. "He'd slap you on the back and knock you twenty feet. He was unofficially the third to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Leo Nomellini began wrestling professionally in the off-season and won numerous titles, including the NWA world tag-team title and for a brief period, the NWA singles title. Biography in: "Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling" by Harris M. Lentz III. A superstar professional football player and wrestler, Leo Joseph Nomellini was born on June 19, 1924 and attended Chicago Crane Technical High School. Nomellini was selected in the 1st round (11th overall) of the 1950 NFL draft, the first draft pick in the history of the San Francisco 49ers. You can see the detailed match statistics of Leo Nomellini here. Leo Nomellini (June 19, 1924 - October 17, 2000) was an Italian professional wrestler. Leave a comment, Beyond being a notable shooter in the ring, John Pesek is possibly the only World Champion in history to have …, Acrylic and paint marker on 24″ x 24″ wood, ‘Iron’ Mike DiBiase held over thirty championships in his career and was the progenitor of the DiBiase …, Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked:*, 6 He played college football for Minnesota.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in …

6 In this era, title matches were won by getting two out of three falls and Nomellini and Thesz each had one fall. 6 Nomellini died on October 17, 2000 after suffering a stroke. 92 different wrestlers teamed with Leo Nomellini.

Internet Wrestling Database.  ×  He is a one-time world champion in professional wrestling. He was a three-sport start at the University of Minnesota and was twice named first team All-American in football. 5: Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. While with the 49ers, he played both offensive and defensive tackle, winning All-Pro honors at both positions. To see who, you can click here . During the off-season Nomellini often wrestled professionally as Leo "The Lion" Nomellini debuting in Minnesota in 1950. On March 22, 1955 in San Francisco Leo ‘The Lion’ Nomellini defeated Lou Thesz for the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship in a controversial match. display: none !important; Four months later, Nomellini and Gino Garibaldi won the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Champi… Nomellini would leave NWA San Francisco to head to Minnesota to work for Verne Gagne and the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club. This text is hidden because it is only available in German language. I went fairly traditional with the figure, mostly applying the paint with a brush. By: RobFiled under NWA Champions. While working for the National Wrestling Alliance, Nomellini once defeated Lou Thesz in a two-out-of-three falls match, but was not awarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship because the first fall was a disqualification. He would win it for the last time on July 19, 1960, once again teaming with Gagne and defeating Stan Kowalski and Tiny Mills.

The title was disputed because he won it via count-out and disqualification. For his career, he was a 10-time tag team champion. Four months later, Nomellini and Gino Garibaldi won the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship. Known as “Leo the Lion” in the ring, he stood six foot three and weighed 250 pounds. Biography in: "Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling" by Harris M. Lentz III. "[3] Nomellini was named to the NFL's all-time team as a defensive tackle. 191 different wrestlers fought against Leo Nomellini. In 1957, Nomellini, again teaming with Torres, defeated Lord James Blears and Ben Sharpe for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version). 4: Also wrestled professionally as Leo "The Lion" Nomellini. Leo Nomellini (June 19, 1924 - October 17, 2000) was an Italian professional wrestler. Leo “The Lion” Nomellini, a star tackle for the San Francisco 49ers from 1950 to 1963 and a member of both the Pro Football and NWA Wrestling Hall of Fames, is forever remembered as … The duo defeated Mike Sharpe and Ben Sharpe for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) . Nomellini won his final professional wrestling championship on May 23, 1961 when he and Wilbur Snyder defeated Gene Kiniski and Hard Boiled Haggerty for the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Nomellini and Torres defeated the Mike and Ben Sharpe on May 6, 1953 for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2003. From an immigrant to fighting in WWII to a multi-time football Hall of Famer to wrestling world champion, the Leo Nomellini story is the story of the American dream. After the war, he received a football scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where be became a two-time All-American and the 49ers' first-ever NFL draft choice in 1950. Leo Nomellini Professional Wrestling History. The third fall was due to a disqualification, seeing Nomellini get the win.

On May 15, 1958, Nomellini, teaming with Verne Gange defeated Mike and Doc Gallagher for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version). Second edition, pp. He won his first tag team championship in NWA San Francisco on March 14, 1952 when he teamed Hombre Montana.

Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-American Hall of Fame American football offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and professional wrestler.He played college football for Minnesota. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the University of Minnesota Athletic Hall of Fame. Leo Nomellini began wrestling professionally in the off-season and won numerous titles, including the NWA world tag-team title and for a brief period, the NWA singles title. Leo the Lion held numerous tag team championships over the remainder of his in-ring career with notable runs with both Wilbur Snyder and Verne Gagne.

On July 15, 1955 the two met in Toronto, Ontario to find who is the true champion, with Thesz coming out on top and ending Nomellini’s run as the disputed World Champion. Known as “Leo the Lion” in the ring, he stood six foot three and weighed 250 pounds. Learn how your comment data is processed. Nomellini would leave NWA San Francisco to head to Minnesota to work for Verne Gagne and the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club. June 19, 1924: Leo Nomellini was born in Italy and moved to Chicago at a very young age.. Late 1940s: Leo Nomellini was an All-American on the Minnesota football team.. 1950-63: Leo Nomellini was a Hall of Fame offensive tackle for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.. 1969: Leo Nomellini was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tagged leo nomellini, painting, pro wrestling, rob schamberger. Very brief but rare clip of football & wrestling great Leo Nomellini taking on Japanese wrestling legend Rikidozan. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1969, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008. Nomellini was born at Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, and immigrated to the United States as an infant to Minnesota, before later moving to Chicago, Illinois where he attended Crane High School. thirty six Nomellini and Torres defeated the Mike and Ben Sharpe on May 6, 1953 for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version). During the off-season Nomellini often wrestled professionally as Leo "The Lion" Nomellini debuting in Minnesota in 1950. For his career, he was a 10-time tag team champion. Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-American Hall of Fame American football offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and professional wrestler. He was selected to the All-NFL team six times: two years on offense and four years on defense. He was unofficially the third to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. .hide-if-no-js { Nomellini's reign is not considered official by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Leo Nomellini passed away on October 17, 2000. 1 of 2 Leo Nomellini. 4: Also wrestled professionally as Leo "The Lion" Nomellini. Please click this line if you do not care and want to view it anyway. He shined as a college athlete at the University of Minnesota … The title was disputed because he won it via count-out and disqualification. After retiring from competition he promoted in the San Francisco area as well.

NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team titles w/Hombre Montana defeating Mike & Ben Sharpe (March 14, 1952); NWA (San Francisco) Pacific Coast Tag Team titles w/Gino Garibaldi (July 1952); NWA (San Francisco) Pacific Coast Tag Team titles w/Enrique Torres defeating Fred & Ray Atkins (April 1953): NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team titles w/Enrique Torres defeating Mike & Ben Sharpe (May 6, 1953); NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team titles w/Rocky Brown defeating Mike & Ben Sharpe (May 11, 1954); NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team titles w/Enrique Torres defeating James Blears & Ben Sharpe (1957); NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Vern Gagne defeating Mike & Doc Gallagher (May 15, 1958); NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Butch Levy defeating Karol & Ivan Kalmikoff (July 14, 1959); NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Vern Gagne defeating Stan Kowalski & Tiny Mills (July 19, 1960); AWA World Tag Team titles w/Wilbur Snyder defeating Gene Kiniski & Hard Boiled Haggerty (May 23, 1961); June 19, 1924: Leo Nomellini was born in Italy and moved to Chicago at a very young age.. Late 1940s: Leo Nomellini was an All-American on the Minnesota football team.. 1950-63: Leo Nomellini was a Hall of Fame offensive tackle for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.. 1969: Leo Nomellini was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

[4], Italian-American football player and professional wrestler, NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club/American Wrestling Association, San Francisco 49ers first-round draft picks, NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club, George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club - American Wrestling Association, "Ex-49er Leo 'Lion' Nomellini Dies at 76 / Hall of Famer suffered stroke 3 weeks ago", "Flood won't stop Tragos/Thesz HOF 'Super Weekend, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_Nomellini&oldid=984133955, Minnesota Golden Gophers football players, National Football League players with retired numbers, Players of American football from Illinois, Short description is different from Wikidata, NFL player missing current team parameter, Infobox NFL biography articles missing alt text and caption, Infobox NFL biography articles with old NFL.com URL, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 October 2020, at 11:32. He played college football for Minnesota. 255-256.

Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian-American Hall of Fame American football offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and professional wrestler.

In 1957, Nomellini, again teaming with Torres, defeated Lord James Blears and Ben Sharpe for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version). The Leo Nomellini story is the story of America, the story of an immigrant who worked hard and became a success in multiple fields.

Born in Italy He played both defensive and offensive tackle, winning all-pro honors for both, and was selected to the All-NFL team six times. NWA Minneapolis World Tag Team Title: Leo Nomellini & Verne Gagne defeat Murder Incorporated (Stan Kowalski & Tiny Mills) (c) - TITLE CHANGE !!! After high school, he joined the Marine Corps.