Before captivating the wrestling world as the "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Randy Poffo harbored aspirations of making it big in baseball. Athletics ran deep in the Poffo household, with both Randy and his brother Lanny inheriting their father Angelo's athletic genes. The Poffo boys engaged in various sports during their childhood, including basketball, football, baseball, and wrestling. However, baseball held a special place in Randy's heart, often leading him and Lanny to a nearby field for a game.
A devout Cubs fan, Randy admired Cincinnati's Pete Rose, known as "Charlie Hustle," and Johnny Bench, an exceptional catcher. When Randy turned 10, his mother, Judy Poffo, enrolled him in the Downers Grove Little League. Randy seemingly inherited his passion from his father, Angelo, who played catcher for the DePaul University baseball team.
“What was immediately noteworthy was that Randy threw the ball back to the pitcher with more velocity than the pitcher pitched the ball to Randy,” childhood friend John Guarnaccia told Sports Illustrated in a 2011 interview.
"Randy Poffo was definitely the best player in town for his age. I got the chance to play against him in Little League, and he was a beast," added Guarnaccia, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in a March 2015 interview with The Chicago Tribune. "I’d heard about him and (wanted to pitch around him). He swung on purpose to get another chance to hit me. On the next pitch, he hit a home run over the centerfield fence.
In 1968, the Poffo family relocated to Hawaii for nearly a year following Randy’s sophomore year at Downers Grove North High. Angelo had received a lucrative offer to wrestle for promoter Ed Francis in the Hawaii territory and Japan. Lanny explained that Angelo believed holding his sons back a year while wrestling in Hawaii would reduce their chances of being drafted for the Vietnam War, and Randy would gain a competitive advantage when his high school baseball career resumed.
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During their time away, Lanny and Randy Poffo dedicated themselves to baseball. “That time in Hawaii made Randy a different level player,” Lanny Poffo told Sports Illustrated.
Upon returning to Downers Grove North High School, Randy Poffo found himself among the oldest students in his grade, if not the oldest. During his junior season, Randy Poffo earned the title of his team’s Most Valuable Player, boasting a .500 batting average, the highest among Chicago high school hitters, along with three home runs, four triples, and eight doubles. His senior season proved even more remarkable, as Randy Poffo achieved a state record .525 batting average while his team shared the Western Suburban Conference championship. Randy once again received the MVP award and was selected for the All-State Team. Randy wasn’t selected in the 1971 MLB Draft, and Lanny said his brother turned down a scholarship offer from Arizona State, one of the top collegiate baseball programs in the country.
In 1970, Randy also played with the Chicago Orioles, a top amateur team comprised of local high school and college all-stars. The St. Louis Cardinals hosted a free-agent tryout at Busch Stadium, so Randy shook off the devastation of not being drafted and, with his dad, drove 300 miles to participate. Out of the more than 200 players who attended, Randy was the only one who received a contract offer.
"(The Cardinals) were really surprised I wasn’t drafted," an 18-year old Randy Poffo told the Downers Grove Reporter the following week. "They felt I had unlimited potential, but it doesn’t matter now. The door is open now, and I’ve got my chance.
Randy Poffo began his professional career in the Fall of 1971 with the Cardinals’ Gulf Coast League team - the Sarasota Red Birds.
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Herndon said Randy Poffo was well-liked by teammates and described him as a diligent worker. “He kept everybody [on the team] loose,” Herndon told ESPN. Herndon said Poffo used to swing a bat into a car tire fixed to a tree as a regular training exercise to strengthen his hands and make sure he utilized his legs during swings.
"He was a heck of a hitter," said Tony Garofalo, a former longtime trainer who trained with Poffo while serving the 1972 Gulf Coast League Cardinals in the same capacity. "He wasn’t a five-tool baseball player. He could hit, he could field, he could run a little bit, but he couldn’t throw very well. He had a funky throwing motion. "I had kind of a scatter arm," Randy said.
While teammates like Mumphrey and Vail made comfortable salaries thanks to the contracts they signed as highly touted prospects, Randy fought to survive on $500 a month.
Randy began 1973 with Sarasota for a third season. He struggled early on, but then, just when it appeared he might lose his roster spot, his bat came alive, and Randy raised his batting average to .344 through 25 games. His surge at the plate caught the Cardinals organization’s attention, and they promoted him to Class A Orangeburg of the Western Carolinas League. The club was an independent team but featured several players from the Cardinals organization.
Randy was assigned to room with a young outfielder named Tito Landrum, who would play nine major league seasons. "Randy Poffo was a very aggressive player and was well-liked on the team because of that aggressiveness," Landrum told The Baltimore Sun in a June 1994 interview. "But his intensity is real. I can remember him setting up a ring in the locker room and wrestling with the guys.
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While the promotion seemed like a dream for Randy, that season turned out to be a nightmare. Mirmow Field, the home ballpark in Orangeburg, South Carolina, was a dump. Randy was highly regarded but slumped and batted .250 in 116 games and showed very little that he was a legitimate major league prospect.
The nightmare continued as Randy’s season concluded shortly thereafter when he separated his right shoulder and tore the muscles after colliding with the catcher at full force on a close play at home plate. “That was hard for Randy,” Lanny said.
Randy attended a Cincinnati Reds tryout camp at Lowry Park in Tampa, and area scout supervisor George Zuraw of Englewood invited him to spring training before the 1974 season. He hit six home runs, four left-handed and two right-handed.
The Florida State League had recently decided to employ the designated hitter rule, and that was the break Randy needed, as manager Russ Nixon said he could use his bat. There was one last chance. "I said let him swing the bat here," Nixon recalled. "He is that type of hitter. He wants to play. He has the greatest desire of any kid I ever saw.
"Randy Poffo was a super athlete," Pete Rose told Sports Illustrated.
Although he only batted .232 in 131 games, he finished third in the Florida State League with nine home runs, just behind Hall of Famer Eddie Murray and major leaguer Gary Roenicke, with a team-high 66 RBI.
Randy Poffo learns to throw with both hands! Throwing with his off-hand was something Randy first started in high school when he practiced pitching with his left hand again to increase his value.
Randy tried to come back too soon from the injury. He was used as a designated hitter, but the finger hampered him. He didn’t complain because he didn’t want to lose his job.
This season also saw Randy earn a nickname that would stick with him for the rest of his life. On April 29, 1974, midway through a game against the Winter Haven Red Sox, Randy was preparing to bat when Rac Slider, the opposing manager, signaled for a pitching change. “So the pitcher just rears back and drills Randy in the helmet,” says Don Werner, a Tampa catcher. “Randy charged the mound and started fighting the guy.
"I guess he thought I was looking at his pitches, and the next thing I knew, he had hit me in the face," Randy said. "Next day in the paper, some writer gets on me, says I was acting like some macho man. "Some fans put a banner up in the outfield that said ‘Hit it here, Macho Man,’ " he said. "I kind of dug that.
While Randy was clinging to the final hopes of achieving his major league dreams, the reality was setting in, and the pull toward a career in professional wrestling grew stronger. While Angelo encouraged his sons to not follow in his footsteps and deal with the constant travel and frequent injury that goes along with being a wrestler, Randy eventually realized he wanted to wrestle AND play baseball.
Randy began living a secret second life by moonlighting as the masked wrestler ‘The Spider,’ making shots at shows around Florida during the offseason. "I remember the first time I saw him," Jerry Brisco told The Miami News in a May 1986 interview. "It was around 1974, in the old Fort Myers Armory. He had good arms, but he was small. He had to keep his weight around 175 pounds because of baseball, and that’s pretty little for the ring. But it didn’t stop him.
Realizing he was near the end of his baseball career, Randy wanted to take one more shot at achieving his dream before he could commit to a career in wrestling with the peace of mind that he exhausted every opportunity to play baseball. He wrote letters to numerous clubs but didn’t sell himself as a right-turned-lefty.
| Year | Team | League |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Sarasota Red Birds | Gulf Coast League |
| 1973 | Orangeburg Cardinals | Western Carolinas League |
| 1974 | Tampa Tarpons | Florida State League |
The hard work paid off as the San Francisco Giants said Randy could attend their camp, but it was in Casa Grande, Arizona, and it would be at his expense. Then, at the 11th hour, on Mar. "I have to say we were impressed by his ambition and determination," White Sox Farm Director C.V. Davis said in the March 25, 1975 edition of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "We’ll take a chance on him in spring training, but didn’t guarantee him anything. Poffo attracted much attention during spring training with his ambidextrousness and surprised White Sox Manager Chuck Tanner.
Still, he hadn’t mastered the vital sidearm throw from first to second on double plays. "When they walked up and took my uniform out of my locker, I couldn’t believe it," Randy said. "It got me pretty worked up, and finally, I told ‘em ...
This marked a turning point, leading him to fully embrace professional wrestling, where he would become the iconic "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
Randy Savage's Rise to Wrestling Fame
Randy Savage's wrestling career began in 1973, working for various promotions, including the International Championship Wrestling and Championship Wrestling from Florida. He soon gained recognition for his unique look and flashy in-ring style, which made him stand out from the crowd.
In 1985, Savage signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he became a household name. He quickly rose through the ranks and won his first WWF Intercontinental Championship in 1986 by defeating Tito Santana. Over the next few years, Savage would become one of the biggest stars in the WWF, thanks to his intense promos and memorable matches.
“Macho Man” Randy Savage’s greatest moments: WWE Playlist
One of Savage’s most iconic moments in the WWF came at WrestleMania III in 1987, where he faced off against Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest matches in wrestling history. The match was a technical masterpiece, with both wrestlers showcasing their incredible athleticism and skill. Savage ultimately lost the match but cemented his status as one of the all-time greats.
Savage continued to have a successful career in the WWF throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He won the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV in 1988, defeating four other wrestlers in a tournament.
Savage would successfully defend his World Championship Title for 371 days, defeating many legends along the way, such as Andre the Giant, The Ultimate Warrior, and “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase, to name a few. It was during this reign that Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan would join forces and become the immensely popular tag team The Mega Powers.
This alliance would come to a crashing halt during the “Main Event II” in February 1989. After jealousy and ego took their toll throughout the team’s run, The Macho Man viciously attacked Hulk Hogan in the locker room with the Championship Belt. The fuse was thus lit for The Mega Powers to explode during WrestleMania V. This highly publicized feud is considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time. Although Randy Savage dropped the Title to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V, he did not leave the ‘80s sans gold.
Macho Man Randy Savage defeated “King” Hacksaw Jim Duggan in September 1989 to claim the Crown and Title of “King.” With his new manager Queen Sensational Sherri, the Macho Man reinvented himself as he uncannily morphed into “Macho King Randy Savage.” And rule he did! The coronation of Macho King took place on September 30, 1989. Savage’s real-life brother, the Genius Lanny Poffo, read his proclamation. This poem bestowed the title of “Macho King” upon the Macho Man. “The Million Dollar” Man Ted Dibiase presented Savage with a “gift worthy only of a King,” a “Solid Golden Scepter.”
Savage’s iconic run as Macho King ended when he lost a Retirement Match against The Ultimate Warrior on March 24, 1991, at WrestleMania VII. Queen Sherri turned on Savage, prompting former manager and late ex-wife Miss Elizabeth to come from the crowd and save Macho King Randy Savage from Sherri’s attacks. This reconciliation is one of the most emotional storylines in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Savage’s in-ring career began to wind down in the late 1990s, but he remained involved in the wrestling industry, making occasional appearances on various shows and promotions.
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