The Good! Killer Kowalski, despite the name, was a gentle soul and one of the good guys of life, if not professional wrestling. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting in front of the television set on Saturday mornings and trembling as the six foot, five inch, 275 pound Kowalski would put his feared claw hold on his defeated opponents. This was the man who tore off Yukon Eric’s ear in a match by accident as it turns out. Kowalski would wrestle for thirty years (1947-1977) and had the distinction of always being the villain. It all seemed so real to a 9-year-old.
After his retirement Edward Walter Spulnik (real name) made a living by running a wrestling school which should come as no surprise. What was surprising was his passion for photography. He would win hundreds of awards and hold a number of exhibitions. He was also constantly honored for his charitable efforts. He even married for the first time at age 79. Shortly before his death, August 8, 2008, he was asked what he would do if he had it to do it all over again? Kowalski replied, “I’d be an electrical engineer."
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