“You cannot be laughing at the product,” Mr. Okerlund told Sports Illustrated for a profile of him in 2017. “I am damn proud of it,” he said of the honor in an interview with The Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Eugene Arthur Okerlund was born on Dec. 19, 1942, in Sisseton, S.D., to Helen and Arthur Okerlund. He said he first announced professional wrestling when Verne Gagne, the association’s owner and promoter, asked him to cover a match with only a few hours’ notice. “ ‘I know nothing about wrestling,’ I explained,” Mr. Okerlund told Sports Illustrated. “ ‘I don’t want to embarrass you and I certainly don’t want to embarrass myself.’ ”

Source: New York Times January 02, 2019 18:10 UTC