I have said it before, but one of the things that made the American Football League great was the interesting characters that would up in AFL uniforms. Rattlesnake charmer, Dennit Morris; Ernie “The Giant Cat” Ladd; Cookie Gilchrist; Larry “Wildman” Eisenhauer, and the list goes on and on.
One of the greatest of AFL characters was the legendary Wahoo McDaniel, guard, linebacker, wrestler, and all-around interesting human being. I stumbled upon an excellent piece about McDaniel by a writer named G. Neri. The piece touches on Wahoo’s football career, but also talks about what made Wahoo become Wahoo.
Wahoo! The Incredible Adventures of Chief Wahoo McDaniel: Wrestling Superstar
I knew Wahoo McDaniel wrestled in the off season,but I never realized what an all around athlete he was.Seems like he led a very interesting life. I still remember seeing just the name WAHOO on the back of his AFL game jersey. He was way ahead of his time. A tough run stopping linebacker, who would be good in any era.