HOW IT ALL STARTED
Ivan was born the 25th day of August 1942. Raised on a dairy farm in Canada, and the middle child of seven boys and three girls, Ivan started to watch wrestling on TV at the age of eight years old. Ivan wanted to become a professional wrestler so badly that he would wrestle with his chores and brothers on the dairy farm, dreaming of the day he would make his dream come true.
Upon leaving school at 17 years old, Ivan finally made it to Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in Hamilton, Ontario. After a year of training - weightlifting and learning all the holds - Ivan became Red McNulty, an Irish rogue, who hailed from Dublin, Ireland wearing a patch over his eye and wrestled as a heel.
He soon got his debut match which was against Bruno Sammartino "The Living Legend" on TV in Pittsburgh, Pa. For the next three years Ivan wrestled around the Toronto area, eventually quitting his regular job to wrestle in the Northwest area. Ivan there acquired his wrestling experience and got his first trip to Japan.
In 1967, Ivan Koloff, the Russian Bear was born and debuted in Montreal Canada becoming the Canadian Heavyweight Champion.
The next 31 years consisted of traveling to Europe, Japan, Australia, West Indies, and Puerto Rico, as well as the United States.
Ivan won many titles and made his biggest dream come true.
LIFE OUTSIDE THE RING
Ivan lived in Greenville, NC with his wife, Renae, and had four adult children.
He remained active in the wrestling industry and various charities until his death in February 2017.
Ivan had a reputation for being a kind and easygoing man outside the ring; despite his infamous persona.
Ivan became a born again Christian in 1995 and traveled to churches to share his testimony in hopes of saving others from a lifetime of destruction due to drug and alcohol addiction.
