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 This is a new addition to the Metro, following up on some great childhood memories growing up in Northwest Detroit. I would encourage our readers out there to submit to me their childhood memories. I will research them, try to find pictures, and update our readers. 
Do you remember when The Sheik would wrestle at Cobo Arena in Detroit? "THE SHEIK" - EDWARD FARHAT
1924-2003 In wrestling today, pyrotechnics, loud music, and sex sells the sport, but back in the late 1960's as a pre-teen growing up on the west side of Detroit, some of my best childhood memories was... watching Big Time Wrestling on the TV, especially when The Sheik was the main event. There weren't no pyros... There was no music... Occasionally you would get to see Linda Klein in her granny bathing suit, but there were several things you could be sure of... The Sheik would enter the ring with a rug to pray on, when the bell rang The Sheik would go into his camel strut once around the ring to the boos of the faithful, his manager The Weasel would be annoying as hell, and you could be sure there would be blood... LOTS OF BLOOD. Lord Athol Layton would be appalled at the announcers table. Needless to say... ALL HELL WOULD BREAK LOOSE FOR 5 - 10 MINUTES!
Edward Farhat, professionally known at The Sheik, died January 18, 2003 in Williamston, Michigan (near Lansing) of heart failure. He was 78. The Associated Press gave him credit for "...pioneering the hardcore school of professional wrestling," and cited that generations of fans loved to hate him. I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, like telling you that there is no Santa Claus, or that the Easter Bunny was killed and served as Hasenpfeffer on Yosemite Sam's dinner table, but the Sheik was born in Lansing, Michigan, one of ten children of Lebanese immigrants. After concealing his age (17) to join the United States Army during World War II, Farhat was recruited by wrestling promoter Burt Rubi in Detroit, in 1950. "There was a wrestling school, and he went two or three times a week," his son, Edward Farhat, Jr., said. "He was just a natural." In the '60s and '70s he continually sold out large arenas such as Cobo Hall in Detroit and Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, not to mention myriad other venues. He eventually controlled ownership of the booking office and promotion in Detroit, where his son added: "He was as much of a star as Hulk Hogan or any of the guys today." | 
The Sheik slaps the "Camel Clutch"
on Terry Funk
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The Sheik was been seen by millions of people at hundreds of different arenas all over the world and was extremely popular in Japan, where he wrestled as late as the 1990s when he was nearly 70 years old. He trained hundreds of wrestlers, including his nephew Sabu, his son Eddie, Jr. (who wrestled as Captain Ed George), the notorious Dr. Sam Shepard, and Randy (Savage) Poffo. The Sheik, in his Arab villain persona, battled with Dick the Bruiser, Lord Athol Layton, George (The Animal) Steele, Fred and Bull Curry, Johnny Valentine, Lou Thesz and many, many more. Using fireballs, forks, #2 lead pencils, and his trusty manager Abdullah (The Weasel) Farouk, he managed to retain his United States title for over 20 years. His "Big Time Wrestling" television program found a home for more than a decade in Detroit's Cobo Arena, where some of the programs were taped and aired. |
The character of The Sheik was deeply embedded in his personality, on or off the mat, his son said. "His grandkids called him Grandpa Sheik," he said. "There will never, ever, be another one like him." Farhat is survived by wife Joyce, sister Eva Brunk, brother Moses Farhat, sons Edward and Thomas, and four grandchildren. The Sheik is being inducted this year into the WWE Hall of Fame. SEND ME YOUR MEMORIES
I will try to research it, and feature it in an upcoming edition. | | .
If you have photos you would like to pass along, send them to memories@mccartymetro.com. |
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