Freddie Blassie: He Was No Pencil-Neck Geek

I read that wrestler “Classie” Freddie Blassie died on June 2 (obituary, June 4). Many years ago I was having lunch with a group of people and remarked, “As the philosopher Freddie Blassie once said, ‘Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!’ ” The person sitting next to me started laughing and said she had lived next door to him when she was a small girl. I asked her what sort of person he was. To this day I remember her words: “He was the nicest, sweetest man you would ever want to meet.”

Many people think of Blassie as just another loud professional wrestler. Not me. Anyone who contributes two expressions to the English lexicon (the above and “pencil-neck geek”) is more than meets the eye. Best wishes, Freddie, you entertained me and many others over your career.

William L. Murrell

Temple City