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Harley Race’s team cancels all upcoming appearances as Hall of Famer remains hospitalized

By Sean Rueter

Earlier this year, word got out that Harley Race had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Other details were kept private, and the 76 year old legend continued running his Missouri based wrestling school and promotion, World League Wrestling, and making public appearances.

Last weekend, Race pulled out of signing at a convention in Tennessee. His verified Twitter account reported on Sat., July 13 that he was “under medical watch”, and updated on Mon., July 15 to say he was “still at the hospital under doctors care. There isn’t any time table for any situation”.

Today (July 17), his team posted the following Instagram. Race remains hospitalized, and his team has pulled him from all upcoming appearances. They’ve also released a special edition t-shirt to raise money to help cover costs associated with his current treatment occurring hundreds of miles away from his home:

View this post on Instagram

An update that have been wanting to know about in regards to the boss's situation over the weekend. This past weekend, he was scheduled to attend the Knoxville Fanboy Expo. While traveling to Knoxville, he exhibited some signs that needed to be addressed by medical personnel. He has been in the hospital since Thursday evening and that's where he currently is. Due to privacy concerns, no specific information will be given out about his current health status or anything of the sort. All that can and will be said is that Harley Race was, is, and will always be a fighter. He doesn't know anything else and he hasn't thrown in the towel and he has promised that as long as it is up to him, that won't be an option. His health is obviously top priority and with that being said, all of his upcoming appearances will be immediately cancelled. All promoters have been notified about the situation and we here are currently trying to come up with a solution to rectify the situation the best way possible. Unfortunately, since this situation has taken place while traveling to a signing, he is currently in a hospital that is pretty far away from home that has his family there with him. So, in an effort to help out with the un-expected expenses, we are selling t-shirts of which profits will be given directly to the situation. The link to purchase the t-shirts is below. We appreciate the support whether or not you purchase a t-shirt. This is just a little extra help when it is needed. The price of the shirt that has an exclusive design for both front and back prints are $24.99 (plus S&H). All shirts are going to start to be shipped on August 9, 2019. Regardless, please continue to support Harley Race, The Harley Race Wrestling Academy, and World League Wrestling. All events and camps are going to take place as scheduled and we look forward to keeping it that way because that is what Harley Race would do. We look forward to getting him back home and continuing to have the Greatest Wrestler on God's Green Earth. To order, visit http://www.harleyrace.com/hrfundraiser.html

A post shared by World League Wrestling (@worldleaguewrestling) on

Race wrestled for WWE in the 1980s and WCW in the 90s, but is probably most famous for his NWA/AWA run from the 60s to the mid-80s, which included feuds with the likes of Dusty Rhodes & Ric Flair, and eight NWA Worlds title reigns. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004, and is also a member of the Wrestling Observer, NWA and Professional Wrestling Halls.

Send a prayer or good thought to Harley and his friends & loved ones. We’ll keep you posted with any updates on his condition.

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