There have been many professional wrestlers that have utilized the nickname, Nature Boy. The three most well-known are Buddy Landell, Ric Flair and Buddy Rogers. Rogers was the first of these three to employ that ring name.
Rogers was born in 1921 to German parents. His given name was Herman C Rodhe, Jr. Herman grew up in a rough section of New Jersey in the 1930’s and 40’s. Crime was rampant and Herman’s father pushed his son into law enforcement. It was during one of his regular patrols that Herman was noticed by a local wrestling promoter and approached about trying his hand at wrestling. Herman wasn’t overly interested, at first, but decided it might set a positive image of the police to the impressionable youths that attended the matches. Herman used his given name while wrestling around the New York and New Jersey area. His biggest win was over Ed “Strangler” Lewis. It was this win that brought him to the attention of promoters around the country. It was once he moved outside his home area that his alter-ego would be created.
It was in Houston, Texas, that Herman Rodhe was replaced in the ring by the character of Buddy Rogers. The promoter of the Houston territory wanted his newest star to have an All-American sounding name. He reasoned that the scars of World War II were still fresh, and Herman’s German parentage could be a severe negative for the up and coming star. At least one story has it that the surname, Rogers, came from Steve Rogers, the alter-ego of comic book hero, Captain America.
It was in Houston that Rogers began his long-term feud with Lou Thesz. Thesz, along with many other wrestlers, did not care for the “stiff” way that Rogers worked in the ring. Many of Rogers’ opponents ended up legitimately injured, thanks to the rough wrestling of Rogers. Rogers never apologized for his style. “You have to expect to get a few bumps and bruises if you want the fans to buy tickets” was Rogers attitude.
Rogers followed Thesz to the Columbus, Ohio area where they continued their rivalry. It was in Ohio that the final portion of the Rogers character came into place. Promoter Jack Pfeiffer convinced Rogers to bleach his hair, in the style of Gorgeous George and embrace the “bad guy” or “heel” mentality. It was Pfeiffer that christened Rogers the “Nature Boy”. The name came from a popular jazz song of the 1950’s.
Rogers was a natural in front of the cameras. With his bleached hair, massive physique and excellent communication skills, the crowds instantly hated him. They weren’t the only ones. Rogers alienated just about everyone backstage. As he began to win titles, he got very selective in his title defenses.
On at least two occasions, Rogers was confronted and injured by other wrestlers. Rogers angered promoters/wrestlers Karl Gotch and Bill Miller in the Columbus, Ohio territory. He refused to defend his NWA title against their top star. They caught Rogers in the locker room and proceeded to break his hand. Killer Kowalski also used his strength to injure Rogers. Some reports claim Kowalski used the claw hold to break Rogers’ ribs in the ring. Other reports say that Kowalski and several other wrestlers jumped Rogers backstage. Either way, Rogers ended up on the disabled list twice in a very short time.
The NWA, who governed the championship that Rogers held at the time of his injuries, became concerned about the repeated attacks against Rogers. They felt the need to put the belt back around the waist of someone “the boys” respected. The decision was made to have Rogers drop the title to Lou Thesz, the most respected wrestler of the time. Rogers balked at the idea, but the promoters backed Rogers in a corner. Sam Muchnick turned the title bout into a single fall match, which was almost unheard of back then. He also threatened to revoke Rogers’ $25,000 deposit on the NWA title if he didn’t follow through with the plan. Buddy Rogers, reluctantly, dropped the NWA title to Lou Thesz on January 24, 1963, in Toronto, Canada. Rogers walked away from the NWA that night and called Vince McMahon, Sr. in Washington, DC.
McMahon, Toots Mondt and several other regional promoters in the Northeastern U.S. and Southeastern Canadian territories were looking to pull out of the NWA, due to their dissatisfaction with Thesz being given the World title. McMahon and Mondt converted their respective territories into a new alliance, called the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Since Rogers was a huge draw in their areas,the two men decided to put the belt on Rogers. They felt the need to create the appearance that Rogers had fought valiantly against wrestlers from all corners of the world, thus making the World Wide portion of the company name sound legitimate. Rogers supposedly battled in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. beating numerous, unnamed, wrestlers before finally taking the title. This was a completely fictitious tournament. The title was handed to Rogers in the Washington, D.C. offices of Capitol Sports aka World Wide Wrestling Federation.
McMahon and Mondt found themselves facing a unique problem after giving the title to Rogers. Many wrestlers boycotted the territory, due to their extreme dislike of Rogers. Within a month, it was decided to have Rogers lose the title. Rogers had a meeting with Mondt and McMahon and they came up with the idea that Rogers would suffer a heart attack. Rogers was actually checked into a local hospital and several vignettes were produced to make the heart attack look legit.
On May 17,1963, Rogers “was forced from his hospital bed” to defend his title against Bruno Sammartino. Sammartino took the WWWF title from Buddy in only 48 seconds, still one of the fastest title changes on the books. By the end of the year, Rogers “retired due to health issues” and only worked from time to time for Ed “The Sheik” Farhat’s promotions in Detroit, Michigan and Montreal.
Rogers began to work for Farhat as a scouting agent for new talent. Rogers worked less and less in the ring. He continued to play up the health issues as a way to “save face”. Rogers would turn up as a “novelty” act in various smaller territories throughout the mid west and southern states.
In 1978, Rogers accepted an offer to wrestle for the Grahams in Florida. Strangely, Rogers was set up as a “face” for one of the few times in his career. Within a few months, Rogers moved up the coast to the Carolina promotion run by Jim Crockett. Realizing that his wrestling career was about done, Rogers switched to management. The 50-ish Rogers took control of numerous “heel” wrestlers in the territory, including Jimmy Snuka, “Big” John Studd, Ken Patera and Gene Anderson. Rogers would still wrestle from time to time, usually in tag matches. The most memorable battle during his stay with Jim Crockett Promotions was “The Battle of the Nature Boys” held on July 9, 1978. Rogers faced, and lost to, Ric Flair. It was a “passing of the torch” moment in wrestling.
In the early 80’s, Rogers returned to the WWWF, now known as the WWF. He became a manager, once again, this time as a “face” manager. His most notable charge was Jimmy Snuka, who he had managed in Jim Crockett’s territory. Rogers was also one of the first wrestlers to host an interview segment. Before Piper’s Pit or The Cutting Edge, there was Rogers’ Corner. While managing Snuka, Rogers agreed to a match where he would team with Snuka to battle Lou Albano and Ray Stevens. During that match, Rogers suffered a broken hip and retired from the ring, this time with a legit injury.
Rogers spent the final dozen years of his life touring the world. He acted as an “unofficial” road agent for the WWF/E. He spoke as conventions and made appearances at smaller venues.
In 1991, Rogers crossed swords with another “Nature Boy”. This time, it was Buddy Landell. Landell was working in the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, a fore-runner of ECW. Landell and Rogers were scheduled to battle in early 1992, but Tri-State folded before the match could take place. Other territories were scouted for the battle, and even WCW was approached about the concept. Sadly, the two never got the chance to face off. While training, Rogers severely injured his arm. While recovering from the badly broken arm, Rogers suffered a series of strokes. After suffering two strokes on the same day in June of 1992, Rogers was hospitalized and placed on life support. He died on June 26, 1992. The man who was born Herman Rodhe, Jr. was actually buried with a marker that bore the name Buddy Rogers.
Hated by most, admired by many, this was Buddy Rogers. Rogers’ cocky persona is still seen in Ric Flair, Edge, Carlito and countless others that have patterned themselves after one of the first truly hated men in the business. He is a pure example of a true wrestling legend.
