DCP112 – Andre The Giant and Tommy “Wildfire” Rich

Tommy "Wildfire" Rich is one of the original stars of the TBS wrestling shows that defined the National Wrestling Alliance throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born Thomas Richardson on July 26, 1956, in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Rich broke into the business in 1974 at the age of 18 after training under Jerry Jarrett. He climbed fast — Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him Rookie of the Year in 1978, Most Improved Wrestler in 1979, and the Most Popular Wrestler in the world in 1981. On April 27, 1981, in Augusta, Georgia, the 24-year-old "Wildfire" defeated Harley Race to capture the NWA World Heavyweight Championship — becoming one of the youngest men ever to hold the prestigious "ten pounds of gold." His high-energy babyface style and electric crowd connection helped fill the Omni in Atlanta and made him a defining figure of the Georgia Championship Wrestling era, with legendary feuds against Buzz Sawyer, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Ric Flair carved into the territory's history.

André the Giant — born André René Roussimoff on May 19, 1946, in Coulommiers, France — was simply known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Standing a billed 7'4" and weighing more than 500 pounds as a result of acromegaly, Andre traveled the globe as professional wrestling's biggest attraction, both literally and at the box office. For nearly fifteen years he was billed as undefeated, with promoters guarding the streak to preserve the mystique of a man no opponent could lift, let alone pin. In 1987, his WrestleMania III showdown with Hulk Hogan in front of 93,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome — and the body slam that ended the streak — became one of the most iconic moments in sports entertainment history. Andre captured the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1988, starred opposite Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin as Fezzik in The Princess Bride (1987), and was the inaugural inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1993. He passed away on January 27, 1993, in Paris at the age of 46.

This photograph captures both legends together — backstage, between the ropes and the road — a piece of NWA history preserved by Ditch-Cat Photo and printed directly from the original.