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Mad Dog
The true story of one of pro wrestling's most charismatic, feared, and beloved icons Who was Maurice the man, and who was Mad Dog the character? Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon was a gold medalist, a pro-wrestling legend, and a pop culture icon - but he was also a son, husband, and father. Mad Dog explores Vachon's career and personal struggles with painstakingly detailed historical research and through both Maurice's own recollections and those of the people who knew him best. As a young man, Maurice could have chosen a dark criminal path, but then wrestling and family changed him. Chronicling his slow but steady rise to prominence across America and internationally in some of pro wrestling's most important territories, this in-depth biography shows how Vachon's life came to be defined by the words of Mark "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." Fiercely proud, motivated, and supremely talented, Vachon's story is also the amazing tale of how a lifelong make-believe heel became a real-life hero outside of the ring. With a foreword by his brother, Paul Vachon, and an afterword by his widow, Kathie Vachon.
- GenresAutobiographySports
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Published April 10, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 3, 2017
Mad Dog Vachon is one of those legendary wrestlers I've been aware of for years but don't know a whole lot about. When this popped up on Netgalley, I decided to attack it like Mad Dog Vachon himself.
Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story chronicles the life and times of Mad Dog Vachon, from his childhood as the trouble-making son of a Montreal policeman to an amateur wrestler, complete with a trip to the Olympics, to his career as a professional wrestler.
Mad Dog Vachon had a long and interesting career. Some of it I was already familiar with, mostly through Wikipedia research after he was added to the Legends of Wrestling Card Game. Yeah, I'm kind of a dork. However, a lot of it was new to me.
As I've said before, I like my wrestling books to make with the wrestling pretty quickly. Mad Dog was a pro by the 20% mark so I was satisfied. The book focuses on backstage politics and Mad Dog going from territory to territory, fairly interesting stuff. There weren't a lot of road stories but the ones that were included were epic.
Mad Dog had some serious brushes with death over the years, including multiple near fatal car accidents, blading too deeply, and assaults by fans, even taking someone's eye out with a fork in a bar fight. Once his wrestling career wrapped up, Mad Dog had a good run as a TV personality until he was hit by a car and had his leg amputated.
The parts of the book detailing his tenure in the AWA were my favorites. As with all wrestling books, I wish more road stories had been included. That's pretty much my only gripe. I'm a little sad I didn't get to experience Mad Dog Vachon during his heyday. It sounds like he was a larger than life character. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story chronicles the life and times of Mad Dog Vachon, from his childhood as the trouble-making son of a Montreal policeman to an amateur wrestler, complete with a trip to the Olympics, to his career as a professional wrestler.
Mad Dog Vachon had a long and interesting career. Some of it I was already familiar with, mostly through Wikipedia research after he was added to the Legends of Wrestling Card Game. Yeah, I'm kind of a dork. However, a lot of it was new to me.
As I've said before, I like my wrestling books to make with the wrestling pretty quickly. Mad Dog was a pro by the 20% mark so I was satisfied. The book focuses on backstage politics and Mad Dog going from territory to territory, fairly interesting stuff. There weren't a lot of road stories but the ones that were included were epic.
Mad Dog had some serious brushes with death over the years, including multiple near fatal car accidents, blading too deeply, and assaults by fans, even taking someone's eye out with a fork in a bar fight. Once his wrestling career wrapped up, Mad Dog had a good run as a TV personality until he was hit by a car and had his leg amputated.
The parts of the book detailing his tenure in the AWA were my favorites. As with all wrestling books, I wish more road stories had been included. That's pretty much my only gripe. I'm a little sad I didn't get to experience Mad Dog Vachon during his heyday. It sounds like he was a larger than life character. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
May 14, 2019
A solid retelling of the life of Maurice Vachon. Mostly objective and doesn't shy away from his bad qualities, but there's a bit of boosterism and affection for "Mad Dog" that appears throughout (but why wouldn't it? Why else would anyone undertake such a project)?
A good story of a not quite top-tier career that spanned the territorial era. The premature termination of Vachon's budding media career due to yet another accident was sad indeed, but he hung in there for many more decades. A great character, even if he was despised by the likes of "Superstar" Billy Graham because he'd "rake you with his dirty fingernails."
A good story of a not quite top-tier career that spanned the territorial era. The premature termination of Vachon's budding media career due to yet another accident was sad indeed, but he hung in there for many more decades. A great character, even if he was despised by the likes of "Superstar" Billy Graham because he'd "rake you with his dirty fingernails."
May 17, 2017
Growing up in the Twin Cities, I would watch wrestling every weekend on television and would occasionally attend wrestling cards in the old Minneapolis Auditorium. One of the big stars in the business at the time was Mad Dog Vachon. So when I saw a biography of the man was available for review, I jumped at the chance to do so.
Starting with his childhood in Quebec in which he was considered a trouble-maker, the book follows Maurice’s venture into wrestling, from his amateur performance that earned him a trip to the Olympics to his somewhat nomadic life as a professional wrestler to his life afterward. There are many interesting stories along the way about Vachon’s professional and personal life. At times it seemed amazing that with all the travel and all the issues in his personal life that he became such a star in wrestling.
But it was Vachon’s work ethic and willingness to help other wrestlers to succeed that helped make him the successful heel (villain) that he became. He put on a great show for the fans, while remembering that it was them who were the most important people in the business. The reader will get a glimpse into what Maurice was like through his interactions with wrestlers, promoters and his brother Paul, who under the name “Butcher” became Maurice’s partner in the ring and later in the business.
What made this book a good read was the research and writing about the inner workings of the professional wrestling circuit. There are many more smaller organizations than the big ones with which many people are familiar. Much like real estate, one’s location can determine the success of a wrestler. This was certainly the case for Mad Dog as his career took off when Vern Gagne brought him to Minneapolis. Reading about his matches in the Twin Cities brought back a lot of memories and made the book a fun one to read.
I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
Starting with his childhood in Quebec in which he was considered a trouble-maker, the book follows Maurice’s venture into wrestling, from his amateur performance that earned him a trip to the Olympics to his somewhat nomadic life as a professional wrestler to his life afterward. There are many interesting stories along the way about Vachon’s professional and personal life. At times it seemed amazing that with all the travel and all the issues in his personal life that he became such a star in wrestling.
But it was Vachon’s work ethic and willingness to help other wrestlers to succeed that helped make him the successful heel (villain) that he became. He put on a great show for the fans, while remembering that it was them who were the most important people in the business. The reader will get a glimpse into what Maurice was like through his interactions with wrestlers, promoters and his brother Paul, who under the name “Butcher” became Maurice’s partner in the ring and later in the business.
What made this book a good read was the research and writing about the inner workings of the professional wrestling circuit. There are many more smaller organizations than the big ones with which many people are familiar. Much like real estate, one’s location can determine the success of a wrestler. This was certainly the case for Mad Dog as his career took off when Vern Gagne brought him to Minneapolis. Reading about his matches in the Twin Cities brought back a lot of memories and made the book a fun one to read.
I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
July 19, 2017
Received a free advanced copy for honest review.
This book chronicles the life of the legendary wrestler, Maurice Mad Dog Vachon. I have been a fan of wrestling since I was a child and although I am a little too young to have seen most of Mad Dogs career I do remember him with the WWF and of course I was aware of his reputation as one of the best. I really enjoyed this book because as a fan of wrestling you get so involved in the characters that the wrestlers are playing but you rarely get to know the man behind the character. This book tells the story of Mr Vachon from his birth in 1929 till his death in 2013. It is about wrestling but also about his personal life. I learned many things that I never new about him, he was very different from the character he played. He was a wonderful wrestler who worked tirelessly to make it in the business, he was a generous man who helped mentor many others and he was a man who had many demons in his life that he had to deal with. This book was well researched and I highly recommend it to all fans of wrestling, even those who may not know the name Maurice Mad Dog Vachon.
This book chronicles the life of the legendary wrestler, Maurice Mad Dog Vachon. I have been a fan of wrestling since I was a child and although I am a little too young to have seen most of Mad Dogs career I do remember him with the WWF and of course I was aware of his reputation as one of the best. I really enjoyed this book because as a fan of wrestling you get so involved in the characters that the wrestlers are playing but you rarely get to know the man behind the character. This book tells the story of Mr Vachon from his birth in 1929 till his death in 2013. It is about wrestling but also about his personal life. I learned many things that I never new about him, he was very different from the character he played. He was a wonderful wrestler who worked tirelessly to make it in the business, he was a generous man who helped mentor many others and he was a man who had many demons in his life that he had to deal with. This book was well researched and I highly recommend it to all fans of wrestling, even those who may not know the name Maurice Mad Dog Vachon.
October 2, 2017
My French-Grandmother hated this guy. She thought he was the dirtiest and craziest wrestler that she ever saw. Her hatred of the wrestler (not of of the man) is a tribute to Mad Dog Vachon and his various skills (on the mic., in the ring, in the parking lot). The book provides an overview of his life, some of these aspects of his life I was aware of, and others (like the fact that he was a commonwealth wrestling champ and an AWA champ), I was not aware of. I found some of the writing choppy and at times, difficult to follow. Apart from this it is still an interesting read for those individuals who love the old time wrestling.
February 11, 2020
Maurice Vachon was a Canadian icon and a wrestling legend; this story, while clunky sometimes in its English translation, is an amazing tale of an amazing man. So good.
June 21, 2017
Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon (1929 − 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He started his career as an amateur wrestler, participating in the 1948 Summer Olympics and winning a gold medal at the 1950 British Empire Games.
Vachon eventually made the switch to professional wrestling and spent time in various promotions in the Canada and the United States and occasionally teamed with his brother, Paul. He was one of the all-time great heels, known for his wild style and intense interviews.
Vachon retired from wrestling in 1986 and got involved in various things such as owning a chain of restaurants bearing his name, hosting a children's show and as a commentator at wrestling matches. In 1987, he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs. Over the years, his health declined and he ended up with dementia.
I like reading bios and thought Vachon's story would be interesting. I was into watching wrestling as a kid and recognized his name. Over the years, he was influential in helping the careers of many famous wrestlers such as Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan. His personal life story was also interesting ... he was married three times and had six children he didn't get to see much because of his career. Despite his crazy wrestling persona, it sounds like he was fiercely loyal to his family and friends.
There is a lot of detailed information about Vachon's career and it's obvious the authors spent a lot of time researching.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/06...
Vachon eventually made the switch to professional wrestling and spent time in various promotions in the Canada and the United States and occasionally teamed with his brother, Paul. He was one of the all-time great heels, known for his wild style and intense interviews.
Vachon retired from wrestling in 1986 and got involved in various things such as owning a chain of restaurants bearing his name, hosting a children's show and as a commentator at wrestling matches. In 1987, he was struck by a hit-and-run driver, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs. Over the years, his health declined and he ended up with dementia.
I like reading bios and thought Vachon's story would be interesting. I was into watching wrestling as a kid and recognized his name. Over the years, he was influential in helping the careers of many famous wrestlers such as Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan. His personal life story was also interesting ... he was married three times and had six children he didn't get to see much because of his career. Despite his crazy wrestling persona, it sounds like he was fiercely loyal to his family and friends.
There is a lot of detailed information about Vachon's career and it's obvious the authors spent a lot of time researching.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2017/06...
March 4, 2018
This is a good book about the legendary wrestler who not only was famous in the AWA, but also helped many wrestlers along the way, where many older wrestlers were concerned with their spot. the book is well written and follows through Mad Dog's career, along with his family, and tales of his heartbreaking trials towards the end.
Classic fans will love this book, and newer fans will like it if they want to learn more about the legends.
For an in-depth review, go to : https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/201...
Classic fans will love this book, and newer fans will like it if they want to learn more about the legends.
For an in-depth review, go to : https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/201...
August 6, 2020
Great book of one of the greatest heels and villians before 1986 and WWF...tells how Maurcie aka Mad Dog how he was raised in Montreal and begin wrestling for Olympic team and Quebec wrestling promotions and how he moved up the ranks as the top villian in the Industries...From All star Wrestling to Grand Prix Wrestling to AWA , Mad Dog helped develope soon to be Superstars like Rick Martel, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Paul Leduc, Mr. Wrestling , Baron Von Ratscke , Patt Paterson and etc...tells about the inside of the business and all the conflict with promotions and the inner circles, A great book and must read
June 11, 2018
3.25 to 3.5
February 12, 2021
Solid bio of a wrestler whose presence and stardom was a bit of a blindspot for me.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews