Wrestling fans know “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, But relatively few fans know that Savage also had a baseball career.
Full of himself, The Macho Man made it big in the world of professional wrestling.
But his baseball story is also worth mentioning.
Randy Poffo (his birth name) was a two-time all-star catcher in high school who had pro baseball aspirations. But he wasn’t selected in the MLB Draft. Then, Randy and his father read that the Cardinals were holding an open tryout and they decided to drive to St. Louis to give it a try. When they got there, the two found themselves surrounded by over 300 hundred hopefuls. Still, Randy gave it a shot and, after a very long workout, he was the only player offered a contract.
The contract was only for $500.00 a month, but at least he would be able to live his dream of playing baseball. Then, injuries got in the way, especially to his shoulder. He wasn’t able to advance to the Majors, playing in the minors for the Cards, then Reds. So Randy needed to figure out what to do next. Wrestling beckoned, and that’s where he made a name for himself.
