Rick McGraw

Born

1955-03-19

Died

1985-11-01

Birthplace

Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

Biography

Richard McGraw was an American professional wrestler known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1980s. He began his career in 1975 in the Florida area, adopting the nickname "Quickdraw" inspired by the cartoon character Quick Draw McGraw. After wrestling in regional territories and the NWA, McGraw joined the WWF, where he had a series of notable matches, generally losing to bigger stars. In 1982, he won the WWA World Tag Team Championship alongside The Dream Machine and later became part of the Carolina Connection tag team in the WWF. Throughout his career, McGraw had rivalries with notable wrestlers such as Killer Khan, who "broke" his neck in a match, and had bouts with figures like André the Giant. A key incident occurred in October 1985 when McGraw appeared on an episode of Piper's Pit, where he was brutally beaten by Roddy Piper. Coincidentally, the episode aired the day after McGraw’s death, leading some to mistakenly speculate that Piper was involved in his passing. The cause of his death was a heart attack on November 1, 1985. It was later revealed that McGraw had been taking Placidyl, a sedative, which may have contributed to his early death. McGraw left behind his wife, Lisa, and their son, Ricky.