Your email address will not be published. Csonka's upbringing matured him because he had responsibilities at a young age, yet it also stunted his socialization skills, he said. Its a weird feeling when someone leaves us whom youve never actually met, but feel a sort of kinship with. Its a similar story for ROH, Shimmer, Chikara, and later Lucha Underground. from The Ohio State University. Larry & I gravitated towards each other immediately, as we had many of the same beliefs when it came to pro wrestling. Running back Larry Csonka played 11 seasons for the Dolphins and Giants. Theres no need for me to tell you something that you dont already know. The whole gig was a paperboy routine.. So when I review a show that doesnt click, whether it is because of poor booking decisions, bad wrestling, or all of the above, it annoys me. Youre doing great with Palm Computing. Needless to say I stuck around. but most of our conversations focused around wrestling and content. Eventually 411Wrestling evolved and went from a Geosites discussion board to an actual website that concentrated on news. Larry leaves behind his loving wife, Christi and their two beautiful daughters Hana & Aleksandra (Aleks). On behalf of the entire ProWrestling.net team, I offer our heartfelt condolences to Larrys family, friends, and many readers. I was even less likely to do so in my mid-20s, but despite the sometimes visceral reactions some of my columns got, Larry always stood by me and appreciated what I brought to the site, even when I was sitting there going Crap, I guess I can kiss this gig goodbye.. Its heartbreaking that Larry is gone. My son, Paul, joined the Coast Guard and served part of his tenure in Alaska on Kodiak Island. I am sad that never came to pass but Im glad I got the chance to know Larry and be a part of his life for as long as I did. There was heavy damage to the passenger side Harold was sitting in the front passenger seat and the cars bumper separated from the vehicle, police said. I learned more about Larry Csonka than just his family life, though. Jeff Hawkins: I first interacted with Larry after his first or second column for 411 when I suggested he use another pseudonym because while Larry Csonka might only be known to football historians or the most avid of American Gladiators fans, it was still a fairly famous name. My personal interactions with him were brief, but I could tell he was an incredibly kind person. I hope you find Many Buys~! I remember the messages from people who wanted Larry to know how inspired they were by his journey. Larrys family has set up a GoFundMe to raise money that will go towards supporting his daughters. One of the first names I read on this was Larry Csonka. Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, offensive guard Larry Little, fullback Larry Csonka, and wide receiver Paul Warfield on the sideline at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022 in . An obituary for Larry Csonkas mother, Mildred, on the Redmon Funeral Home website, lists Carley as her great-granddaughter. Actor: The Six Million Dollar Man. Im sad I wont get to read his thoughts after shows minutes after it ends, but more than that, Im sad for his friends and family. We interacted daily and would share jokes, commiserate over news of the day, or just chat about movies, or wrestling, or even about a family thing here or there. Just a few months ago, I saw her tweet him about the fact that she recently re-discovered the signed Colony masks that he helped her obtain at a CHIKARA show when she was a child, and it brought the same smile to my face that it did when Larry first related the story of getting the masks for her many years ago. Csonka also has homes in Florida, along the Indian River south of Daytona Beach, and Lisbon, Ohio, where he and his older brother, Joe, bought a farm. Three years before Saltis died in 1990 at the age of 80, he attended Csonka's induction into the Hall of Fame in Canton. The cause of death was not disclosed. So thank you, Larry, for every retweet and every kind word. He reviewed every promotion that mattered, no matter the size of the show, and it helped me greatly whenever I wanted to historically fantasy book a promotion. Even though my interactions with him were limited, his importance to my wrestling fandom is almost impossible to quantify. Decades of wrestling had very little physical record, let alone in depth reviews. The man was an absolute machine. There cant be more than a handful of people who have watched and written about more wrestling than Larry. Ive always wanted to pass my limited knowledge to the spanish speaking audience that is hungry for it and at some point, I looked at his enormous amount of writing and I just knew I had to work harder. Csonka, who was born on Christmas Day in 1946, lives in Alaska with his longtime partner, Audrey Bradshaw, his co-host and co-producer on his outdoor shows. Everyone who answered had Larry at the top of their list, and with good reason. Ill maybe take a little sip of the bubbly in honor of Larry. "I had my own body-building program. In fact, I had been in closer physical proximity to most of the wrestlers, as I had at least seen them at live events whereas, in the time that I knew Larry, he was mostly in South Carolina while I was bouncing around the Midwest and briefly Europe. By Linnea Crowther June 22, 2020. I stayed away from the emotional parts of divorce and all the different things [in the memoir], Csonka said. I was never called to service but several in my family have served our country. And its tragic to think that we wont be getting any more of those reviews. Voices of Wrestling along with the rest of the internet wrestling community were stunned by the sudden passing of 411Manias Larry Csonka. To me personally, it meant the world that someone in Larrys position was willing to take a guy who basically came on to do a four-part retrospective on the first three years of ROH, and give him the opportunity to at one point have three weekly columns on a website that boasted a roster of some of the best writers around. He has 5 siblings including Nancy, Joe, Andy, Norita, and Anita. Uncle Bill was an Army Air Corp mechanic who served in Germany. He died in 2020 at the age of 90. Besides, at the end of the day, professional wrestling doesnt matter. If you write about wrestling long enough, youll inevitably write about death at some point. Ive been at 411mania for over 12 years and the honor of knowing Larry will be among my best achievements. The Csonka family military record continued after WW2 with my brother, Joe, serving in the Army and my sister, Norita, in the Army and the Air Force. Larry Csonka has Akron roots and a notable Beacon Journal connection. We're not around right now. He fostered such a family atmosphere here. I first learned if Larry Csonka when a college buddy and I met up to watch WrestleMania 22. Im lucky to say that I knew Larry before most of you did. For fans of the game--or anyone who loves high adventure--Csonka's Head On is a captivating, nostalgic account of grit, grace, and gumption told by an iconic Hall of Famer who continues to gain ground--figuratively, literally, and unapologetically--every day. I have family in the Charlotte, NC area and always had loose intentions of one day trying to meet up with Larry while I was out his way and see if hed let me buy him dinner. It was a tribute to his insane work ethic that he managed to balance running 411, reviewing nearly everything wrestling-related to have ever existed, dealing with the chaotic and immature (and ever-changing) writing staff, and spending time with his supportive family that he loved more than anything else on this Earth. Ive long stopped watching wrestling outside clips here and there but I made reading his recaps a regular part of my routine because I found his insight more entertaining than what was on television. I have such thoughts of compassion and love to Larrys family. Together they produced several outdoor adventure television shows. He LOVED professional wrestling across the board. You will be missed. You can either credit or blame him for a lot of the trouble Ive caused over the years. His passing has left me numb. STEPHEN RANDLE: Its worse if that wrestling fan already suffers from low self esteem or other psychological issues. I am also eternally grateful that he existed and touched so many lives. Larry WAS 411Mania. Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. He lived what he preached. Most importantly, I learned that Larry was a dedicated family man. I am 411. I wrote for the movie-zone and Larry for wrestling, so we didnt converse on a daily basis, but did indeed work together for several years and shared a passion for 411mania and making it the best it could be. Literally until the day of his tragic passing Larry was there, writing reviews, sharing his words with the world that loved to read them. Larry Csonka, battering-ram fullback of the Miami Dolphins glory years, is 75 now. I was always honored he did that as his reviews of matches and shows were the standard to which I always tried to reach. Csonka offered a revelation about Shula in the book. People have a tendency to only say positive things about folks who recently passed away, so I want to stress that this is 100% accurate and not something Im just saying because of his tragic death: everyone loved Larry. Show your support. As part of Larrys 411 family, I worked with him for so many years and some things have been obvious to everyone the man had a work ethic that was incredible, was full of integrity, and a love for wrestling that was second to no one. Thank you for always letting me write what I wanted to write, even if it went against every other type of article on the site. To date, he has not been through any kind of controversy and rumors that created a buzz in the media. Despite our physical distance, I learned quite a bit about Larry Csonka after he and I both started writing for 411mania in 2004. It was 50 Christmases ago when Larry Csonka and the Miami Dolphins beat the K.C. I send you all of my love in your very darkest time. Larry was a family man and the love for his family was clearly seen by his social media posts. Larry was obviously an icon for his writing, but more importantly, he was an amazing husband and father who had a family that loved him dearly. Hi everyone out there in 411, Im Stephen Randle, and if you dont remember who I am, Im not surprised, Id like to say I still remember when Larry started at 411, but damn it, it was a long time ago for both of us. I wish I was as passionate about anything as Larry was about wrestling. Csonka had attempted to play football before Saltis' crash course, but he quit because he had no clue how to approach the sport and found himself relegated to blocking-dummy duty. And if you didnt believe he watched all those shows, hed type up the goddamn play-by-play to back it up. Thank you, and may your soul rest in peace. Larry, thank you for all your contributions to this industry and to the world. Thank you for all the work you put in over the years. DINO ZUCCONI: As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't have picked a better spot if I had the whole Earth to choose from to be born and brought up, Csonka, 75, told the Beacon Journal on Tuesday during a phone interview. Steve Case: Back around 2012-2013, when I learned that wrestling matches received praise and shame via star ratings and written reviews, I settled on three places that seemed to more or less share my views of the medium. The years on and off that I have spent as a writer for 411mania have largely been thanks to Larry. He also wasnt afraid to hold an unpopular opinion if he believed it (Dammit Okada, not everything has to be a 40 minute epic). He will be missed. Larry was obviously an icon for his writing, but more importantly, he was an amazing husband and father who had a family that loved him dearly.. And I almost thought I had gotten used to it. New Japan? When he needed someone to take over the WWE PPV live reports, he asked the guy who started out writing Heat reports. When I sat down to write about Larry Csonka I realized that there doesnt exist any words that I can say that will be unique when talking about him. The divorce was finalized on the 12th of November 1987. I was a reader of 411 long before I became a reviewer, or a columnist, or an editor. 8 overall) in 1968, but he struggled to fit in otherwise. Larry has over 37.7k followers on Facebook, over 14.2k followers on Twitter, and over 7.7k followers on Instagram. Any time Id mention possibly wanting to come back, he would always make sure to let me know that I had a spot waiting for me whenever I wanted it. But my interactions with him didnt become more direct until I began writing for 411 back in March of 2008. Copyright 2023 411mania.com, LLC. When Csonka, then 33, retired just before the 1980 season after owner Joe Robbie`s $230,000 salary bid fell $20,000 short of his demands, Csonka`s ledger with the Dolphins and the Giants showed . He didnt need to RT or interact with this dopey start-up website, this man was on top of the internet wrestling world, writing for 411Mania, 15 years in the game. Thousands of words have been written, yet that poignant anecdote remained sealed in Csonka's memory until now. Ill never forget his gratitude and Ill always be appreciative of what he did for me and for this website. And now hes gone. Larrys presence was a constant on Twitter and provided humor to almost any and every situation involving the world of professional wrestling, even with just one word or one meme. I even went there today to read his Raw review, only for my heart to sink when I realised it wouldnt be there. He was able to convey the action in-ring with fewer words than should have been possible, making you feel like you were sitting in his living room with a beer watching the show with him. Champagne Singh, 4/27 Impact Wrestling TV results: Moores review of Jorydnne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich,Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taylor Wilde for the Knockouts Championship,Impact Tag Team Champions Ace Austin and Chris Bey vs. Angels and Kon in a non-title match. Wrestling is an ephemeral experience. He made me proud to be a wrestling fan to the point where now I wear that on my sleeve. Beyond that, Larry was infinitely patient with me as I was still figuring out how to be a writer on a stage as highly visible as 411. Her name was not released. Larry wrote the email telling me that Id been selected to join the 411 team. When I started traveling to shows Id check certain people if they were coming, Larry always wanted to wait until his daughter was older instead of going solo. He seemed to work without rest or sleep to update the site constantly with every bit of news that fans might want. He was just as instrumental in growing my fandom as anyone with his reviews of shows from promotions all over the world, giving me an endless list of quality matches and shows to watch from the past and present. Ten years ago, I didnt know Id be a staple on a site I would read as a high school kid; Larry pushed me. Later, in 1973, became was voted to be the Super Athlete of the Year by Professional Football Writers Association. He was born in Elyria, Ohio on June 29, 1930 to the late Nicholas and Elizabeth (Szucs) Csonka. Smackdown?) He got to follow his passion in life, and it resulted in an unbelievable library of show reviews and columns that turned so many people into wrestling fans, led to so many fans discovering new promotions and wrestlers, and inspired countless others to go into writing themselves. As it stands while Im writing this, Im still processing this horrible, tragic news. The thing I think stood out about Larrys work though was that his heart came through. I dont know if Ive had more of a role model in terms of what I do in my career than Larry. Larry Csonka has black eyes with fair hair. Please help us serve you better, fill out our survey. In the last year as Larry had his health issues, I had others from the staff be my contact, but Larry still took care of me as he recommended me for the Backstage gig. Nothing stopped him. As a person he was the best. Please help us serve you better, fill out our survey.Use of this site signifies your agreement to our terms of use. Of course, Larry impacted so many 411 writers over the years, many of whom have shared their tributes to Larry below. There was no better example of that mindset than Larry Csonka. We are all better for having gotten to know him, even if it was on the other end of tweet, an email, or a column. The Csonkas were one of those couples. He was better than me. He was an important pillar of our community and Im sure his legacy will live on through many conversations, reviews, articles and wrestling memories. A song. Joe Lanza: I was always envious of Larrys work ethic. In our twitter world where everybody has dumb gripes and vendettas with each other, nobody ever had anything bad to say about him as a person. WE HAVE YOUR WOMAN! in it. College: Syracuse. In January, when I finally thought I was good to go, I sent another email making sure I was still welcome. I will miss the odd interactions we had on the occasional late night/early morning show when wed joke on twitter about who had been awake longer, or whether a New Japan card felt longer than a UFC Fight Night from Singapore. I always admired Larry as a writer but as a person he was so warm, so humble and hed always be happy to chat. I worked with him every weekday morning for eight years. Thank you, Larry. Larry Csonka was born Lawrence Richard Csonka on the 25th of December 1946 in Stow, Ohio. If you are reading this on 411mania right now, there is nothing that I can tell you about Larrys writing that you dont already know. Though I do not believe we had final confirmation at that point, by all rights it seemed he would die. For years my morning routine would start with me opening up his latest reviews from the night prior and finding out what wrestling needed watching; you could set your watch by his consistency and you could always trust his opinions. As for this site; the readers; what we do here; I feel there will be some uncertainty. So it came to be that I had two stints, a cumulative six-years-plus of emailing weekly with Larry to send him columns and input for PPV round table previews and Fact or Fiction opinion pieces. The world lost a great man and the IWC lost the hardest working man in the business. In news that has left us all absolutely devastated, were extremely sad to announce the passing of Larry Csonka read the tweet from 411 Wrestling. I talked with Larry quite a bit on Twitter, in direct messages, etc. Moving forward, he joined Syracuse college. Even though WWE is a billion-dollar company, and as such is the benchmark for how mainstream the business and the art of wrestling can go, it is still mocked. My nephew, Tony, served in the Army and nephew, Anthony, will retire . To his wife and kids: he spoke of you all the time. Shula was born in Grand River and attended John Carroll University. Words cant express how much he will be missed. Rest easy brother. Though my feelings on that situation would change greatly in the next several hours, in those initial moments I felt the same way that I did when I learned about the prior two deaths. Zonk, whom Don Shula called 'the heart' of the Super Bowl championship teams, reflects on his career and life. Jack Beckmann: I dont remember the first time I encountered a Larry Csonka review. Due to that, he missed three games in 19869 and the other three in 1969. Thank you for you being a mentor and friend. or Best Offer. Though backstage drama has been limited in my time writing for 411mania, when Larry was in charge and required to deal with a situation, you could count on him to adjudicate in the manner he felt best, not in the manner that would merely serve his own personal agenda. Someone will take over for Larry, but nobody will ever be able to replace Larry. One of the officers who responded to the scene said he heard Csonka tell her mother that they just wanted a ride and I was showing off, according to the arrest report. Thank you for your kindness to me. 38 No Surrender July 2005 - Spike TV Imminent, Rhino Debut, James Mitchell Return, The Good, The Bad & The Hungee: Dynamite Feels Normal & Botching Taya Valkyrie, 255 Super J-Cast US Collision Show Reviews. He had grown up on a farm a half hour . Ill always admire his work ethic and understanding. The dedication page of Csonka's memoir reads, For my parents, who instilled in me my love of nature and provided the farm life that shaped me. He got through several ups and downs, and did it with an incredibly upbeat attitude where many might have packed it in and felt sorry for themselves. I am very glad that I was born and brought up where I was born and brought up. Rest in Power, Boss. If I may digress, a personal note to Mrs. Csonka, should she be reading this: Several years ago, a colleague and mentor of mine passed away unexpectedly in his late 50s.

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