Assassin: The Man behind the Mask

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Get behind the mask and into the head of one of professional wrestling's most famous masked men. This autobiography of Joe "Jody" Hamilton takes the reader behind the scenes for a personal glimpse behind the mask of one of pro wrestling's hottest attractions:The Assassin!When Joe Hamilton was just 19 years old, he and his brother, Larry, headlined a show at Madison Square Garden, drawing a record 20,335 people to see them wrestle Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez. To this day, Joe remains the youngest wrestler to ever headline a main event in the Garden.In 1961, Joe hooked up with veteran wrestler Tom Renesto to form a team called the Assassins, and for the next eleven years, they were considered to be one of wrestling's hottest attractions, drawing sellout crowds to arenas in California, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, in addition to foreign countries like Japan and Australia.Joe takes readers on a journey as he tells about life both in and out of the wrestling ring'being attacked, stabbed, and shot at by angry wrestling fans; wrestling under a mask and trying to keep his identity a secret; legitimate fights and confrontations behind the scenes in the dressing rooms; a war between two wrestling promotions in Atlanta, Georgia; and never-before-told stories about legends like Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, Giant Baba, Toyonobori, Pedro Morales, Bill Goldberg, Ray Gunkel, and their biggest rivals, the Kentuckians.