Sports
'Million Dollar Man' DiBiase attracted to a homecoming at Rex Allen Days
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| In spite of his worldy success, Ted DiBiase nearly lost what he really wanted in 1992. His wife and son turned his life around and gave him a story to tell to Willcox this weekend. (PHOTO COURTESY / Book cover-World Wrestling Entertainment / Eli Zigdon) |
By Steve Reno/ARIZONA RANGE NEWS
A successful entertainment star who later converted to the Christian ministry will put that career on display during Rex Allen days weekend.
Willcox High School graduate Ted DiBiase, the "Million Dollar Man" of the professional wrestling world in the 1980s, will sign copies of his newly released autobiography Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Rodney's on Railroad Avenue.
"I love coming back to Willcox, because it's like coming home," he told the Arizona Range News. "My family is buried in Sunset Cemetery and I still have a lot of friends (in Willcox)."
DiBiase will also preach from his "Heart of David Ministries" pulpit Saturday at 6 p.m. at Keiller Park.
When DiBiase was a wrestling star "my life was consumed by male pride and ego," until he quit the performing part of the business and found that "the measure of a man is his maturity and character."
DiBiase will speak to those changes and the importance of family life during his appearance Saturday evening.
He will also make appearances at the Rex Allen Days parade, rodeo and stage show.
"I'll actually arrive tonight (Wednesday) to come early and reminisce. Some of the earliest memories of my life come from Willcox," he said.
DiBiase remembers running to the local movie theater at the age of five to see a film, buy a popcorn, candy and soda and have change left over from a dollar bill.
He left the area at age 5 and returned to attend his final three years of high school when his family relocated. His mom was a lady wrestler and his stepfather passed away from a heart attack while performing in the ring.
DiBiase was one of the earliest Willcox athletes to receive a full-ride football scholarship to a Division I university. But he followed in his family's footsteps into the wrestling world and made a small fortune and considerable fame as a professional performer.
"Twenty years after college I was riding in Lear jets and limousines," he said. "I was known as a hell-raiser, then I was laughed at by my friends when I walked away to save my family and (become a Christian)," he said.
His son, another Ted DiBiase for the wrestling world, is working for Vince McMahon and earning praise for his character while being groomed as a rising star at age 25, said his father.
Ted currently lives in Clinton, Miss., just outside of Jackson, and will immediately fly to Florida after Saturday's local appearances to headline a Christian cruise ship outing on Sunday.
Willcox High School graduate Ted DiBiase, the "Million Dollar Man" of the professional wrestling world in the 1980s, will sign copies of his newly released autobiography Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Rodney's on Railroad Avenue.
"I love coming back to Willcox, because it's like coming home," he told the Arizona Range News. "My family is buried in Sunset Cemetery and I still have a lot of friends (in Willcox)."
DiBiase will also preach from his "Heart of David Ministries" pulpit Saturday at 6 p.m. at Keiller Park.
When DiBiase was a wrestling star "my life was consumed by male pride and ego," until he quit the performing part of the business and found that "the measure of a man is his maturity and character."
DiBiase will speak to those changes and the importance of family life during his appearance Saturday evening.
He will also make appearances at the Rex Allen Days parade, rodeo and stage show.
"I'll actually arrive tonight (Wednesday) to come early and reminisce. Some of the earliest memories of my life come from Willcox," he said.
DiBiase remembers running to the local movie theater at the age of five to see a film, buy a popcorn, candy and soda and have change left over from a dollar bill.
He left the area at age 5 and returned to attend his final three years of high school when his family relocated. His mom was a lady wrestler and his stepfather passed away from a heart attack while performing in the ring.
DiBiase was one of the earliest Willcox athletes to receive a full-ride football scholarship to a Division I university. But he followed in his family's footsteps into the wrestling world and made a small fortune and considerable fame as a professional performer.
"Twenty years after college I was riding in Lear jets and limousines," he said. "I was known as a hell-raiser, then I was laughed at by my friends when I walked away to save my family and (become a Christian)," he said.
His son, another Ted DiBiase for the wrestling world, is working for Vince McMahon and earning praise for his character while being groomed as a rising star at age 25, said his father.
Ted currently lives in Clinton, Miss., just outside of Jackson, and will immediately fly to Florida after Saturday's local appearances to headline a Christian cruise ship outing on Sunday.
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