Hed taken a chance on a British wrestling reviewer whod pitched his way in by writing about Midlands Professional Wrestling during a time when no one knew what that was or why they should care about it. Larry also has a daughter, Lori Michelle Holmes. On Christmas Day 1946, Csonka was born at Akron City Hospital. His wife and daughters were his life, well above his seemingly insatiable hunger for more wrestling. I cant even imagine what they are going through and I can only hope the messages of love can someday lighten the grief, even slightly, that they are feeling. The whole gig was a paperboy routine.. It was always nice knowing there was someone else on the planet that had so much passion about the business bursting that they wanted to share with the world through the written word. I was checking the site out way back in the day, even before Larry back before 411mania was a thing when it was 411wrestling. He wasnt without snark, he wasnt without anger or hot takes but that was never the core of his character online nor his writing for 411. I consumed EVERYTHING he wrote. Larry was a great family man, a prolific professional wrestling reviewer and an editorial icon for 411Mania. We actually started at roughly the same time, and nearly instantly, Larry went from our new TNA reviewer to basically running the site. I felt devastated whenever I had to take a hiatus from writing. There was no better example of that mindset than Larry Csonka. He never seemed to tire of it. 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. We knew of his daughters, of his wife, of his mother, of his health scares, his leg loss. Well try our best down here to fill the massive hole youre leaving behind. 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. Thank you Larry.. He seemingly knew every goddamn wrestling promotion that ever existed and its history. My personal interactions with him were brief, but I could tell he was an incredibly kind person. I started off writing just for Movies, doing reviews of films. Its heartbreaking that Larry is gone. Online Memory & Photo Sharing Event. After residing several . He turned that encyclopedic knowledge into something else. I was amazed when, a couple of days later, I not only got a yes but it came from one of my favourite writers on my favourite site for news: Larry Csonka.I only knew of 411mania through playing EWR (Google it kids), and I came to read JD Dunns work. When things started to change for me in my personal life and I had to cut back on the work I was able to do here, Larry understood because he was also a family man and knew where I was coming from. I cant imagine what his wife and kids are going through. I chuckled when we had columns up at the same time when Bruno Sammartino passed away. Id been with the site for a year, and started noticing a *lot* of content coming from this guy, who appeared to be using the name of a former Miami Dolphins player? Your email address will not be published. News Sports Restaurants COVID-19 Opinion USA TODAY Obituaries eNewspaper Legals Subscribe Larry was a tremendous leader here. Someone will take over for Larry, but nobody will ever be able to replace Larry. He is possibly single. 22.9K Followers. I knew that if I needed a cross-check on a fall or a match time, Csonka was the word to add to my google search. You are now ELEVENTY BILLION STARS., CHAD WEBB: 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. Ask 411 Wrestling: Will CM Punk Return to Face MJF? Even with his health problems later in life, Larry found a way to power through them and keep up his machine-like pace. Dr. Lawrence M. Saltis knew Larry Csonka's escapades were on a collision course with readers, but he didn't realize an advance copy of Head On would arrive at his house a few weeks ago. That doesnt compare though to the loss for his family of a father and husband. You could tell the pride and love for his family by the photos of his daughters he would post of their accomplishments (especially RKOing snowmen). For the best part of the last 7 years, throughout school, university and now work, the first webpage I look at every day is the TV Reports page on 411mania to read Larrys thoughts on pretty much any and every significant show that happened. I am also eternally grateful that he existed and touched so many lives. My son, Paul, joined the Coast Guard and served part of his tenure in Alaska on Kodiak Island. Champion on Raw, among those listed (pre-Raw Draft results)? Larry was a benchmark against which I measured myself for the last 2+ years and someone whos work Ive savoured for the better part of a decade. By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet), The death of pro wrestling writer Larry Csonka was announced today by 411Mania.com. The report? Currently, he lives with the co-host of North to Alaska, Audrey Bradshaw in Wasilla, Alaska. 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. Its going to be next-to-impossible to find someone who will outdo his output of reviews and columns, which became the backbone of 411Mania.com. Larrys passing leaves a giant hole in the heart of 411, and his passing leaves an even bigger hole in his family. Larry Csonka is a name thats been synonymous with 411mania and 411 Wrestling for as long as I can remember. Its a weird feeling when someone leaves us whom youve never actually met, but feel a sort of kinship with. A couple years after I started reading the site, a call went out looking for new columnists at 411 and I was all too eager to throw my hat in the ring. It was only a week ago that we exchanged messages about HUSTLE and the days of tape trading and how much shit we both had in storage. Chris Samsa: Just the other day, I was making a list of wrestling companies that I could justify compiling statistics for as I build a library outside of NJPW. Joe Lanza: I was always envious of Larrys work ethic. And in that, Im sure Im not alone.. Jim Kiick was a running back who played for the Miami Dolphins during their 1972 . ROB STEWART: May they find grace in his memory and May He Rest in Peace.. Learn how your comment data is processed. JEFFREY HARRIS: He made me proud to be a wrestling fan to the point where now I wear that on my sleeve. We all have a thirty-minute time limit in this ring called life, and sometimes the X gets thrown up early. Ill keep it simple then. I felt the same thing that I felt on that night in 1999. Once Saltis had armed Csonka with knowledge, everything changed. He let us develop our own voices. The car left the road, went airborne and spun around, police said. In the memoir's epilogue, Csonka noted he had asked Saltis to stand and be recognized during the ceremony. Sure, it means writing about wrestlers and matches and storylines and promotions. Griffin Peltier: Larrys reviews provide a perfect time capsule of wrestling from 2004 on. 4/27 WWE Live Event Report Birmingham, U.K.: Cody vs. Balor headlines, notable crowd reactions for Bayley and Belair, Lashley vs. 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. There wasnt a single bad word from anyone. Ricardo Gallegos: I didnt personally know Larry and I highly doubt he knew my name, but he was an inspiration for me. He led by words, and even more impressively, by example. Larry Csonka, to me, is the best professional wrestling writer that ever walked the face of this earth. Bradshaw kept reminding Csonka he had decided in 2005 on the night they were rescued by the Coast Guard from a ship in the Bering Sea he would share his memories. But more than that, Ill admire his friendship and kindness. You could tell how much Larry loved wrestling in every single article he wrote, in his incredible ability to feel the vibe of the show at a level that few of us can. On Twitter, he is following the personalities Barack Obama, Jerome Bettis, and Conrado Giulietti. Larry Csonka Death - Obituary | Dead - Larry Csonka Passed Away Larry let us into his life more than I think people give him credit for. Larry Csonka probably watched more bad wrestling than anyone else, but he continued to review shows at a machine-like pace. After hearing about his passing I went back and read some of our emails and messages and smile at the interactions. Larry Csonka HOF Signed Autograph Auto 1969 Topps Rookie Card # 120 PSA 10 slab. It has been my go-to site for wrestling news and columns ever since, and Larry was synonymous with this site. I was privileged to join Larry and his wife on many a podcast reviewing Ring of Honors earliest Pay Per View shows in the early days when 411Mania was trying out that new-yet-old school form of communication. If I recall correctly, his oldest was already in the picture when I first started interacting with him, and he was always the portrait of a proud dad, whether sharing stories about her marital arts endeavors, taking her to pro wrestling shows, or, more recently, watching her become an independent young adult. That little bit of nuanced phrasing has always meant the world to me. We got to watch it all through high school, too. 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. Larry was obviously an icon for his writing, but more importantly, he was an amazing husband and father who leaves behind a family that loves him dearly. 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. The words are just not flowing. He knew it all, reviewed it all, and helped us understand it all. Uncle Charlie was in the Battle of the Bulge with General Patton. He was truly a good man who was full of positivity and had such a great sense of humor. More than that though, Larry was always such a lovely guy to interact with, and a guy who brightened a timeline up with such clear love for his family. He just tried to be fair. This past year saw me go pretty inactive as I dealt with some personal and professional issues. Youre doing great with Palm Computing. Needless to say I stuck around. I just didnt have time to watch wrestling as I was pursuing comedy at night so Id read Csonka. Hed always be supportive. 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. Its been ten years since I first covered a RAW for Larry so he could spend some time with his family, and within those ten years, the site and Larry altered the landscape of my life. During that time hed send me stories to write up and wed chat in AIM (back when that was still a thing), Slack and even Gmail when we had to. Csonka said Saltis turned my life around through mentorship. James Forrest Kiick ( / kk /; August 9, 1946 - June 20, 2020) was an American professional football player: a running back. Larry was a consummate professional in the industry and one of the most prolific, hell, he may be THE most prolific reviewer in wrestling history. Although Larry has been dealing with some health issues his death has come as an unexpected and devastating loss to his family and the internet . Both deaths came days before the 21st anniversary of Owen Hart's tragic death during WWE's Over The Edge event. He was as much of a joy to work with on projects at 411Mania as he was a joy to read as a writer here. Before I ever became part of the 411 team I was a daily reader and Larry was the person I spent the most time reading. I mean Larry Csonka, 'cause I wouldn't mind If he tried to tackle me any old time So oh Lord won't you buy me a number 39." She sings to the big man with the crooked nose who is leaning against the back bar. I never met the man, but he always told me I was good people because, like him, I was from SW PA. 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. notable leavenworth prisoners, countryside police blotter,