Post by jimsteel on May 27, 2024 9:02:19 GMT -5
A LITTLE LATE
STORY
Silento Rodriguez, the famed deaf-mute champion wrestler, left a legacy.
His death on April 7, 2024, at the age of 90, didn’t make the headlines, but to the people he inspired, it is a turning point.
“I knew of Silento thanks to one of the wrestling mags that did a great feature story. I was very young but was greatly inspired by the story,” said Handsome Johnny Bradford (Brad McFarlin), who is deaf. “It convinced me that my dream could come true.” Though he never grew large enough to be a wrestler, Bradford became a well-known Michigan manager. They never did meet. “I wanted to become Buddy Rogers and David Rodriguez helped me to believe it could be possible.”
“Silent” Brian Mackey never met Rodriguez either, but he had heard about him, and others had told the Ontario-based “Silent Brian” about him over the years.
David “Silento” Rodriguez was born May 23, 1933, in Monterrey, Mexico, to parents Fransico and Teodora Rodriguez. His hearing loss occurred shortly after his birth, at the age of three.
According to a magazine article, Rodriguez said that he lost his hearing when he followed his father diving off a cliff.
“I was knocked unconscious by the impact of my fall and blood poured out of my ears. For a long time, my parents thought I had injured my brain because I failed to respond when they talked to me. Eventually, they learned I was deaf,” Rodriguez said in the article.
STORY
Silento Rodriguez, the famed deaf-mute champion wrestler, left a legacy.
His death on April 7, 2024, at the age of 90, didn’t make the headlines, but to the people he inspired, it is a turning point.
“I knew of Silento thanks to one of the wrestling mags that did a great feature story. I was very young but was greatly inspired by the story,” said Handsome Johnny Bradford (Brad McFarlin), who is deaf. “It convinced me that my dream could come true.” Though he never grew large enough to be a wrestler, Bradford became a well-known Michigan manager. They never did meet. “I wanted to become Buddy Rogers and David Rodriguez helped me to believe it could be possible.”
“Silent” Brian Mackey never met Rodriguez either, but he had heard about him, and others had told the Ontario-based “Silent Brian” about him over the years.
David “Silento” Rodriguez was born May 23, 1933, in Monterrey, Mexico, to parents Fransico and Teodora Rodriguez. His hearing loss occurred shortly after his birth, at the age of three.
According to a magazine article, Rodriguez said that he lost his hearing when he followed his father diving off a cliff.
“I was knocked unconscious by the impact of my fall and blood poured out of my ears. For a long time, my parents thought I had injured my brain because I failed to respond when they talked to me. Eventually, they learned I was deaf,” Rodriguez said in the article.
