Gordon Solie (Dead)

The greatest wrestling announcer of all time, Gordon Solie entertained generations of wrestling fans with his educational and entertaining commentary such as "his face is becoming a crimson mask," "it's a Pier-6 brawl," "foreign object," "they're going at it hammer and tongs," "he's not fast, he's sudden" and "we'll be back as soon as order is restored." Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Solie served in the Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before embarking on his legendary career as a wrestling announcer in Tampa, Florida, in 1950 (earning $5 a night).

Based in Florida, Solie worked as a play-by-play announcer for Championship Wrestling from Florida (which aired from 1960-87), Georgia Championship Wrestling, Continental Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling, among others. According to "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Solie "was the man—the absolute best to ever call a match." Solie was known as "The Dean of Wrestling Announcers," as well as the "Walter Cronkite" and "Howard Cosell" of professional wrestling.

After retiring in 1995, Solie occasionally lamented the direction of professional wrestling. For instance, in a 1999 interview, Solie said "It's getting too suggestive . . . the themes are in poor taste and usually outright disgraceful . . . They don't know a wristwatch from a wristlock. Whatever happened to wrestling?" Solie died of cancer on July 27, 2000, at the age of 71 and was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

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