Dick Medrano, who was likely the oldest living pro wrestler, has passed away, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. A date of death was not available.
Medrano, whose real name was Avelino Palomo Hernández, was born on November 20, 1921, and had been living in the Monterrey, Mexico, area. The Observer noted it was not clear when he was last confirmed alive, but he was believed to still be living a few years ago at 101 or 102.
Medrano began wrestling in 1941. He first came to the U.S. in 1952, working as Avelino Palomo in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. He had several short U.S. stints but spent most of his career with EMLL in Mexico from the 1940s through the 1970s.
In 1971, he wrestled in Canada for promotions in Quebec, Ontario and Stampede Wrestling. In Stampede, he had tag team title matches against champions Sugi Sito and Chin Lee, teaming with Carlos Belafonte (Carlos Colón) and Gil Hayes. He also appeared in a few Santo and Blue Demon movies in the 1960s.
WrestlingNews.co sends its condolences to Medrano’s family, friends and fans.
