Sarasota's "Macho Man" Randy Savage Dies in Car Accident

Billed as the Sarasota-based Randy “Macho Man” Savage throughout the majority of his legendary pro wrestling career, Randy Poffo died on Friday morning at the age of 58 in a car accident in Clearwater.

Lanny Poffo, a retired wrestler who went by the monikers of "Leaping Lanny" and "The Genius" during a run with the former World Wrestling Federation that started in the mid-1980s and carried into the 1990s, told TMZ.com that his brother suffered a heart attack while driving and lost control of his 2009 Jeep Wrangler around 9:25 am. TMZ released details from the Florida Highway Patrol’s accident report, which stated that Savage crossed a concrete median through traffic before hitting a tree head-on.

Savage was transported to Largo Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. His wife, Lynn, was taken to a different medical facility with minor injuries suffered in the accident.

Despite being the son of professional wrestler Angelo Poffo, Savage’s first love was baseball. A standout at Downers Grove (Ill.) High School, Savage signed his first professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization in July 1971.

A shoulder injury derailed Savage’s stint with the Cardinals, which included 87 games with the team’s Gulf Coast League affiliate in Sarasota, in 1973. He played the 1974 season with the Cincinnati Reds-affiliated Tampa team in the Florida State League, batting .232 with nine home runs, 19 doubles, six triples, and 66 RBI.

The Reds released Savage after one season. He was prepared to pay his own expenses to an Arizona tryout for the San Francisco Giants when the Chicago White Sox contacted him about earning a spot with one of their Class-A teams.

One thing was different about the then-6-foot-1, 190-pound outfielder/catcher in his lone spring training with the White Sox. Savage had converted to throwing left-handed because of arm injuries and moved to first base.

Legendary Sarasota Herald-Tribune sports writer John Brockmann called Savage “the kid who would rather switch than quit” in a March 1975 article. After failing to make it with the White Sox, Savage joined the family business within a year.

Savage and his brother first gained attention in their father’s outlaw International Championship Wrestling promotion, which ran opposition to promoter Jerry Jarrett in Tennessee and Kentucky and battled National Wrestling Alliance promoters in other states such as West Virginia, Missouri, and Illinois. The World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment) introduced Savage to its fans in the summer of 1985 with an angle centering on various managers vying for his services.

Jilting the likes of Bobby “the Brain” Heenan, “Classy” Freddie Blassie and Jimmy Hart, Savage selected his real-life wife, Miss Elizabeth, as his manager. Savage and Miss Elizabeth could be viewed as pro wrestling’s first power couple.

Savage held the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for more than a year before losing it to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in front of 93,000 fans at WrestleMania III. He won a tournament to crown a new world champion at WrestleMania IV in the spring of 1988.

Whenever Savage entered the ring to “Pomp and Circumstance,” he was billed as being from Sarasota.

“I just called myself from Sarasota from the start of my career,” Savage told Sarasota Herald-Tribune sports writer Tim Leone in a Jan. 28, 1987 article. “That was my base when I first went into wrestling. I just kept it as my base, my introduction.”

In addition to forming a tag team with Hulk Hogan and later feuding with Hogan, Savage took on the persona of the “Macho King” and battled the likes of Dusty Rhodes and the Ultimate Warrior during his time with the WWF. Savage and Miss Elizabeth reconciled on-screen at WrestleMania VII and had a wedding ceremony at SummerSlam 1991.

In real life, Savage and Miss Elizabeth divorced in 1992. She died from a reported drug overdose eight years ago.

Savage was serving as the color commentator to WWF owner Vince McMahon’s play-by-play announcer persona on the “Monday Night Raw” television program when he signed with the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling in 1993. Savage made a couple of appearances for Total Nonstop Action wrestling in 2004, but he did not have much involvement with wrestling after leaving WCW in 1999.

Wrestling fame enabled Savage to become the national face for Slim Jim. He also appeared in 2002’s “Spiderman” and released a rap album in 2003.

Although Savage had no known Sarasota residence for decades, he did marry his second wife at Lido Beach on May 10, 2010. The couple first dated when Savage was playing baseball in Sarasota and Lynn was studying at the Ringling School of Art and Design.

In a statement on its website, the WWE called Savage "one of the greatest superstars of his time."