Jesse “The Body” Ventura

By Brad Berreman
Love of Sports Correspondent

On July 15th, 1951, James Janos was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Why is this fact notable? Well, Mr. Janos would become better known as Jesse Ventura in adulthood.

Wrestler, actor, politician, author, etc., there’s not a lot Ventura hasn’t at least tried.

He became known as Jesse “The Body” Ventura during his wrestling career, which began in 1975. He eventually signed-on to the Minneapolis-based AWA (American Wrestling Association) in 1979, teaming with “Adorable” Adrian Adonis to form what was called the “East-West Connection.”

Ventura’s in-ring wrestling career came to an end in 1984 when he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs, but he’d become a ringside color commentator, most notably teaming with the legendary Gorilla Monsoon.

During the late 1980s, Ventura began an acting career, appearing in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Predator. His line “I ain’t got time to bleed” would become the title of his first book after taking over as Minnesota governor.

From 1991-95, Ventura served as mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota after upsetting the city’s 18-year incumbent mayor in the 1990 election.

In 1998, he ran for governor of Minnesota as an independent against then St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (who helped bring the NHL back to Minnesota) and Minnesota attorney general Hubert H. “Skip” Humphrey III.  Ventura “shocked the world” and won election to Minnesota’s highest office.

He was something of a lightning rod for controversy during his term as governor, mainly for his lack of tact in his public comments, so he chose not to run for re-election in 2002.

He served as a television analyst for the short lived XFL during his gubernatorial term, and hosted an MSNBC talk show called “Jesse Ventura’s America,” which was also short lived.

Ventura considered running for U.S. Senator in 2008, but decided against it. Rumors suggest he could be hosting a half hour court-style TV show set to debut in the fall of 2009.

Currently, “the Body” resides predominantly in Baja, Mexico. He was elected to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

In recognition of one wrestling greatest “heels,” who would go on to conquer another “ring” of sorts, here’s some Old School Love to Jesse “The Body” Ventura!