When we speak of giants in the world of sport, most often it’s through a figurative lens. That is to say athletes who are so iconic that their footprints are left in the sands of time.
Of course, there are a select few who are literal giants as well. And yet while you’d be right in thinking most of them have graced the NBA (Shaquille O’Neal, we’re looking right at you), there’s one man who perhaps towers above them all: Andre the Giant.
Born André René Roussimoff on May 19, 1946, he would go on to conquer the world of professional wrestling, whilst simultaneously creating his own book of folkloric legends in the process.
So just how tall was the man dubbed André the Giant? How much beer could he truly put away in one sitting? What was his incredible net worth by the time of his passing in 1993?
Here’s all you need to know about one of the largest larger-than-life characters to have ever stomped the Earth …
It might be said that André was always destined for big things. He was born with a condition known as acromegaly, which led to gigantism, which in turn led to André growing to over 7-feet tall (some estimates peg him at standing as tall as 7-ft 4 inches). During the peak of his wrestling career, meanwhile, he weighed as much as 520lbs (236kg).
By the age of 18, a local wrestling promoter in Paris by the name of Robert Lageat had spotted the earning potential of André and taught him the business. At that time, André trained at night and worked as a mover in the day to pay his bills.
After training as a wrestler, the French-Bulgarian began to make a name for himself in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. He also wrestled in Japan with International Wrestling Enterprise in 1970, billed as “Monster Roussimoff”, and went on to move to Montral, Canada, where he was initially a huge hit.
Yet after a time the shock-factor wore off, and the crowds dwindled. It was then that Frank Valois, his business manager and advisor, appealed to Vince McMahon Sr. – founder of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, or WWWF – for help.
It was under the eye of McMahon Sr. that André underwent several changes which would ultimately improve not only his wrestling potential but also allow him to fully realize his star power.
The rest, as they say, is history. Dubbed André the Giant, André became a worldwide phenomenon, going on to star in feuds with the likes of Hulk Hogan.
Not only that, but he became immensely popular, both with colleagues and fans around the globe. Thanks to his awe-inspiring size, André was able to do things that no other man could do.
Earlier this year, Hulk Hogan remembered his old competitor with the tweet: “28yrs ago Andre passed, my big brother, he taught me respect for our business and also taught me how to work using my instincts and my connection with the crowd. His timing was perfect and made me understand the greatest matches are the ones that u don’t talk about beforehandRIPHH”.
Of course, virtually all wrestling fans know about André’s love for beer, but just how much could he really pack away?
Well, somewhat unsurprisingly, regular-size beer cans looked like toy cans when within the folds of his immense hands, so it makes sense to assume that it would require rather more volume than with a regular-size man to get him drunk.
Sources have differed over the years when it comes to just how much beer André was able to consume in a single sitting. The man himself appeared on David Letterman once and said he had sunk an incredible 119 12-ounce beers in one session.
Former wrestler Mike Graham, however, goes beyond even that staggering number with his estimate. He said André managed to put away 165 beers in one sitting, and his claim was later backed up by former colleagues Dusty Rhodes and Michael Hayes.
Certain reports make the claim that André was known to consume an eye-watering 7,000 calories of alcohol each day. Others, meanwhile, say that he did so to better manage the persistent pain he was in due to his condition.
Sadly, André’s size came with a number of health problems, and he passed away while in Paris to attend his father’s funeral in 1993, aged just 46.
He died due to congestive heart failure.
Andre the Giant was a man with many different sides, and there are hundreds of stories about him. For example, he had a secret that he took with him to the grave, according to reports from The Sun.
In the newspaper, another WWE megastar, The Undertaker, revealed that Andre wanted to get back in the ring and fight him.
”Andre did not like big guys either – he loved me, thank goodness. But for most big guys he thought they were arrogant or bullies or whatnot, but he had his way with a lot of guys that you would be like, ‘Oh that’s a pretty tough guy,’ but Andre would set him straight, ” the Taker said in 2018.
Andre had a storyline planned for taking on The Undertaker.
“[He’d say],‘ Good. You know one day kid, me and you. I have this idea. ’‘ Oh really boss? Tell me about it. ’And he’d never told me.”
Unfortunately, The Undertaker never got to know what Andre had in mind.
“No one knows what it was, but you know he ended up passing away and he never let me know. I wonder to this day, ‘Man, I bet it was good.”
Given his incredible career and worldwide fame, of course, it’s safe to say he left behind a considerable amount of wealth. In fact, in 1974 André was mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the highest-paid wrestler in history, having earned $400,000 in one year in the early ’70s.
Somewhat sadly, other reports suggest that a large portion of Andre’s wages were spent on modifying his home to accommodate his giant frame, not to mention the fact his bar bill was regularly quite a bit higher than the average.
At the time of his death in 1993, André was said to have a net worth of $5 million, which equates to $10 million in today’s money – not bad for a man who had spent much of his early life hefting hay bales on his father’s farm after leaving school at 14.
I don’t know about you, but there are few wrestlers I miss more than André the Giant! A mountain of a man, for sure, but also by all accounts a kind and compassionate soul.
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