BostonBob
4 Ever The Greatest
from slamwrestling.com:
Famed referee Dave Hebner, who was a part of one of the most-watched wrestling angles in history, has died from an undisclosed illness. He was 73.
His illness was revealed on May 28 by former race car driver Hermie Sadler, who has had numerous moments involved in pro wrestling. In past, it had been revealed that Hebner had Parkinson’s disease.
On February 5, 1988, in an NBC special called WWF The Main Event, Dave Hebner was the referee for a WWF World Heavyweight title bout between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant. André defeated Hogan with the help of Earl Hebner, and André’s manager, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase revealed that Dave Hebner had been locked in a closet. Dave arrived in the ring, and Hogan saw double. It was a major referee swerve that catapulted both into the top level of referee lore.
Knee replacement surgery forced Dave Hebner to retire from in-ring action, but he worked as a WWE road agent behind the scenes until being released in July 2005.
In a lengthy 2009 interview with SlamWrestling.net’s Kenai Andrews (Nothing but the truth from Dave Hebner), Hebner addressed his WWE dismissal, and noted “I had depression over the last five years just thinking about what I lost and how they let me go for nothing.”
He was later a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where Dave’s nephew, Brian Hebner, worked for years too as a referee.
Full story: Famed referee Dave Hebner dies
