Waltham native Angelo 'King Kong' Mosca, an icon in Canada and a star around the world

Angelo Mosca, a Waltham native who went on to an unthinkable career of fame and success in Canada, died Saturday Nov. 2 at the age of 84.

Mosca may not be well-known in Waltham today, but after a Hall of Fame football career and worldwide success in professional wrestling, Mosca is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished athletes to ever emerge from Watch City.

Mosca grew up on Francis Street. His father was an Italian immigrant, and his mother was half-Black. Mosca stated in his autobiography that he was often teased and bullied due to his ancestry, and it was not until his 2011 autobiography “Tell Me to My Face,” that Mosca confirmed his ethnicity. 

“Students made accusations of my being Black all through my high school years, but I never participated when other kids would show their prejudice against African-Americans,” Mosca wrote. “This is the first time I’ve ever opened up to the public about my identity. I feel good about it because I know there is nothing wrong with me and I am not a bad person.”

Mosca first started playing football in 9th grade when a teacher noticed the already 6’3" 215 lb Mosca roaming the hallways. At Waltham High School he was a dominant force at both offensive and defensive tackle, getting named to the all-scholastic team in each of his final three years and being named a Sporting News All-American in 1955.

Outside of playing football, Mosca also played basketball at WHS, and worked various jobs in the community, including as a delivery boy for the News Tribune and as a farmhand at DeVincent Farm. 

The meanest man in pro football

After fielding more than 60 offers to play college football, Mosca elected to play at Notre Dame. After two seasons, Mosca lost his scholarship when he got married, a violation of his scholarship, and also for running card games with other players. 

Unable to continue playing college ball, Mosca signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, getting the lofty sum of $10,000 with a $2,500 signing bonus. In Canada, Mosca became a legend, making five all-star teams, winning five Grey Cups (the CFL equivalent of the Super Bowl) and, in 1987, being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 1959 he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles but elected to stay in Canada where he could make more money. 

While Mosca was an excellent defensive player, his fame in Canada was increased by his reputation as a dangerous, arguably dirty player, and was regarded as the CFL’s “meanest player.”

“Savvy, smart and ahead of his time, he built his bad guy persona into a personal brand that was bigger than life,” CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said following Mosca’s death. “Unloved in some markets where he was the villain, his stature was unmatched in Hamilton, where he was a hero.”

Mosca’s most famous moment likely came in the 1963 Grey Cup, when he hit BC Lion’s star running back Willie Fleming out-of-bounds, knocking Fleming out of the game, which Hamilton went on to win. 

The bad blood from that moment would last for nearly 50 years, when Lion’s QB Joe Kapp and Mosca got into a fist fight at a 2011 CFL alumni event, with Mosca cracking Kapp with his cane and Kapp flooring Mosca with a series of punches, despite both men being in their 70s at the time. Video of the incident went viral, and Mosca appeared on an episode of "Dr. Phil" to discuss the fight. 

Second career as pro wrestler

Mosca had an equally successful career outside of football as a pro wrestler. Blessed with great physical size and inherent charisma, Mosca was a natural who almost always performed as a heel (bad guy) with the exception of when he would perform in Hamilton, where he was a beloved hero. 

Known as “King Kong” Mosca, he headlined wrestling shows across the world, facing the likes of Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes and Bruno Sammartino throughout a career that spanned more than two decades. Working in the World Wrestling Federation in 1981, Mosca engaged in a heated rivalry with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund in matches that sold out Madison Square Garden on multiple occasions, as well as big shows at the Boston Garden and the Philadelphia Spectrum. 

Mosca frequently capitalized on his celebrity in Canada, appearing in more than 100 commercials, and was intensely involved in local charities, eventually earning the Queen’s Jubilee medal, an honor given out by the Canadian government to citizens who exhibit extraordinary charitable work. 

Despite his achievements on the football field and in pro wrestling, Mosca is relatively unknown in Waltham today. While Waltham High School has public displays for alums Fred Smerlas and Mackenzy Bernadeau, who both went on to play in the NFL, there is nothing documenting Mosca’s Hall of Fame football career. The only easily viewable mention of Mosca in the WHS trophy case is his name on a plaque that mentions him being named to the school’s 100th Anniversary Football Team in 1984. 

Mosca spent his last few years battling Alzheimers. Years of football and pro wrestling had taken a toll, and his brain was donated to a study of CFL alumni. His son, Angelo Mosca Jr., told Canadian journalist Greg Oliver that it was just the final step of his father’s charitable attitude. 

“My dad, in the later part of his life, he did so much fundraising and things for charitable organizations, and was always with the CFL just giving, giving back and giving back and giving back,” Mosca Jr. said. “That’s what the Lord’s call was for him. And it all started off through the journey of athletics, football and wrestling. And then it turned into that part of his journey.”