WRESTLING NEWS
Goldberg's Impressive Football Past Explained
By ROBERT GUNIER
Before WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg made his name in pro wrestling, Goldberg’s football abilities while playing high school ball in Tulsa earned him a scholarship to the University of Georgia in 1985. While attending UGA in Athens, Goldberg's performance as a starting defensive lineman earned him a spot in the Junkyard Dog Club.
After Goldberg’s college career ended, the Los Angeles Rams chose him in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL draft, and he played in the Canadian Football League before returning to the NFL in 1992 to play for the Atlanta Falcons. However, during a 1994 preseason game against Philadelphia Eagles, Goldberg felt a sharp pain through his pelvis, describing it as, “It felt like it ripped me in half.”
After his condition didn’t get better, he was cut from the Falcons in 1995, and went to the Duke University Medical Center in search of a diagnosis, where he learnt that he had torn abductor muscle, which connects the leg to the pelvis. The things he misses the most about football is “banging peoples' heads,” and “Dominating people. Smashing a running back.”
After his football career ended, Goldberg impressed WCW’s Lex Luger and Sting, who encouraged him to go to WCW’s Power Plant training facility. After WCW management greenlit his debut, the dominating Goldberg enjoyed a 173-match winning streak and won the World Heavyweight Title during his initial year-long career in WWE before returning in 2016.