Sandy Scott, half of one of the longest-running tag teams in wrestling, passed away on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in Roanoke, Virginia, at the age of 75. He was stricken with pancreatic cancer in 2009, and though it was done immediately, radical surgery could not contain the deadly disease.

Born Angus Mackay Scott in Hamilton, Ontario on May 27, 1934, he followed his older brother George into pro wrestling in late 1953. After working small-time events in his native Ontario for his first few months, he joined George in Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling territory in June 1954. The family tag team – a real one, in this case, during a time when most “brother� tandems each had their own set of parents – was launched.

Adopting the catchier first name Sandy, he and George clicked immediately with their smooth, speedy style. They headquartered in Calgary for the next half-dozen years, and became a wildly popular pairing there and in the mid-Atlantic area, Oregon, the upper mid-west, New York and Ohio, British Columbia and Ontario. The also did a swing through Japan in 1962, and two tours of Australia in 1966 and 1968. The brothers’ aerial attack, featuring dropkicks and flying head scissors in a time when much of wrestling was still ground-based, soon earned them the nickname “The Flying Scotts�.

George and Sandy capitalized on their growing reputation, opening a popular Calgary restaurant, The Scott Brothers Paddock, venturing to other areas of Canada and the U.S., and facing many of the top teams of the day. In Calgary alone, they faced the Miller, Tolos, Neilson, Mills, Kalmikoff, Smith, Vachon and Gallagher clans, Fritz von Erich and Karl von Schober, Iron Mike DiBiase and Danny Plechas. Many more teams lined up against them elsewhere, particularly in the Carolinas.

After a long and successful run together — The Flying Scotts shared tag team honors on 16 occasions in Canada, the U.S. and Australia — Sandy and George parted company in 1970. Sandy worked widely as a solo and with other tag partners, notably Jerry Brisco, almost exclusively in the Mid-Atlantic area. Through it all, he never forsook his scientific style going into a match, but he could and did roughen up his approach when his opponent’s behavior demanded it.

With the 20-year mark of his career approaching, Sandy looked to the future and a change in his role in the wrestling industry. He had a strong relationship with the Crockett family, and began taking an active part in many facets of promotion, booking towns and venues, handling public appearances and advertising, and tending to the myriad of details that the promotion’s success depended upon. He had an on-air persona as well, as a special representative of the NWA, and was instrumental in many of JCP’s major angles.

Following his last matches in 1976, Sandy continued his promotional role full-time. When World Championship Wrestling bought out JCP, he transitioned to the larger company, adding the role of on-air host of WCW World Wide to his duties. In 1991, he moved to Jim Cornette’s fledgling Smoky Mountain Wrestling out of Knoxville, Tennessee, and continued with the company until its demise in 1995.

Throughout his 20-plus years of active wrestling, and another 20-plus years of work in small and large promotions, Sandy Scott had done it all, and done it very well. He was inducted into the NWA Wrestling Legends Hall of Heroes in 2008, a fitting tribute indeed.

Sandy is survived by his wife Sandra, sons Drew and Sandy, daughter Tracey and grandson Coleton.

The Cauliflower Alley Club extends its deepest condolences to Sandra Scott and family, and to Sandy’s many friends.