Pepper Gomez

José Serapio Palimino Gomez, better known by his ring name Pepper Gomez, born on April 21, 1927, and died on May 6, 2004, was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was known for his exceptional abdominal muscles, and he would allow rivals to perform stunts such as jumping onto his stomach from the top of a ladder or driving a Volkswagen Beetle over his stomach, which earned him the nickname The Man with the Cast Iron Stomach. He wrestled as a blue-collar Latino babyface. Gomez was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1927, competed at football, gymnastics and track in high school and played football as a fullback at Los Angeles City College. In 1947 he began participating in bodybuilding, with Armand Tanny and Joe Gold among his training partners.