Bill Goldberg

William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. As a wrestler, he is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). William Scott Goldberg was born into a Reform Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on December 27, 1966, the son of classical violinist Ethel and obstetrician–gynecologist Jed Goldberg. He is of Russian-Jewish and Romanian-Jewish descent, with his Romanian-born great-grandfather having relocated to the US from Bucharest through Ellis Island. Jed was a graduate of both Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University. His parents later divorced, and his father died in late 2006. His mother breeds flowers and created an award-winning hybrid orchid in 2000, which she named after Goldberg. Bill has two brothers. Goldberg had his bar mitzvah at a Reform synagogue, Temple Israel, in his hometown. He attended Tulsa Edison High School. He acquired a love for football early in his life. Due to his large stature, began working as a nightclub bouncer at the age of 16. Goldberg earned a scholarship to attend the University of Georgia. Goldberg has been noted for being open about his Jewish background, which was uncommon in the professional wrestling world, especially during his prime. He famously refused to wrestle on Yom Kippur. He celebrates the Jewish holidays but has downplayed the religious aspects of his Jewish background, admitting in 2005 that he is "so far from religious it's not even funny". Despite this, he added, "I guarantee when my girlfriend and I get married, I'll have a rabbi marry us and I'll be breaking the glass right next to her."