Ib Solvang Hansen (1 August 1934 – 16 November 1978) was a Danish professional wrestler, known by his ring name Eric the Red, who competed in North American and international regional promotions during the 1960s and 70s, including Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, Maple Leaf Wrestling and National Wrestling Federation. One of the major stars in the short-lived International Wrestling Association, he was one of the few to find success in the National Wrestling Alliance following the IWA's closure, forming a successful tag team with Pak Song in Championship Wrestling from Florida before his death in 1978. Career Early career Born in Odense, Denmark, Hansen emigrated to Canada during the mid-1950s and eventually became involved in professional wrestling making his debut in the Toronto-area for Frank Tunney's Maple Leaf Wrestling in 1968. As Eric the Red, a modern-day Viking, Hanson faced veterans such as Dutch Momberg, The Assassin, Wild Bull Curry and Tiger Jeet Singh during his first year and also formed a short-lived tag team with Whipper Billy Watson. After becoming a "heel" in early 1969, he would face the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion in a series of matches throughout the year as well as some of the most popular wrestlers in the territory such as Paul Diamond and Edouard Carpentier. Later that year, he also appeared in the World Wide Wrestling Federation facing "The Canadian Wildman" Gene Dubois, Tony Altomare and Jack Vansky although he was mainly used as a preliminary wrestler and had left the promotion by late 1970. He would however make occasional appearances during the next several years, most notably facing WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales in September 1973 and, the following year, teaming with Baron Mikel Scicluna to defeat WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino & Johnny DeFazio in Hubbard, Ohio on November 1, 1974. National Wrestling Federation Hansen soon began wrestling for the National Wrestling Federation, regularly appearing in Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio against many of the promotions top stars such as Chief White Owl and Dominic DeNucci during the early 1970s. He also became a well known face in the Pittsburgh-area during this time, facing Gorilla Monsoon, Frank Durso and Victor Rivera in memorable matches. Briefly returning to Toronto to face Angelo Mosca, Vic Rossitani and Prince Pullins during the summer, he would return to the NWL by October 1972 under manager Tony Angelo as Eric the Animal, a