He was just an Indian. He was through and through an Indian, even though he dealt with white people, and he learned to get along in that world, he wasn't completely accepted in that society, or he didn't want to be into it. Myself, I never saw him have more than a couple of beers. I know when we were at the Indian dances and stuff in Ohio, I never saw him drink. But that's not to mean, you know, how people are.
Some people have serious problems that people never even know about.
Some people function better drunk than they do sober. It seemed that everything was going his way. Then three days later, it all came crashing down. On May 26, he faced off against Gorgeous George on TV in Chicago. This was at a time when world champions never appeared on television, and for some reason Eagle did not wear the belt to the ring.