Friends Carry on Dead Wrestler's Dream

Dec. 17, 2002 -- Independent circuit wrestler Jeff Peterson may never be as famous as The Rock or Hulk Hogan, but he arguably had more heart than both ring icons combined.

Like The Rock and Hogan, Peterson's wrestling character was a hero who often had to overcome insurmountable odds to defeat his opponents. But unlike his two famed colleagues, Peterson had to battle a very real life opponent — leukemia.

The illness put Peterson's wrestling career on hold for two years as he underwent chemotherapy, but he always dreamed on returning to the ring. And last April, after doctors told him his cancer was in remission, he returned for one more match. But that turned out to be his last. Peterson suffered a relapse and died at the age of 21 on the day after this past Thanksgiving.

Peterson's life has ended, but his family, friends, fellow wrestlers and fans believe his message — both as a man and a wrestling persona — lives on: make the most out of life and never give up.

Before his death, Peterson conceived and began writing a children's book designed to inspire and help young patients cope with their own life-threatening illnesses. He never had a chance to finish the book, but some of his best friends want to help make this unfulfilled dream come true.

"Not many people know this, but Jeff wanted to write a story for children and he called it Lion in Bed with Hope [pronounced 'Lyin' in Bed with Hope']," said Evan Leberstien, one of Peterson's closest friends. "It was about a lion who had this friend named Hope; never give up was the basic premise of the story. It was designed for kids in similar situations to his. He never got to finish the book … I'm not too sure what he did with the notes he kept."

Leberstien met Peterson in 1997 and portrays wrestling manager E.S. Easton in the East Coast Wrestling Association, a Delaware-based promotion. He said Peterson often talked about the children's book and writing his autobiography with him and another friend, Chuck Ristano. Finishing Lion in Bed with Hope, Leberstien said, would be a both a memorial to their friend — and perhaps Peterson's greatest legacy.

"He would talk about the children's book and [writing] his life story a lot. Those were two things he really wanted," Leberstien said. "If we [he and Ristano] could find some of the notes Jeff left behind in his parents' house in Florida, fill in some of the gaps, it's something we'd definitely like to do."

In many ways, even before his illness, Peterson was a living David-vs.-Goliath story. He never had the look of a wrestler. At 140 pounds, he did not have bulging biceps or a rippled physique, and he didn't have the classic, rugged good looks that beckoned Hollywood agents.