andre the giant

Question
what is his real height some say he is 7 foot 4 and some say he is 6 foot 11

Answer
Hello David,

Andre's height has long been a matter of speculation.

One thing to keep in mind is that he had acromegaly. Among its effects are that sufferers have enlarged hands, feet, nose, lips, ears and a more protruded. He appears to have lost some height in his neck over time, which would be indicative of some kind of neck or spinal deformity, most likely arising from the acromegaly.

This means complications from acromegaly, not limited to what happened to his neck, impacted his height and got worse as he got older, particularly from the 1980s.

The French Athletic Commission measured Andre's height at 6'9 and three-quarters in 1974,, when he was 28, according to Dave Meltzer. March 1973 was when he began wrestling. Considering the initial billed height was variously 6'10 and 7ft when he began wrestling, this early measures seems rather spot-on.  

Meltzer estimates Andre's later height as 6'11 and a half in 1984. Others have claimed he peaked at between 7'2-7'4. Because of his enlarged features, Andre appears bigger than just his height, As such, it's best to lower the estimates down a little when they have been made by those recounting experiences with Andre, as opposed to comparisons through pictures, where his exaggerated featured are less likely to have an impact.

As Andre's height remains unknown, except arguably for the French Athletic Commission's measurement, only guesses can be made. Personally, I currently think of him at his peak as being about 7'3, for a short-moderate amount of time and a considerable portion of time before that between 7'1-7'2, but this is just my humble opinion.