Dick the Bruiser
American football player professional wrestler (1929–1991)
William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler and football player. He was better known by his ring name Dick the Bruiser.
| Dick the Bruiser | |
|---|---|
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| Born | June 27, 1929 Delphi, Indiana |
| Died | November 10, 1991 (aged 62) Tampa, Florida |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Richard Afflis Afflis Dick the Bruiser |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 261 lb (118 kg) |
| Billed from | Reno, Nevada |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne Joe Pazandak |
| Debut | 1954 |
| Retired | 1985 |
Before becoming a professional wrestler, Afflis was a professional football player and played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1951 until 1954.
On November 10, 1991, Afflis died from internal bleeding. His wife Louise said that he was weightlifting at home with his adopted son, Jon Carney, and ruptured a blood vessel in his esophagus.[1]
In wrestling
change- Finishing moves
- Nicknames
- "Bruiser"
- "The World's Most Dangerous Wrestler"
Championships
change- American Wrestling Alliance
- AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) (with Wilbur Snyder)[2]
- American Wrestling Association
- AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[3]
- AWA World Tag Team Championship (5 times) (with The Crusher)[4]
- World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) (1 time)[5]
- Japan Wrestling Association
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) (with The Crusher)[6]
- NWA Chicago
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) (1 time)[7]
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) (1 time) (with Gene Kiniski)
- NWA Detroit
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version) (4 times)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1972) (with The Crusher)
- St. Louis Wrestling Club
- NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[11]
- St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- (Class of 2007)[12]
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)[13]
- World Wrestling Association
- WWA World Heavyweight Championship (13 times)[14]
- WWA World Tag Team Championship (15 times) (with The Crusher (6), Wilbur Snyder (3), Bruno Sammartino (1), Bill Miller (1), Spike Huber (1), Jeff Van Kamp (1), Bobby Colt (1) and Calypso Jim (1))[15]
- Worldwide Wrestling Associates
- WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[16]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)[17]
References
change- ↑ "Celebrating Dick the Bruiser". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2015-02-24.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "AWA World Tag Team Title (Indiana) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "AWA World Heavyweight Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "AWA World Tag Team Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "World Heavyweight Title (Omaha) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "NWA International Tag Team Title (Japan) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (Illinois) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (Hawaii) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "The Crusher & The Bruiser". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "Dick the Bruiser". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "Missouri Heavyweight Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "Hall of Fame - Class of 2007". Saint Louis Wrestling. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "WCW Hall of Fame". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "WWA World Heavyweight Title (Indianapolis) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "WWA World Tag Team Title (Indiana) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "WWA World Heavyweight Title (California) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
- ↑ "Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, 1996". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2015-02-24.