| Dick the Bruiser | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dick the Bruiser in 1969 | |
| Birth name | William Fritz Afflis Jr. |
| Born | June 27, 1929 Delphi, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 10, 1991 (aged 62)[1] Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Afflis Dick Bruiser Dick the Bruiser Richard Afflis |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 261 lb (118 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Reno, Nevada[2] |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne Joe Pazandak |
| Debut | 1954[2] |
| Retired | 1989
American football career |
| No. 15, 62, 72, 75 | |
| Position: | Guard, Tackle |
| Career information | |
| College: | Nevada |
| NFL draft: | 1951 / round: 16 / pick: 186 |
| Career history | |
| Player stats at PFR | |
William Fritz Afflis Jr. (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and National Football League player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He was also very successful professional wrestler: sixteen-time world champion, AWA World Heavyweight Champion once, WWA World Heavyweight Champion (Indianapolis version) thirteen times, World Heavyweight Champion (Omaha version) once, and WWA World Heavyweight Champion (Los Angeles version) once. He also excelled at tag-team wrestling, with 20 tag team championships in his career. Eleven of these championships were won alongside his long-time tag-team partner Crusher Lisowski.[3]
He was one of the most well known heels from the mid-1950s until the early 1980s,[4] famous for his feuds with the likes of Lou Thesz, Bobo Brazil, Angelo Poffo, and "Classie" Freddie Blassie. He was inducted into the WWE hall of fame class of 2021[5][6] and the 2005 International Wrestling Hall of Fame.[7]
- ^ "'Dick The Bruiser,' 62, Dies In Florida". Classic Wrestling Articles. June 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
Encyclopediawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Dick The Bruiser – Online World of Wrestling". www.onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ Hester, Matthew. "CvC: Dick the Bruiser, The First American Bad Ass!". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ "Kane's red-hot speech helps set WWE's historical Hall of Fame Class of 2020 and 2021 induction ablaze". WWE. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ "2021 WWE Hall of Fame Legacy Inductees: photos". WWE. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ "The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.