Dick the Bruiser
| Dick the Bruiser | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | William Fritz Afflis |
| Born |
June 27, 1929 Delphi, Indiana, United States |
| Died | November 10, 1991 (aged 62) Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Cause of death | Internal bleeding |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Afflis Dick the Bruiser Richard Afflis |
| 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 | 1986 |
William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser.
Born in Delphi, Indiana, Afflis grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, graduating from Lafayette Jefferson High School where he played football and wrestled. Afflis went on to attend Purdue University, where he played varsity football.
Afflis played American football for the Green Bay Packers as a lineman in the early 1950s.
Afflis started his career in Chicago in 1955 under the Bruiser moniker where he faced Verne Gagne and Lou Thesz. From there into the late 1950s, Dick the Bruiser wrestled live every Thursday on TV in the Detroit area. His typical opponent was "an up and coming young (unknown) wrestler" who would be pulverized by the Bruiser. His matches and interviews were so effective he became a household name in the Detroit area. His only defeat on live TV was at the hands of Cowboy Bob Ellis. However, in two rematches with Ellis at the Olympia in Detroit, the Bruiser was victorious. A real bar fight with football player Alex Karras gained Afflis attention, which resulted in several more fights.
Afflis, along with fellow wrestler and business partner Wilbur Snyder, purchased the Indianapolis NWA promotion in 1964 from its longtime owner Jim Barnett. Afflis renamed the territory the World Wrestling Association (WWA) and promoted himself as its champion. While he ran it as an independent promotion with its own titles and champion, the WWA had a working agreement with the larger AWA (owned by wrestler Verne Gagne), sharing talent and recognizing their championships. This agreement benefited both promotions and led to the Bruiser having multiple AWA Tag-Team Title reigns, primarily with tag team partner, The Crusher, who was billed as his "cousin". The Bruiser was the first to christen Manager Bobby Heenan with the nickname of "The Weasel" during his run in the territory. Afflis' WWA ran from 1964 until 1989, when Afflis finally tired of losing talent, TV, and fan attendance to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
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