Fritz Von Erich
| Fritz Von Erich | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Jack Barton Adkisson, Sr. |
| Born |
August 16, 1929 Jewett, Texas |
| Died | September 10, 1997 (aged 68) Dallas, Texas |
| Cause of death | Brain and lung cancer |
| Family | Von Erich |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Fritz Von Erich Tetsu no Tsume (Iron Claw) Jack Adkisson |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (120 kg) |
| Billed from | Denton, Texas |
| Trained by | Stu Hart |
| Debut | 1953 |
| Retired | 1982 |
Jack Barton Adkisson, Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997) was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Fritz Von Erich, better known today as a wrestling promoter and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was also the owner of the World Class Championship Wrestling territory.
Adkisson attended Southern Methodist University, where he threw discus and played football. He has been reported to have played with the now defunct Dallas Texans of the NFL (not the AFL team which became the Kansas City Chiefs), but this is not true. He was signed as a guard but was cut. He then tried the Canadian Football League (CFL).
While in Edmonton, he met legendary wrestler and trainer Stu Hart, and Hart decided to train and book him in his Klondike Wrestling promotion, naming him Fritz Von Erich and teaming him with "brother" Waldo Von Erich as a pair "evil German" brothers. Adkisson's oldest son Jack Barton Adkisson, Jr. was born September 21, 1952. He died in 1959, however, after an accidental electrocution, and Jack Sr. stopped traveling to the east coast, allowing former partner Waldo to use the Von Erich name in the World Wide Wrestling Federation.
Despite Jack Jr.'s death, Adkisson continued to travel and wrestle. Adkisson won both versions of the AWA World title in 1963. His major circuit was Sam Muchnick's NWA territorial stronghold in St. Louis, Missouri. He wrestled there until 1967, when he voluntarily left the territory after losing a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against then-champion Gene Kiniski. In the late 1960s, with Muchnick's backing, Adkisson became the promoter for the Dallas territory, effectively overseeing the Houston and San Antonio territories, as well.
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