Grizzly Smith
| Grizzly Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Aurelian Smith |
| Born |
August 6, 1932 Grayson County, Texas |
| Died | June 12, 2010 (aged 77) Amarillo, Texas |
| Spouse(s) | Marsha Smith (divorced) Michelle Hyde (divorced) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Grizzly Smith The Kentuckian Sky-Hi Jones Tiny Anderson Jake Smith |
| Billed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Billed weight | 350 lb (160 kg) |
| Debut | 1958 |
| Retired | 1970s |
Aurelian Smith (August 6, 1932 – June 12, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as Grizzly Smith. He was the father of professional wrestlers Aurelian, Jr. (Jake "The Snake" Roberts), Michael (Sam Houston), and Robin (Rockin' Robin).
After his wrestling career ended, he served for a time as a backstage official in the World Wrestling Federation and a road agent in World Championship Wrestling, as recounted in Mick Foley's book Have a Nice Day.
Smith began competing in professional wrestling in Texas, but he worked on an oilfield part-time as well. Smith also competed in Georgia, where he challenged Freddie Blassie for the NWA Georgia World Heavyweight Championship but was unable to win the title belt. While wrestling in Texas, Smith met Luke Brown, who he followed to Oklahoma. Smith, who had wrestled under the ring names Jake Smith and Tiny Anderson, began competing as Grizzly Smith, although he also wrestled as Tiny Smith. Smith and Brown formed a tag team known as The Kentuckians, and the pair used the gimmick of a pair of hillbillies. Together, they won the Georgia version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship in 1962 and held them until dropping them to Lenny Montana and Gypsy Joe on November 23 of that year.
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