Skull Murphy
 |
|
| Born |
December 7, 1930 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Died | March 23, 1970 (aged 39) Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Skull Murphy |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Billed from | Hamilton, OntarioIreland |
| Trained by | Jimmy Simms |
| Debut | 1952 |
John Joseph Murphy (December 7, 1930 – March 23, 1970) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Skull Murphy. He began his career wrestling in Canada and later worked at Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling in the United States. In the 1960s, he teamed with Brute Bernard in the World Wide Wrestling Federation and won championships in several professional wrestling promotions. In his later career, he worked primarily in Australia.
Murphy grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. As a child, he developed a disease that prevented him from growing any hair on his body. He attended Hamilton Central Technical School, where he met professional wrestler Chuck Molnar. Molnar convinced Murphy to become a wrestler, and Murphy began training at the Hamilton Jewish YMCA under Jimmy Simms. Author Mordecai Richler states that Murphy told him that he rubbed baby oil on his bald head before matches to reduce irritation from the ring floor.
Murphy began competing in 1952. He wrestled in Welland, Ontario as well as Larry Kasaboski's Northland Wrestling Enterprises in northeastern Ontario. He soon began competing for promotions on the east coast of the United States, including Jim Crockett Promotions. He was billed as living in Ireland. By 1959, he was competing for Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), where he feuded with Dickie Gunkel. Professional boxer Joey Maxim was the referee for one match between Murphy and Gunkel. After Gunkel won, Murphy challenged Maxim to a "wrestler vs. boxer" match the following week, which Murphy won. He competed in GCW for several years and won five championships in 1961, which included three reigns with the Georgia version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. He also formed a tag team with Gypsy Joe and won both the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship.
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