Stan Kowalski
| Stan Kowalski | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bert Smith |
| Born |
May 13, 1926 Minneapolis, Minnesota United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big K Killer Kowalski Krusher Kowalski Karl Kovacs |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 301 lb (137 kg) |
| Debut | 1948 |
| Retired | 1976 |
Stan Kowalski (May 13, 1926) was an American professional wrestler better known in American Wrestling Association from 1960-1975 and teaming with Tiny Mills as Murder INC. He is not related to Killer Kowalski. After wrestling and playing football at North High School, he served in the Navy for three and a half years aboard a submarine in the Pacific during the Second World War.
After the War, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota, and met the local promoter Joe Pazendak who worked out at the University and was an unofficial assistant wrestling coach. "He saw something in me that I guess told him, 'Hey, why don't you try being a pro?'" said Kowalski.
Turning down a chance to play football for the Green Bay Packers in 1950, Kowalski turned to pro wrestling, debuting as Buddy Marco for the old NWA promotion run by Tony Stecher. Later he would wrestle for Stu Hart in Calgary's Stampede Wrestling in 1957 and later in 1963 and 1974.
He decided to team up with Canadian wrestler Tiny Mills as Murder Incorporated. Team won the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championships twice while working for the NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club. When that promotion became the American Wrestling Association in 1960, Mills and Kowalski became the first AWA World Tag Team Champions. Mills not only worked in tag teams but as a singles wrestler as well. Together with Mills, Kowalski once again won the Canadian Open Tag Team Championship, defeating Billy "whipper" Watson and Ilio DiPaolo on the last Maple Leaf Gardens show of 1960.They lost the Championship early in 1961 after which Mills never came back to Toronto again and retired.
He would feud with Dick the Bruiser and Crusher in the AWA. LAter he managed Ivan Koloff
In 1970 he would go to New York to wrestle in the WWWF World Wrestling Entertainment as "Krippler Karl Kovacs" feuding with Gorilla Monsoon, Victor Riviera and WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino.
He would retire from wrestling in 1976 and alter was color commentator for AWA until its closure in 1990.
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