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Dory Funk Sr.
Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Early life Funk was born in Hammond, Indiana, on May 4, 1919 as the son of Emma E. (Gust) and Adam Funk. He was an Indiana high school state champion amateur wrestler for three years at Hammond High School in Hammond, Indiana, as well as an Indiana State University Amateur Athletic Union champion for one year. Professional wrestling career Funk began his career as a professional wrestler after serving in the United States Navy during World War II, starting in the southwest United States. He wrestled primarily in the Texas territories and the Central States territories during his career. Mainly a junior heavyweight, he fought Iron Mike DiBiase, Mike Clancy, Danny Hodge and Verne Gagne. After Dory Jr. won the NWA Heavyweight championship in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indiana State University
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities". History A seminary building was constructed and later used for Vigo Collegiate Institute. After several years the school closed and the property sold to be part of a public institution of education. It is now part of the Indiana State University campus. Indiana State University was established by the Indiana General Assembly on December 20, 1865, as the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute. It's location in Terre Haute was secured by a donation of $73,000 by Chauncey Rose. As the State Normal School, its core mission was to educate elementary and high school teachers. The school awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1908 and the first master's degrees in 1928. In 1929, the Indiana State Normal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA), the predominant promotion throughout the Midwest and Manitoba for many years. He remained in this position until 1991, when the company folded. As an amateur wrestler, Gagne won two NCAA titles and was an alternate for the U.S freestyle wrestling team at the 1948 Olympic Games before turning professional in 1949. Gagne was an 11-time world champion in major professional wrestling promotions, having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship ten times and the IWA World Heavyweight Championship once as the IWA World Heavyweight Championship was considered a world championship in Japan. He has also won top professional wrestling promotions World Heavyweight Championships such as the World Heavyweight Championship (Oma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, with many more joining the following year when JWA folded. From the mid-1970s, All Japan was firmly established as the largest promotion in Japan. As the 1990s began, aging stars gave way to a younger generation including Mitsuharu Misawa, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Kenta Kobashi, Gary Albright, Toshiaki Kawada, Mike Barton (Bart Gunn), Akira Taue and Jun Akiyama, leading to perhaps AJPW's most profitable period in the 1990s. In 1999, Giant Baba died and the promotion was run by Motoko Baba. Misawa was named President but left in 2000 after disagreements with Motoko. Misawa created Pro Wrestling NOAH and every single native wrestler besides Masanobu Fuchi and Toshiaki Kawada left All Japan. This led to a loss of All Japan's TV deal and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in, and the county seat of, Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, metropolitan statistical area. Canyon is the home of West Texas A&M University and Panhandle–Plains Historical Museum, and the outdoor musical drama ''Texas''. History Canyon was founded by L.G. Conner. The JA Ranch is east of Canyon. An historic landmarked 47-foot tall statue of a cowboy, constructed in 1959, stands next to U.S. Route 60 in Canyon. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, Canyon has a total area of , all land. The city itself lies in a valley that eventually becomes Palo Duro Canyon to the east. Climate Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,836 people, 5,189 households, and 3,444 families residing in the city. 2010 census At the 2010 census, 13,303 people, 5,185 households and 2,924 families resided in the city. The population densi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genichiro Tenryu
, better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ''shikona''. He had two stints with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promoting Super World of Sports (SWS), Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Tenryu Project. At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer wrote that "one could make a strong case hat Tenryu wasbetween the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. Sumo wrestling career As a sumo wrestler, Tenryu was ranked as a ''sekitori'' for 27 tournaments, 16 of them in the top ''makuuchi'' division. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 1. Upon the death of his stablemaster at Nishonoseki stable he wanted to join former stablemate Daikirin's n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jumbo Tsuruta
, better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and unifying the three titles. He is also known for being one-half of the first World Tag Team Champions with Yoshiaki Yatsu, having won the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the PWF Tag Team Championship, and unifying the two titles. Early life Tsuruta participated in many sports, such as swimming, basketball, and sumo, while attending Hikawa Senior High School in Yamanashi-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture. Amateur wrestling career While at Chuo University, he began an amateur wrestling career. He won the All Japan Amateur Wrestling Championship in freestyle and Greco-Roman as a superheavyweight (at the time, an unlimi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricky Romero (wrestler)
Henry Romero (May 24, 1931 – January 15, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Rapid" Ricky Romero. Romero was best known for his appearances in Texas during the 1970s. Professional wrestling career He wrestled in every major market between 1955 into the 1980s. Ricky tagged with the likes of Pedro Morales in the World Wrestling Association (WWA), Terry Funk and Nick Bockwinkel in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and Rito Romero in the WWF. He got his huge break, when Dory Funk Sr. brought him into the Amarillo, Texas area during a time of segregation between races. Ricky Romero was the first Hispanic wrestler in the area and gained a fan given nickname "SuperMex". In 1972 he beat Terry Funk in a most popular wrestler contest in Amarillo, was a top draw for Gory Guerrero in El Paso, Texas as well as for Fritz Von Erich in Dallas, Texas, and Paul Boesch in Houston, Texas. He was such a top draw in the Rocky Mountain area Colorado, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruiser Brody
Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the years Brody became synonymous with the hardcore wrestling brawling style that often saw one or more of the participants bleeding by the time the match was over. In his prime he worked as a "special attraction" wrestler in North America, making select appearances for various promotions such as World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Central States Wrestling (CSW), Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), and the American Wrestling Association (AWA) among others. He worked regularly in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Behind the scenes Brody was very protective of his "in-ring" image, hardly ever agreeing to lose matches and building a reputation of being volatile; he would on occasion int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tito Santana
Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is a retired American professional wrestler and middle school teacher. Santana has stayed a babyface his entire career and he is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1979 and 1993 (missing part of 1980 and returning in 1983) where he was twice the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and twice held the WWF Tag Team Championship. He also won the 1989 King of the Ring tournament and wrestled at all of the first nine WrestleMania events, as well as helping bridge the gap between the 1980s " Rock 'n Wrestling Connection" era to the 1990s "New Generation" era. Santana was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004. During his time in the WWF, Santana, despite being born and raised in Texas, was billed from "Tocula, Mexico", which may be a misspelled reference to the city of Toluca. To this day, he still appears on the independent circuit. Collegiate and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career. He is best recalled by mainstream audiences for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled as "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. He has been named as one of the best technical wrestlers, and greatest villains, in pro wrestling history. Among other accolades in the WWF/E, DiBiase was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champion, a three-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Irwin R. Schyster), a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion, and winner of the 1988 King of the Ring tournament. He held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship once, although recognition of this reign was withdrawn by the company. DiBiase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member of The Four Horsemen and The Brain Busters. Championships held by Blanchard over his career include the NWA World Television Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, WWF World Tag Team Championship, and NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. He was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. Early life As the son of wrestling promoter and former American Wrestling Association star Joe Blanchard, Tully Blanchard was involved in professional wrestling at a very young age. He began selling programs and refreshments at the arenas at the age of ten, and worked as a referee when he was older. Blanchard attended West Texas State University, where he played American football, first as a quarterback and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he billed himself for promotional purposes, was born in Edmonton, Alberta.National Wrestling Alliance, The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, p. 211, Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2007, Like Bronko Nagurski before him, Kiniski was one of the first world champions in professional wrestling to have a previous background in football. He is the father of professional wrestler Kelly Kiniski and international amateur and professional wrestler Nick Kiniski. Early life One of six children of local politician Julia Kiniski (and her husband Nicholas), Gene Kiniski grew up in Edmonton. At the age of seventeen, he was over six feet tall. Kiniski wrestled and played football at St. Joseph's High School. In March 1947, he entered the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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