Robert Harold Brown (October 16, 1938 – February 5, 1997) was a Canadian
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, better known by his
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
"Bulldog" Bob Brown.
Early life
Brown was born in
Shoal Lake, Manitoba
Shoal Lake is a locality in the southwest of Manitoba, Canada. Originally incorporated as a town, Shoal Lake amalgamated with the Rural Municipality of Shoal Lake on January 1, 2011 to form the Municipality of Shoal Lake, which became the Rural ...
, but grew up in the
St. James-Assiniboia
St. James-Assiniboia is a major community area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As it encapsulates most of the city ward of St. James, which includes the major St. James Street, the area itself is often simply referred to "St. James."
Located in th ...
area of
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. He was given the nickname "Bulldog" in grade school. Brown worked as a police officer before becoming a professional wrestler.
Professional wrestling career
Having worked as a policeman in Manitoba, Brown also played hockey. He started wrestling in 1962 in Manitoba and eventually worked in New Brunswick and Alberta as a smart alec heel. In interviews he often argued about the events that had happened by turning the facts around. From 1969–1974 and in the early 1980s, Brown wrestled for
NWA All Star Wrestling
NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and formed tag teams with
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 b ...
and
John Quinn. In New Brunswick in the mid 1970s he fought Leo Burke and Stephen Petitpas. He also made appearances in Kansas City and St. Louis against
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...
,
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 yea ...
and
Marty Jannetty
Fredrick Martin Jannetty (born February 3, 1960) is an American professional wrestler who has worked for promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wres ...
.
Brown wrestled for
NWA Central States
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...
where he won the Central States heavyweight and tag team titles. He often worked as
booker for the Central States and several other promotions.
Brown wrestled for
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...
where he won the
Stampede International Tag Team Championship
The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...
, alongside
Kerry Brown, who was billed as Brown's son, but was actually his nephew. The pair defeated
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...
and
Biff Wellington
Shayne Alexander Bower (April 18, 1965 – June 24, 2007), better known by his ring name Biff Wellington, was a Canadian professional wrestler who was born, raised, and died in Calgary, Alberta.
Professional wrestling career
Shayne Bower traine ...
for the championship on June 9, 1989. That same year, Brown began working as the
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...
for Stampede's television show, alongside
Ed Whalen.
Brown retired from wrestling after a 37-year career in 1994, following a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
.
He worked briefly for WWF as a referee.
Personal life and death
Brown's brother Doug is a wrestling
promoter, and his son David worked as a
professional wrestling referee
In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the rul ...
under the name David Puttnam.
Brown was the uncle of
Kerry Brown, who was a professional wrestler.
In 1996, Brown suffered a heart attack, and was pronounced dead twice before being revived. This caused him to retire from in-ring competition. Following his retirement, he worked as a security guard (along with
Rufus R. Jones
Carey L. Lloyd (July 4, 1933 – November 13, 1993), also known by his ring name Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the Central States, St.Louis and Mid-Atlantic regional promotions of the Nationa ...
- another professional wrestler) at a horse and dog racing track in Kansas City, Kansas and the formally named Flamingo Casino, now known as Isle of Capri Casino in Kansas City, Missouri until his death on February 5, 1997.
Championships and accomplishments
*
Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) is a professional wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has recently finished the 2013 Rising Sun In The Maritimes Tour. Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling tours parts of New Brunswick, P ...
**AGPW North American Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Great Pogo Langie (1),
Rick Valentine
Kerry Brown (February 3, 1958 – September 10, 2009) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Brown was best known for working in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s under his real name, but also wrestled in Puerto Rico, Montreal ...
(1), and
Masa Chono
is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for ...
(1)
*
Central States Wrestling
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...
**
NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that served as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Central-States Championship Wrestling. For most of its existence, however, t ...
(
19 times)
**
NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. The Central States Tag Team ...
(
12 times) – with
Gama Singh
Gadowar Singh Sahota (Punjabi: ਗਦੋਵਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਹੋਤਾ); born December 8, 1954) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler known as Gama Singh (Punjabi: ਗਾਮਾ ਸਿੰਘ) and Great Gama Sahota was a villa ...
(1),
Dick Murdoch
Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Jap ...
(1),
Pat O'Connor (1),
Rufus R. Jones
Carey L. Lloyd (July 4, 1933 – November 13, 1993), also known by his ring name Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the Central States, St.Louis and Mid-Atlantic regional promotions of the Nationa ...
(1),
Terry Taylor
Paul Worden Taylor III (born August 12, 1955) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and Wo ...
(1),
Buzz Tyler
Buzz Tyler (November 4, 1948 – November 11, 2021) was an American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions during the 1970s and 1980s including the National Wrestling Alliance, most notably teaming with J. J. Dill ...
(3),
Marty Jannetty
Fredrick Martin Jannetty (born February 3, 1960) is an American professional wrestler who has worked for promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wres ...
(1),
Mitsuo Hata (2), and the
Cuban Assassin (1)
**
NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' (
5 times) – with
Bob Geigel
Robert Frederick Geigel (October 1, 1924 – October 30, 2014) was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. He operated the Kansas City, Missouri-based Heart of America Sports Attractions promotion from 1963 to 1986 ...
**
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Central States version)'' (
1 time)
**
NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' (
3 times) – with
Al Hayes (1),
Alexis Smirnoff
Michel Lamarche (February 9, 1947 – January 5, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ringnames Alexis Smirnoff and Michel "Justice" Dubois (''Mike "The Judge" Dubois''), who competed in North American regional promotions incl ...
(1), and
Bob Sweetan
Robert Carson (born Robert Beier, July 4, 1940 – February 10, 2017), better known by his ring name Bob Sweetan, was a Canadian professional wrestler and convicted sex offender. Sweetan was nicknamed "Bruiser" and "Mr. Piledriver", the latter i ...
(1)
**NWA Heart of America Championship (1 time)
**NWA Iowa Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ripper Jack Daniels
*
Eastern Sports Association
The Eastern Sports Association, often referred to in the business simply as "the Maritimes," was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It ran during the spring and summer months from 1969 to 1976.
History
The ...
**
ESA International Tag Team Championship
Eastern Sports Association
The Eastern Sports Association, often referred to in the business simply as "the Maritimes," was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It ran during the spring and summer months fro ...
(
1 time) – with The Patriot
**
ESA North American Heavyweight Championship (
1 time)
*Madison Wrestling Club
**MWC Heavyweight Championship (7 times)
**MWC Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with John DePaulo (1), Bill Kochen (2), and Lorne Corlett (1)
*
NWA All-Star Wrestling
NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...
**
NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' (
8 times) – with
Dutch Savage
Frank Stewart (June 9, 1935 – August 3, 2013) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage.
Career
Savage made his pro deb ...
(2),
John Quinn (3),
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 b ...
(2),
and
Al Tomko
Al Tomko (22 November 1931 – 5 August 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler and wrestling promoter.
Professional wrestling career
Tomko started out as a wrestler in his hometown of Winnipeg on 9 July 1954, with the Madison Wrestling C ...
(1)
**
NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' (
1 time) – with Buzz Tyler
**
NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' (
3 times)
*
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...
**
NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' (
1 time) – with
Kerry Brown
*
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...
**
WWC World Tag Team Championship
The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council.
History Abroad (2017)
On February 11, 2017, Thunder and Lightning defended the WWC World T ...
(
1 time) - with
Dale Veasey
Todd Dale Veasey (born May 20, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ringnames Dale Veasey and Lt. James Earl Wright, who competed in North American regional promotions including the Universal Wrestling Federation ...
**
WWC North American Tag Team Championship
The WWC North American Tag Team Championship was a major tag team championship that was used and defended in Capitol Sports Promotions. It is sometimes referred to as the WWC North American Tag Team Championship, though this isn't entirely accu ...
(
1 time) - with Dale Veasey
*
West Four Wrestling Alliance
**
WFWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship
The WFWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the title contested for in the Manitoba-based professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Alliance, West Four Wrestling Alliance.
Title history
See also
*Professional wrestling in Can ...
(
1 time)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Bulldog Bob
1938 births
1997 deaths
20th-century professional wrestlers
Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers in the United States
Canadian male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Manitoba
Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions