William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American

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 ...

, promoter, and former NFL player, 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 ...

, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. In addition to that he was also hugely successful in

professional Wrestling 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 o ...

being a fifteen-time

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship once, the

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...

(Indianapolis version) thirteen times and the

(Los Angeles version) once. He also excelled at Tag-Team wrestling having won 20 Tag Team championships, having held the

AWA tag team championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

five times and the WWA tag team championship a record 15 times in his career. 11 of these championships were won alongside his long-time Tag-Team partner Crusher Lisowski. He was one of the most hated as well as well known heels from the mid 50s till the early 80s. He was famous for his feuds with the likes of such stalwarts such as

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

Bobo Brazil Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one ...

Angelo Poffo Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He was t ...

and "Classie" Freddie Blassie. For his achievements he would be inducted into the

WWE hall of fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...

class of 2021. He was also inducted into the 2005

International Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

Early life

Born in

Delphi, Indiana Delphi () is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. Located twenty minutes northeast of Lafayette, it is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,893 at the 2010 c ...

, he moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

when his mother got a job there during World War II. Afflis played football during his freshman and sophomore years for

Shortridge High School Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district.(IPS). Originall ...

in Indianapolis. After his mother lost her job, the family moved back to Delphi, and the high school there did not have a football team. Afflis took up residence at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

in nearby

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

, so that he was eligible to attend

Lafayette Jefferson High School Jefferson High School (often referred to as "Lafayette Jefferson" or "Lafayette Jeff" or "Jeff") is a high school located in Lafayette, Indiana, United States and administered by the Lafayette School Corporation. Its mascot is the Broncho and it ...

where he played football and wrestled. Afflis went on to attend

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

, playing varsity

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

at both schools. He also worked as a bouncer at a Reno nightclub.

American football career

Selected 186th overall in the 16th round of the 1951 professional football draft, Afflis played

for the

from 1951 to 1954. as a lineman. He appeared in all 48 regular season games the Packers played in those years, although the team never finished better than fourth place. Afflis suffered an injury to his larynx while playing for the Packers. This resulted in his trademark gravelly voice that he would keep for the rest of his life.

Professional wrestling career

Bruiser made his professional Wrestling debut in 1954. He was trained by Verne Gagne. Afflis started wrestling in Chicago in 1955 under the Bruiser moniker where he faced

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 Wrest ...

and

. Gagne guided him in his initial days of becoming a professional wrestler. From then into the late 1950s, Dick the Bruiser wrestled live every Thursday on TV in the Detroit area. His typical opponent was "an up and coming young (unknown) wrestler" who would be pulverized by the Bruiser. His matches and interviews were so effective he became a household name in the Detroit area. His only defeat on live TV was at the hands of "Cowboy" Bob Ellis. However, in two rematches with Ellis at the Olympia in Detroit, the Bruiser was victorious. In 1963, Dick the Bruiser was involved in an angle with NFL star

Alex Karras Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935 – October 10, 2012) was an American football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), ...

to set up a match between the two. Bruiser was supposed to brawl with Karras at Lindell’s Bar, a drinking establishment co-owned by Karras and the Butsicaris brothers. What was supposed to be a worked shoot turned into a real brawl when one of the Butsicaris boys’ uncles attacked Dick the Bruiser, unaware the event was staged. Bruiser proceeded to destroy the bar as well a number of police officers who showed up to the melee; there were reportedly over 300 people hurt. In the end, eight officers subdued him, and the Bruiser ultimately won the match. At the end, he was charged with aggravated assault and had to cover $50,000 in damages for two policemen that he injured during the brawl. On November 19, 1957, Dick the Bruiser and Dr. Jerry Graham engaged in a tag team match at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York City before a crowd reported as 12,987 fans. Their opponents were Antonino Rocca and

Édouard Carpentier Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz (russian: Эдуард Виецз; July 17, 1926 – October 30, 2010) was a French-born Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Édouard Carpentier. Over the course of his career, Carpentier he ...

. After the match ended, fighting among the wrestlers continued, and a large number of fans joined in, leading to a riot. Two policemen were injured, two fans were arrested and over 60 policemen had difficulty dispersing the angry crowd. The floor of the arena was littered with hundreds of broken chairs. As a result, Dick the Bruiser was banned for life by the

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

. Afflis, along with fellow wrestler and business partner

Wilbur Snyder Wilbur Snyder (September 15, 1929 – December 25, 1991) was an American football player and professional wrestler. Wrestling career Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during football's 1953 off-season. He was trained by Sandor Szabo and Warren ...

, purchased the Indianapolis NWA promotion in 1964 from its longtime owner Jim Barnett. Afflis renamed the territory the

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...

(WWA) and promoted himself as its champion. While he ran it as an independent promotion with its own titles and champion, the WWA had a working agreement with the larger

AWA Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

(owned by wrestler Verne Gagne), sharing talent and recognizing their championships. This agreement benefited both promotions and led to the Bruiser having five AWA World Tag Team Championship reigns, with

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partner, The Crusher, who was billed as his "cousin". The Bruiser was the first to christen Manager

Bobby Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...

with the nickname of "The Weasel" during his run in the territory. Afflis' WWA ran from 1964 until 1989, when he finally tired of losing talent, TV, and fan attendance to the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF). In 1971 he teamed with The Shiek and faced Crazy Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler for the newly created WWWF Tagteam Championship which graham and Tyler won. Afflis, with his charisma, NFL notoriety, and gravelly-voiced, tough-guy persona was a legitimate cross-media star, becoming something of a hero in the Indianapolis area. He made his home on the northwest side of the city. Indianapolis native David Letterman (whose career would be launched by the Bruiser) would later name his television show's band The World's Most Dangerous Band as a derivation of Dick the Bruiser's nickname, "The World's Most Dangerous Wrestler." The moniker "Dick the Bruiser" was even used in the 1980s by George Baier, a co-host of the morning drive show on Detroit rock radio station

WRIF WRIF (101.1 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station licensed in Detroit, Michigan and serving Metro Detroit as well as bordering city Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The station is currently owned by Beasley Media Group. WRIF is a grandfathered ...

. Baier's "Richard T. Bruiser" was an effective, entertaining impersonation of Afflis, who actually played himself in a number of popular TV ads for WRIF. After retiring, Afflis was a color commentator for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW), founded by

David McLane David B. McLane is an American businessman, known primarily as a wrestling promoter and television producer. He was the creator of the GLOW- Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and WOW-Women Of Wrestling (recognized as WOW! and WOW), both nationally ...

, who had previously risen through the ranks as a teenager to manage the WWA for The Bruiser. He also worked as a talent agent for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW), and was the

special guest 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 ...

at the Starrcade 1990 main event between Sting and the Black Scorpion.

Personal life and death

His son in law wrestles as Dick the Bruiser Jr. in the independent circuit. Afflis died of

internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depen ...

on November 10, 1991, according to a spokesman for Suncoast Hospital in Largo, Florida, near his winter home. His widow, Louise, said her husband had been weightlifting at home with his adopted son, Jon Carney, and ruptured a

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

in his esophagus.

Championships and accomplishments

* 50th State Big Time Wrestling ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Hawaii version)'' ( 1 time) *American Wrestling Alliance **AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

** AWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

( 5 times) – with The Crusher ** World Heavyweight Championship (''Omaha version'') ( 1 time) **

AWA United States Heavyweight Championship The AWA United States Championship was a short-lived title in the early days of the American Wrestling Association. It started out as the NWA United States Championship promoted in the Chicago, Illinois from 1953 until 1958. in 1958 then champion ...

( 1 time) * Big Time Wrestling ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (''Detroit version'') ( 4 times) *

Fred Kohler Enterprises Fred Kohler Enterprises, Inc. was a company established by businessman Frederick Koch (1903–1969) – known professionally as Fred Kohler – to promote professional wrestling in Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Kohler began promo ...

** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Chicago version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Chicago version)'' ( 1 time) – 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 ...

Japan Wrestling Association The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

( 1 time) – with The Crusher *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' **

PWI Tag Team of the Year This is a list of both active and inactive ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' awards which are voted on by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') readers every year from 1972 onwards, expanding to more categories in later years. Unlike other wrestling ...

(1972) with The Crusher **Ranked #300 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

**( Class of 2005) – Tag Team with Crusher **( Class of 2011) – Television Era *

St. Louis Wrestling Club The St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. ...

NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship The NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship was the secondary singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's St. Louis Wrestling Club and Central States Wrestling promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. It was usually dominated by the area's ...

( 3 times) *

St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame The St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame. After several years of debating the idea of creating the Hall of Fame, former owner and promoter of the St. Louis Wrestling Club Larry Matysik opened it in 2007. He wa ...

**( Class of 2007) *

WCW Hall of Fame The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Hall of Fame was an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was established in 1993 to honor wrestlers who began their careers long before the 19 ...

(

Class of 1994 Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

) *

( 13 times) **

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. A ...

( 15 times) – with The Crusher (6), Wilbur Snyder (3),

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...

(1), Bill Miller (1), Spike Huber (1),

Jeff Van Kamp Jeff Van Camp Sr. (born April 3, 1962) is an American police officer and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Association and Southeast Championship Wrestling in the mid-1980s under his real ...

(1), Bobby Colt (1) and Calypso Jim (1) *

Worldwide Wrestling Associates NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

( 1 time) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...

( Class of 1996) *

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...

( Class of 2021) *Other titles **World Heavyweight Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (1 time)World Heavyweight Title (Georgia) history
At wrestling-titles.com

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dick the Bruiser 1929 births 1991 deaths American football offensive linemen American male professional wrestlers AWA World Heavyweight Champions Deaths from bleeding Green Bay Packers players Nevada Wolf Pack football players Purdue Boilermakers football players Professional wrestlers from Indiana Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum 20th-century American male actors People from Delphi, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana Professional wrestling promoters Shortridge High School alumni Burials in Indiana WWE Hall of Fame Legacy inductees 20th-century professional wrestlers AWA World Tag Team Champions AWA United States Heavyweight Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions