Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) 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 ...

. He is the father of wrestlers

Dory Funk Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter ...

and

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

, and was a promoter of the

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

-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 Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

high school state champion amateur wrestler for three years at Hammond High School in

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, as well as an Indiana State University

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

champion for one year.

Professional wrestling career

Funk began his career as a professional wrestler after serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, starting in the southwest

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He wrestled primarily in the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

territories and the Central States territories during his career. Mainly a junior heavyweight, he fought

Iron Mike DiBiase Michael DiBiase (December 24, 1923 – July 2, 1969) was an American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name "Iron" Mike DiBiase. The adoptive father of professional wrestler "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, he was married to Te ...

, Mike Clancy,

Danny Hodge Daniel Allen Hodge (May 13, 1932 – December 24, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and boxer. He is renowned primarily for his wrestling career, where he competed both as an amateur and professional. A three-time NCA ...

and

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 ...

. After Dory Jr. won the NWA Heavyweight championship in 1969, he was at ringside for many of his son's title defences.

Retirement

After retirement he began promoting Western States Sports with

Doc Sarpolis Karl Sarpolis (August 31, 1897 – May 28, 1967) was a professional wrestler and wrestling promoter in Texas. He was the promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Early life Sarpolis was born in Newport, Pennsylvania t ...

, where he led a thriving wrestling scene which produced many stars, including his sons

and

, as well as Stan Hansen,

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 ...

, Gene Kiniski, Tully Blanchard, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, Bruiser Brody,

Ricky Romero Ricardo Romero Jr. (born November 6, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays. Prep career After spending three years at Garfield High School, Romero graduate ...

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 Heavyw ...

, and

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 ...

. Many of his wrestlers had played football at West Texas State University in nearby

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 ...

. Funk had a good business relationship with

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, ...

founder Shohei Baba, which led Funk's talent pool to useful international experience. Funk was also heavily involved with the Cal Farley Boys Ranch in Amarillo. On July 15, 2006, Funk was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Newton, Iowa. The award was accepted by Terry.

Death

Funk died of a heart attack at St. Anthony's Hospital on June 3, 1973 at the age of 54 while demonstrating a wrestling hold at his home to a visitor at his Flying Mare Ranch in Umbarger, Texas. He was buried at Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon, Texas.

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

** NWA Florida Southern Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Jose Lothario * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2006 *

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemorat ...

(Class of 2013) * NWA All-Star Wrestling ** NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) - with Lou Thesz (1) and Pancho Pico (1) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum 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 2020 * Western States Sports ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' (

) ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 17 times) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' (7 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 ...

(1),

Dick Hutton Richard Heron Avis Hutton (October 4, 1923 – November 24, 2003) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. He was a three-time NCAA champion and, as a professional, held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, making him a one-time worl ...

(1) and

(5) ** NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship (8 times) ** NWA Southwest Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Cowboy Carlos (2) and Bob Geigel (2) **

NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title was in use from 1969, when it replaced Amarillo's version of the ...

( 3 times) ** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 4 times) - with Bob Geigel (1), Dick Hutton (2) and Rip Rogers (1) * ''

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 ( Class of 1996)

References

External links

Handbook of Texas Online - Dory Funk Sr.
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Dory 1919 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male professional wrestlers American male stage actors People from Hammond, Indiana Professional wrestlers from Indiana Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Professional wrestling promoters Stampede Wrestling alumni Western States Sports 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions