Carl Dennis Campbell Sr. (July 28, 1935 – November 12, 1997) 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 ...

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 ...

''Luke "Big Boy" Brown''. He is most noted for being one-half of a tag team in the 1950s and 1960s known as the Kentuckians, along with

Grizzly Smith Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith (August 1, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was the father of professional wrestlers Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Rockin' Robin, and Sam Houston. Smith began wrestling in 1958. After retirin ...

Professional wrestling career

Brown began his professional wrestling career in 1958, traveling with carnivals. Wrestler Frankie Townsend gave him the name "Man Mountain Campbell", which Brown used up until 1961. For a short period during this time he tagged with

Stan Stasiak George Emile Stipich (April 13, 1937 – June 19, 1997) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stan Stasiak. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the 1970s, where he ...

, and they were the first tag team to ever hold the

NWA International Tag Team Championship (Toronto version) The Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship in the Canada, Canadian professional wrestling promotion, promotion Maple Leaf Wres ...

. They defeated Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff on June 8, 1961 in a tournament to win this title. In 1961, Brown also began teaming with

. The duo became known as The Kentuckians, and they were known for their long beards, dungarees, and cow horn. Brown, as Man Mountain Campbell, had his first

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

match on April 12, 1960 against Hans Schmidt in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. His first match in

Madison Square Gardens 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 Pennsylvan ...

took place November 13, 1960 in a

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 ...

match with

Haystacks Calhoun William Dee Calhoun (August 3, 1934 – December 7, 1989) was an American professional wrestler, who used the professional name "Haystack" or "Haystacks" Calhoun. Early life Born on August 3, 1934, William Dee Calhoun grew up on a farm i ...

against The Kangaroos. He retired from professional wrestling in 1977 after a shoulder injury.

Personal life

Brown was married three times. He was in poor health during his last years of life, including

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

that required him to undergo dialysis. He died of a stroke in a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

hospital in 1997. He was buried in

Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of na ...

Championships and accomplishments

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 Midwest Tag Team Championship The AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship was a title in the American Wrestling Association from 1967 until 1971. It was for mid-level wrestlers and was mostly defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of ...

( 1 time) – with Jake Smith *

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 United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Central States version)'' (1 time) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' ( 3 times) – with

Tor Kamata McRonald Kamaka (March 9, 1937 – July 23, 2007) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in Al ...

Danny Little Bear Danny Little Bear (September 13, 1937 – May 12, 1991) was an American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Central States and Gulf Coast territor ...

, and

Ox Baker Douglas Albert Baker Sr. (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes c ...

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

** NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' ( 1 time) – with Jake Smith *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...

**NWA International Championship ''(Toronto version)'' (1 time) ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Toronto version)'' ( 1 time) – with

NWA Tri-State The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' ( 5 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 ...

(1),

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 ...

(1), Jake Smith (2), and

Klondike Bill William Soloweyko (December 1, 1931 – October 3, 2000), better known by his ring name Klondike Bill, was a Canadian professional wrestler. Trained by Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he wrestled in various National Wrestling Alliance territo ...

(1) *

NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1 ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' ( 1 time) – with Mr. Kleen *Superstar Championship Wrestling **SCW Western States Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Ray Steele and Eddie Sullivan *

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 ...

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based i ...

(

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 Jake Smith *Wrestling Fans International Association **WFIA Wrestling Award (1968)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Luke 1935 births 1997 deaths American male professional wrestlers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Americas Tag Team Champions