Larry "Rocky" Hamilton (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), 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 ...

the Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the

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 ...

as well as

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

and

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s. One of the earliest professional wrestlers to appear on televised wrestling events, he feuded with many popular wrestlers of the era including

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He tu ...

, "Plowboy" Stan Frazier, Steve Keirn,

Tim Woods George Burrell Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Mr. Wrestling and Tim Woods. Collegiate wrestling career Woodin received a degree in agricultural engineering f ...

Tarzan Tyler Camille Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985) was a Canadian professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Tarzan Tyler. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, along with Luke Graham. Profe ...

and

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champio ...

during his 31-year career. He is also the older brother of wrestler

Jody Hamilton Joseph Hamilton (August 28, 1938 – August 3, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. He was best known as one half of the tag team The Assassins where he was called "Assassin #1". When the Assassins ended, He wrest ...

who competed as the masked wrestler the Assassin as well as the uncle of former

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 ...

official Nick Patrick.

Career

Early life and career

Making his debut in the Missouri area during the early 1950s, he began wrestling for promoter

Ed Don George Edward Nye "Ed Don" George Jr. (June 3, 1905 – September 18, 1985) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. A former Olympic freestyle wrestler, George competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and turned pro ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957 headlining an event 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 ...

against

Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class ...

and Miguel Perez the following year. Splitting up shortly thereafter, Hamilton and his brother went their separate ways leaving New York in October 1958 with Joseph Hamilton leaving for San Francisco while Larry Hamilton began working for promoter Jim Crockett, Sr. in the Carolinas.

Crockett Promotions

It was during his time in what would later become

that Larry Hamilton would find his greatest success becoming a major star in the promotion in only a few years. Appearing in the earliest televised matches for the promotion, Hamilton teamed with

the Great Bolo Al Lovelock is an American retired professional wrestler best known by the ring name The Great Bolo. Lovelock was active in the 1950s and 1960s and was primarily known for his work in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Lovelock was the first to ...

to win the regional tag team title from

Mr. Moto Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the ''Saturday Evening Post'', whi ...

and

Duke Keomuka Martin Hisao Tanaka (April 22, 1921 – June 30, 1991) was an American professional wrestler better known as Duke Keomuka. He is the father of wrestler Pat Tanaka and referee Jimmy Tanaka. Biography Because he was a Japanese American in Californ ...

in 1959. The two would remain the top "heel" tag team in the promotion until the early 1960s when Joseph Hamilton was brought into the promotion and began teaming with the Great Bolo in 1961 (the two would continue teaming together as the Assassins for the next 15 years). Hamilton and the Masked Bolos (

and

Tom Renesto Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

) faced

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 ...

and the Kentuckyians ( John Quinn and

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 retiri ...

) in a series of six-man tag team matches during the next year setting several attendance records in the Carolina-Virginia area including an event held the

Greenville Memorial Auditorium Greenville Memorial Auditorium was a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena built in 1958 that was located in Greenville, South Carolina. It hosted local sporting events, concerts and the Ringling Brothers Circus until the Bi-Lo Center opened in 1998. It ...

in Greenville, South Carolina. During the early 1970s, Hamilton formed a successful tag team with Jim "Brute" Bernard winning the Texas-based NWA America and NWA Atlantic Coast tag team titles between 1971 and 1972.

Later years

Following his retirement in 1981, Hamilton entered bail bonding and was involved in the St. James Catholic Church in his hometown St. Joseph, Missouri. In later years, Hamilton lived with his elderly mother and underwent hip replacement surgery, but remained in relatively good health until his death from a heart attack on July 20, 1996.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Association **Nebraska Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Central States Wrestling :* NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' ( 1 time) - 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 ...

:* NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Central States 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 ...

) *L&G Promotions :* L&G Caribbean Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

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 Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) :*

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...

( 1 time) :*

NWA Florida Television Championship The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in 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 ...

( 1 time) :* NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 6 times) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

:* NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship (

) :* NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

Brute Bernard James Prudhomme (June 6, 1921 – July 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Brute Bernard or Jim 'Brute' Bernhard. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Skull Murphy. He compet ...

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship. ...

(2 times) - with Great Bolo (1) and

Pampero Firpo Juan Kachmanian (April 6, 1930 – January 9, 2020) was an Argentine-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Pampero Firpo. Early life Kachmanian was born on April 6, 1930, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His parents were of ...

(1) * NWA Big Time Wrestling :*

NWA American Heavyweight Championship The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in ...

( 1 time) :*

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The cham ...

( 1 time) - with Brute Bernard :*

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...

( 1 time) *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays and ...

¹ :*

NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship The NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1972 through the promotion's 1978 closure. WCW joined the National Wrestling Alliance in ...

( 1 time) - with Steve Rackman * Southeastern Championship Wrestling - Continental Championship Wrestling :* NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (

)

Notes

¹''Note'': This promotion, though named World Championship Wrestling, was an NWA affiliated promotion based out of Australia and operated from the 60's to the 90's. This promotion should not be confused with the U.S.-based

once owned by

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

and sold to

World Wrestling Entertainment 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 va ...

in 2001.

References

External links

Larry Hamilton: The Missouri Mauler
by Mike Mooneyham

by Scott Teal
Championship Wrestling from Florida: Missouri Hamilton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri Mauler, The 1931 births 1996 deaths American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from St. Joseph, Missouri Professional wrestlers from Missouri 20th-century American male actors Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version)