Michael DiBiase (December 24, 1923 – July 2, 1969) was an American professional wrestler, also 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 ...

"Iron" Mike DiBiase. The adoptive father of professional wrestler "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, he was married to Ted's mother

Helen Hild Gladys Helen Nevins (February 26, 1926 – March 4, 1984), better known by her ring name Helen Hild, was an American female professional wrestler and model. In her career, Nevins wrestled for extended periods of time for various wrestling promotio ...

(also a professional wrestler), and was the grandfather of

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

, Ted Jr., and

Brett DiBiase Brett DiBiase (born March 16, 1988) is an American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling referee. He is best known for his time in Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory. He is a former FCW Florida Tag T ...

Amateur wrestling career

As an amateur wrestler, DiBiase, representing the US Navy, was the 1946 AAU champion in the UNL (open or heavyweight) division. He then wrestled at the University of Nebraska, and competed at UNL in the NCAA tournament in 1947 and 1948, losing his first round match both years.

Professional wrestling career

DiBiase made his professional debut in 1950. In 1963, DiBiase became the 131st and last knockout victim of light heavyweight boxer Archie Moore. One of DiBiase's most notable matches was a Texas Death Match against Dory Funk Sr, which according to Terry Funk lasted for four hours and 10 minutes, having taken in 32 falls.

Death

DiBiase died in the ring on July 2, 1969, in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, following a match with

Man Mountain Mike Gary Fletcher, (September 15, 1940 – April 30, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who was best known by his ring name, Man Mountain Mike. Career Fletcher was discovered by Al Lovelock, who wrestled as The Great Bolo. Lovelock trained F ...

as the result of a fatal heart attack.

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 ...

performed

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

on DiBiase and then rode in the ambulance with him. DiBiase was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was buried at the Sunset Cemetery in Willcox, Arizona. Ted DiBiase confirmed that his father had a huge cholesterol buildup and was genetically predisposed to heart disease.

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 Heavyweight Championship The AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship was a title in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the American Wrestling Association. It was primarily defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and t ...

( 3 times) ** AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship (

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 Bob Orton (1) and The Avenger (1) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2006 *

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 ( 3 times) * Championship Wrestling from Florida ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) * Fred Kohler Enterprises ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Chicago Version)'' ( 1 time) – with Danny Plechas * NWA Rocky Mountain ** NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** NWA Rocky Mountain Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Freddie Blassie and Juan Garcia * NWA Tri-State ** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

** NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Southwest Sports, Inc. ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (

) – with Danny Plechas * Western States Sports ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' (1 time) – with Danny Plechas ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 3 times) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' (4 times) – with Danny Plechas (2), Dr. X (1), and Fritz Von Erich (1) ** NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 4 times) - with Art Nelson (1) and Danny Plechas (3) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' Tournament (1957) - with Danny Plechas * Worldwide Wrestling Associates ** WWA Americas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WWA World Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Killer Karl Kox (1) and Karl Gotch (2)WWA World Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com

References

External links