Warren Bockwinkel (often misspelled Bockwinkle, May 21, 1911 – March 25, 1986) was an American professional wrestler.

Career

Bockwinkel 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 ...

and North American regional promotions during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. One of the earliest wrestlers to appear on television, he teamed with many of the top wrestlers of the day including Ray Vilmer,

Killer Kowalski Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...

and "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Although he never won a world title during his career, he was involved in many high-profile feuds including against Ernie Dusek,

Paul Boesch Paul Max Boesch (October 2, 1912March 7, 1989) was an American professional wrestler and promoter, most famous for his work as an announcer and promoter for Houston Wrestling. He also spent several stints working with the Universal Wrestling Fed ...

, Sandor Szabo,

George Zaharias Theodore Vetoyanis ( el, Θεόδωρος Βετογιάνης, February 27, 1908 – May 22, 1984) was an American professional wrestler and sports promoter known by his ring name George Zaharias. He was also popularly known as "The Crying Greek ...

and NWA World Heavyweight Champion

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 ...

. He was also the trainer of several wrestlers of the "Golden Age of Wrestling"-era including

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

and, along with

, his son

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel ...

who would eventually become a major star in the

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 ...

winning the

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

six times during the 1970s and 1980s. By 1955, he had retired, only coming out of retirement for a match with Hans Schmidt on October 2, 1957. Bockwinkel was inducted into the

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is a List of professional wrestling halls of fame, professional wrestling hall of fame museum located within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's National Wrestling Hall o ...

in 2010. It is said that Bockwinkel wrestled a match in 1983 at 72 years old but is unverified.

Personal life

A personal friend of promoter

Lord James Blears Lord Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality. Early life Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, E ...

, he convinced Blears to allow Nick Bockwinkel to compete in his

NWA Hawaii 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...

territory and later teamed with his son during the early 1950s. His son, Nick, later acknowledged his father in his induction speeches for the

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 ...

in 2003 and 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 ind ...

in 2007.

Death

Bockwinkel died on March 25, 1986.

References

External links

SLAM! Wrestling: 2nd-gen grapplers reflect on their Dads
by Greg Oliver

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bockwinkel, Warren 1911 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Missouri Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers

Career

Personal life

Death

Further reading

References

External links