Dick The Bruiser |
|
He was born William Richard Afflis in Delphi, Indiana on June 27, 1929. He grew up in Indianapolis and attended Purdue University, where he played varsity football. He was later recruited by the Green Bay Packers in the early 1950's, where he was a lineman. He hit everything in his path and sent a lot of players to the hospital. It was during his football days that he became a professional wrestler and soon dominated the entire Midwest. He went to CKLW-TV in Windsor and began a weekly wrestling show on Thursday nights that could be seen as far away as Flint to the North, Toledo to the South and Cleveland to the East. It was also sold to the Chicago market, where it was seen in major cities like Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Evansville and Louisville. Dick feuded with guys like Wilbur Snyder, Cowboy Bob Ellis and Pepper Gomez. He was also very influential in holding a tag team partnership with Reggie Lisowski. His antics in and out of the ring were sometimes disastrous and even ended up with a suspension in New York following a riot in the earlier part of his time in the ring. On November 19, 1958, Afflis was teaming up with Dr. Jerry Graham to take on Antonino Rocca and Edouard Carpentier in front of a sold out crowd at New York's Madison Square Garden. Some 300 were injured during the match following the riot that was said to be started by Afflis’ taunting of the crowd. Two police officers were among those injured. The commission for the state of New York took a dim view of Dick's tactics and treated it with the harshest penalty it could by not letting him wrestle there for the rest of his life. In 1963, Dick was starting a feud with former Detroit Lions football star Alex Karras. He went to the bar that Karras owned and started a fight with him that eventually ended with many people being thrown through a window that was six feet off the floor. It just so happened that a couple of those people were Detroit's finest policemen. The match made headlines across the nation, and some 16,000 fans flocked to the Detroit Olympia on April 27, 1963. Afflis received a wide cut above his right eye during the bout. Eleven minutes into the match, Dick was able to roll-up Karras up for the win. Afflis was given a huge fine for the damages to the bar and the policemen and fans that were hurt in the fight. He left Detroit and did not return until the late 1960's, when that fine was finally paid by a conglomerate that wanted Dick back in Detroit to go in opposition to The Sheik, who was making quite a name for himself at the Cobo Arena. During his career, he would headline many cards all over the world. He formed the AWA with partners and ran it successfully from 1964 into the 1980's. At first, he was billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Wrestler," giving no quarter to any of the people he wrestled. It didn't matter to Dick, as he treated his opponents all the same. He would run right at you and rip the flesh right from your body while he was applying some of the most vicious holds taught to him by Leo Nomellini. It was Nomellini that talked Dick into the wrestling business, and, later, he made the statement that he might have made the biggest mistake of his life by doing so. Dick also had epic battles with guys like Ox Baker, Baron Von Raschke, Jimmy & Johnny Valiant, Moose Cholak, Verne Gagne, and the list could go on and on. These are matches that are still talked about to this day by some of the best writers in the business. Later in his career, Dick would become a fan favorite when he came to the aid of Wilbur Snyder, a former foe of his. He had many bloody battles with Wilbur in most of the huge arenas that dotted the Midwest. They both ended up in hospitals following some of those battles. Dick retired to Florida in the mid-1980's and worked as a talent agent for WCW. He helped to direct the careers of some up and coming talent that were fighting against the World Wrestling Federation for dominance of the business. Dick suffered a massive heart attack on November 10, 1991 following a daily workout as he was training for a comeback in the ring at the age of 62. I had the opportunity to know Dick the Bruiser both in and out of the ring. He was a man that demanded respect and gave back that same respect if you stood up to him. He was a great family man that loved life and lived it to the fullest. He was an icon before the word had any meaning. Rest in Peace, William "Dick the Bruiser" Afflis.
Percival A. Friend,
Retired
|
Comments to Percival can be made and a reply will be given if you include your addy in the E-mail to [email protected] |
E-mail the site designer at [email protected]