Bronko Lubich

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this short column for this week.

As a young man growing up in Flint, Michigan, we had access to a TV station out of Windsor, Canada, some 60 miles away. Every Thursday night, wrestling would be on at 9 p.m. It was the only weeknight I was allowed to "stay up" while going to school.

I watched stars like Dick "The Bruiser," Wilbur Snyder, Pepper Gomez, Dr. Timothy Goehagen, The Sharpe Brothers, The Brunnetti Brothers and many other stars that came to wrestle in the Great Lakes area.

Probably the duo that I didn't like the most was the pairing of manager Bronko Lubich and Angelo Poffo. Bronko was a cane carrying, tuxedo wearing man that injected himself into many matches when Angelo was getting the living snot beat out of him by guys like Snyder.

Poffo's signature move was the "Italian Neck Breaker," but, sometimes, the match was won by the maniacal cane swinging manager, Lubich.

Following a run of over three years as the United States Champ, Angelo and Lubich beat all the competition they could muster from the various promoters and moved on to greener pastures. Angelo went to Kentucky and headed up his own promotion, and Bronko went to Dallas, Texas to work in the wrestling office there.

Bronko was a mainstay in WCCW as a head referee and was part of the booking team that supplied wrestlers to all the towns under the Dallas based promotion.

His passing will leave a huge void in professional wrestling as well as in his own private life. Bronko was a friend to many and enemy of none.

May the ring ropes in the sky open up for this great man of our business. Rest in Peace, Mr. Lubich.

Percival: "This is Bronko and my webmaster, Rob Moore, at a Texas Shootout given by Red Bastien, past President of the CAC."
(Photo from the Rob Moore collection.)

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Percival: "This is a very young pose of Dewey Robertson around the 1960 era, when I first met him."
(Photo courtesy of Slam Wrestling.)

Also, this past week, I was informed that Dewey Robertson was admitted to a hospital in Hamilton, Ontario with terminal cancer. His prognosis was very grave, and he is not expected to return home.

I watched this young man, along with Murray Cummings, at the old Flint Armory, doing battle with Steve Zold, Johnny Gates, Ricky Cortez and many others in his first few years of wrestling professionally. He was a crowd pleaser and knew what he was doing in the ring.

Please remember Dewey in your thoughts and prayers. Maybe God will see fit to keep him with us for a while longer. I certainly hope so. Keep your chin up pal, a lot of us are pulling for you.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree