Dick Murdoch

He began life as Hart Richard Murdock … son of a legendary wrestler and proud American. He was a redneck … he was a bully in the ring ... he was a barroom brawler ... he was a friend to all in the dressing room. He would gain fame in the wrestling profession with Dusty Rhodes as the Texas Outlaws. He would go on to New York and team with Adrian Adonis and gain more attention. He was a household name … like men before him.

Dick Murdoch returned back to his roots in Amarillo in 1973 and began a campaign to win the Southwest Championship. His travels took him to Albuquerque, El Paso, Hereford, Clovis, Colorado Springs, Lubbock, Odessa and a host of other great towns that made up the Amarillo Territory.

At about the same time, a twosome of The Patriot (Bobby Hart) and his manager, Percival A. Friend, came upon the scene and started disrupting Murdoch's every thought. Murdoch had taken it upon himself to be a fan favorite in his native state of Texas, and people loved him. They didn't take long in doing so, either. Dick had a childish face and a smile that you couldn't forget.

In a television taping in El Paso, Dick came out during one of the matches that had Mack Quinder against The Patriot. He broke into the ringside commentary between Percival and a local announcer. He started berating the ability of The Patriot and challenged him to a match.

I replied back to Mr. Murdoch that he had not attained the stature of having a match with The Patriot and should not bother me any more. He reacted with a huge right fist that caught me right in the middle of the chest and knocked me off the seat I was on. Patriot saw what had happened, dropped Quinder to the mat, jumped from the ring and started defending our honor. He threw Murdoch into the ring and proceeded to beating the stuffing out of him.

Back and forth, the battle went on until the boys in the back emptied out to break it up. I had thought that we had the upper edge when Patriot put the "Watergate roll" on Murdoch in the ring in front of a full studio audience. We had thought that the issue was over and that Murdoch would tuck his tail between his legs and leave.

Murdoch showed us who the real redneck was that evening at the Coliseum. In a tag match with Hurricane Hank James against Nick and Jerry Kozak, Dick charged the ring and joined in with the Kozaks trying to beat us. He involved himself too much, and, suddenly, I evened the odds up by getting myself into the match as well. The referee let Murdoch continue his antics, not offering to stop the match and disqualify those nasty Kozaks.

I had carried a Red, White and Blue galvanized pail with a Red, White and Blue towel and a dark brown glass water bottle with me for the past few months, along with a Tandy three-legged stool with a leather cover on it.

The purpose of these items was to refresh The Patriot during those long three-fall matches.

While seated at ringside, I took about as much abuse as I could stand ... I grabbed the bucket and took the bottle and towel out and jumped into the ring. Hank and Patriot had Murdoch by the arms and held him back when I grabbed the top of the pail and drilled old Captain Redneck right in the top of his head. The rough edge of the pail cut the top of his head open, and he was drenched in his own blood by the time he reached the ropes.

Angry fans started charging the ring, and it was everything we could do to stop the riot. We must have knocked out at least two dozen people before the police could contain the rush of fans. Dick Murdoch had fallen from the ring during the ruckus and was rushed to a local hospital. He vowed to the promotion that he would get his revenge for what I had done to him.

We met Dick Murdoch at Colorado Springs a few weeks later, and he cleaned the ring with both the Patriot and myself in a handicapped tag match. He proved to those fans that he was a brawler and that he could battle with the best of them. He was carried out of the ring on the fans’ shoulders and went in celebration the rest of the evening.

Dick retired from the wrestling business and died a few short years later of a heart attack. I was successful in making peace with him before I left the Amarillo area and am glad that I did. He is certainly missed by the many people he touched in his short life.

Rest in Peace, my friend....

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree