Post by tystates on Feb 1, 2010 21:41:44 GMT -5
www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/feb/01/wrestling-great-jack-brisco-dead-68/
Wrestling great Jack Brisco dead at 68
By Mike Mooneyham
The Post and Courier
Monday, February 1, 2010
Jack Brisco, a former two-time NWA world titleholder and NCAA heavyweight champion, passed away Monday at the age of 68.
Brisco, one of the top wrestlers of his era and regarded as one of the most talented pure wrestlers in the history of the sport, died due to complications from open heart surgery.
Brisco was a world-class athlete — a three-time high school state champion in Blackwell, Okla., and an all-state fullback on the football team. He passed up a chance to play for the legendary Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma Sooners in order to wrestle for national powerhouse Oklahoma State, where he was NCAA runner-up in 1964 at 191 pounds and champion the following year, finishing the season without a single loss.
The two-time All-American was the first Native American to win an NCAA wrestling national championship.
Brisco achieved even more fame in the pro ranks. His lengthy program with then-NWA world champion Dory Funk Jr. in the early ‘70s is considered by many experts to be the gold standard for superior technical wrestling.
“I must have wrestled Jack 300 times, and they were all a pleasure to work,” said Funk. “He was the smoothest worker I’ve ever been in the ring with. He could do anything that was asked of him. He could accomplish anything that you wanted him to accomplish. He had that fabulous background. I never had a bad match with Jack — as a heel or a babyface. He was just a terrific worker.”
“There are few champions that resonate throughout the world of sports as Jack Brisco,” said Bill Murdock, author of “Brisco,” published in 2004. “From his early days on the mat in Oklahoma at Blackwell High School (winning three state championships), to winning the NCAA championship at Oklahoma State and on to capturing the world heavyweight championship on two occasions, Jack set a standard for every champion on the mat or in the ring that was to follow.”
Brisco’s legacy in the pro ranks also would include a pair of significant developments later in his career.
Brisco was partly responsible for breaking Hulk Hogan into the business after “discovering” a powerfully built individual named Terry Bollea playing bass guitar in a rock band at a local Tampa bar. Brisco arranged for the muscle-bound musician, who just happened to be a wrestling fan and frequented the Tampa armory on Tuesday nights to watch Brisco wrestle, to meet with longtime Florida promoter Eddie Graham and trainer Hiro Matsuda the next morning. Bollea later changed his name to Hulk Hogan, and the rest is history.
As a part owner of the Florida and Georgia promotions, Brisco also was a key player in the 1984 acquisition of WTBS wrestling programming rights by WWE owner Vince McMahon, a pivotal point in wrestling history commonly referred to as “Black Saturday.” Brisco, along with brother Jerry, covertly sold Georgia Championship Wrestling to McMahon, claiming business partner Ole Anderson (Al “Rock” Rogowski) was running the company into the ground.
Jack, along with brother Jerry, also held the world tag-team belts on numerous occasions. The two were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
Brisco was a childhood hero of WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross.
“I got to know Jack on a more personal level when I went to work in WWE in 1993, as I worked closely with Jack’s brother Jerry in the talent relations department,” said Ross. “Jerry recruited our best-ever signees from the amateur ranks. Plus Jerry and I joined forces to sign both Chris Jericho and the Big Show with ‘in-home’ recruiting visits in Tampa. Jerry became my closest confidant, and with that came another blessing for me ... getting to know, on a personal level, Jerry’s big brother, the great Jack Brisco.”
“There have been some great amateurs who turned pro, guys like Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne and Kurt Angle, but in my opinion, Jack Brisco was the greatest amateur-turned-professional in wrestling history,” said longtime Florida star Mike Graham.
Jack was not only my childhood hero — he was one of my very best friends,” said former pro star Brian Blair. “If Jack could just come to one more lunch to say goodbye to everyone, if he could have one more road trip with us or pull one more rib on someone ... I pray that the good Lord will comfort his soul and his family. I know we will all miss Jack Brisco — the legend, the best pure wrestler to ever wear the tights. Jack was a husband, father and one of my closest confidants.”
Brisco retired from the ring in the early 1980s, opting to forego the grueling travel schedule that the business demanded, and returned to Florida where he opened the Brisco Brothers’ Body Shop.
“His knowledge and vision of and for the sport helped usher in a new era that wrestling fans are following and enjoying today,” added Murdock. “Few have had the influence or has left such an indelible mark on the sport of wrestling, or any other sport for that matter, as Jack Brisco.”
Wrestling great Jack Brisco dead at 68
By Mike Mooneyham
The Post and Courier
Monday, February 1, 2010
Jack Brisco, a former two-time NWA world titleholder and NCAA heavyweight champion, passed away Monday at the age of 68.
Brisco, one of the top wrestlers of his era and regarded as one of the most talented pure wrestlers in the history of the sport, died due to complications from open heart surgery.
Brisco was a world-class athlete — a three-time high school state champion in Blackwell, Okla., and an all-state fullback on the football team. He passed up a chance to play for the legendary Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma Sooners in order to wrestle for national powerhouse Oklahoma State, where he was NCAA runner-up in 1964 at 191 pounds and champion the following year, finishing the season without a single loss.
The two-time All-American was the first Native American to win an NCAA wrestling national championship.
Brisco achieved even more fame in the pro ranks. His lengthy program with then-NWA world champion Dory Funk Jr. in the early ‘70s is considered by many experts to be the gold standard for superior technical wrestling.
“I must have wrestled Jack 300 times, and they were all a pleasure to work,” said Funk. “He was the smoothest worker I’ve ever been in the ring with. He could do anything that was asked of him. He could accomplish anything that you wanted him to accomplish. He had that fabulous background. I never had a bad match with Jack — as a heel or a babyface. He was just a terrific worker.”
“There are few champions that resonate throughout the world of sports as Jack Brisco,” said Bill Murdock, author of “Brisco,” published in 2004. “From his early days on the mat in Oklahoma at Blackwell High School (winning three state championships), to winning the NCAA championship at Oklahoma State and on to capturing the world heavyweight championship on two occasions, Jack set a standard for every champion on the mat or in the ring that was to follow.”
Brisco’s legacy in the pro ranks also would include a pair of significant developments later in his career.
Brisco was partly responsible for breaking Hulk Hogan into the business after “discovering” a powerfully built individual named Terry Bollea playing bass guitar in a rock band at a local Tampa bar. Brisco arranged for the muscle-bound musician, who just happened to be a wrestling fan and frequented the Tampa armory on Tuesday nights to watch Brisco wrestle, to meet with longtime Florida promoter Eddie Graham and trainer Hiro Matsuda the next morning. Bollea later changed his name to Hulk Hogan, and the rest is history.
As a part owner of the Florida and Georgia promotions, Brisco also was a key player in the 1984 acquisition of WTBS wrestling programming rights by WWE owner Vince McMahon, a pivotal point in wrestling history commonly referred to as “Black Saturday.” Brisco, along with brother Jerry, covertly sold Georgia Championship Wrestling to McMahon, claiming business partner Ole Anderson (Al “Rock” Rogowski) was running the company into the ground.
Jack, along with brother Jerry, also held the world tag-team belts on numerous occasions. The two were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
Brisco was a childhood hero of WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross.
“I got to know Jack on a more personal level when I went to work in WWE in 1993, as I worked closely with Jack’s brother Jerry in the talent relations department,” said Ross. “Jerry recruited our best-ever signees from the amateur ranks. Plus Jerry and I joined forces to sign both Chris Jericho and the Big Show with ‘in-home’ recruiting visits in Tampa. Jerry became my closest confidant, and with that came another blessing for me ... getting to know, on a personal level, Jerry’s big brother, the great Jack Brisco.”
“There have been some great amateurs who turned pro, guys like Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne and Kurt Angle, but in my opinion, Jack Brisco was the greatest amateur-turned-professional in wrestling history,” said longtime Florida star Mike Graham.
Jack was not only my childhood hero — he was one of my very best friends,” said former pro star Brian Blair. “If Jack could just come to one more lunch to say goodbye to everyone, if he could have one more road trip with us or pull one more rib on someone ... I pray that the good Lord will comfort his soul and his family. I know we will all miss Jack Brisco — the legend, the best pure wrestler to ever wear the tights. Jack was a husband, father and one of my closest confidants.”
Brisco retired from the ring in the early 1980s, opting to forego the grueling travel schedule that the business demanded, and returned to Florida where he opened the Brisco Brothers’ Body Shop.
“His knowledge and vision of and for the sport helped usher in a new era that wrestling fans are following and enjoying today,” added Murdock. “Few have had the influence or has left such an indelible mark on the sport of wrestling, or any other sport for that matter, as Jack Brisco.”
