WILLIAM AFFLIS

(Redirected from Dick the Bruiser)

'William Richard Afflis' (June 27, 1929–November 10, 1991) was an American football player and an professional wrestler best known as 'Dick the Bruiser'.
Born in Delphi, Indiana, Afflis grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Shortridge High School. Afflis played varsity football at Purdue University and played for the Green Bay Packers in the early 1950s, as a lineman, before he became a pro wrestler. In the late 50's, Dick the Bruiser wrestled live every Thursday on TV in the Detroit area. His typical opponent was "an up and coming young (unknown) wrestler" who would be pulverized by the Bruiser. His matches and interviews were so effective he became a household name in the Detroit area. His only defeat on live TV was at the hands of Cowboy Bob Ellis. However, in two rematches with Ellis at the Olympia in Detroit, Bruiser was victorious.

Afflis, along with fellow wrestler and business partner Wilbur Snyder, purchased the Indianapolis NWA promotion in 1964 from its longtime owner Jim Barnett. Afflis renamed the territory the WWA and promoted himself as its champion. While he ran it as an independant promotion with its own titles and champion, the WWA had a working agreement with the larger AWA (owned by wrestler Verne Gagne), sharing talent and recognizing their championships. This agreement benefitted both Promotions and led to the Bruiser having multiple AWA Tag-Team Title reigns, primarily with legendary tag team partner, The Crusher who was billed as his "cousin". The Bruiser was the first to christen Manager Bobby Heenan with the nickname of "The Weasel" during his run in the territory. Afflis' WWA ran from 1964 until 1989, when Afflis finally tired of losing talent, TV, and fan attendance to the WWF.
Afflis, with his charisma, NFL notoriety, and gravely voiced, tough-guy persona was a legitimate cross-media star, becoming something of a hero in the Indianapolis area. Indianapolis native, David Letterman, would later name his television show's band "The World's Most Dangerous Band" as a derivation of Dick the Bruiser's nickname, "The World's Most Dangerous Wrestler." The moniker "Dick the Bruiser" was even used in the 1980's by George Baier, a co-host of the morning drive show on Detroit rock radio station WRIF-FM. Baier's "Richard T. Bruiser" was an effective, entertaining impersonation of Afflis.
After retiring, Dick Afflis worked as a talent agent for WCW. He died of a heart attack after completing his daily morning workout on November 10, 1991.

Contents

Championships and accomplishments

External links

Championships and accomplishments

★ 'American Wrestling Association'
:
★ AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
:
★ AWA World Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with The Crusher

★ 'Japan Wrestling Association'
:
★ NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Crusher

★ 'Mid-Pacific Promotions'
:
★ NWA United States Heavyweight Championshp ''(Hawaii version)'' (1 time)

★ 'NWA Chicago'
:
★ NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (''Chicago version'') (1 time)
:
★ NWA World Tag Team Championship (''Chicago version'') (1 time) - with Gene Kiniski

★ 'NWA Detroit'
:
★ NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (''Detroit version'') (4 times)

★ 'Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame'
:
★ (Class of 2005)

★ 'St. Louis Wrestling Club'
:
★ NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

★ 'World Championship Wrestling'
:
★ WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)

★ 'World Wrestling Association'
:
★ WWA World Heavyweight Championship (11 times)
:
★ WWA World Tag Team Championship (14 times) - with The Crusher (6), Wilbur Snyder (3), Bruno Sammartino (1), Bill Miller (1), Spike Huber (1), Jeff Van Kamp (1), and Bobby Colt (1)

★ 'World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)'
:
★ WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

★ 'Other Titles'
:
★ World Heavyweight Championship (''Omaha version'') (1 time)

External links

★ http://www.nuvo.net/archive/oldarts/articlex88.html

★ http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/wrestlers/dickthebruiser2.html

★ http://www.motorcityrock.com/bands/dick_the_bruiser_band/dick_the_bruiser_band_audio.html

★ Article from SLAM! Wrestling