Celebrating Dick the Bruiser
By CHRIS SCHRAMM -- For SLAM! Wrestling
Legends come and go. Some are forgotten. Some are remembered. Some are
remembered in different ways.
Dick Afflis will always be remembered. His career lasted some two
decades. He helped sell tickets when he wrestled in the ring, and some
fans will always be scared remembering the antics of Afflis.
Many knew him at Richard Afflis, but fans across the world knew him as
Dick the Bruiser.
He was immediately drawn into the sport of football growing up. His high
school skills landed him at Purdue University and the University of
Nevada for his college football career. His skills as a tackle drew the
eyes of National Football League scouts. He was soon drafted by the
Green Bay Packers. He played there until 1955.
Afflis was happy with his career on the green grass of the NFL. One day
Leo Nomellini approached Afflis with a career option. Nomellini was a
friend of Afflis and was was a defensive tackle for the San Francisco
49ers. Nomellini encouraged Afflis to give professional wrestling a
shot. Nomellini had wrestled during the off seasons of the NFL, and he
believed Afflis had all the skills to succeed in the ring.
Nomellini saw a hard working man. He did not expect the real Afflis. A
man who did not care about his opponent. Afflis's main goal each time in
the ring were to hurt anyone who got in his way.
Richard Afflis soon made a mark in the ring. "There isn't a man alive I
can't lick," he said. "No man I've ever wrestled has convinced me I
couldn't lick him."
Few remember one instance in which Afflis was in the locker room before
a match. He heard cheering and laughter coming from the sold out crowd.
It is said that cheers were drawn from some girl dancing around for the
mostly male crowd. Afflis entered the arena before his scheduled match
to declare that 'there is no fun when I'm around.'
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 a riot that was said to
be started by Afflis's taunting of the crowd. Two police officers were
among those injured.
One of the most interesting matches in Afflis's career came to a start
in 1963. Afflis was at a Detroit bar owned by Alex Karras. Karras was no
normal man. He was an all-pro defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions.
Karras and Afflis began talking about wrestling when Afflis made a
challenge. Karras quickly accepted, but Afflis tried to have it that
night in the bar. Police were called in after Afflis attacked just about
everyone and everything in the bar and on the streets outside the bar.
The match made headlines across the nation, and some 16,000 fans flocked
to the Detroit Olympia on April 27, 1963. Afflis got a wide cut above
his right eye during the bout, but the pain just angered Afflis more.
Some eleven minutes into the match, Afflis was able to roll-up Karras up
for the win.
Afflis would go on to win the AWA Tag Team title with a number of
partners before ending his career in Detroit and Canada in the late
1970s.
On November 10, 1991, Afflis was found dead at one of his home in Tampa,
Fla. He was 62 at the time.
Chris Schramm is from Lawrence, Kansas and recently graduated with a BA in
Journalism from the University of Kansas. Now he's claiming to be a "full licensed
journalist" (whatever that means!). He's written other excellent historical columns for us, including:
May 7: A history of crowds
Apr. 1: Happy Humphrey was the giant
Mar. 12: Back to Hogan's darker days
Feb. 3: The legacy of Giant BabaNov. 19: The origins of today's WCW-WWF war
Oct. 5: Twenty-eight years was the reign
