 Curry in 1967 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Fred Thomas Koury Sr.[4] (1913-05-02)May 2, 1913[4] Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.[3] |
| Died | March 8, 1985(1985-03-08) (aged 71)[2] Columbus, Ohio, U.S.[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | "Wild" Bull Curry |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Hartford, Connecticut[2] |
| Trained by | Adam Weissmuller[3] |
| Debut | 1932 |
| Retired | 1979[3] |
Fred Thomas Koury Sr. (May 2, 1913 – March 8, 1985), best known under hisring name"Wild Bull" Curry, was an Americanprofessional wrestler ofLebanese descent. He is recognized as the originator of thehardcore style, predating legends such asThe Sheik,Abdullah the Butcher, andBruiser Brody.[5]
Born on May 2, 1913, he lived in the east end ofHartford, Connecticut.[6] He was ofLebanese descent, and grew up with five siblings.[6] At the age of sixteen, Curry left high school and joined the circus in order to help provide for his four brothers and sisters.[3] His job at the circus was that of the “tough man” who took on all comers from the audience in a fight. He had 65 straight wins without anyone going past one 5-minute round.[4] In 1939, Curry joined the Hartford Police Department, where he put his “tough man” background to good use in the streets, quickly earning him a reputation for toughness.[3] In a probably apocryphal story presumably devised by wrestling promoters to explain his nickname, Curry wrestled to the ground a wild steer bull that had broken out of the Hartford stockyard and run wild in the streets.[4][7]
In the 1940s, Curry began wrestling inDetroit under the promoter Adam Weissmuller.[3] While there, Curry developed his brutal, hardcore style of wrestling that made him a top name in the territory. In July 1940, Curry faced the retiredprofessional boxerJack Dempsey in anexhibition match.[8][9] Years later, Curry would often claim that he had knocked Dempsey out in the match, but he was actually stopped in the second round.[10]
In the early part of the 1950s, Bull Curry relocated toTexas, where his combination of unpredictable violence, unique look and intensity made him a star more or less immediately upon arrival.[4][7] Curry's brawling style made him a success but it also kept the promoters from giving him the “main” title of the territory despite being the biggest draw in the territory.[11] Instead of letting Curry win the top title of the Texas territory, the bookers created a brand new title to match his hardcore style of wrestling: theNWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship, which he won on March 6, 1953, in a tournament final overDanny McShain.[12] From that year onwards until 1967, Curry personified the Texas Brass Knuckles Championship as he held it 20 times, defeating such names includingFritz Von Erich,Tony Borne,Waldo Von Erich,Louie Tillet,Killer Karl Kox andBrute Bernard for the title.[12] Also in 1953, Curry would briefly hold the Texas version of theNWA World Tag Team Championship with Lucas Pertano, as well as theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship for three weeks.[12]
Bull Curry's son Fred Thomas Koury, Jr. would later start wrestling as"Flying" Fred Curry. Unlike his father, Fred was a clean cut, high flyingface, but the two Currys teamed up on a regular basis. The two won theNWA International Tag Team Championship in 1964 and held it until 1966,[12] as well as beatingNikolai and Boris Volkoff for the Ohio version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[2] Fred's eventual attempts to get out of his father's shadow never caused any problems between the two Currys.[13] Bull retired from wrestling in 1979 and worked as a corrections officer.[3][14]
His grandson, Fred Curry Jr. also is a wrestler.
Bull Curry's trademark was his “wildman” look with bushy eyebrows, maniacal facial expressions and insane eyes that could scare the crowd just by looking at them. In one case, he scared a girl at ringside so badly she had to be carried from the ring in terror.[15] This wild look, coupled with his wild brawling style, made Curry one of the most dislikedheels in wrestling. Other wrestlers also refused to work with Curry as they felt he seldom showed the effects of their offense.[7] He was so hated in places that riots broke out more than once as irate fans attacked Curry in the ring.[16]
Koury died fromliver disease at a hospital on March 8, 1985, at the age of 71.[3]
Curry stands six-foot one-inch tall and weighs 220 pounds.
"His face scared me" she said.
