 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Larry Hamilton (1931-03-11)March 11, 1931 St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | July 20, 1996(1996-07-20) (aged 65) St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Missouri Mauler Rocky Hamilton Thunderbolt The Black Secret |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Billed weight | 325 lb (147 kg) |
| Debut | c. 1950 |
| Retired | 1981 |
Larry Edward "Rocky" Hamilton[1] (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), better known by hisring namethe Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in theNational Wrestling Alliance, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s.[2]
One of the earliest professional wrestlers to appear on televised wrestling events, he feuded with many popular wrestlers of the era includingJack Brisco,[3]"Plowboy" Stan Frazier,Steve Keirn,Tim Woods,Tarzan Tyler andFritz Von Erich during his 31-year career.
He is also the older brother of wrestlerJody Hamilton who competed as the masked wrestler the Assassin as well as the uncle of formerWorld Championship Wrestling officialNick Patrick.[2]
Making his debut in the Missouri area during the early 1950s,[1] he began wrestling for promoterEd Don George inBuffalo, New York, where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957[2] headlining an event atMadison Square Garden againstAntonino Rocca andMiguel Perez the following year.[4][1]
Splitting up shortly thereafter, Hamilton and his brother went their separate ways leaving New York in October 1958 with Joseph Hamilton leaving for San Francisco while Larry Hamilton began working for promoterJim Crockett, Sr. in the Carolinas.[1]
It was during his time in what would later becomeJim Crockett Promotions that Larry Hamilton would find his greatest success becoming a major star in the promotion in only a few years.[1] Appearing in the earliest televised matches for the promotion, Hamilton teamed withthe Great Bolo to win the regional tag team title fromMr. Moto andDuke Keomuka in 1959.
The two would remain the top "heel" tag team in the promotion until the early 1960s when Joseph Hamilton was brought into the promotion and began teaming with the Great Bolo in 1961 (the two would continue teaming together asthe Assassins for the next 15 years).[2]
Hamilton and the Masked Bolos (Jody Hamilton andTom Renesto) facedHaystacks Calhoun and the Kentuckyians (John Quinn andGrizzly Smith) in a series of six-man tag team matches during the next year setting several attendance records in the Carolina-Virginia area including an event held theGreenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina.
During the early 1970s, Hamilton formed a successful tag team withJim "Brute" Bernard winning the Texas-based NWA America and NWA Atlantic Coast tag team titles between 1971 and 1972.
Following his retirement in 1981, Hamilton entered bail bonding and was involved in the St. James Catholic Church in his hometown St. Joseph, Missouri.[1] In later years, Hamilton lived with his elderly mother and underwent hip replacement surgery,[1] but remained in relatively good health until his death from a heart attack on July 20, 1996.[2]
1Note: This promotion, though named World Championship Wrestling, was an NWA affiliated promotion based out of Australia and operated from the 60's to the 90's. This promotion should not be confused with the U.S.-basedWorld Championship Wrestling once owned byTed Turner and sold toWorld Wrestling Entertainment in 2001.