| Jack Brisco | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Brisco in 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Freddie Joe Brisco | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1941-09-21)September 21, 1941[1][2] Seminole, Oklahoma, U.S.[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | February 1, 2010(2010-02-01) (aged 68)[3] Tampa, Florida, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
| Cause of death | Complications fromcardiac surgery | |||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Oklahoma State University | |||||||||||||||||
| Family | Gerald Brisco (brother) Wes Brisco (nephew) | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional wrestling career | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ring name(s) | Jack Brisco Tiger Brisco[1] Uvalde Slim[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Billed weight | 234 lb (106 kg)[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Billed from | Blackwell, Oklahoma, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
| Trained by | Leroy McGuirk[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Debut | May 15, 1965[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Retired | February 28, 1985[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Sports career | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Freddie Joe "Jack"Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an Americanamateur wrestler andprofessional wrestler. As an amateur forOklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won theNCAADivision I national championship. He turned pro shortly after and performed for variousterritories of theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA), becoming a two-timeNWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-timeNWA World Tag Team Champion with his brotherGerald Brisco.
Brisco is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of his era. Legendary championLou Thesz described him as "one of the toughest and most highly skilled wrestlers of the last 50 years".[5]Don Leo Jonathan called him "probably the greatest champion of the 20th century."[6] In the late 1970s, the Brisco brothers discoveredTerry Bollea, the future wrestling legend best known as Hulk Hogan, whom they introduced toHiro Matsuda for training.
Brisco was raised inBlackwell, Oklahoma, with five siblings.[1] He grew up as a fan of professional wrestling, and particularly a fan ofLou Thesz,Danny Hodge andDick Hutton.[7] Brisco started wrestling in high school and was a three-time state champion at Blackwell, Oklahoma. He was also an all-state fullback on the high schoolfootball team. He was followed by his younger brother,Gerald Brisco, into sport wrestling and turned down a football scholarship atUniversity of Oklahoma to go toOklahoma State. During his junior year in 1964, he was NCAA runner-up in the 191 lbs weight class. In 1965, he improved on his finish, and by doing so became the first partNative American to win anNCAA WrestlingNational Championship.[8] During this senior campaign, he wasn't taken down once during the entire season.
Brisco's first documented professional wrestling championship reign began on October 16, 1965, when he defeatedDon Kent to win the NWA Missouri Junior Heavyweight Championship.[9] He held the belt for less than a month, and regained it in November by defeating Kent again.[9] Around this time, Brisco also wrestled forNWA Tri-State. While there, he won a couple of state titles (the Oklahoma Heavyweight Championship and the Arkansas Heavyweight Championship).[10][11] He also won his first tag team title in this promotion, teaming withHaystacks Calhoun for his first reign as co-holder of the Tri-State version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship.[12] He later held the title again, as he teamed with Gorgeous George, Jr. to win the belts on May 9, 1967.[12]
Brisco then moved to the Florida area, where he wrestled forChampionship Wrestling from Florida for several years. His first title there was theNWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship, which he won on February 11, 1969, by defeatingThe Missouri Mauler.[13] Hedropped the title to the Mauler and regained it on July 8.[13] Two weeks later, he won the first of an eventual tenNWA Florida Tag Team Championships, withCiclon Negro.[14] Although he and Negro dropped the tag team belts the following month, Brisco held the Southern Heavyweight Title until November 1969, when he left the area to wrestle in Japan and Australia.[13]
When Brisco returned to Florida, he began teaming with his brother, who he had trained in professional wrestling. He also continued competing as a singles wrestler, winning theNWA Florida Television Championship on November 27, 1970.[15] On February 16, 1971, the Briscos teamed up to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship.[14] They dropped the belts the next month toDory Funk, Jr. andTerry Funk and regained them from the Funks in April.[14] That month, Brisco also beat Terry Funk in a singles match to win the NWA Florida Television Championship again.[15] Brisco's next major success was regaining the Southern Heavyweight Championship fromDick Murdoch on June 8, 1971.[13] The title was later held up after a controversial rematch with Murdoch.[13]
Brisco then took a short break from Florida wrestling to work forMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. While there, he won theNWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship twice by defeating The Missouri Mauler and Rip Hawk.[16]
Upon his return to Florida, he quickly won theNWA Florida Brass Knuckles Championship fromPaul Jones on June 13, 1972, and vacated it the same day.[17] He then won his third and final Television Championship on November 7, 1972.[15] Nine days later, he won the Tag Team Championship, again with his brother.[14]
Brisco's firstNWA World Heavyweight Championship win was scheduled to be overDory Funk Jr., capping off a multi-year feud. However, Dory claimed to be injured in a truck accident and missed the scheduled date. Brisco andTerry Funk were sent out to make the bookings that were already scheduled for Brisco, and Dory later lost the title toHarley Race. Brisco and several others within the NWA power structure always questioned the legitimacy of the accident, claiming Dory Funk Sr. did not want his son to lose to a "pure" wrestler and harm his credibility[7] Brisco won the title from Race after a brief reign, inHouston, Texas, on July 20, 1973.[18] He defended the championship in NWA-affiliated promotions across the world facing top names like Johnny Valentine, Stan Stasiak, Abdullah The Butcher, Gene Kiniski, The Sheik and Bobby Shane until losing toGiant Baba on December 4, 1974. He regained it four days later.[18] Brisco then defended the title until losing it toTerry Funk on December 10, 1975. His loss continued the extensivefeud between the Briscos and Funks,[18] which went on for several more years.[7] During his initial reign as champion, Brisco toured Australia where he successfully defended his title against local favorite,Spiros Arion.
In 1976, Brisco wrestled in several promotions and continued to add to his list of titles. He won theMemphis version of theNWA Southern Heavyweight Championship on August 10, 1976, by defeating local favoriteJerry Lawler.[19] He won theNWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship fromBob Backlund on November 26.[20] At this time, the Briscos were also awarded theESA International Tag Team Championship, although they did not wrestle as a team in the area.[21]
Wrestling in Florida again, Brisco teamed with his brother to win several more championships. In 1977, they defeatedBob Orton, Jr. andBob Roop for the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship.[14] They lost the title toOx Baker andSuperstar Billy Graham and soon regained it in a rematch.[14] On January 25, 1978, they won the belts again by defeatingIvan Koloff andMr. Saito.[14] While holding these belts, they also won theNWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship on February 21, fromMike Graham andSteve Keirn.[22] They dropped the United States tag belts back to Graham and Keirn but soon regained them.[22] They were defeated for the United States title byKiller Karl Kox andBobby Duncum, and were again successful in regaining it in a rematch.[22] The same thing happened when the Briscos faced Mr. Saito andMr. Sato that year: they lost the belts and quickly won them back.[22] The Briscos also defeated Saito and Sato to regain the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship.[14] The following year, another victory over Saito and Sato earned the Briscos their final United States Tag Team Championship reign.[22]
The Briscos also had success inGeorgia Championship Wrestling, where they won theNWA Georgia Tag Team Championship twice. They competed in a tournament for the tag team belts and finished in second place after a loss to the Funks.[23] They defeated the Funks for the belts two months later.[23] On November 25, 1979, the Briscos defeatedAustin Idol andThe Masked Superstar to win the belts a second time.[23] Jack gave up his share of the title, however, toOle Anderson.[23] Later that year, Brisco became the firstNWA National Heavyweight Champion by defeating Terry Funk in a tournament final.[24]
In 1980, Brisco resumed wrestling in Florida. He won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship again, teaming withJimmy Garvin this time.[14] After losing the belts, Brisco teamed with his brother to win them for a final time.[14]
In 1981, Brisco won his final Southern Heavyweight Championship by defeatingBobby Jaggers.[13] He finished his time in Florida with two reigns as co-holder of Florida's version of theNWA North American Tag Team Championship. He and his brother won a tournament to win their first title, defeating Assassin #1 and Bobby Jaggers in the finals.[25] They lost the belts to the Funks on January 9, 1982, and regained them in a rematch one week later.[25]
Brisco also wrestled inPuerto Rico in 1981, for theWorld Wrestling Council. He won theWWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship on May 30, and held it for almost seven months.[26] He teamed with his brother to win theWWC North American Tag Team Championship fromLos Pastores (better known as The Bushwhackers) on August 8, holding it for six weeks before dropping it toThe Fabulous Kangaroos.[27] Brisco also returned to Missouri in 1981, defeatingTed DiBiase to win a second NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship.[20] He held the belt for three weeks before losing it toKen Patera.[20]
In 1982, Brisco returned to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He regained the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (formerly called the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship) by defeatingRoddy Piper on May 10, 1982.[28] He dropped the title back to Piper on July 7 and regained it in August.[28] After his matches with Piper, Brisco traded the title back and forth with Paul Jones several times. He lost the belt to Jones on September 1 and won it back on October 18.[28] Jones won the belt again a week later, and dropped it back to Brisco in November.[28]
Brisco teamed with his brother to win theMid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times. As heels, they beatRicky Steamboat andJay Youngblood for the belts on June 18, 1983.[29] This set up a rivalry in which the belts switched hands several times. Steamboat and Youngblood regained the belts on October 3, but the Briscos won them back on October 21.[29] They held the title for a little over a month before dropping it back to Steamboat and Youngblood.[29] The Briscos again won the belts the following year, fromWahoo McDaniel andMark Youngblood.[29]
The Briscos acquired minority interests inGeorgia Championship Wrestling and, in 1984, convinced a majority (52%) of the shareholders to sell their shares toVince McMahon, enabling him to increase his dominance of the professional wrestling world. The popular story that the Briscos were offered lifetime jobs with the WWF in exchange for selling their interests in Georgia Championship Wrestling was refuted by Jack Brisco in a 1996 interview forWrestling Perspective.[30]
On December 28, 1984, the Briscos challenged the North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis andDick Murdoch) for theWWF Tag Team Championship inMadison Square Garden. The match ended in a double count-out, and was Jack Brisco's last high-profile bout.
Jack left the business entirely in February 1985, at the age of 43, after becoming disillusioned with the direction of the sport, citing a lack of amateur wrestlers in the professional ranks and the growing reliance on soap opera storylines.[31]
Brisco was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005.[32] Brisco lived inFlorida where he ran theBrisco Brothers Body Shop with brothers Gerald and Bill for over 30 years.[1] He has also made occasional wrestling appearances such as Florida'sWrestle Reunion in January 2005.[33] Brisco is considered one of the great legendary wrestlers of the 1970s and has often been cited as such byRic Flair during his emotionalpromos. Brisco and his brother Gerald were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008.
Over the final few years of his life Jack suffered from bouts of pneumonia and back problems. He had been a heavy smoker. On February 1, 2010, Brisco died at the age of 68 fromcomplications ofopen heart surgery.[6] He was survived by his wife of over 30 years. At the time of his death, he was being treated under the caring of his friend, fellow retired wrestler-turned-nurseBugsy McGraw.
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