Dick Murdoch
Encyclopedia
Hoyt Richard "Dick" Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

.

Professional wrestling career

A second-generation wrestler, the son of 1950s Texas wrestler Frankie Hill Murdoch, Dick Murdoch grew up with fellow second-generation wrestlers Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Funk, Jr.
Dory Ernest Funk Jr. known professionally as Dory Funk, Jr. is a professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional...

 and Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...

, watching their fathers fight all around Texas. Frank Murdoch held the NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship
NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship defended in the Amarillo, Texas territory of the National Wrestling Alliance.-Title history:...

 three times in his career.

Dick Murdoch started wrestling in 1965 as Ron Carson in a tag team with Don Carson. He soon started wrestling under his real name. In 1968, he formed a tag team that would continue throughout the early 1970s with Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...

 called "The Texas Outlaws". After splitting with Rhodes, he wrestled for Florida Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

, and Mid-South Wrestling.

His most noted work as a wrestler came in Mid-South Wrestling in the early 1980s, where he teamed with Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...

. The pair was the most popular champions in the region, attracting the hardcore, working class white fans with his "Captain Redneck" persona and JYD drawing the support of the black fan base. Their feud with the Fabulous Freebirds was perhaps Mid-South's most compelling storyline.

In 1984, he went to the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 and formed a tag team with Adrian Adonis
Adrian Adonis
Keith A. Franke was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.-Career:Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his own name...

 that captured the World Tag Team Titles. He left the WWF in 1985 after dropping the tag-team title to the US Express and wrestled in Mid-South Wrestling briefly before turning up in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...

 in 1986. He feuded with Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....

 and attempted to win Flair's NWA World Title.

In early 1987, Murdoch joined Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Petrov in their attempt to get Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff
Nikita Koloff is a retired American professional wrestler,. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he wrestled as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, which was a play on the nickname of fan favorite "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes .Nikita was brought into the National...

 and Dusty Rhodes. Murdoch, who at the time held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship
NWA United States Tag Team Championship
The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used by several championships that were or currently are under the National Wrestling Alliance 's supervision:...

 with Ivan, injured Nikita's neck after a brain-buster suplex on the floor that summer, resulting in Murdoch being (kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

) suspended for 30 days and the team being stripped of the tag team title. Murdoch left the NWA and wrestled in the World Wrestling Council
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....

 before appearing in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

 as one half of the "Hardliners," or "Hardline Collection Agency," with Dick Slater
Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater , better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling .Slater began wrestling with Mike...

 in 1991. They feuded with Rick
Rick Steiner
Robert Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Rick Steiner.Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling, where he was an eight time World Tag Team Champion...

 and Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...

 but could not win their title.

Murdoch was the twenty-seventh entrant in the 1995 WWF Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1995)
Royal Rumble was the eighth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1995, in the USF Sun Dome located in Tampa, Florida. The event featured five matches based on scripted storylines and the results...

. He was eliminated by Henry O. Godwinn. Murdoch was wrestling in the independents
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...

 when he died of a heart attack on June 15, 1996.

Personal life

Murdoch was married on September 21, 1966 in Potter County, Texas to Janice Hix. Together, they had one child before divorcing on October 1, 1973.

Murdoch is the cousin of wrestler "Killer" Tim Brooks
Killer Tim Brooks
Timothy Paul Brooks is a retired American professional wrestler, better-known by his ring name "Killer Tim Brooks". He competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling during the 1970s and...

.

According to a shoot interview with Bad News Brown
Allen Coage
Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...

, Dick Murdoch was a member of the KKK
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

. This was also mentioned by Tito Santana
Tito Santana
Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation...

 in his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

, Tales From The Ring.

Murdoch appeared in 4 movies: The Wrestler
The Wrestler (1974 film)
The Wrestler is a 1974 independent film produced by professional wrestler Verne Gagne and starring Ed Asner as "Frank Bass", a wrestling promoter....

(1974), Paradise Alley
Paradise Alley
Paradise Alley is a 1978 film about three brothers in Hell's Kitchen, New York City in the 1940s who become involved in professional wrestling. It was written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, and was given the green light by Universal Pictures after Stallone's success with 1976's Rocky...

(1978), Grunt! The Wrestling Movie (1985), and Manhattan Merengue! (1995). He also appeared on an episode of Learning The Ropes
Learning the Ropes
Learning the Ropes is a Canadian-produced sitcom that aired on CTV in Canada and in syndication in the United States from September 1988 to March 1989. The series stars Lyle Alzado as Robert Randall, a teacher who works as a professional wrestler in the evening. Although his children knew about...

and an episode of The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...

.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
  • Brainbuster
    Brainbuster
    A brainbuster is a professional wrestling throw in which a wrestler puts his/her opponent in a front facelock, hooks his/her pants, and lifts him/her up as if he/she was executing a vertical suplex. The wrestler then falls onto his/her back so that the opponent lands on his/her head while remaining...


  • Signature moves
  • Bionic elbow
  • Calf branding
  • Elbow drop


  • Managers
    Manager (professional wrestling)
    In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

  • Joe Don Smith
  • Paul Jones
    Paul Jones (wrestler)
    Paul Jones is a retired professional wrestler and manager. He had success in the National Wrestling Alliance 's Mid-Atlantic region, including an NWA World Tag Team title reign with Ricky Steamboat.-Career:...

  • Oliver Humperdink
    Oliver Humperdink
    John Sutton , better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was a professional wrestling manager who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Florida Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.-Career:...

  • "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert
  • Jim Cornette
    Jim Cornette
    James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...

  • Skandor Akbar
  • Lou Albano
    Lou Albano
    Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....


  • Nickname
    Nickname
    A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

    s
  • "Captain Redneck"
  • "Dirty" Dick Murdoch

Championships and accomplishments

  • All Japan Pro Wrestling
    All Japan Pro Wrestling
    is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...

  • NWA United National Championship
    NWA United National Championship
    The NWA United National Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance, and best known for being defended in All Japan Pro Wrestling...

     (1 time)

  • Central States Wrestling
    Heart of America Sports Attractions
    Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...

  • NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
    NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
    The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship a professional wrestling championship that currently serves as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Midwest. For most of its existence, however, the title was defended in the NWA affiliate Central States Wrestling from...

     (2 times)
  • NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
    NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
    The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...

     (1 time) – with Bob Brown
    Bob Brown (wrestler)
    Robert Harold Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Bulldog" Bob Brown.- Early life :...

  • NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version)
    NWA North American Tag Team Championship
    The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship that is currently used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance. This is the fifth NWA sanctioned championship to bear this name...

     (3 times) – with Dusty Rhodes (1) and Bob Sweetan (2)

  • Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
    NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
    The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...

     (2 times) – with Dusty Rhodes (1), Bobby Duncum (1)
  • NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)

  • Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
    Continental Championship Wrestling
    Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...

  • NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
    NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
    The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship that was promoted in the Tennessee, Alabama, Florida...

     (1 time) – with Don Carson

  • Jim Crockett Promotions
    Jim Crockett Promotions
    Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...

  • NWA United States Tag Team Championship
    NWA United States Tag Team Championship
    The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used by several championships that were or currently are under the National Wrestling Alliance 's supervision:...

     (1 time) – with Ivan Koloff

  • NWA Big Time Wrestling
    World Class Championship Wrestling
    World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...

  • NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dusty Rhodes

  • NWA Detroit
    National Wrestling Alliance
    The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version)
    NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version)
    The Detroit, Michigan version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship existed from 1964 until 1980, when the Detroit promotion closed.-Title history:...

     (1 time) – with Dusty Rhodes
    Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
    Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...


  • NWA Mid-America
    Continental Wrestling Association
    The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...

  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)
    NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)
    The Mid-America version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship existed from 1957 until 1977. It was defended primarily in Tennessee and Alabama.-Title history:...

     (1 time) – with Don Carson

  • NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling Association
  • Mid-South North American Championship
    Mid-South North American Championship
    The Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in the Mid-South Wrestling Association from 1979 until the promotion became the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986. The title was retired then in favor of the UWF Heavyweight Championship...

     (2 times)
  • Mid-South Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Junkyard Dog
    Junkyard Dog
    Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...

  • NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Tri-State version)
    Mid-South North American Championship
    The Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in the Mid-South Wrestling Association from 1979 until the promotion became the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986. The title was retired then in favor of the UWF Heavyweight Championship...

     (3 times)
  • NWA Tri-State Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
  • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version)
    NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version)
    The NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship was a tag team title created in 1962, and contested in the National Wrestling Alliance's Tri-State territory, which was promoted by Leroy McGuirk and Jack Curtis and Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...

     (2 times) – with Killer Karl Kox (1), Ted DiBiase
    Ted DiBiase
    Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...

     (1)

  • NWA Western States Sports
    National Wrestling Alliance
    The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

  • NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version)
    NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version)
    The Amarillo version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was a secondary championship that was defended in Dory Funk, Sr.'s NWA Western States Sports promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. Originally created in August 1964, the title was used briefly before being abandoned. It was reactivated three...

     (3 times)
  • NWA International Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) (3 times)
  • NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship
    NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship
    The NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, NWA Western States Sports....

     (1 time)
  • NWA Western States Tag Team Championship
    NWA Western States Tag Team Championship
    The NWA Western States Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, NWA Western States Sports....

     (1 time) – with Bobby Duncum

  • National Wrestling Federation
    National Wrestling Federation
    The original National Wrestling Federation was a wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970-1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin...

  • NWF World Tag Team Championship
    NWF World Tag Team Championship
    The NWF World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in the National Wrestling Federation from 1970 to 1974, the entire life of the promotion.-Title history:...

     (1 time) – with Dusty Rhodes
    Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
    Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...


  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...

  • PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1974)
    • PWI ranked him #96 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

  • St. Louis Wrestling Club
    St. Louis Wrestling Club
    The St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. Louis area. It was colloquially referred to within...

  • NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship
    NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship
    The NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship was the secondary singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's St. Louis Wrestling Club and Central States Wrestling promotions in the 1970's and 1980's...

     (3 times)

  • World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
  • IWA World Tag Team Championship
    IWA World Tag Team Championship (WCW Australia)
    The IWA World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1966 through 1971....

     (2 times) – with Lars Anderson
    Lawrence Heinemi
    Larry Heinemi is a retired professional wrestler better known by the name of Lars Anderson. His career spans over a decade of performing in National Wrestling Alliance territories as well as American Wrestling Association .-Career:...

     (1), Dusty Rhodes
    Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
    Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...

     (1)

  • World Wrestling Council
    World Wrestling Council
    The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....

  • WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship
    WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship
    The WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. The championship was established in July 1982, as the WWC World Heavyweight...

     (1 time)
  • WWC World Television Championship
    WWC World Television Championship
    The WWC Television Championship is a professional wrestling championship that is currently defended in the World Wrestling Council. The title was initially created in 1986 and used until 2003. However, the title was reinstated on February 3, 2007....

     (2 times)

  • World Wrestling Federation
    World Wrestling Entertainment
    World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

  • WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Adrian Adonis
    Adrian Adonis
    Keith A. Franke was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.-Career:Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his own name...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK