Dick the Bruiser

William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler and football player. He was better known by his ring name Dick the Bruiser.

Dick the Bruiser
Born	(1929-06-27)June 27, 1929 Delphi, Indiana
Died	November 10, 1991(1991-11-10) (aged 62) Tampa, Florida
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Richard Afflis Afflis Dick the Bruiser
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Billed weight	261 lb (118 kg)
Billed from	Reno, Nevada
Trained by	Verne Gagne Joe Pazandak
Debut	1954
Retired	1985

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Afflis was a professional football player and played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1951 until 1954.

On November 10, 1991, Afflis died from internal bleeding. His wife Louise said that he was weightlifting at home with his adopted son, Jon Carney, and ruptured a blood vessel in his esophagus.^[1]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Atomic drop
  • Diving knee drop

• Nicknames
  • "Bruiser"
  • "The World's Most Dangerous Wrestler"

Championships

• American Wrestling Alliance
  • AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) (with Wilbur Snyder)^[2]

• American Wrestling Association
  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[3]
  • AWA World Tag Team Championship (5 times) (with The Crusher)^[4]
  • World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version) (1 time)^[5]

• Japan Wrestling Association
  • NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) (with The Crusher)^[6]

• NWA Chicago
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version) (1 time)^[7]
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) (1 time) (with Gene Kiniski)

• NWA Detroit
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version) (4 times)

• NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)^[8]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Tag Team of the Year (1972) (with The Crusher)

• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Tag Team with Crusher (Class of 2005)^[9]
  • Television Era (Class of 2011)^[10]

• St. Louis Wrestling Club
  • NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[11]

• St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • (Class of 2007)^[12]

• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)^[13]

• World Wrestling Association
  • WWA World Heavyweight Championship (13 times)^[14]
  • WWA World Tag Team Championship (15 times) (with The Crusher (6), Wilbur Snyder (3), Bruno Sammartino (1), Bill Miller (1), Spike Huber (1), Jeff Van Kamp (1), Bobby Colt (1) and Calypso Jim (1))^[15]

• Worldwide Wrestling Associates
  • WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[16]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)^[17]