The Missouri Mauler
The Missouri Mauler | |
---|---|
File:Larry Hamilton.jpg | |
Birth name | Larry Hamilton |
Born | St. Joseph, Missouri, United States | March 11, 1931
Died | July 20, 1996 St. Joseph, Missouri | (aged 65)
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 "Rocky" Hamilton[1] (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), better known by his ring name the Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as Florida Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, 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 including Jack Brisco,[3] "Plowboy" Stan Frazier, Steve Keirn, Tim Woods, Tarzan Tyler and Fritz Von Erich during his 31-year career.
He is also the older brother of wrestler Jody Hamilton who competed as the masked wrestler the Assassin as well as the uncle of former World Championship Wrestling official Nick Patrick.[2]
Career
Early life and career
Making his debut in the Missouri area during the early 1950s,[1] he began wrestling for promoter Ed Don George in Buffalo, New York, where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957[2] headlining an event at Madison Square Garden against Antonino Rocca and Miguel 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 promoter Jim Crockett, Sr. in the Carolinas.[1]
Crockett Promotions
It was during his time in what would later become Jim 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 with the Great Bolo to win the regional tag team title from Mr. Moto and Duke 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 as the Assassins for the next 15 years).[2]
Hamilton and the Masked Bolos (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) faced Haystacks Calhoun and the Kentuckyians (John Quinn and Grizzly 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 the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina.
During the early 1970s, Hamilton formed a successful tag team with Jim "Brute" Bernard winning the Texas-based NWA America and NWA Atlantic Coast tag team titles between 1971 and 1972.
Later years
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]
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association
- Nebraska Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Central States Wrestling
- L&G Promotions
- NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship (2 times) [12]
- NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Brute Bernard[13]
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (2 times) - with Great Bolo (1) and Pampero Firpo (1) [14]
Notes
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.-based World Championship Wrestling once owned by Ted Turner and sold to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2001.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Mooneyham, Mike (August 11, 1996). "Larry Hamilton: The Missouri Mauler". The Wrestling Gospel According to Mike Mooneyham. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e Mooneyham, Mike (July 1, 2018). "Did you know The Missouri Mauler has a famous brother?". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Slagle, Steve (2000). "The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame: Jack Brisco". Professional Wrestling Online Museum. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "Official Website for Jody Hamilton, the Assassin - Biography". Georgia Wrestling History, Inc. 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "(Kansas and Western Missouri) West Missouri: North American Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 253. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA North American Tag Team Title (Central States version)". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Florida Brass Knuckles Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Florida Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Florida Television Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Eastern States Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Atlantic Coast Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. Southern Tag Team Title (Mid-Atlantic)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Texas: NWA / World Class American Heavyweight Title [Von Eric]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 265–266. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA United States Heavyweight Title (1967-1968/05) - American Heavyweight Title (1968/05-1986/02)". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 978-0-9698161-5-7.
- ^ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ "N.W.A. Austra-Asian Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- ^ "N.W.A. United States Junior Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
Further reading
- Flair, Ric. Ric Flair: To Be the Man. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. ISBN 0-7434-5691-2
- Johnson, Weldon T. and Jim Wilson. Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring. Philadelphia: Xlibris Corporation, 2003. ISBN 1-4010-7217-8[self-published source?]
- Meltzer, Dave. Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Wrestlers. Champaigne, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2004. ISBN 1-58261-817-8
- "Interviews: Jody Hamilton, Memories of his brother The Missouri Mauler." Whatever Happened To ... ? Oct. 1996.
External links
- Larry Hamilton: The Missouri Mauler by Mike Mooneyham
- In Australia with the Missouri Mauler and Terry Garvin by Scott Teal
- The Official Ox Baker Web Site: My Toughest Opponents
- Championship Wrestling from Florida: Missouri Hamilton
- GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com - Larry Hamilton
- Deceased Superstars: Missouri Mauler
- Profile at Online World of Wrestling
- CS1 maint: url-status
- Articles with short description
- All articles with self-published sources
- Articles with self-published sources from January 2018
- AC with 0 elements
- 1931 births
- 1996 deaths
- American male professional wrestlers
- Sportspeople from St. Joseph, Missouri
- Professional wrestlers from Missouri
- 20th-century American male actors
- Stampede Wrestling alumni
- 20th-century professional wrestlers
- NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions
- NWA Florida Television Champions
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version)
- NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version)