Dick Murdoch

Dick Murdoch
Birth name Hoyt Richard Murdoch
Born August 16, 1946
Waxahachie, Texas
Died June 15, 1996 (aged 49)
Canyon, Texas
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Ron Carson
Dick Murdoch
Black Ace
Captain Redneck
The Invader
Super Rodeo Machine
The Texan[1]
Billed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Billed weight 275 lb (125 kg; 19.6 st)
Trained by Killer Karl Kox
Bob Geigel
Pat O'Connor
Debut 1965
Retired 1996

Hoyt Richard "Dick" Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Murdoch was born in Waxahachie, Texas.[2] 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. and Terry Funk, watching their fathers fight all around Texas. Frank Murdoch held the NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship 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 called "The Texas Outlaws". After splitting with Rhodes, he wrestled for Florida Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, 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. 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 and formed a tag team with Adrian Adonis 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 in 1986. He feuded with Ric Flair 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 and Dusty Rhodes. Murdoch, who at the time held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship with Ivan, injured Nikita's neck after a brain-buster suplex on the floor that summer, resulting in Murdoch being (kayfabe) 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 before appearing in World Championship Wrestling as one half of the "Hardliners," or "Hardline Collection Agency," with Dick Slater in 1991. They feuded with Rick and Scott Steiner but could not win their title.

Murdoch was the twenty-seventh entrant in the 1995 WWF Royal Rumble. He was eliminated by Henry O. Godwinn. Murdoch was wrestling in the independents 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.[3]

Murdoch is the cousin of wrestler "Killer" Tim Brooks.[4]

Over the years, many within professional wrestling who knew Murdoch have stated Murdoch was racist and was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In a shoot interview, Bad News Brown accused Dick Murdoch of being a member of the Klan.[5] This was also mentioned by Tito Santana in his autobiography, Tales From The Ring. Former WWE SmackDown head writer Alex Greenfield also related a story told to him by Dusty Rhodes about Murdoch driving them to a Klan party without telling him it was a KKK party beforehand.[6][7] Most recently, former wrestling star Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, claims that Murdoch was a member of the Klan and that he once knocked him unconscious during a match stating during an interview, "Because he was KKK and didn't like blacks, he kept kicking me hard and punching me. I said, 'you hit me one more time, I'm hitting you back.' He hit me, and I knocked him out."[8]

Murdoch appeared in 4 movies: The Wrestler (1974), Paradise Alley (1978), Grunt! The Wrestling Movie (1985), and Manhattan Merengue! (1995). He also appeared on an episode of Learning The Ropes and an episode of The Jerry Springer Show.[9]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ "The 3rd Annual Crockett Cup (April 22–23, 1988)". thehistoryofwwe.com. 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2011. A masked man named the Texan (looks like Murdoch) comes in to attack the Rider.
  2. ↑ "Waxahachie, Texas". City-Data.com. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Hoyt Murdoch". Texas Divorces, 1968–2002. Family Tree Legends Records Collection (Online Database). Pearl Street Software, ©2004–2005.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Feinstein, Rob (Producer). Bad News Allen Shoot Interview (documentary). USA: RF Video.
  6. ↑ http://fightnetwork.com/news/wrestling/review-wai-wwe-06-w-alex-greenfield/
  7. ↑ Pollock, John and Ting, Wai (August 14, 2011). "Review a Wai - WWE SummerSlam '06". http://fightnetwork.com'' (Podcast). http://fightnetwork.com. Event occurs at 12:00am.
  8. ↑ http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/1011/582940/the-rock-father-claims-legendary-wrestler-was-in-the-kkk/
  9. ↑ Ellison, Lillian (2003). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReaganBooks. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.
  10. ↑ Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE - innovated Encyclopedia. DK. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  11. ↑ NWA United National Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  12. ↑ NWA Central States Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  13. ↑ NWA Central States Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "NWA North American Tag Team Title (Central States version)". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  16. ↑ NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history At wrestling-titles.com
  17. ↑ NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  18. ↑ NWA/WCW United States Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  19. ↑ NWA American Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  20. ↑ NWA World Tag Team Title (Detroit) history At wrestling-titles.com
  21. ↑ NWA World Tag Team Title (Mid-America) history At wrestling-titles.com
  22. ↑ North American Heavyweight Title (Mid-South) history At wrestling-titles.com
  23. ↑ Mis-South Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  24. ↑ NWA Tri-State Brass Knuckles Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  25. ↑ NWA United States Tag Team Title (Tri-State) history At wrestling-titles.com
  26. ↑ NWA Brass Knuckles Title (Amarillo) history At wrestling-titles.com
  27. ↑ NWA International Heavyweight Title (Amarillo) history At wrestling-titles.com
  28. ↑ NWA Western STates Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  29. ↑ NWA Western States Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  30. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (2012-12-10). "Mon. update: Major Spike announcement tomorrow, Aces & 8s identity, TNA injury updates, Hall of Fame inductions announced, WWE two PPVs this weekend, Jericho schedule, Amateur wrestling hits MSG first time ever". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  31. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners Inspirational Wrestler of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  32. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  33. ↑ NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  34. ↑ IWA World Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  35. ↑ WWC Universal Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  36. ↑ WWC World Television Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  37. ↑ WWWF/WWF/WWE World Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com

External links