He sounded like he’d been eating gravel for breakfast. Most people today think of pro wrestling as a polished, high-flying soap opera, but Dick the Bruiser was something else entirely. He was a 260-pound slab of Indiana beef who looked like he wanted to eat the front row. Honestly, if you saw him walking toward you in a dark alley in 1960, you wouldn't just cross the street—you’d probably leave the state.
Born William Fritz Afflis in 1929, he didn't just play a tough guy on TV. He lived it. Before he ever laced up a pair of wrestling boots, he was a defensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers. He played four seasons in the NFL, from 1951 to 1954, but football couldn't contain him. He was actually kicked out of a few colleges before that, including Purdue and Miami, for things like punching coaches or getting caught making book. The guy was a live wire.
That gravelly voice wasn't an act, either. It came from a crushed larynx he suffered during an NFL game. It became his trademark, a terrifying rasp that made his promos feel like a death threat. When he transitioned into the ring in 1954, he didn't need a fancy costume. He just needed to be Dick the Bruiser.
The Night a Bar Fight Nearly Ended Everything
One of the most insane stories in sports history happened in 1963 at the Lindell AC bar in Detroit. It’s the kind of thing that sounds like a movie script. Basically, Dick the Bruiser and NFL star Alex Karras (who later played the dad in Webster) wanted to hype up an upcoming wrestling match. They planned a "worked" shoot—a fake fight to get people talking.
It worked too well.
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The Bruiser walked in and started insulting Karras, calling him a "fat, four-eyed bartender." Everything was going according to plan until an uncle of the bar’s owner, who had no idea it was a stunt, jumped in with a pool cue. He smashed it across the Bruiser’s face.
The Bruiser, who had a legendary lack of impulse control, absolutely lost it. He didn't just fight the uncle; he tore the bar apart. He ripped a vending machine off the wall and threw it through a television. When the Detroit police arrived, it took eight of them to manacle him. He ended up facing aggravated assault charges and had to pay $50,000 in damages for two injured cops.
A Hero for the Working Class
Despite being a "heel" (the bad guy) for much of his early career, the Midwest eventually fell in love with him. Why? Because he represented the blue-collar spirit of the 1960s and 70s. He was the guy who hated his boss and wasn't afraid to say it.
He eventually bought the Indianapolis territory and turned it into the World Wrestling Association (WWA). He wasn't just a performer; he was the boss. For decades, he was the king of Indiana wrestling. People in Indianapolis treated him like a god. Even David Letterman, a local kid at the time, was such a fan that he named his TV house band "The World’s Most Dangerous Band" as a nod to the Bruiser’s nickname.
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The Legendary Team with The Crusher
You can't talk about Dick the Bruiser without mentioning his "cousin," The Crusher (Reggie Lisowski). Together, they were the most dominant tag team in the history of the AWA and WWA. They were the ultimate beer-drinking, cigar-chomping duo.
- They held the AWA World Tag Team Championship five times.
- They were the WWA World Tag Team Champions 15 times.
- They even took their act to Japan, winning the NWA International Tag Team titles.
They didn't do flips. They didn't do technical masterpieces. They just beat people up. Their style was "Brawl First, Ask Questions Never." They were so popular that even when they did terrible things in the ring, the fans cheered. They were the original "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, twenty years before Austin ever stepped foot in a ring.
The Tragic End of a Legend
Dick the Bruiser was a fitness fanatic until the very end. That’s actually what killed him. On November 10, 1991, while he was weightlifting at his home in Florida with his adopted son, he pushed himself too hard. He ruptured a blood vessel in his esophagus and died from internal bleeding at just 62 years old.
It was a shock to the wrestling world. This was a man who seemed indestructible. He had survived the NFL, thousands of brutal matches, and that infamous Detroit bar brawl, only to be taken down by a workout.
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How to Appreciate the Bruiser’s Legacy Today
If you want to understand why wrestling looks the way it does today, you have to look at the Bruiser. He was one of the first guys to realize that "character" was just as important as the wrestling itself.
- Watch the Promos: Go to YouTube and look up his interviews from the 60s and 70s. Notice how he uses his voice and his eyes. He never breaks character.
- Study the Selling: Despite his size, he knew how to make his opponents look like a million bucks before he eventually "pulverized" them.
- Respect the Business: He was a rare breed who successfully transitioned from being a top-tier athlete to a top-tier performer and then a successful business owner.
If you’re a fan of modern "brawler" style wrestlers like Jon Moxley or Kevin Owens, you're seeing the DNA of Dick the Bruiser. He proved that you don't need a cape or a mask to be a superhero—or a supervillain. You just need a gravelly voice, a mean streak, and the willingness to tear a vending machine off a wall if someone looks at you the wrong way.
To really get the full picture, look into the 2021 WWE Hall of Fame Legacy induction. It took a long time for the modern corporate wrestling world to officially recognize him, but for those who grew up in the Midwest during the territory days, Dick the Bruiser was always the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.