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Brute Bernard


Last updated by Sean Sweeny on April 28, 2014

Title History

 

  • WWWF United States Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Great Scott & Buddy Austin (May 16, 1963);
  • NWA (Florida) World Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Haystacks Calhoun & Don Curtis [Tournament] (January 28, 1964);
  • NWA (Florida) World Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Duke Keomuka & Hiro Matsuda (February 18, 1964);
  • IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Dominic DeNucci & Mark Lewin (July 15, 1966);
  • IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Bearcat Wright & Mark Lewin (August ??, 1966);
  • NWA (Texas) American Heavyweight title defeating Fritz Von Erich (March ??, 1967);
  • NWA Texas Brass Knuckles title defeating Bull Curry (August ??, 1967);
  • NWA (Texas) American Tag Team titles w/Mike Paidousis defeating Waldo & Fritz Von Erich (August ??, 1967);
  • NWA Texas Brass Knuckles title defeating Bull Curry (September 18, 1967);
  • NWA (Texas) American Tag Team titles w/Mike Paidousis defeating Waldo & Fritz Von Erich (October 3, 1967);
  • IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Billy White Wolf & Mario Milano (March 22, 1968);
  • IWA (Australia) World Tag Team titles w/Skull Murphy defeating Lars Anderson & Dick Murdoch (December 5, 1969);
  • NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team titles w/Larry Hamilton defeating George Becker & Johnny Weaver (October 12, 1971);
  • NWA (Texas) American Tag Team titles w/Larry Hamilton defeating ???????? (????, 1972);
  • NWA Austra Asian Heavyweight title defeating Spiros Arion (November 4, 1972);
  • NWA Mid Atlantic Tag Team titles w/Jay York defeating Nelson Royal & Sandy Scott (November 26, 1973);
  • (Australia) World Brass Knuckles title (1974);
  • NWA Western States Tag Team titles w/Frank Morrell defeating ?????????? (December 2, 1977);
  • (Australia) World Brass Knuckles title (1978);

 

Career Highlights

 

  • Brute Bernard was brought into professional wrestling by promoter Jack Britton..
  • Early 1960s: Brute Bernard wrestled in the Detroit territory which was run by the legendary Ed Farhat (The Sheik) ..
  • Brute Bernard formed a prominant tag team with Skull Murphy, recognized as world champions in Florida and Australia..
  • May 16, 1963: Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy defeated Buddy Austin & Great Scott to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Titles..
  • 1967: Brute Bernard and his manager, Mike Paidousis, defeated Fritz Von Erich and Waldo Von Erich for the American Tag Team titles..
  • Brute Bernard also formed successful tag teams with “Missouri Mauler” Larry Hamilton, and The Angel (Frank Morrell)..
  • Mid-1970s: Brute Bernard returned to The Sheik’s Detroit territory where he wrestled as “The Brute”..
  • Brute Bernard moved to the Carolinas and continued to wrestle into the 1980s..
  • July 14, 1984: Brute Bernard died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Charlotte (Allegedly, he was “cleaning his gun”)..

    Greg Kelly wrote: I was browsing through some old Aussie Piledriver mags today & I’d forgotten that Brute Bernard was billed here as being in the words of Slammin’ Sammy Menacker “from the wilds of Canada Nova Scotia”

 

Doctor Steve from Tennessee wrote: I worked at WRAL-TV in the ’70s and we taped Wide World of Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling there every Wednesday. The Crocketts had contracted to have Brute Bernard come and do a show with us, and I was full of trepidation, having watched him as a kid decimate his enemies, never uttering a word other than a guttural growl. I knew this guy would just be scary and probably a lot of trouble.

So there I was at the bottom of the dressing room stairs, waiting for Brute Bernard to come down to the studio; I was nervous, not knowing what to expect, when he emerged from the dressing room door. And what a sight! He had on a silk smoking jacket, thick reading glasses, and was reading the Wall Street Journal. He greeted me with a “hi, son, nice to meet you” and entered the studio. He was the nicest wrestler I ever met (and I met a lot of them). That night, of course, he was the same old Brute that I remembered as a kid but I had a completely different opinion of him, having seen his “other” side.