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Brute Bernard

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.

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Trained By

Jack Britton

Debut

1957

Birthday

Hometown

Quebec, Canada

Gender

Height

6'2"

Weight

250 lbs

Finishing Move(s)

Favorite Move(s)

Brawling Tactics

Notable Feuds

Bobo Brazil
Ron Pritchard
The Great Scott
Spiros Arion
Bill Watts
Johnny Weaver
Gene Anderson
Nelson Royal

Status