Bert Ruby (born Bertalan Rubinstein, November 29, 1910 - March 9, 1968) was a Hungarian/American professional wrestler, professional wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter.

Early life

Rubinstein was born in the village of Valea lui Mihai in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

region of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in 1910, one of 12 children. Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1919, Rubinstein lived in Hungary. As a young man, he became known for his greater strength and was reputed to be "the town's toughest Jew". During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, he emigrated from Hungary to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada on an agricultural worker's permit, working on farms. He broke into professional wrestling in the 1930s after a

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

owner hired him and several other local young men to put on a wrestling card and he was spotted by a promoter, eventually moving to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the United States to pursue a career in professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Ruby wrestled his first recorded match in 1933. Ruby wrestled barefoot for much of his career, earning him the nickname "The Man With the Educated Toes". He used the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

s "Bert Ruby", "Bert Rubi", and "Magyar Hercules" ("Hungarian Hercules"). Ruby both ran and wrestled for the Michigan-based promotion Wolverine Wrestling. He held the promotion's Michigan Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1950 and again in 1951. Ruby retired in 1955 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

during a bout. He went on to promote professional wrestling in Michigan. He was the right-hand man of Harry Light, helping run the Harry Light Wrestling Office, which dominated professional wrestling in Detroit from the 1940s to the 1960s. As a promoter, Ruby introduced wrestlers including Abdullah the Butcher, George Steele,

Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...

, Leaping Larry Chene, and The Sheik. Ruby was also responsible for booking midget professional wrestlers on behalf of the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

, with promoters from the various NWA territories contacting him to hire popular wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Little Brutus, and Sky Low Low.

Personal life

Ruby and his wife, Irene, had two sons, Allen and Rob, both of whom became prominent lawyers in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Irene was the bookkeeper for Ruby's promotion while his sons worked as announcers, with Allen himself wrestling for over two years. In 1948, Ruby and his wife adopted his nephew, Emery Grosinger, an orphaned teenage

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

. Ruby was Jewish. Following his relocation to North America he

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

his name as Bert Ruby.

Death

Ruby died of a heart attack in 1967 at the age of 57.

Championships and accomplishments

*Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame **Class of 2006 *Wolverine Wrestling **Michigan Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby, Bert 1910 births 1968 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Professional wrestlers from Austria-Hungary Big Time Wrestling (Detroit) Hungarian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Hungarian Jews Hungarian professional wrestlers Jewish American sportspeople Jewish professional wrestlers People from Valea lui Mihai Professional wrestlers from Michigan Professional wrestling promoters Professional wrestling trainers