Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

who earned his greatest fame under 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 ...

Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, the Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the years Brody became synonymous with the

hardcore wrestling Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inc ...

brawling style that often saw one or more of the participants bleeding by the time the match was over. In his prime he worked as a "special attraction" wrestler in North America, making select appearances for various promotions such as

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

(WCCW), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Central States Wrestling (CSW),

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

(CWF), and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

(AWA) among other events. He worked regularly in Japan for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

(AJPW). Behind the scenes Brody was very protective of his "in-ring" image, hardly ever agreeing to lose matches and building a reputation of being volatile; he would on occasion intentionally hit or hurt opponents during a match contrary to the predetermined nature of professional wrestling. His in-ring work and wrestling persona earned him an induction into the professional wrestling hall of fame, St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame, Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame,

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

and the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

. Brody died in 1988 from stab wounds suffered backstage in a shower during a wrestling event in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The killer was José González, better known as Invader 1. A jury acquitted González of murder, ruling that González killed Brody in self-defense. Key witnesses to the killing did not give testimony at González' trial due to their summonses only being received after the trial had concluded.

Early life

Goodish was an All-State football and basketball player at Warren High School, Michigan, and played football at West Texas A&M University (then known as West Texas State) and with four teams over three seasons in the Texas Football League and

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

. He stood 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 251 lbs.

Professional wrestling career

After attending West Texas A&M and working as a sportswriter Goodish was trained to wrestle by

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was ...

. He first wrestled in Dallas - Fort Worth and later Louisiana. As Bruiser Brody and King Kong Brody (the latter, a name he used in Midwestern promotions out of respect for Dick the Bruiser), Goodish competed as a freelancer in several companies including the Central States Wrestling (CSW), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW), Windy City Wrestling,

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

(WWC),

Deep South Wrestling Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South w ...

(DSW),

(CWF),

(AWA), and

(WCCW). In the States, he had numerous feuds with the likes of Kamala the Ugandan Giant, Abdullah the Butcher, and "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell. In Japan, he was in a tag team with Stan Hansen. Brody had a reputation for refusing to

job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

to other wrestlers. He also competed under the moniker of Red River Jack in Texas, during an angle against Gary Hart's men and Skandor Akbar's Army in World Class Championship Wrestling. Brody also competed as the Masked Marauder at one time in the AWA. In 1976, he went to Vince J. McMahon's WWWF where he challenged WWWF Champion

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

, but was unsuccessful in winning the championship. Brody also teamed with Big John Studd. It was also in the WWWF where he wrestled Invader 1 (José González), for whom he refused to sell. In 1985, he had a very short stint with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(NJPW) in a feud with

Antonio Inoki (born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...

and many of their matches ended in no contests or disqualifications. In 1987, Brody began working primarily for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico after getting fired from New Japan. Brody continued his feud with Abdullah the Butcher, as well as engaging in a feud with Carlos Colon. He briefly returned to

to win his last NWA International Heavyweight Championship. On April 15, 1988, the first attempt to form what became the

Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. The current champion is Jun Saito, who is in his first reign. Title history The championship was established after the unifica ...

was done when Brody faced off against NWA United National and PWF champion

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...

; the result was a double countout. Brody lost the title to Jumbo Tsuruta four days later. In WCCW in Texas he was actually a babyface, most often against Abdullah The Butcher. However against Abdullah in Montreal he was a heel managed by Floyd Creatchman. While there Tim "Killer" Brooks acted as his brother Buster Brody. Brody was in an ongoing feud with The Russian Brute who later went on to AWA fame with Manager Ox Baker. Due to his huge reputation in Japan promoter Shohei Baba had the match taped and later aired on Japanese TV. In Florida he beat B. Brian Blair for the Florida State championship. Brody had an infamous cage match with

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...

in Florida on January 21, 1987. In the middle of the match, Brody stopped "

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

ing" and stood around. Luger and Bill Alfonso, the referee of the match, were puzzled and attempted to speak to Brody who did not respond. Luger and Alfonso decided to forgo the planned finish of the match and Alfonso disqualified Luger in a spot where Luger shoved Alfonso to the ground. After the match, Luger recalls asking Brody if he did anything wrong to upset him, to which Brody responded "no", and Brody's reasons for not working were not very clear, stating that "the match just wasn't working". In Larry Matysik's book, ''Wrestling at the Chase'', Matysik states that before the match Brody told him "I'm not putting up with any of his bullshit" and that Brody was upset that Luger would not sell for him. However, when watching the match, it is clear that Luger did sell for Brody. In a later shoot interview, Bill Alfonso said that there was a miscommunication issue on who would lead the match and there was no ill will ever between the two. Another scenario was that Brody was upset with the promoters over his paychecks (Brody had a contentious history with wrestling promoters for much of his career) and decided to embarrass the promotion by being uncooperative in the match. In 1987 he returned to the AWA where he fought Greg Gagne and Jerry Blackwell. Despite his reputation as being disagreeable with promoters he would aid any who needed a boost in ticket sales as he was guaranteed to bring in crowds. While working for WCCW in Texas he was the booker and produced their TV program.

Personal life

Prior to his wrestling career, Goodish worked as a sportswriter in San Antonio, Texas. Goodish was married on June 4, 1968, to Nola Marie Neece; the marriage ended in divorce on October 12, 1970. Goodish's second wife, New Zealander Barbara Smith, remained with him until his death in 1988. She has stated that while his wrestling persona was known for brutality and being uncontrollable, Brody was the complete opposite with his family. Brody and Smith lived in Texas. Together they had a son named Geoffrey Dean, born November 7, 1980.

Death

On July 16, 1988, Brody was in the locker room before his scheduled match with Dan Spivey at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

, when José Huertas González, a fellow wrestler and booker,Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.115) allegedly asked him to step into the shower area to discuss business. There was an argument between the two wrestlers and a scuffle ensued. Due to the dressing room layout, there were no witnesses to the altercation; however, two screams were heard, loud enough for the entire locker room to hear. Tony Atlas ran to the shower and saw Brody bent over and holding his stomach. Atlas then looked up at González and saw him holding a bloody knife. Due to the heavy traffic outdoors and large crowd in the stadium, it took paramedics almost an hour to reach Brody. When the paramedics arrived, Atlas helped carry Brody downstairs to the waiting ambulance as, due to Brody's size, paramedics were unable to lift him. He later died from his stab wounds. González claimed self-defense and testified in his own defense at trial in 1989. The prosecution witnesses living outside of Puerto Rico claimed they had not received their summons until after the trial had ended. The case was not dismissed for their absence, nor were they charged with contempt of the Puerto Rico court. González was acquitted of murder. The prosecution did not appeal. Fellow wrestlers Dutch Mantel and Tony Atlas have said in a lengthy interview featured in

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

documentary series ''Dark Side of the Ring season 1 episode 3'' entitled "The Killing of Bruiser Brody" that in the 1970s, when Brody and González had wrestled each other, Brody had wrestled very roughly and beat up González. S. D. Jones claims after one such match González said to him "one day I am gonna kill that man". Tony Atlas also said the local police were uninformed, and thought the killer was an angry wrestling fan gone berserk. Atlas also claims that he was the only witness to point out González to the authorities, so they could arrest him. In the same documentary, according to Atlas, Bruiser Brody was about to gain ownership in the wrestling company, even promising him "''you are going to see a lot of changes''", implying that González might eventually be fired. Atlas recalls González, Víctor Quiñones, and Carlos Colón were having an urgent meeting in the locker room only moments prior to the tragic events, while Mantel said the meeting seemed "''strange''". Shortly after, González called out Brody in the shower "''can I talk to you for a minute please''" then the stabbing ensued. Ultimately, the murder weapon has never been found, González aka ''Invader'' was acquitted in Puerto Rico for acting under self-defense, and Bruiser Brody's widow Barbara Goodish told the reporters "''I know the attacker did it, from what I hear about it the whole court case was a sham''". Vice producers for ''Dark Side of the Ring'' say they contacted González and Colón, but that both "declined to be interviewed".

Championships and accomplishments

** NWA International Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) **

PWF World Tag Team Championship The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling, created in 1984. It was unified with the NWA International T ...

( 1 time) – with Stan Hansen ** World's Strongest Tag Determination League (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

) – with

Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s ...

** World's Strongest Tag Determination League (

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

) – with Stan Hansen ** January 3 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (1979) ** Champion Carnival Fighting Spirit Award (1981) ** World's Strongest Tag Determined League Exciting Award (1982) – with Stan Hansen *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

** Posthumous Award (2015) * Central States Wrestling **

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Central States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Ernie Ladd Ernest L. Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "the Big Cat", was an American professional American football, football defensive tackle and professional wrestling, professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd ...

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF an ...

( 1 time) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame **Frank Gotch Award (2018) * National Wrestling Federation ** NWF International Championship (1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling/World Class Wrestling Association ** NWA American Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times) ** NWA American Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with

Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with ...

** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' ( 8 times) ** NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Mike York (1), Gino Hernandez (1), and Kerry Von Erich (1) ** WCWA Television Championship ( 1 time) * NWA Tri-State ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' ( 2 time) – with Stan Hansen * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2014 * ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Editor's Award (1988) tied with Adrian Adonis ** Ranked No. 14 of the 500 top wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 * Southwest Championship Wrestling ** SCW Southwest Brass Knuckles Championship ( 1 time) ** SCW World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Dick Slater Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018) better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Champ ...

* St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2007 * Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2013 * ''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards References External links

* http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp Official website 1960 establishments in Japan Da ...

'' **

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

(1988) * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays an ...

** World Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time) *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their wor ...

( 1 time) *

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

( Class of 2019) Legacy Inductee * ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' ** Best Brawler (1980–1984, 1987, 1988) **

( Class of 1996)

References

External links

*
Mid-South Wrestling profile
*

on Pro Football Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Brody, Bruiser 1946 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Continental Football League players Deaths by stabbing in Puerto Rico American expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA International Heavyweight Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions People murdered in Puerto Rico Professional wrestlers from Michigan Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum PWF World Tag Team Champions Sportspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico Sportspeople from Warren, Michigan Texas Football League players WCWA Brass Knuckles Champions WCWA Television Champions WCWA World Heavyweight Champions WCWA World Tag Team Champions West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players Murdered actors World Brass Knuckles Champions WWE Hall of Fame Legacy inductees World's Strongest Tag Determination League winners