Larry Edward "Rocky" Hamilton (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), better known by his

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 ...

the Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in 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 ...

, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s. One of the earliest professional wrestlers to appear on televised wrestling events, he feuded with many popular wrestlers of the era including

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship ...

, "Plowboy" Stan Frazier,

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as ...

Tim Woods George Burrell Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Mr. Wrestling and Tim Woods. Collegiate wrestling career Woodin received a degree in agricultural engineering f ...

, Tarzan Tyler and

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 ...

during his 31-year career. He is also the older brother of wrestler

Jody Hamilton Joseph Hamilton (August 28, 1938 – August 3, 2021) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. He was best known as one half of the tag team The Assassins (professional wrestling), The Assassins where ...

who competed as the masked wrestler the Assassin as well as the uncle of former

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

official Nick Patrick.

Career

Early life and career

Making his debut in the Missouri area during the early 1950s, he began wrestling for promoter Ed Don George in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957 headlining an event at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

against

Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian naturalized Argentinian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez (wrestler), Miguel Pérez. He was posthumous ...

and Miguel Perez the following year. Splitting up shortly thereafter, Hamilton and his brother went their separate ways leaving New York in October 1958 with Joseph Hamilton leaving for San Francisco while Larry Hamilton began working for promoter Jim Crockett, Sr. in the Carolinas.

Crockett Promotions

It was during his time in what would later become

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

that Larry Hamilton would find his greatest success becoming a major star in the promotion in only a few years. Appearing in the earliest televised matches for the promotion, Hamilton teamed with the Great Bolo to win the regional tag team title from Mr. Moto and Duke Keomuka in 1959. The two would remain the top "heel" tag team in the promotion until the early 1960s when Joseph Hamilton was brought into the promotion and began teaming with the Great Bolo in 1961 (the two would continue teaming together as the Assassins for the next 15 years). Hamilton and the Masked Bolos (

and Tom Renesto) faced Haystacks Calhoun and the Kentuckyians ( John Quinn and Grizzly Smith) in a series of six-man tag team matches during the next year setting several attendance records in the Carolina-Virginia area including an event held the

Greenville Memorial Auditorium Greenville Memorial Auditorium was a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena built in 1958 that was located in Greenville, South Carolina. It hosted local sporting events, concerts and the Ringling Brothers Circus until the Bon Secours Wellness Arena op ...

in Greenville, South Carolina. During the early 1970s, Hamilton formed a successful tag team with Jim "Brute" Bernard winning the Texas-based NWA America and NWA Atlantic Coast tag team titles between 1971 and 1972.

Later years

Following his retirement in 1981, Hamilton entered bail bonding and was involved in the St. James Catholic Church in his hometown St. Joseph, Missouri. In later years, Hamilton lived with his elderly mother and underwent hip replacement surgery, but remained in relatively good health until his death from a heart attack on July 20, 1996.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Association **Nebraska Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

:* NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Dutch Savage Frank Stewart (June 9, 1935 – August 3, 2013) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage. Career Savage made his pro d ...

:* NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Central States version)'' (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) *L&G Promotions :* L&G Caribbean Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

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 ...

:* NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) :*

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) :* NWA Florida Television Championship ( 1 time) :* NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 6 times) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

:* NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship (

) :* NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Brute Bernard :*

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ...

(2 times) - with Great Bolo (1) and

Pampero Firpo Juan Kachmanian (April 6, 1930 – January 9, 2020) was an Argentine-born Armenian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Pampero Firpo. Early life Kachmanian was born on April 6, 1930, in Buenos ...

(1) * NWA Big Time Wrestling :*

NWA American Heavyweight Championship The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in ...

( 1 time) :*

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally introduced as ...

( 1 time) - with Brute Bernard :*

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has used a variety ...

( 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 ...

¹ :*

NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship The NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1972 through the promotion's 1978 closure. WCW joined the National Wrestling Alliance in A ...

( 1 time) - with

Steve Rackman Steve Rackman is an English-born Australian actor and professional wrestler, best known for his role as Donk in the film '' Crocodile Dundee''. In his professional wrestling career, he wrestled under the ring name of Steve "Crusher" Rackman. Rac ...

* Southeastern Championship Wrestling - Continental Championship Wrestling :* NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (

)

Notes

¹''Note'': This promotion, though named World Championship Wrestling, was an NWA affiliated promotion based out of Australia and operated from the 60's to the 90's. This promotion should not be confused with the U.S.-based

once owned by

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

and sold to

World Wrestling Entertainment 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, ...

in 2001.

References

External links

Larry Hamilton: The Missouri Mauler
by Mike Mooneyham

by Scott Teal
Championship Wrestling from Florida: Missouri Hamilton
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri Mauler, The 1931 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from St. Joseph, Missouri Professional wrestlers from Missouri Stampede Wrestling alumni NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version) NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions WCWA World Heavyweight Champions WCWA World Tag Team Champions WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Champions