Michael DiBiase (December 24, 1923 – July 2, 1969) was an American professional wrestler also 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 ...

"Iron" Mike DiBiase. The adoptive father of professional wrestler "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, he was married to Ted's mother

Helen Hild Gladys Helen Nevins (February 26, 1926 – March 4, 1984), better known by her ring name Helen Hild, was an American female professional wrestler and model. She wrestled for extended periods of time for various wrestling promotions: All-Star Wres ...

(also a professional wrestler), and was the grandfather of Mike, Ted Jr., and Brett DiBiase.

Amateur wrestling career

As an amateur wrestler, DiBiase, representing the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, was the 1946 AAU champion in the UNL (open or heavyweight) division. He then wrestled at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, and competed at UNL in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

tournament in 1947 and 1948, losing his first round match both years.

Professional wrestling career

DiBiase made his professional debut in 1950. In 1963, DiBiase became the last opponent of light heavyweight boxer Archie Moore. One of DiBiase's most notable matches was a Texas Death Match against Dory Funk Sr, which according to Terry Funk lasted for four hours and 10 minutes, having taken in 32 falls.

Death

DiBiase died in the ring on July 2, 1969, in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, following a match with Man Mountain Mike as the result of a fatal

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 ...

. Harley Race performed CPR on DiBiase and then rode in the ambulance with him. DiBiase was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was buried at the Sunset Cemetery in Willcox, Arizona. Ted DiBiase confirmed that his father had a huge cholesterol buildup and was genetically predisposed to heart disease.

Championships and accomplishments

* American Wrestling Association ** AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) ** AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) – with Bob Orton (1) and The Avenger (1) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2006 * Central States Wrestling ** NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) *

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)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) * Fred Kohler Enterprises ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Chicago Version)'' ( 1 time) – with Danny Plechas * NWA Rocky Mountain ** NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** NWA Rocky Mountain Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Freddie Blassie and Juan Garcia * NWA Tri-State ** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

** NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Southwest Sports, Inc. ** NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Texas version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) – with Danny Plechas * Western States Sports ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' (1 time) – with Danny Plechas ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 3 times) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' (4 times) – with Danny Plechas (2), Dr. X (1), 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 ...

(1) ** NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 4 times) - with Art Nelson (1) and Danny Plechas (3) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' Tournament (1957) - with Danny Plechas * Worldwide Wrestling Associates ** WWA Americas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WWA World Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Killer Karl Kox (1) and Karl Gotch (2)WWA World Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com ** Nebraska Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee (2019)

References

External links