Richard Joseph "Dick" Garza (July 16, 1931 – January 7, 2002), better known as Mighty Igor Vodik, or simply Mighty Igor, 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 ...

. He is a one-time

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 ...

World champion. As Mighty Igor, he was frequently billed as the "World's Strongest Wrestler".

Early years

Garza grew up in

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, ...

and competed in bodybuilding contests. He won the Mr. Michigan title in 1954 before competing in Mr. America and Mr. Universe competitions. At a gym, Garza got into an argument with professional wrestler

Brute Bernard James Prudhomme (June 6, 1921 – July 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Brute Bernard or Jim 'Brute' Bernhard. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Skull Murphy. He compe ...

and knocked him unconscious. This gained him the interest of wrestling promoter

Bert Ruby 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 Miha ...

, who convinced him to enter professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Garza wrestled in Michigan and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

during his early career. He competed for a promotion named Wolverine Wrestling, where he won his first title, the Wolverine Wrestling Mid-West Heavyweight Championship, on February 14, 1957. He also competed in California, where he won the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

version of the

WWA International Television Tag Team Championship The WWA International Television Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Los Angeles–based Worldwide Wrestling Associates from the title's formation in 1954 (as the NWA International Television Tag Team Championship, renamed as a No ...

in 1962 while teaming with Eric Rommel. Garza later joined the

(AWA), where he was given 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 ...

Mighty Igor Vodik by

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

. On May 15, 1965, he won the

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

by defeating

Mad Dog Vachon Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon (September 14, 1929 − November 21, 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Mad Dog Vachon. He was the older brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestl ...

. He held the title belt for one week before dropping it back to Vachon. In 1965 and 1966, Vodik also had two reigns as the Nebraska Heavyweight Champion. The following year, he defeated

Bob Orton Robert Keith Orton Sr. (July 21, 1925 – July 16, 2006) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. The patriarch of the Orton wrestling family, his two sons Bob Orton Jr. and Barry Orton, and grandson Randy Orton, have all wr ...

to win the

AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship The AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship was a title in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the American Wrestling Association. It was primarily defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city i ...

. In the 1970s, Garza wrestled as "The Mighty Igor" in the " Big Time Wrestling" circuit from Detroit, Michigan, performing with the likes of

Bobo Brazil Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one o ...

, The Sheik,

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 ...

, "Big"

Tex McKenzie Frank Hugh McKenzie (July 21, 1930 – May 31, 2001) was an American professional wrestler. During his career, he appeared in the American Wrestling Association, World Championship Wrestling (Australia), IWA Australia, National Wrestling Federati ...

, The Stomper, Flying Fred Curry, and

The Fabulous Kangaroos :''This team is not to be mistaken for the similarly named team The Royal Kangaroos of Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III'' The Fabulous Kangaroos were a professional wrestling tag team who existed in various forms from 1957 until ...

. On January 7, 2002, Garza died 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 ...

at a hospital in Detroit.

Professional wrestling style and persona

Garza used the

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

of a friendly, but physically strong

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

man. At times, he would wear nurse's shoes and long underwear in addition to his wrestling attire to make himself look friendly or kind but he would be superhuman strong . He was also known for bringing toys and

kielbasa Kielbasa (, ; from Polish ) is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English, it is typically a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the ''Wiejska'' ''sausage'' ...

to the ring, and he shared the kielbasa with his fans. The other component of Garza's gimmick was his strength. He performed several feats of strength for the audience, including leaning with his back against a

wrestling ring A wrestling ring, also known as the squared circle, is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped. In Japan, it is also common to see mixed mart ...

and using his legs to hold back a car driving toward him. Other performances included bending iron bars or placing cement blocks on his head and having someone break them with a sledgehammer. Ivan Kalmikoff ( Edward Bruce ) acted as his manager, while in PR World Wrestling Council where he was a fan favorite and was one time WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight legend Jose Miguel Perez acted as his manager.

Championships and accomplishments

*National Wrestling Federation/National Wrestling Alliance(upstate office)-- *National Wrestling Federation World Tag Team Championship(1 time) - with Johnny Powers *NWA World Tag Team Championship(Ohio & Upstate New York Version)(1 time) - with Powers *

( 1 time) **

Nebraska Heavyweight Championship The Nebraska Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship originally sanctioned by the Nebraska office of the National Wrestling Alliance and later the American Wrestling Association. The title existed from 1959 through 196 ...

(

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 ...

) * Big Time Wrestling ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Detroit version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Detroit version)'' ( 1 time) — with Hank James * International Wrestling Association **

IWA World Tag Team Championship The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearan ...

( 1 time) – with Bulldog Brower * NWA Los Angeles **

( 1 time) — with Eric Rommel *New Independent Wrestling Association **NIWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended by the World Wrestling Council based in Puerto Rico. The title was created in January 1974 and, as its name suggests, is defended exclusively wi ...

( 1 time)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Igor 1931 births 2002 deaths American male bodybuilders American male professional wrestlers AWA World Heavyweight Champions Sportspeople from Dearborn, Michigan Professional wrestlers from Michigan 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions NWF World Tag Team Champions NWA World Tag Team Champions (Detroit version) 20th-century American sportsmen