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 is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. 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 owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

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 Mihai i ...

, 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. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

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 Nor ...

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 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, or projectin ...

Mighty Igor Vodik by

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestli ...

. 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 ...

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 wres ...

. 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, 1929 – July 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler. The patriarch of the Orton wrestling family, his two sons Bob Orton Jr. and Barry Orton, and grandson Randy Orton, have all wrestled professional ...

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 largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and ...

. 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 ...

, The Sheik, Pampero Firpo, "Big"

Tex McKenzie Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

The Stomper Archibald Edward Gouldie (November 22, 1936 – January 23, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of ...

, 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 19 ...

. On January 7, 2002, Garza died after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

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 ou ...

of a friendly, but physically strong

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

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 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 is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped. Configuration and construction The configuration and construction of the trad ...

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.

Championships and accomplishments

( 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 a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) * 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 IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico ...

( 1 time) – with

Bulldog Brower Richard Gland (September 17, 1933 – September 15, 1997) was an American professional wrestler who used the ring name Dick "Bulldog" Brower. Professional wrestling career Gland started his career in the Delaware territory in 1958 under the ring ...

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

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 Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended in 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

Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Igor 1931 births 2002 deaths American bodybuilders American male professional wrestlers AWA World Heavyweight Champions Sportspeople from Dearborn, Michigan Professional wrestlers from Michigan 20th-century professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions NWF World Tag Team Champions