Larry Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Larry "Rocky" Hamilton (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), known by his ringname The Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance
as well as Florida Championship Wrestling
and Jim Crockett Promotions
, 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
, "Plowboy" Stan Frazier
, Steve Keirn
, Tim Woods
, Tarzan Tyler and Fritz Von Erich
during his 31 year career.
He is also the older brother of wrestler Jody Hamilton
who competed as the masked wrestler The Assassin as well as the uncle of former World Championship Wrestling
official Nick Patrick
.
in Buffalo, New York
where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957 headlining an event at Madison Square Garden
against Antonino Rocca
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.
that Larry Hamilton would find his greatest success becoming a major star in the promotion in only a few short 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
& 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 (Jody Hamilton
& Tom Renesto) would face Haystacks Calhoun and The Kentuckyians (John Quinn
& 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
in Greenville, South Carolina
.
During the early 1970s, Hamilton would form 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.
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
as well as Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
and Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
, 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
Jack Brisco
Freddie Joe Brisco was an American professional wrestler, better known as Jack Brisco or Uvalde Slim. He performed for various territories of the National Wrestling Alliance , becoming a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA Tag Team Champion with his brother Gerald Brisco...
, "Plowboy" Stan Frazier
Stan Frazier
Stanley C. Fraizer was a professional wrestler from Pascagoula, Mississippi, better known as Uncle Elmer and Plowboy Frazier ....
, Steve Keirn
Steve Keirn
Stephen "Steve" Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being part of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, with Stan Lane, and later for a run in the World Wrestling Federation as Skinner, a gimmick that portrayed him as a tobacco spitting alligator hunter from...
, Tim Woods
Tim Woods
George Burrell "Tim" Woodin was an American former professional wrestler. He was best known under his ring name Mr. Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Tarzan Tyler and Fritz Von Erich
Fritz Von Erich
Jack Barton Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Fritz Von Erich, better known today as a wrestling promoter and the patriarch of the Von Erich family...
during his 31 year career.
He is also the older brother of wrestler Jody Hamilton
Jody Hamilton
Joseph "Jody" Hamilton is an American retired professional wrestler and current wrestling promoter and trainer. In his active days Hamiltion was best known as known as one half of the tag team The Assassins where he was called "Assassin #1"...
who competed as the masked wrestler The Assassin as well as the uncle of former World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
official Nick Patrick
Nick Hamilton
Joseph Nicholas "Nick" Patrick Hamilton Jr. , better known by his ring name Nick Patrick, is a professional wrestling referee. He is a former referee for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
.
Early life and career
Making his debut in the Missouri area during the early 1950s, he began wrestling for promoter Ed Don GeorgeEd Don George
Edward Nicholas "Ed Don" George was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter.-Career:George was born in North Java, New York. He wrestled for both St. Bonaventure University and for the University of Michigan...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957 headlining an event at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
against Antonino Rocca
Antonino Rocca
Antonino Rocca was an Italian-born Argentine professional wrestler. Rocca was a popular face and in some cities with both Italian-American and especially Hispanic audiences, his following was exceptionally large and loyal.He had a love for opera and was apparently described as having an excellent...
and Miguel Perez
Miguel Perez
Miguel Pérez may refer to:*Miguel Pérez , Venezuelan baseball player*Miguel Pérez , Puerto Rican wrestler*Miguel Pérez, Jr., Puerto Rican wrestler*Miguel Perez , American TV actor...
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 PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
that Larry Hamilton would find his greatest success becoming a major star in the promotion in only a few short 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
Mr. Moto
Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death...
& 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 (Jody Hamilton
Jody Hamilton
Joseph "Jody" Hamilton is an American retired professional wrestler and current wrestling promoter and trainer. In his active days Hamiltion was best known as known as one half of the tag team The Assassins where he was called "Assassin #1"...
& Tom Renesto) would face Haystacks Calhoun and The Kentuckyians (John Quinn
John Quinn (wrestler)
John Quinn is a retired Canadian professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including NWA All-Star Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling during the 1960s and early 1970s...
& 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
The Greenville Memorial Auditorium was a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Greenville, South Carolina, USA. It hosted local sporting events and concerts, until the Bi-Lo Center opened in 1997....
in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
.
During the early 1970s, Hamilton would form 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 the bail bonding and was involved in the St. James Catholic Church in his hometown St. Joseph, Missouri. Although undergoing a hip replacement in his later years, Hamilton remained in relatively good health until his death from a heart attack on July 20, 1996.Championships and accomplishments
- Central States WrestlingHeart of America Sports AttractionsHeart of America Sports Attractions, also known 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, Nebraska and Iowa...
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version)NWA North American Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA North American Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship that is currently used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance. This is the fifth NWA sanctioned championship to bear this name...
(1 time) - with Dutch SavageDutch SavageFrank Stewart is a former professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage.-Career:... - NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Central States version)NWA Central States United States ChampionshipThe NWA Central States United States Championship was the version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in the Central States territory around Missouri. It existed from 1961 until 1968.-Title history:-External links:*...
(2 times)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) (2 times)
- NWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett...
(1 time) - NWA Florida Television ChampionshipNWA Florida Television ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1970 until 1987.-Title history:The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida...
(1 time) - NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (6 times)
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
- NWA Eastern States Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions , a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers...
(2 times) - NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(1 time) - with Brute Bernard - NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship 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 (1)
- NWA Big Time WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Brute Bernard
- NWA World Championship Wrestling (Australia)National Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
1 - NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Austra-Asian Tag Team ChampionshipThe 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....
(1 time) - with Steve Rackman
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling - Continental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
Further reading
- Flair, RicRic FlairRichard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
. Ric Flair: To Be the Man. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. ISBN 0-7434-5691-2 - Johnson, Weldon T. and Jim WilsonJim Wilson (wrestling)James Milligan Wilson was a former professional American football offensive lineman and a professional wrestler who is most noted for his attempts at starting a labor union for wrestlers...
. Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring. Philadelphia: Xlibris Corporation, 2003. ISBN 1-4010-7217-8 - Meltzer, DaveDave MeltzerDavid A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...
. Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Wrestlers. Champaigne, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2004. ISBN 1-58261-817-8 - "Interviews: Jody Hamilton, Memories of his brother The Missouri Mauler." Whatever Happened To ... ? Oct. 1996.
External links
- Larry Hamilton: The Missouri Mauler by Mike Mooneyham
- In Australia with the Missouri Mauler and Terry Garvin by Scott Teal
- The Official Ox Baker Web Site: My Toughest Opponents
- Championship Wrestling from Florida: Missouri Hamilton
- GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com - Larry Hamilton
- Deceased Superstars: Missouri Mauler
- Profile at Online World of Wrestling