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Bull Curry

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Not to be confused with Bill Curry.

Bull Curry
Curry in 1967
Birth nameFred Thomas Koury Sr.[1]
Born(1913-05-02)May 2, 1913[1]
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.[2]
DiedMarch 8, 1985(1985-03-08) (aged 71)[3]
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bull Curry
Billed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[4]
Billed weight220 lb (100 kg)[4]
Billed fromHartford, Connecticut[3]
Trained byAdam Weissmuller[2]
Debut1932
Retired1979[2]

Fred Thomas Koury Sr. (May 2, 1913 – March 8, 1985), best known under his ring name ”Wild Bull” Curry, was an American professional wrestler of Lebanese descent. He is recognized as the originator of the hardcore style, predating legends such as The Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher, and Bruiser Brody.[5]

Professional wrestling career

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At the age of sixteen, Curry left high school and joined the circus in order to help provide for his four brothers and sisters.[2] His job at the circus was that of the “tough man” who took on all comers from the audience in a fight. He had 65 straight wins without anyone going past one 5-minute round.[1] In 1939, Curry joined the Hartford Police Department, where he put his “tough man” background to good use in the streets, quickly earning him a reputation for toughness.[2] It has been claimed that on one occasion, a wild steer bull broke out of the Hartford stockyard and ran wild in the streets. Curry grabbed the bull by the horns and managed to wrestle it to the ground, however, it is likely this was in fact nothing more than a fictional story created by wrestling promoters to give a reason for his nickname of “Wild Bull” that stuck with him for the rest of his life.[1][6]

In the 1940s, Curry began wrestling in Detroit under promoter Adam Weissmuller.[2] While there, Curry developed his brutal, hardcore style of wrestling that made him a top name in the territory. In July 1940, Curry faced professional boxer Jack Dempsey in an exhibition match.[7][8] Years later, Curry would often claim that he knocked Dempsey out in the match, but he was actually stopped in the second round.[9]

In the early part of the 1950s, Bull Curry relocated to Texas, where his combination of unpredictable violence, unique look and intensity made him a star more or less immediately upon arrival.[1][6] Curry's brawling style made him a success but it also kept the promoters from giving him the “main” title of the territory despite being the biggest draw in the territory.[10] Instead of letting Curry win the top title of the Texas territory, the bookers created a brand new title to match his hardcore style of wrestling: the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship, which he won on March 6, 1953, in a tournament final over Danny McShain.[11] From that year onwards until 1967, Curry personified the Texas Brass Knuckles Championship as he held it 20 times, defeating such names including Fritz Von Erich, Tony Borne, Waldo Von Erich, Louie Tillet, Killer Karl Kox and Brute Bernard for the title.[11] Also in 1953, Curry would briefly hold the Texas version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Lucas Pertano, as well as the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship for three weeks.[11]

Bull Curry's son Fred Thomas Koury, Jr. would later start wrestling as "Flying" Fred Curry. Unlike his father, Fred was a clean cut, high flying face, but the two Currys teamed up on a regular basis. The two won the NWA International Tag Team Championship in 1964 and held it until 1966,[11] as well as beating Nikolai and Boris Volkoff for the Ohio version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship.[3] Fred's eventual attempts to get out of his father's shadow never caused any problems between the two Currys.[12] Bull retired from wrestling in 1979 and worked as a corrections officer.[2][13]

His grandson, Fred Curry Jr. also is a wrestler.

Professional wrestling persona

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Bull Curry's trademark was his “wildman” look with bushy eyebrows, maniacal facial expressions and insane eyes that could scare the crowd just by looking at them. In one case, he scared a girl at ringside so badly she had to be carried from the ring in terror.[14] This wild look, coupled with his wild brawling style, made Curry one of the most disliked heels in wrestling. Other wrestlers also refused to work with Curry as they felt he seldom showed the effects of their offense.[6] He was so hated in places that riots broke out more than once as irate fans attacked Curry in the ring.[15]

  • 1955: A match between Curry and Ray McIntyre resulted in more than a 140 fans being taken to the hospital after a riot broke out.[16]
  • 1956: Curry was jumped by a fan who was displeased with Curry's brutal treatment of local star George Becker. Curry broke the fan's jaw with a single punch.[16]
  • 1958: During a match with Pepper Gomez in Galveston, Texas, a fan struck Bull Curry with an iron pipe. Curry chased the fan out of the ring, catching up with him in the balcony where he beat him up.[16]
  • 1968: While wrestling Emile Dupreé in Worcester, Massachusetts, a fan jumped in the ring and jumped on Curry's back. Curry punched the fan so hard that he was reportedly unconscious for two days.[16]
  • Year unknown: During a match in Texas, Curry got a bucket of yellow paint dumped over his head by a fan.[3]

Death

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Koury died from liver disease at a hospital on March 8, 1985, at the age of 71.[2]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Wild Bill Curry". The Currys' official website. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "'Wild Bull' Curry: Champion Wrestler". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. March 8, 1985. p. 77.
  3. ^ a b c d "Wrestler Profiles: Bull Curry". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
  4. ^ a b "Bull Curry Returns Here". The Day. New London, Connecticut. August 6, 1958. p. 15. Curry stands six-foot one-inch tall and weighs 220 pounds.
  5. ^ a b "CAC 2004 - Wild Bull Curry". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Johnson, Steven; Oliver, Greg (2010). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. ECW Press. pp. 92–96. ISBN 978-1-55490-284-2.
  7. ^ "Another Wrestler Bites The Dust for Dempsey". The Evening Independent. July 16, 1940. p. 13.
  8. ^ Johnson, Steven; Oliver, Greg (June 15, 2007). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heels. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1550227598.
  9. ^ Conner, Floyd (February 12, 2001). "Lights Out". Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Potomac Books. p. 302. ISBN 1-57488-308-9.
  10. ^ Terry Funk & Scott Williams (August 27, 2006). Terry Funk: More than just Hardcore. Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59670-159-5.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  12. ^ "Fred Curry's Heartbreaking Decision: "I Had to Leave My Father to Restore our Good Name!". Inside Wrestling. London Publishing Co. October 1972. Archived from the original on January 28, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Conner, Floyd (February 12, 2001). "Old wrestlers never die". Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Potomac Books. p. 302. ISBN 1-57488-308-9.
  14. ^ Conner, Floyd (February 12, 2001). "Not Just another pretty face". Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Potomac Books. p. 302. ISBN 1-57488-308-9. "His face scared me" she said.
  15. ^ Pope, Kristian; Whebbe, Ray (2003). The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers (2nd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-625-4.
  16. ^ a b c d Conner, Floyd (February 12, 2001). "Wrestling Fanatics". Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Potomac Books. p. 302. ISBN 1-57488-308-9.
  17. ^ Marks, Marky (2003). "Big Time Wrestling United States Heavyweight Title History". Solie.org. Solie's Title Histories. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "Hall of Famers". Archived from the original on July 6, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  19. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Texas) Dallas: NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 271. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  20. ^ *Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

Further reading

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