Bert Ruby

Last updated

Bert Ruby
Bert Ruby.jpeg
Birth nameBertalan Rubinstein [1]
Born(1910-11-29)November 29, 1910 [1] [2]
Valea lui Mihai, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary [1]
DiedMarch 9, 1968(1968-03-09) (aged 57) [2]
Michigan, United States
Cause of death Heart attack [3]
Spouse(s)Irene [3]
Children2 [3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Bert Rubi [4]
Bert Rubinstein [2]
Bert Ruby [1]
Magyar Hercules [1]
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm) [2]
Billed weight190 lb (86 kg) [2]
Billed fromHungary
Debut1933 [1] [2]
Retired1955 [3] [2]

Bert Ruby (born Bertalan Rubinstein, November 29, 1910 - March 9, 1968) was a Hungarian/American professional wrestler, professional wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. [1] [ self-published source ] [3]

Contents

Early life

Rubinstein was born in the village of Valea lui Mihai in the Transylvania region of Austria-Hungary in 1910, one of 12 children. Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1919, Rubinstein lived in Hungary. As a young man, he became known for his greater strength and was reputed to be "the town's toughest Jew". During the Great Depression, he emigrated from Hungary to Toronto, Ontario, Canada on an agricultural worker's permit, working on farms. He broke into professional wrestling in the 1930s after a filling station owner hired him and several other local young men to put on a wrestling card and he was spotted by a promoter, eventually moving to Detroit, Michigan in the United States to pursue a career in professional wrestling. [5] [3] [6]

Professional wrestling career

Ruby wrestled his first recorded match in 1933. [2]

Ruby wrestled barefoot for much of his career, earning him the nickname "The Man With the Educated Toes". [3] [4] [7] [ self-published source ] He used the ring names "Bert Ruby", "Bert Rubi", and "Magyar Hercules" ("Hungarian Hercules").

Ruby both ran and wrestled for the Michigan-based promotion Wolverine Wrestling. He held the promotion's Michigan Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1950 and again in 1951. [8] [9]

Ruby retired in 1955 after suffering a heart attack during a bout. [3] [2] He went on to promote professional wrestling in Michigan. [1] He was the right-hand man of Harry Light, helping run the Harry Light Wrestling Office, which dominated professional wrestling in Detroit from the 1940s to the 1960s. [10] [11] As a promoter, Ruby introduced wrestlers including Abdullah the Butcher, George Steele, Killer Kowalski, Leaping Larry Chene, and The Sheik. [1] [10] [12] [13] [14] [ self-published source ] [15] Ruby was also responsible for booking midget professional wrestlers on behalf of the National Wrestling Alliance, with promoters from the various NWA territories contacting him to hire popular wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Little Brutus, and Sky Low Low. [15] [16]

Personal life

Ruby and his wife, Irene, had two sons, Allen and Rob, both of whom became prominent lawyers in the San Francisco Bay Area. [3] [5] Irene was the bookkeeper for Ruby's promotion while his sons worked as announcers, with Allen himself wrestling for over two years. [5] In 1948, Ruby and his wife adopted his nephew, Emery Grosinger, an orphaned teenage Holocaust survivor. [6]

Ruby was Jewish. [3] Following his relocation to North America he anglicized his name as Bert Ruby. [3]

Death

Ruby died of a heart attack in 1967 at the age of 57. [3]

Championships and accomplishments

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Zenk</span> American professional wrestler

Thomas Erwin Zenk was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, with the American Wrestling Association from 1988 to 1989, and with World Championship Wrestling from 1989 to 1994, as well for his tours of Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Lewis (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Robert Herman Julius Friedrich, better known by the ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, was an American professional wrestler and trainer. During his wrestling career, which spanned four decades, Lewis was a four-time World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and overall recognized officially as a five-time world champion. Considered to be one of the most iconic and recognizable sports stars of the 1920s, often alongside boxer Jack Dempsey and baseball player Babe Ruth, Lewis notably wrestled in over 6,000 matches and lost only 32 of them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gino Brito</span> Canadian professional wrestler

Louis Gino Acocella, better known by his ring name Gino Brito, is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was most popular in Montreal. As Louis Cerdan, he was a WWWF Tag Team Champion with fellow Italian-Canadian wrestler Tony Parisi. He trained another Italian-Canadian wrestler, Dino Bravo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mighty Igor</span> American professional wrestler

Richard Joseph "Dick" Garza, better known as Mighty Igor Vodik, or simply Mighty Igor, was an American professional wrestler. He is a one-time American Wrestling Association World champion. As Mighty Igor, he was frequently billed as the "World's Strongest Wrestler".

Leroy Michael McGuirk was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. He was involved in professional wrestling for more than fifty years. As one of the longest surviving members of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), he was affiliated with the promotion from 1949 to 1982, where he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny McShain</span> American professional wrestler

Danny McShain was an American professional wrestler. He competed in the southern United States from the 1930s to the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA Hollywood Wrestling</span> Defunct professional wrestling territory

NWA Hollywood Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It was founded in 1958 as the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. It broke away from the NWA in 1959 and was renamed Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1961. In 1968, it rejoined the NWA and adopted its final name, remaining a member until closing in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA World Title Tournament</span> 1994 Eastern Championship Wrestling supercard event and tournament

The NWA World Title Tournament was a live supercard held by the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States–based professional wrestling promotion NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on August 27, 1994. The event featured a tournament for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The commentator for the event was Joey Styles. Highlights from the event aired on the August 29, 1994, episode of ECW Hardcore TV, while the tournament final and the bout between Shane Douglas and 2 Cold Scorpio appeared on the 2012 WWE DVD and Blu-ray release ECW Unreleased: Vol 1; the bout between 911 and Doink the Clown appeared on the 2013 WWE Blu-ray release ECW Unreleased: Vol 2; and the bout between Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck and the Public Enemy was included in the 2005 compilation DVD BloodSport – The Most Violent Matches of ECW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsu Arakawa</span> American professional wrestler

Mack Mitsukazu Arakawa was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based NWA Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club/American Wrestling Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Time Wrestling (Detroit)</span>

Big Time Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Detroit, Michigan in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">50th State Big Time Wrestling</span> American professional wrestling promotion

50th State Big Time Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Hawaii. The promotion was founded by Al Karasick in 1936 and became a member of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1949. In 1961, Karasick sold the promotion to "Gentleman" Ed Francis. Along with his business partner Lord James Blears, Francis created a "golden age" of professional wrestling in Hawaii that lasted throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, with 50th State Big Time Wrestling becoming one of Hawaii's most-watched programs. In 1979, Francis sold the promotion to Steve Rickard, who one year later sold it to Peter Maivia, who renamed it Polynesian Pro Wrestling. The promotion came to an end in 1988.

Lawrence Robert Tillman (1909-1997) was an American professional wrestler and promoter. He competed throughout the United States and Canada, primarily within the National Wrestling Alliance territories, winning the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1946, and promoted professional wrestling in Calgary, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)</span>

Big Time Wrestling – also known as the American Wrestling Alliance (AWA) or National All-Star Wrestling, and sometimes referred to as NWA San Francisco – was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California, in the United States. Founded by "Professor" Roy Shire (1922–1992) in 1960, the promotion emerged as one of the most profitable in the United States thanks to its "red hot angles" and "good TV". The promotion's heartland was the San Francisco Bay Area, with the Cow Palace as its core venue, but it also ran regular shows in cities including Fresno, Las Vegas, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento. Shire folded the promotion in 1981.

Roy Shropshire was an American professional wrestler and promoter who worked for Big Time Wrestling in San Francisco from 1961 to its closure in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA San Francisco</span>

NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1949. It traded until 1961, when it folded due to competition from the upstart Big Time Wrestling promotion. The promotion's heartland was San Francisco, with the San Francisco Civic Auditorium as its core venue, but it also ran shows in other Northern Californian cities including Fresno, Oakland, Richmond, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Stockton, and Vallejo.

Fred Kohler Enterprises, Inc. was a company established by businessman Fred Kohler (1903–1969) to promote professional wrestling in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.

Western States Sports was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and 1970s under the management of Dory Funk and, later, his sons Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, with its top performers including the Funks themselves and Ricky Romero. Western States Sports promoted professional wrestling events in multiple cities across West Texas including Amarillo, Abilene, El Paso, Lubbock, Odessa, and San Angelo, along with Albuquerque in New Mexico, Colorado Springs and Pueblo in Colorado, and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Sold by the Funks in 1980, the promotion closed in 1981.

Harold Lecht, known professionally as Harry Light was a French/American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Harry Light Wrestling Office in Detroit, Michigan from 1945 to 1959. He was one of the six founders of the National Wrestling Alliance, the body that dominated professional wrestling in North America for much of the latter half of the twentieth century.

The MAC World / International Heavyweight Championship was a Canadian professional wrestling championship created and sanctioned by the Montreal Athletic Commission (MAC). While the Commission sanctioned the title, it did not promote the events in which the Championship was defended. From 1935 until 1938, the American Wrestling Association (AWA) controlled the Championship. The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was recognized by the MAC as the world championship until February 1938 when Yvon Robert was stripped of the title after refusing to wrestle Lou Thesz. A separate world title was created specifically for Quebec and, after the Commission granted promoter Eddie Quinn control of the championship, was used as the main singles title for Canadian Athletic Promotions from 1939 to 1963 and finally by the International Wrestling Association / All-Star Wrestling from 1964 until the mid-1970s. In 1975 the championship was abandoned and replaced by the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship.

Joseph Malcewicz was an American professional wrestler and a promoter. He is an overall three-time world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Robert Reynolds (2017). Motor City Legends: Michigan's Sports Legacy. Lulu.com. p. 159. ISBN   978-1-365-65830-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Bert Ruby". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Joe Eskenazi (November 6, 2003). "Lords of the Ring: Meet the Ruby's, a nice Jewish family — unless you're wrestling them". Jweekly . San Francisco Jewish Community Publications. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "The Piqua Daily Call from Piqua, Ohio". Piqua Daily Call (via Newspapers.com). Ohio Community Media. March 2, 1937. p. 9. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Michael O'Keeffe (February 28, 2009). "Barry Bonds' lawyer Allen Ruby has background to wrestle tough case". New York Daily News . Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Mike Smith (June 11, 2015). "Vignettes From the JN Archives, June 11, 2015". The Detroit Jewish News . Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  7. ↑ Leon David Bess (2008). The Ride of a Lifetime: The Autobiography of Leon David Bess. iUniverse. p. 19. ISBN   978-0-595-52510-2.
  8. ↑ "Wolverine Wrestling". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Michigan Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Tim Hornbaker (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 269, 308. ISBN   978-1-55490-274-3.
  11. ↑ Bertrand Hébert; Pat Laprade (2005). Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story. ECW Press. p. 70. ISBN   978-1-77305-065-2.
  12. ↑ Greg Oliver; Steven Johnson (2010). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. ECW Press. p. 29. ISBN   978-1-55490-284-2.
  13. ↑ George Steele; Jim Evans (2013). Animal. Triumph Books. p. 42. ISBN   978-1-62368-208-8.
  14. ↑ Jim Wilson; Jim Wilson; Weldon T. Johnson (2003). Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring. Xlibris Corporation. p. 118. ISBN   978-1-4628-1172-4.
  15. 1 2 Pat Laprade; Bertrand Hebert (2013). Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 85, 1, 917. ISBN   978-1-77090-296-1.
  16. ↑ Tim Hornbaker (2015). Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire. ECW Press. p. 123. ISBN   978-1-77090-689-1.
  17. ↑ Mike Johnson (January 8, 2017). "1/8 This day in history: Edge becomes first man to cash in Money in the Bank, wins his first WWE Championship". Pro Wrestling Torch . Retrieved October 20, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.