• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Bios

Fritz Von Erich

Height: 6' 4"

Weight: 260 lbs

From: Denton County, TX

Birthday: Aug 16th

Pro Debut: September 4, 1952

Aliases: Tetsu no Tsume, Jack Adkisson

Feds Worked For: NWA-West, WCCW, AWA, NWA, Al Haft Sports (IL/OH), Alex Turk Promotions (Canada), All Japan Pro Wrestling (Japan), All Star Wrestling (NE), Big Time Wrestling (Canada), Big Time Wrestling (MI), Championship Wrestling from Florida (FL), Clark Sports, Inc. (IL), Fred Kohler Enterprises (IL), Gulf Athletic Club (TX), International Wrestling (Canada), Japan Wrestling Association (Japan), Kola Kwariani Booking Office (NY), M & M Promotions (NM/AZ), Maple Leaf Wrestling (Canada), Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (NC/SC), Minnesota Boxing & Wrestling Club (MN), National Wrestling Federation (NJ/NY/OH/PA), NWA Big Time Wrestling (TX), NWA Detroit (MI), NWA Hollywood (CA), NWA Upstate (NY), P. L. Pinkie George Promotions (IA), Pacific Coast Athletic Commission (CA), Southwest Sports (TX), St. Louis Wrestling Club (MO), Steel Belt Wrestling (NY), Sylvio Samson Promotions (Canada), Terminal Athletic Club (OH)

Finisher: The Iron Claw

Career Highlights: -AWA (Indiana) World Tag Team Champion (w/ Dick the Bruiser)
-AWA (Nebraska) World Champion (2x)
-AWA World Champion
-NWA (Amarillo) North American Champion (3x)
-NWA American Champion (17x)
-NWA American Tag Team Champion (8x; 2 each w/ Waldo Von Erich and Grizzly Smith, 1 w/ Billy Red Lyons, Dan Miller, Fred Curry, and Dean Ho)
-NWA (Calgary) Canadian Tag Team Champion (2x; both w/ Lou Sjoberg)
-NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champion (3x; 2 w/ Karl Von Schober, 1 w/ Gene Kiniski)
-NWA (Detroit) United States Champion (3x)
-NWA International Tag Team Champion (w/ Karl Krupp)
-NWA (Mid-Atlantic) Southern Tag Team Champion (w/ Waldo Von Erich)
-NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team Champion (w/ Hans Hermann)
-NWA (Southwest) North American Tag Team Champion (4x; 2 w/ Mike DiBiase, 1 each w/ Gene Kiniski and Larry Hennig)
-NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Champion (5x)
-NWA Texas Champion (4x)
-NWA (Texas) World Tag Team Champion (2x; 1 each w/ Karl Kox and Duke Keomuka)
-WCCW World 6-Man Tag Team Champion (w/ Kevin Von Erich & Mike Von Erich)

Affiliates: Waldo Von Erich, Hans Hermann, Karl Kox, Duke Keomuka, Billy Red Lyons, Grizzly Smith, Dan Miller, Fred Curry, Dean Ho, Karl Krupp, David Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, Chris Von Erich, Gary Hart, Karl Von Schober/Lou Sjoberg, Gene Kiniski, Dick the Bruiser, Mike DiBiase, Larry Hennig

Notable Feuds: Giant Baba, Joe Blanchard, John Paul Hennig, Ernie Ladd, Bull Curry, King Kong Bundy, The Freebirds, Billy Watson, Ilio DiPaolo, Athol Layton, Yukon Eric, Johnny Valentine, The Spoiler, Bobo Brazil, Gary Hart, Duke Keomuka, Pat O'Connor, Dory Funk, The Destroyer, Kinji Shibuya, Billy Red Lyons, Dory Funk, Jr., Bob Ellis, Roy McClarity, Ricky Romero, The Tolos Brothers, The Kalmikoffs, Boris Malenko, Ski Hi Lee, Toru Tanaka, Jack Lanza, The Gallaghers, Gene Kiniski, Wilbur Snyder, Mark Lewin

Other Facts: -Real name was Jack Barton Adkisson
-Stu Hart gave Fritz his wrestling name. According to one source, his wrestling name was derived from his grandparents names, claiming his grandfather's name was Fritz and his mother's maiden name was Von Erich. None of that was true.
-The patriarch of The Von Erich Family
-Father of pro wrestlers David Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, and Chris Von Erich
-Grandfather of pro wrestlers Lacey Von Erich, Marshall Von Erich and Ross Von Erich and pro wrestling personality Hollie Von Erich
-Billed as the brother of Waldo Von Erich. According to some sources, they were distantly related through marriage (Waldo was a distant cousin of Fritz's wife, Doris), but that cannot be confirmed or denied at this time.
-Lance Von Erich was originally billed as Fritz's nephew when Lance started in WCCW, but Fritz admitted Lance was not a real Von Erich when Lance left WCCW for a rival promotion
-Born in Jewett, TX. He was over 15 pounds at birth.
-Sometimes billed from Berlin, Germany
-Long time promoter of World Class Championship Wrestling. As a promoter, he worked with the governing bodies of the NWA in promoting the sport in his native Texas.
-Member of the NWA from 1967 to 1986
-President of the NWA from 1975 to 1976
-Trained Brian Adias, Bruiser Brody, Chris Von Erich, David Von Erich, Jim Duggan, Kevin Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, and Steve Doll for pro wrestling
-Was the first person to book Mark Callaway aka the Undertaker. He booked him under a mask as "Texas Red". This is ironic because, according to Undertaker, Fritz booked him because he thought he bore a resemblance to his son, David, who had just passed away.
-Debuted in the Texas Sportatorium as Jack Adkisson. He later became much more famous as a villain working under the premise of being a Nazi sympathizer. He was "revealed" to the Dallas/Ft. Worth crowd as Jack Adkisson by Gary Hart, who was managing Karl Von Brauner at the time and claimed that Fritz would never be as great as Von Brauner because he wasn't really German! This turn was done in part because of Fritz's wife Doris and her concerns about mentally deranged fans and the heat that Fritz's sons were taking at school
-When he first competed as Fritz Von Erich, he was billed ffrom Berlin, Germany
-When a dispute arose among the NWA members, Fritz seceded from the NWA as WCCW, headquartered in Dallas, became a true independent promotion
-During its heyday, WCCW television shows were seen in 66 U.S. television markets, Japan, Argentina and the Middle East. It was actually seen in more countries than WWF and NWA at the time.
-Holds the record for the longest WCCW American Title reign (6 months, 4 days)
-His biography, "Fritz Von Erich: Master of the Iron Claw" was written by Ron Mullinax and released in 2005.
-Voted Feud of the Year (w/ David Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, & Kerry Von Erich vs. The Freebirds [Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, & Terry Gordy]) by the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1983
-Voted Feud of the Year (w/ David Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, & Kerry Von Erich vs. The Freebirds [Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, & Terry Gordy]) by the readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1984
-Passed away on September 10, 1997 at the age of 68 of a brain tumor, approximately 2 months after being diagnosed with cancer.
-Buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas, TX along side his sons David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris
-Inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall Of Fame in 1996
-Posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 (w/ Chris Von Erich, David Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, & Mike Von Erich as The Von Erichs)
-Posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2012