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Dusty Wolfe Blog: Jack Brisco Passing

Posted: Feb 2nd 2010 By: mikeiles

I watched some of RAW last night. And I believe the part I enjoyed the most was?.we didn?t have to change the channel at the Rancho when the Miz comes out of the VinceTron. Thank you writers.

Spent the weekend on the road, and the promoters behaved themselves and kept their word. Which is the way everything should be, but seldom is. A refreshing change of pace, if you will.

Woke up yesterday to the news Jack Brisco had passed. This was a bit of a shock. No matter how old we may get, our childhood and early youth memories are not supposed to age.

Jack Brisco was a man among men. And I say that, having barely known him. I have admired Jack at a distance for years. Some reasons I knew why. Some reasons never registered with me until last night.

The main reason I say Jack was a man among men, and I admired him?.when Jack retired, Jack did just that. He retired. No comeback. No angle. Nothing. Jack Brisco got on that plane up north in the middle of winter, called the WWF office and said he was going home. And Jack Brisco stayed home. When Jack wanted to go into his body shop, Jack went to work. If Jack wanted to sit on his porch with his wife and his hound, Jack sat on the porch. And he never went back into the ring.

When Jack and Jerry sold their interest in the Georgia wrestling office to Vince McMahon, they told everyone involved up front what was going to happen. And they did exactly that. Then, Jack had a set big enough to go and finish his commitment in the Charlotte territory. Fully aware that Ole Anderson and Jim Crockett would have loved to screw him over. Try getting a man to tell you the truth up front in the wrestling world today? and then have that same man keep his word on a seperate issue! A man among men. A rarity indeed.

Last night, I realized Jack Brisco played a huge role in my life.
I grew up watching Leroy McGuirk?s territory, the old Amarillo office, and the Dallas office on TV every week.
While Jack wasn?t wrestling much in his home territory of Oklahoma for McGuirk, Jack was a HUGE part of the wrestling that set me on my life?s pattern..

My first wrestling memories were of NWA champion Dory Funk, Jr. returning home to Amarillo on the rare occasion. And it never mattered what was happening in Amarillo, Jack Brisco was the man that threatened Dory?s title reign the most. We would be treated to film clips of Dory Jr v Jack from Amarillo, St Louis, Tampa, and Lord knows where else. These guys were HUGE money for the time. I didn?t know that part. I just knew Jack Brisco was going to beat Dory Funk Jr one day.

Add Jerry Brisco and Terry Funk to the mix, and there were some tremendous stuff going on for a young kid.
Jump ahead a few years, and Jack Brisco is now the NWA champ. And Dory is still having classic matches with Jack. Add the fact Terry Funk and Dick Murdoch were both after the NWA title, and Amarillo was addictive.
Whoever had the book in Dallas during the first half of the 70?s knew how to book the NWA champ. And when Jack Brisco was announced as returning to the Dallas area, his arrival was truly a big deal. Fritz Von Erich, Jose Lothario?on down the line. These matches were great drama. And I was hooked.

None of what I?ve written as being so great would have taken place without Jack Brisco. And Jack was so smooth and so subtle at his job, I never realized just how damn good he was. Until last night. I?ve written elsewhere how I decided to get into wrestling. And these are just a few of the memories that created those reasons. But they are the MAJOR ones.

One last thing before I say RIP?I have always admired Jack Brisco for one other fact. His NWA title switches with Giant Baba in Japan. I don?t have time here, but let?s just say, Jack was a rare one indeed.

RIP champ.

Tags: Dusty Wolfe, Jack Brisco, WWE, WWF, Jerry Brisco, Leroy McGuirk, NWA, Dory Funk, Jr., Terry Funk, Dick Murdoch, Fritz Von Erich, Jose Lothario