| WRESTLING'S HISTORY THROUGH MY EYES Part 5: The Curse Of The Von Erichs by Damian Gray (trakxx2k3@vicgrimes.zzn.com) |
| Few wrestling territories enjoyed the success of the Dallas, Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling. Promoter Fritz Von Erich's secrets included playing rock 'n' roll music when popular wrestlers entered the ring, a television show seen as far away as Israel, and a collection of young, muscular babyfaces composed largely of his sons. But as healthy as business was in World Class, the story of the Von Erich's is the most tragic in wrestling. Before they were 35 years old, five of Fritz's six sons were . Fritz Von Erich started life as Jack Adkisson but transformed himself into the wrestling heel Fritz Von Erich in the 1950s. He played a Nazi soldier still loyal to Adolf , the German dictator who died in the final days of World War 2. The routine made Von Erich into a star, and he won the AWA World Championship in 1963. But while Fritz was away touring, his family suffered their first crisis. When his then oldest son, Jackie, was seven, he was playing near some exposed wires in the family's Niagara Falls, New York, trailor park. The boy was jolted by a surge of electricity, and fell, unconscious, into a pile of melting snow, where he drowned. The could not stop Von Erich's rise. He turned himself into a babyface and became a successful promoter and businessman. By the early 1980s, four of Von Erich's sons were his top attractions. They were marketed as all-American boys who valued God and their family. Six-foot-6 David Von Erich may have been the most athletic of the bunch. He entered the ring carrying a yellow rose, the symbol of Texas, and wearing a cowboy hat. His slim but muscular brother Kevin wrestled barefoot and was known for his aerial moves and dropkicks. An even younger brother, Kerry, was the brawniest of the boys. With his feathered hair and fringed ring jackets, he looked like a rock star and was billed as the "Modern Day Warrior". A fourth brother, Mike, was not as athletic as his brothers, but he was still presented to the public as a superstar. Although the World Class promotion was faring well with the Von Erich brothers as it's stars, terrible problems plagued the promotion. And one by one, the Von Erich brothers started to die. David was found in his hotel room in Japan in 1984. American newspapers reported that he'd died of injuries suffered from a kick during a match, but rumours soon spread that the real cause was . By 1987, Mike had become addicted to tranqulisers and painkillers. A police officer pulled Mike over when he was caught speeding, and found a variety of painkillers inside his car. Mike committed by taking an overdose of a sleeping medication called "Placidyl" several days later. The youngest Von Erich brother, Chris, frustrated that his size -he stood 5ft 5ins and weighed 165lbs- and his asthma problems prevented him from achieving the same success as the other Von Erichs. In 1991, he shot himself in the head. Then in 1993, after he was indicted on charges of trafficking, Kerry shot himself in the heart. Of all the Von Erich boys, only Kevin survived. Some people in wrestling directed their anger toward Fritz, claiming that he'd forced his sons into the wrestling business and ignored their problems. Before his in 1997, Fritz responded to the accusations in an internet report saying "Some people say I pushed those boys into wrestling, and wrestling killed them, some people are saying I killed them," he said. "Killed them? I loved those boys. I didn't force them to be wrestlers. I helped them. But wrestling didn't kill them. Different things killed them." Jackie "Von Erich" Adkisson 1956-1963 David "Von Erich" Adkisson 1960-1984 Mike "Von Erich" Adkisson 1966-1987 Chris "Von Erich" Adkisson 1970-1991 Kerry "Von Erich" Adkisson 1960-1993 Jack "Fritz Von Erich" Adkisson 1929-1997 |
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| Kerry Von Erich, former NWA World & WWF Intercontinental Champion |
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