Bulldog Brower Explained

Bulldog Brower
Birth Name:Richard T. Gland[1]
Birth Date:September 17, 1933[2]
Birth Place:Delaware, U.S.
Death Date:[3]
Spouse:Susan Gland (his death)
Children:3
Names:Bulldog Brower
Delaware Destroyer
Dick Brower
The Gestapo
Weight:270lb
Debut:1958
Retired:1988

Richard T. Gland (September 17, 1933 – September 15, 1997), better known by his ring name Dick "Bulldog" Brower, was an American professional wrestler.

Early life

Gland served in the U.S. Marines and frequently visited his local YMCA.[4] [5] He got into powerlifting after graduating from Wilmington High School in 1952.[1] However, Gland dropped out of chiropractic school to pursue a career as a professional wrestler.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Gland started his career in the Delaware territory in 1958 under the ring name the Delaware Destroyer,[3] however, other sources state that his debut was in 1960.[4] [6] Brower, at one point, wrestled Terrible Ted and hit Haystacks Calhoun with a body slam.[6] In 1961, Brower traveled to Canada to wrestle for Stu Hart in his promotion Stampede Wrestling.[3] Hart claimed that Brower wrestled Whipper Billy Watson over 500 times.[5] After his run in Stampede, Brower wrestled for Frank Tunney in Toronto from 1961 to 1974.[2] There, Brower won the NWA International Tag Team Championship five times,[7] including with Sweet Daddy Siki in 1962, and Johnny Valentine in February 1963.[4] He also worked for other promotions including the American Wrestling Association, NWA St. Louis, Big Time Wrestling in Detroit, and All-Star Wrestling in Montreal.

In 1966, Brower got a call from Vincent J. McMahon to be a heel in the World Wide Wrestling Federation. He enjoyed a lengthy feud with WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino, whom he main evented shows with over the next few years.[6] [8] He also feuded with Bob Backlund, who, in his book Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling's World Champion, described Brower as the least favorite man he ever had to wrestle for the championship.[9]

Brower also wrestled for the National Wrestling Federation (NWF), where he won the NWF North American Heavyweight Championship in 1970.[10] He went on to wrestle for World Championship Wrestling in Australia, where he won the NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship in 1972,[11] as well as the short-lived International Wrestling Association in the New York City area.[5]

Brower returned to the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1979 to 1982, where he was managed by Lou Albano.[4] [6] He then traveled to Puerto Rico, where he competed for the World Wrestling Council (WWC). He and Luke Graham won their version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship,[12] before Brower retired from professional wrestling in 1988.[3] [2] [6]

Death

While with his son Richie, Gland fell and broke a hip, and was later found to have an infection in his chest.[5] After living with diabetes and going into a coma, Gland died on September 15, 1997, at the age of 63.[5] [1] At the time of his death, Gland was divorced from Susan and had two daughters and a son, as well as four grandchildren.[1] [13]

Championships and accomplishments

Notes and References

  1. News: Hager . Mary . September 18, 1997 . Richard Gland, 63; 'Dick the Bulldog' . 5 . . . June 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230624215725/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/23759504/ . June 24, 2023.
  2. Web site: Wrestler Profiles: Dick "The Bulldog" Brower. Online World of Wrestling. July 22, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070712142430/http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/d/dick-brower.html. July 12, 2007.
  3. Web site: Dick 'The Bulldog' Brower. SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. December 8, 2009. usurped. https://archive.today/20130115091908/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/brower.html. January 15, 2013.
  4. Book: Harris M. Lentz III . Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling . . 2003 . 978-0-7864-1754-4 . 2nd . 52 . en.
  5. Book: Johnson . Steven . Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame: The Heels . Oliver . Greg . . 2010 . 978-1-55490-284-2 . 167–169 . en.
  6. Book: Shields . Brian . WWE Encyclopedia . Sullivan . Kevin . . 2009 . 978-0-7566-4190-0 . 54 . en.
  7. Web site: International Tag Team Title (Ontario) . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406091920/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/canada/on/nwa/on-int-t.html . April 6, 2023 . May 20, 2023 . Wrestling-Titles.com.
  8. News: November 17, 1970 . Sammartino Takes Measure Of Bulldog Brower on Mat . . May 20, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200808043428/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/17/archives/sammartino-takes-measure-of-bulldog-brower-on-mat.html . August 8, 2020.
  9. Book: Backlund . Bob . Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling's World Champion . H. Miller . Robert . . 2015 . 9781683584445 . 362 . en . Bob Backlund.
  10. Web site: NWF North American Heavyweight Title . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405010445/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/oh/nwf/nwf-na-h.html . April 5, 2023 . May 20, 2023 . Wrestling-Titles.com.
  11. Web site: NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Title (Australia) . https://web.archive.org/web/20230327091031/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/australia/wcw/aa-h.html . March 27, 2023 . May 20, 2023 . Wrestling-Titles.com.
  12. Web site: WWC North American Tag Team Title (Puerto Rico) . https://web.archive.org/web/20170915190801/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pr/wwc/wwc-na-t.html . September 15, 2017 . May 20, 2023 . Wrestling-Titles.com.
  13. Web site: Cole . Glenn . September 17, 1997 . Bulldog Brower a legend . https://archive.today/20120714025819/http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive/sep17_wcole.html . July 14, 2012 . December 8, 2009 . SLAM! Sports . usurped . Toronto Sun.
  14. Book: Royal Duncan & Gary Will . Wrestling Title Histories . Archeus Communications . 2000. 4th . 0-9698161-5-4 .
  15. Web site: NWF World Tag Team Title (Ohio/Upstate New York) . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410045441/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/oh/nwf/nwf-t.html . April 10, 2023 . May 20, 2023 . Wrestling-Titles.com.
  16. Book: Royal Duncan & Gary Will . Wrestling Title Histories . (Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich] . Archeus Communications . 2006 . 978-0-9698161-5-7.
  17. Web site: World Brass Knuckles Title (Australia) . https://web.archive.org/web/20210905080923/http://www.wrestling-titles.com/australia/wcw/au-world-bk.html . September 5, 2021 . May 20, 2023 . Wrestling-Titles.com.

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