Fritz Von Erich

Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion and a 6-time NWA United States Champion. He was the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling.^[4]

Fritz Von Erich
Von Erich in 1977
Birth name	Jack Barton Adkisson
Born	(1929-08-16)August 16, 1929 Jewett, Texas, U.S.
Died	September 10, 1997(1997-09-10) (aged 68)[1] Lake Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Cause of death	Brain and lung cancer
Spouse	Doris J. Smith ​ ​ (m. 1950; div. 1992)​
Children	6, including Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris
Family	Von Erich
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Fritz Von Erich Tetsu no Tsume (Iron Claw) Jack Adkisson[2]
Billed height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[3]
Billed weight	260 lb (118 kg)[3]
Billed from	Denton, Texas Berlin, Germany
Trained by	Stu Hart
Debut	1953[2]
Retired	1982

Football career

Adkisson attended Southern Methodist University, where he threw discus and played football. He has been reported to have played with the now defunct Dallas Texans of the NFL (not the AFL team which became the Kansas City Chiefs),^[5] but this is not true.^[6] He was signed as a guard but was cut.^[7] He then tried the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Professional wrestling career

Early career and training

While in Edmonton, he met wrestler and trainer Stu Hart, and Hart decided to train and book him in his Klondike Wrestling promotion, naming him Fritz Von Erich and teaming him with "brother" Waldo Von Erich as a pair of "evil German" brothers. Adkisson's oldest son Jack Barton Adkisson Jr. was born September 21, 1952. He died in 1959 after an accidental electrocution and drowning, and Jack Sr. stopped traveling to the east coast, allowing former partner Waldo to use the Von Erich name in the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

1960s

Despite Jack Jr.'s death, Adkisson continued to travel and wrestle. Adkisson won both versions of the AWA World title in 1963. His major circuit was Sam Muchnick's NWA territorial stronghold in St. Louis, Missouri. He wrestled there until 1967, when he voluntarily left the territory after losing a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against then-champion Gene Kiniski.^[8] In the late 1960s, with Muchnick's backing, Adkisson became the promoter for the Dallas area, effectively overseeing the Houston and San Antonio territories, as well.^[8]

Japan

Adkisson was a part of rebuilding Japanese wrestling after the stabbing death of Rikidōzan in 1963. He became a star due to his feuds with Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba, and his "Iron Claw" hold, which became one of the most popular wrestling moves in Japan.

Retirement

In 1982, he held his first retirement match against King Kong Bundy in the newly renamed World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) promotion, based in Dallas. The promotion was known for its high production values, use of entrance music and the use of television syndication. He wrestled his last match on November 27, 1986, defeating Abdullah the Butcher by disqualification in Dallas. By the end of the 1980s, the promotion's talent pool was thin and it was eventually merged with Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association to create the United States Wrestling Association in 1989.

Personal life and death

See also: Von Erich family

The Von Erich family (from left to right): Kerry, Fritz, Kevin, Chris (front), Mike and David

Adkisson married Doris J. Smith on June 23, 1950.^[9] Together, they had six sons, including Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris. The couple divorced on July 21, 1992.

Adkisson died of brain and lung cancer at his home in Lake Dallas, Texas on September 10, 1997.^[10]

Von Erich was part of the video game Legends of Wrestling series, first appearing in Legends of Wrestling (2001) as an unlockable character, in Legends of Wrestling II (2002) and Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (2004). Also appeared in the video game; Giant Gram 2000: All Japan Pro Wrestling 3 (2000) on SEGA.

In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame along with his family. He was inducted by Freebird Michael Hayes. It was accepted by his surviving son Kevin.

In 2019, Adkission was covered as part of the Dark Side of the Ring episode on the Von Erichs.

The 2023 film The Iron Claw depicts the Von Erich family story, with Fritz played by Holt McCallany.

Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Karl Krupp
• Big Time Wrestling
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit Version) (3 times)
• Maple Leaf Wrestling
  • NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Karl Von Schober (2) and Gene Kiniski (1)
• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Waldo Von Erich
• NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club / American Wrestling Association
  • AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (1 time) - with Hans Hermann
  • World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha) (2 times)
• NWA Western States Sports
  • NWA International Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time) - with Killer Karl Krupp
  • NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) (4 times)
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time) - with Gene Kiniski^[11]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 207 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003^[12]
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2012
• Southwest Sports, Inc / NWA Big Time Wrestling / World Class Championship Wrestling
  • NWA American Heavyweight Championship (13 times)^[13][14]
  • NWA American Tag Team Championship (7 times) - with Waldo Von Erich (2), Billy Red Lyons (1), Grizzly Smith (1), Fred Curry (1), Dan Miller (1), and Dean Ho (1)^[15][16]
  • NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (5 times)^[17][18]
  • NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (4 times)^[19][20]
  • NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Texas version) (3 times)^[a]
  • NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (1 time) - with Kevin & Mike Von Erich
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas Version) (2 times) - with Killer Karl Kox (1) and Duke Keomuka (1)^[21][22]
• Stampede Wrestling
  • Alberta Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Lou Sjoberg^[23]
• St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2007
• WWE
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (1985) Usage of Mike Von Erich near death to sell tickets
  • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (1986) Exploitation of the death of Gino Hernandez in a video package about Chris Adams blindness angle
  • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (1987) Exploitation of the death of Mike Von Erich
  • Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (1988) Fake heart attack angle
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

See also

• Biography portal

• List of notable brain tumor patients
• Von Erich family

Notes

1. This championship was later renamed the NWA American Heavyweight Championship in May 1968. It would later be renamed the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship after World Class' withdrawal from the NWA in February 1986.