Bobo Brazil

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Bobo Brazil
Brazil in 1972
Birth nameHouston Harris[1]
Born(1924-07-10)July 10, 1924[1]
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.[1]
DiedJanuary 20, 1998(1998-01-20) (aged 73)[1]
St. Joseph, Michigan, U.S.
Children6
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bobo Brazil[2]
Boo-Boo Brazil[3]
BuBu Brasil[1]
Houston Harris[4][1]
Leroy Lincolnlog[4]
Billed height6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[3]
Billed weight270 lb (122 kg)[3]
Billed fromBenton Harbor, Michigan[3]
Trained byJoe Savoldi[1]
Debut1951[2]
Retired1993[4]

Houston Harris[1] (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998)[1] was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one of the first black professional wrestlers to be a marquee name in North America.[3][5]

Early life

Houston Harris was born on July 10, 1924, in Little Rock, Arkansas, but later lived in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Benton Harbor, Michigan.[1][6] His father died when he was seven years old, which resulted in him doing odd jobs such as working on a local fruit farm for fifty cents a container.[7] He played baseball in the Negro leagues for The House of David, where he was discovered to become a wrestler at a steel mill.[1]

Professional wrestling career

Harris was trained by Joe Savoldi after meeting him at matches at the Naval Armory.[1] Savoldi originally named Harris "BuBu Brasil, The South American Giant," where he wrestled using a sequined satin cape stitched together by his wife,[8] but a promoter misprinted his first name as "Bobo" in an advertisement, and the name stuck with Harris throughout his career.[3] During that time, segregation in the South normally limited African-American wrestlers to wrestling other African-American wrestlers; Harris proved so popular that promoters put aside their prejudices in order to make money.[9]

Brazil's first recorded match was on March 29, 1948, in Benton Harbor, wrestling as "Houston Harris, The Black Panther" against Armand Myers to a 30-minute draw.[8] Harris was taught by Joe Savoldi to "be an honest athlete in the ring and never to take shortcuts on anybody to win a match. He was instilled to be a crowd’s friend right to the end."[8] Finding success in Detroit, Brazil developed a fanbase among both the black and white populace with his modesty and stylish dress and professionalism, making him a big draw and an appealing babyface to both races of fans.[10] Although loved by fans, Brazil nonetheless dealt with bigotry and discrimination during that time.[7] In the era when Harris ascended to stardom, African American fans were forced to sit in areas that made it hard to see his matches; Harris himself was banned from going to restaurants, hotels, and even wrestling in certain territories due to the color of his skin.[10] In the early 50s, he also performed in Japan.[11]

Brazil had many matches with competitors such as

Bill Miller to a draw,[14] and challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in a battle of two top babyface competitors.[3] On October 18, 1962, Brazil defeated "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers by hitting him in the groin causing Rogers to be unable to continue.[14][9] Brazil refused the championship and they met a couple of weeks later and Rogers won.[14] At the time, the promoters were working a gimmick where the champion would be hit in the groin and the challenger wouldn't accept the title.[9]
The same scenario occurred in Toronto two weeks earlier with Bruno Sammartino and Rogers. Neither Brazil nor Sammartino were officially recognized by the NWA as having won the World Heavyweight Championship.

Brazil was known for his feud with The Sheik, which led to many bloody matches

On October 9, 1970, Brazil and

class of 1994 by longtime rival Ernie Ladd.[3][13] The following year, Brazil inducted Ladd into the WWF Hall of Fame.[3]

Personal life and death

Harris had a wife and six children.[1] After retiring from wrestling, he ran a restaurant called Bobo's Grill which lasted for more than 20 years.[1][12]

Harris would later on train pro wrestler

James "Kamala" Harris
.

His son Karl (born 1952) wrestled as Bobo Brazil Jr. in the independent circuit.[7] His brother wrestled as Hank James.[15]

Harris died on January 20, 1998, at the Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, Michigan.[13] He had been admitted to the hospital on January 14 and used a wheelchair,[7] after suffering a series of strokes.[13][12]

Championships and accomplishments

1 Not officially recognized as champion because conflicting interests

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Drason Burzynski, Dave. "Bobo Brazil". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Bobo Brazil Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Bobo Brazil bio". WWE. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3
    .
  5. ^ Google Books Jackie Robinson reference
  6. Utica Observer Dispatch
    . Retrieved July 6, 2024. Houston Harris, better known by his ring name of Bobo Brazil, was born July 10, 1924 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
  7. ^ a b c d Long, Mark (June 11, 2020). "Bobo Brazil". History of Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Ojst, Javier (February 12, 2020). "Bobo Brazil, Bearcat Wright, and Art Thomas - Champion Pioneers". Pro Wrestling Stories. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Rickard, Mike (November 1, 2017). "Bobo Brazil - Dead at 73". Wrestler Deaths. Archived from the original on March 17, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "The Untold Story of Bobo Brazil: The Jackie Robinson of Professional Wrestling". Daily DDT. January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Seven facts about Bobo Brazil, the Jackie Robinson of professional wrestling you probably didn't know". Face2Face Africa. August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  12. ^
    AP News
    . January 24, 1998. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  13. ^
    Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original
    on February 23, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c "Bobo Brazil". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  15. ^ "Hank James profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  16. ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title (Detroit)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  17. ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title (San Francisco)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  18. ^ "Florida Tag Team Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  19. ^ Oliver, Greg (March 16, 2023). "IPWHF Class of 2023 both 'Great' and 'Gorgeous'". Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  20. ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title (Toronto)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  21. ^ "N.W.A./W.C.W. United States Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  22. ^ "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  23. ^ "2013". Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  24. ^ "N.W.A. Americas Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  25. ^ "N.W.A. "Beat the Champ" International Television Title (Los Angeles)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  26. ^ "International Television Tag Team Title (Los Angeles)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  27. ^ "N.W.A. Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title (San Francisco)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  28. ^ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  29. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 12, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/12): The Outsiders win WCW Tag team titles". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  30. ^ "W.W.A. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  31. ^ "World Negro Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
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