Bobo Brazil
Bobo Brazil | |
---|---|
Birth name | Houston Harris[1] |
Born | [1] Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.[1] | July 10, 1924
Died | January 20, 1998[1] St. Joseph, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 73)
Children | 6 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Bobo Brazil[2] Boo-Boo Brazil[3] BuBu Brasil[1] Houston Harris[4][1] Leroy Lincolnlog[4] |
Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[3] |
Billed weight | 270 lb (122 kg)[3] |
Billed from | Benton Harbor, Michigan[3] |
Trained by | Joe Savoldi[1] |
Debut | 1951[2] |
Retired | 1993[4] |
Houston Harris
Early life
Houston Harris was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but later lived in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Benton Harbor, Michigan.[1] 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.[6] 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,[7] but a promoter misprinted his first name as "Bobo" in an advertisement, and the name stuck with Harris throughout the entirety of his career.[3] During the time, segregation in the South normally limited African-American wrestlers to only wrestling other African-American wrestlers; Harris proved so popular that promoters put aside their prejudices in order to make money.[8]
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.[7] 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."[7] Finding success in Detroit, which was an urban center, 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.[9] Although loved by fans, it didn't stop Brazil from dealing with bigotry and discrimination during that time.[6] In the era when Harris ascended to stardom, African American fans were forced to sit in areas that made it hard to see Bobo matches; even Harris himself was banned from going to restaurants, hotels, and even wrestling in certain territories due to the color of his skin.[9] In the early 50's, he also performed in Japan.[10]
Brazil would have many matches with competitors such as
On October 9, 1970, Brazil and
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][11]
His son Karl (born 1952) wrestles as Bobo Brazil Jr. in the independent circuit.[6] His brother wrestled as Hank James.[14]
Harris died on January 20, 1998, at the Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, Michigan.[12] He had been admitted to the hospital on January 14 and used a wheelchair,[6] after suffering a series of strokes.[12][11]
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Time Wrestling (Detroit)
- Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Sweet Brown Sugar (1) and Dusty Rhodes (1)[17]
- Eastern Sports Association
- International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Japan Wrestling Association
- Maple Leaf Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Whipper Billy Watson[2]
- 1 time)[19]
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- Midwest Wrestling Association (Ohio)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2013)[22]
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling/Worldwide Wrestling Associates
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[23]
- NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship (1 time)[24]
- Sandor Szabo (1), and Primo Carnera (1)[25]
- NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time)[26]
- 2 times)[2]
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Television Era (Class of 2008)[1]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Editor's Award (1998)[27]
- Superstars of Wrestling
- SoW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis)
- WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Carter[29]
- World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
- Other championships
- World Negro Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[30]
1 Not officially recognized as champion because conflicting interests
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Bobo Brazil Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Bobo Brazil bio". WWE. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.
- ^ Google Books Jackie Robinson reference
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Ojst, Javier (February 12, 2020). "Bobo Brazil, Bearcat Wright, and Art Thomas - Champion Pioneers". Pro Wrestling Stories. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c Rickard, Mike (November 1, 2017). "Bobo Brazil - Dead at 73". Wrestler Deaths. Archived from the original on March 17, 2019.
- ^ a b "The Untold Story of Bobo Brazil: The Jackie Robinson of Professional Wrestling". Daily DDT. January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ AP News. January 24, 1998. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the originalon February 23, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Bobo Brazil". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "Hank James profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title (Detroit)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title (San Francisco)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "Florida Tag Team Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "N.W.A. United States Heavyweight Title (Toronto)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A./W.C.W. United States Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "2013". Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "N.W.A. Americas Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A. "Beat the Champ" International Television Title (Los Angeles)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "International Television Tag Team Title (Los Angeles)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A. Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title (San Francisco)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "W.W.A. World Tag Team Title (Indianapolis)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "World Negro Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
External links
- Bobo Brazil on WWE.com
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame profile (archived)
- Bobo Brazil's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database