Von Brauners

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Von Brauners
Kurt Von Brauner#2
Cliff Von Brauner
Saul Weingeroff (manager)
Name(s)The Von Brauners
Kurt & Karl Von Brauner
Billed fromGermany
Debut1960
Disbanded1974

The Von Brauners were a

Karl Von Brauner (Doug Donnan), Kurt Von Brauner #1 (Jimmy Brawner), Eric Von Brauner (Ron Donnan), and Kurt Von Brauner #2 (Willy Rutgowsky). The chosen gimmick was that of a team of evil German twins.[1][2]

The four members worked as the Von Brauners for approximately 15 years.[3] The team of Karl and Kurt #1 captured World Tag Team gold 20 times. All versions of the team captured a total of 35 world tag team championships plus five regional tag team championships.

Professional wrestling career

Jimmy Brawner and Doug Donovan began

booked by Nick Gulas in NWA Mid-America.[2] When Jimmy Brauner and Doug Donovan split up in 1965, Donovan's real life brother Ron "Red" Donnan began teaming with him as Karl and Eric Von Brauner.[2][3] Eric retired in the late 1960s and was replaced by the second Kurt Von Brauner, played by Willy Rutgowsky.[2][3] They teamed together in San Francisco with Gerhardt Kaiser as their manager.[2][4] While the team has been said to be disbanded in 1974, the team continued on in NWA Hollywood Wrestling with Karl and Cliff Von Brauner(Mike McManus) in what may have been the final run of the Von Brauners.[3][4][5]

Personal lives

Karl Von Brauner

Doug Donovan played the Karl Von Brauner character. He was born Doug Donnan on a dairy farm in

Edmonton, Alberta.[3] While working at a gym, Stu Hart "discovered" Donovan and trained him to be a professional wrestler.[3] During his wrestling years, he changed his name to Donovan, and at 5′10″, he weighed 215 pounds.[3] Donovan had some early success with Pacific Northwest Wrestling as a singles wrestler, winning the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship once, as well as the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship five times (including twice with his brother Red).[6] Later, Donovan legally changed his name to Karl Von Brauner.[2][3]

In the mid-1960s, Donovan teamed with

NWA American Tag Team Champions, titles that were also recognized by World Class Championship Wrestling in addition to the Western States promotion. The Internationals lost the American Tag Team title to Fritz and Waldo Von Erich
on February 21, 1967.

While Donovan was said to have retired from professional wrestling in 1975, to work as an air freight pilot in California, he wrestled as Inferno #1 of

crop duster.[3] He had a wife Sherry and two sons named Jeff and Chris.[3] After a stroke and open heart surgery, he died on July 5, 2009.[3]

Kurt Von Brauner #1

Jimmy Brawner played the first version of Kurt Von Brauner.

Southland Corporation in Tampa and later for the Shriners as chief of security for their hospital.[1] Brawner died from a stroke on July 4, 2004.[2] He lived in Tampa with his wife Joann until his death.[2]

Eric Von Brauner

Doug Donovan's real life brother Ron "Red" Donnan played Eric Von Brauner.

Stirling, Ontario.[3] Red worked for the Royal Canadian Air Force.[3]

He trained as a professional wrestler with Bert Ruby in Detroit.[3] In the late 1950s, he worked in Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where he held the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship twice with his brother. Red retired from professional wrestling in the late 1960s and joined the fire department in Memphis.[3] He later moved to Covington, Georgia.[3]

Kurt Von Brauner #2

The second incarnation of Kurt Von Brauner was played by Willy Rutgowsky, who also previously wrestled under the name

Nazis during World War II before becoming a professional wrestler.[3] Rutgowsky died on February 17, 1993.[2]

Cliff Von Brauner

Cliff Von Brauner was portrayed by Mike McManus in 1976. Little is known of McManus' career due to McManus often wrestling under masks. He wrestled as "Bruiser" McManus and was a journeyman wrestler. He made appearances as

New Japan Pro Wrestling.[9] He later became "Cliff Von Brauner" for NWA Hollywood Wrestling in 1976 and teamed up with Curtis Smith as, "The Challengers.[8][10]

Championships and accomplishments

Karl and Kurt Von Brauner

Karl and Kurt Von Brauner #1

Karl and Eric Von Brauner

Karl and Kurt Von Brauner #2

Kurt and Fritz Von Brauner

References

  1. ^ a b c d Webb, Ted. "Kurt & Karl Von Brauner & Gentleman Saul Weingroff". Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
  2. ^
    SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  3. ^
    SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6
    .
  5. ^ Team mat bouts at Olympic, Easide Journal, 1976, retrieved 26 July 2023
  6. ^ "Karl von Brauner". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  7. ISBN 978-1-57488-308-4
    .
  8. ^ a b Guerrero wins main event at Strelich, The Bakersfield Californian, 1976, retrieved 26 July 2023
  9. ^ Mike McManus, Wrestlingdata.com, 2023, retrieved 13 March 2023
  10. ^ Infernos, Cagematch.net, 2023, retrieved 13 March 2023
  11. ^ "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles [W. Texas]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  12. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  13. ^ "AWA World Tag Team Title (Indiana)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  14. ^ a b c "NWA World Tag Team Title (Mid-America)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  15. ^ "NWA Southern Tag Team History (Mid-Atlantic)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  16. ^ "NWA World Tag Team Title (Florida)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  17. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  18. ^ "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  19. ^ a b "NWA World Tag Team Title (Georgia)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  20. ^ "WWA World Tag Team Title (Indiana)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  21. ^ "World Tag Team Title (Amarillo)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  22. ^ "NWA Tennessee Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  23. ^ "NWA World Tag Team Title (Detroit)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  24. ^ "NWA World Tag Team Title (San Francisco) (Roy Shire)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  25. ^ "International Tag Team Title (Georgia)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2009-01-12.

External links

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