| VIEW FROM INSIDE THE RING |
| Copyright © Georgia Wrestling History, Inc. All rights reserved. |
THE BOYS BURIED FUNK, JR.
– Dick Steinborn
November 7, 2008
Before getting to the story, let me tell you about the racetrack in Nassau. It did have tall poles surrounding the track, but the lights were
turned off at bell time.
The shoddy promotion of the island really didn’t consider a ring light over the ring that the boys were to wrestle in. The local
promoters didn’t want to pay for the pole lights, so they constructed a makeshift apparatus that was placed 17 feet above the ring.
They used 2x4s joined together in a 4-foot square, with wires attached, to connect to twenty 100-watt bulbs. It was the right illumination,
but it also produced one of the funniest things I had ever seen in my life.
I didn’t make many trips to Nassau, but on this first trip I was involved with the Roop situation, and the upcoming Dory Funk, Jr., saga.
Dick Murdoch had a gift for bringing excitement to the ring, and he leaned toward comedy. Judging his past experience, it was only now
and then that he made the people laugh.
One of those twenty bulbs that hung over the ring flickered now and then. It was a short somehow that put that light on and off all night
long. It happened in my match, and I paid no attention to it.
Murdoch got in the ring, and about two minutes into his match, I watched him crisscross to opposite ropes with his opponent. Then Dick
stopped and looked up at the flickering light. He stood there and stared at it. His opponent came toward him and stopped to view what
his opponent was looking up at.
I guess his opponent realized that laughter was starting to emerge from the crowd, and so he decided to dropkick Murdock, which
brought the crowd to a higher pitch.
Two or three times during his match, I watched him stop his actions and stare at that flickering bulb that must have controlled his working
emotions. The crowd was into it, yet his heel moved at the end, got his hand raised, and now the fans started to hate even more, the man
who captivated them with his short burst of laughter during his wrestling match.
There were so many interesting characters that I had met in my 33 years as a pro. Like Dory Funk, Jr.
Bob Roop and I headed down a dark road, connecting to the dark country road headed to a town, and I insisted on leaving early because
I didn’t want to see another one-hour draw with that night’s main event.
Jack Brisco and Dory Funk, Jr., had more draw matches across the USA, than Don Fargo and I had in the state of Florida. We had forty-
four. Funk and Brisco passed that for sure.
The night was young, and the Bohemian music drew the wrestlers to the nearby clubs. I went up in the hills to the “Banana Boat�,
where the music dragged me onto the dance floor to the hit of that time, “Wednesday’s Child�.
Dory and Jack stayed in downtown Nassau and attended the same club. The champion and his challenger accepted the fact that the
Nassau natives respected the ability of both wrestlers, and accepted them being together as true sportsmen. They went to bed at about 5
in the morning.
The next day at poolside, it was so exciting. Eight wrestlers were hanging out in close proximity of the pool that was in the middle of a U-
shaped two-story motel. When the tourists checked in, they went to their rooms, got into their bathing suits, and had to come out of the
same office, headed for the pool.
As the first tourist passed in front of me headed for the poolside lounge, I snuck up behind him, waist-locked him, lifted him off his feet,
and rushed to the pool, tossing him and myself in. As he submerged from the water, I was there to face him and say, “Welcome to
Nassau!� Believe it or not, he smiled, and mentally thought he had something to brag about when he went back to the States to
continue his life. “I was tossed in the pool in Nassau by a pro wrestler!� I’m sure that would be his legacy.
Nick Kozak was the next to snatch a person coming out with his new bride on his honeymoon. In he went in the pool with the groom.
A total of seven people went in to the deep that day as maids surrounded the second floor balcony, laughing at the 45 minute escapade
that was going on.
Then things calmed down. It was time for a trip back to the room, then back to the pool, and a short nap at poolside.
I couldn’t sleep because Dory, Jr., was snoring.
Here I go again with another brainstorm. I convinced Jose Lothario, Nick Kozak, George Grant, and Stu Schwartz to accompany me in a
plot to send the World Champion to the bottom of the pool without him knowing it.
It took us only a few minutes to plot the gimmick. We knew Dory weighed about 220 pounds, and the bench another 60-70 pounds. It was
made of wooden slats. Dory was in la-la land, still snoring.
All of us snuck up on the bench and squatted to where we could place our hands under the bench. We tightened our muscles and slowly
stood up. It only took about five steps to the edge of the pool. We slowly tipped the bench, and watched the World Champion descend into
the deep without his knowing what was going on.
A few days later, as Jr. came into the dressing room in Orlando, I had to ask him what he thought whenever he did wake up. If I were to
put myself in his shoes, I would probably reveal the same answer he revealed to me. He said, “Dick, I woke up at the bottom of the
pool.�
– Dick Steinborn
November 7, 2008
Before getting to the story, let me tell you about the racetrack in Nassau. It did have tall poles surrounding the track, but the lights were
turned off at bell time.
The shoddy promotion of the island really didn’t consider a ring light over the ring that the boys were to wrestle in. The local
promoters didn’t want to pay for the pole lights, so they constructed a makeshift apparatus that was placed 17 feet above the ring.
They used 2x4s joined together in a 4-foot square, with wires attached, to connect to twenty 100-watt bulbs. It was the right illumination,
but it also produced one of the funniest things I had ever seen in my life.
I didn’t make many trips to Nassau, but on this first trip I was involved with the Roop situation, and the upcoming Dory Funk, Jr., saga.
Dick Murdoch had a gift for bringing excitement to the ring, and he leaned toward comedy. Judging his past experience, it was only now
and then that he made the people laugh.
One of those twenty bulbs that hung over the ring flickered now and then. It was a short somehow that put that light on and off all night
long. It happened in my match, and I paid no attention to it.
Murdoch got in the ring, and about two minutes into his match, I watched him crisscross to opposite ropes with his opponent. Then Dick
stopped and looked up at the flickering light. He stood there and stared at it. His opponent came toward him and stopped to view what
his opponent was looking up at.
I guess his opponent realized that laughter was starting to emerge from the crowd, and so he decided to dropkick Murdock, which
brought the crowd to a higher pitch.
Two or three times during his match, I watched him stop his actions and stare at that flickering bulb that must have controlled his working
emotions. The crowd was into it, yet his heel moved at the end, got his hand raised, and now the fans started to hate even more, the man
who captivated them with his short burst of laughter during his wrestling match.
There were so many interesting characters that I had met in my 33 years as a pro. Like Dory Funk, Jr.
Bob Roop and I headed down a dark road, connecting to the dark country road headed to a town, and I insisted on leaving early because
I didn’t want to see another one-hour draw with that night’s main event.
Jack Brisco and Dory Funk, Jr., had more draw matches across the USA, than Don Fargo and I had in the state of Florida. We had forty-
four. Funk and Brisco passed that for sure.
The night was young, and the Bohemian music drew the wrestlers to the nearby clubs. I went up in the hills to the “Banana Boat�,
where the music dragged me onto the dance floor to the hit of that time, “Wednesday’s Child�.
Dory and Jack stayed in downtown Nassau and attended the same club. The champion and his challenger accepted the fact that the
Nassau natives respected the ability of both wrestlers, and accepted them being together as true sportsmen. They went to bed at about 5
in the morning.
The next day at poolside, it was so exciting. Eight wrestlers were hanging out in close proximity of the pool that was in the middle of a U-
shaped two-story motel. When the tourists checked in, they went to their rooms, got into their bathing suits, and had to come out of the
same office, headed for the pool.
As the first tourist passed in front of me headed for the poolside lounge, I snuck up behind him, waist-locked him, lifted him off his feet,
and rushed to the pool, tossing him and myself in. As he submerged from the water, I was there to face him and say, “Welcome to
Nassau!� Believe it or not, he smiled, and mentally thought he had something to brag about when he went back to the States to
continue his life. “I was tossed in the pool in Nassau by a pro wrestler!� I’m sure that would be his legacy.
Nick Kozak was the next to snatch a person coming out with his new bride on his honeymoon. In he went in the pool with the groom.
A total of seven people went in to the deep that day as maids surrounded the second floor balcony, laughing at the 45 minute escapade
that was going on.
Then things calmed down. It was time for a trip back to the room, then back to the pool, and a short nap at poolside.
I couldn’t sleep because Dory, Jr., was snoring.
Here I go again with another brainstorm. I convinced Jose Lothario, Nick Kozak, George Grant, and Stu Schwartz to accompany me in a
plot to send the World Champion to the bottom of the pool without him knowing it.
It took us only a few minutes to plot the gimmick. We knew Dory weighed about 220 pounds, and the bench another 60-70 pounds. It was
made of wooden slats. Dory was in la-la land, still snoring.
All of us snuck up on the bench and squatted to where we could place our hands under the bench. We tightened our muscles and slowly
stood up. It only took about five steps to the edge of the pool. We slowly tipped the bench, and watched the World Champion descend into
the deep without his knowing what was going on.
A few days later, as Jr. came into the dressing room in Orlando, I had to ask him what he thought whenever he did wake up. If I were to
put myself in his shoes, I would probably reveal the same answer he revealed to me. He said, “Dick, I woke up at the bottom of the
pool.�
