From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Dory Funk

American professional wrestler (1919–1973)

Field	Value
name	Dory Funk Sr.
image	Dory Funk - Wrestling News San Angelo Sport Arena - 14 August 1962.jpg
caption	Funk in 1962
birth_name	Dorrance Wilhelm Funk
names	Dory Dean
Dory Deane
Dory Dillard
Dory Funk
Dory Funk Sr.
The Outlaw
height	6 ft 0 in
weight	249 lb
alma_mater	Indiana State University
birth_date
death_date
birth_place	Hammond, Indiana, U.S.
death_place	Amarillo, Texas, U.S.
billed	Amarillo, Texas
spouse	Dorothy Culver Funk
Betty Funk
children	3, including Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk
debut	1940

Betty Funk

Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion.

Early life

Funk was born in Hammond, Indiana, on May 4, 1919, as the son of Emma E. (Gust) and Adam Funk. He was an Indiana high school state champion amateur wrestler for three years at Hammond High School in Hammond, Indiana, as well as an Indiana State University Amateur Athletic Union champion for one year.

Professional wrestling career

Funk began his career as a professional wrestler after serving in the United States Navy during World War II, starting in the southwest United States. He wrestled primarily in the Texas territories and the Central States territories during his career. Mainly a junior heavyweight, he fought Iron Mike DiBiase, Mike Clancy, Danny Hodge and Verne Gagne. After Dory Jr. won the NWA Heavyweight championship in 1969, he was at ringside for many of his son's title defences.

Promoter

Funk began promoting Western States Sports with Doc Sarpolis in Amarillo, Texas, where he led a thriving wrestling scene that produced many stars, including his sons Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, as well as Stan Hansen, Harley Race, Gene Kiniski, Tully Blanchard, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, Bruiser Brody, Ricky Romero, Jumbo Tsuruta, and Genichiro Tenryu. Many of his wrestlers had played football at West Texas State University in nearby Canyon, Texas. Funk had a good business relationship with All Japan Pro Wrestling founder Shohei Baba, which led Funk's talent pool to useful international experience. Funk was also heavily involved with the Cal Farley Boys Ranch in Amarillo.

On July 15, 2006, Funk was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Newton, Iowa. The award was accepted by his son, Terry.

Death

Funk died at St. Anthony's Hospital after suffering a heart attack on June 3, 1973, at the age of 54, while demonstrating a wrestling hold at his home to a visitor at his Flying Mare Ranch in Umbarger, Texas. He was buried at Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon, Texas.

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jose Lothario
George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2006
National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2013)
NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Lou Thesz (1) and Pancho Pico (1)
Northland Wresting Enterprises
- North American Junior Heavyweight Title (Ontario version) (1 time)
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Class of 2020
Western States Sports
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (2 times)
- NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) (17 times)
- NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (7 times) - with Bob Geigel (1), Dick Hutton (1) and Ricky Romero (5)
- NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship (8 times)
- NWA Southwest Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Cowboy Carlos (2) and Bob Geigel (2)
- NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (4 times) - with Bob Geigel (1), Dick Hutton (2) and Rip Rogers (1)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
WWE
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2025 - Legacy wing)

References

"Dorothy Funk Culver | Amarillo.com | Amarillo Globe-News".
"Dory Funk Sr". Obsessed With Wrestling.
(November 13, 2019). "The Legend of Dory Funk Sr.".
(2017-12-20). "The Texas boys were beaten, abused, raped. Now all they want is an apology".
(2013-01-02). "Dory Funk Sr.'s last day".
(July 6, 2006). "Hall of Fame Inductions Report: Bret Hart, Larrry Hennig, Mike DiBiase, Dory Funk Sr., Bop Roop". [[PWTorch]].
"2013".
"National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles [W. Texas]". Wrestling-Titles.
Solowrestling. (2025-04-09). "Kamala, Dory Funk Sr. e Ivan Koloff son nominados al WWE Hall of Fame Legacy 2025".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1919-births 1973-deaths 20th-century-american-male-actors 20th-century-male-professional-wrestlers 20th-century-american-professional-wrestlers american-male-professional-wrestlers american-male-stage-actors american-professional-wrestling-trainers nwa-world-junior-heavyweight-champions professional-wrestlers-from-indiana professional-wrestling-hall-of-fame-and-museum professional-wrestling-promoters sportspeople-from-hammond,-indiana stampede-wrestling-alumni western-states-sports wwe-hall-of-fame-legacy-inductees nwa-world-tag-team-champions-(amarillo-version)

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Dory Funk — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report