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BRISCO: The Life and Times of National Collegiate and World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion JACK BRISCO
BRISCO: The Life and Times of National Collegiate and World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion JACK BRISCO
Few people in history have made their mark in more than one field, but Jack Brisco was a three-time champion in three different walks of life.
AMATEUR WRESTLING — NCAA heavyweight champion in the 191-lb. class in 1964.
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING — National Wrestling Alliance world heavyweight champion from 1973 through 1975.
HUMAN BEING — He set the standard for what people should aspire to be — humble, honest, and sincere.
Raised in Blackwell, Oklahoma, Jack grew up as a fan of professional wrestling. In 1965, he won the NCAA national wrestling championship in the 191 lb. class. He had his first professional match when he wrestled Ronnie Garvin on television in Oklahoma City on May 15, 1965.
During the next twenty years, he was regarded as one of the top names in the wrestling business. He won both the Southern and Florida heavyweight titles during his time in Florida (among many other titles) and took the NWA world heavyweight title from Harley Race in Houston on July 20, 1973. Later, he and his brother, Jerry Brisco, became top draws in Florida, Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic territories.
Jack and Jerry bought into the Georgia Championship Wrestling company and were responsible for convincing other shareholders to sell their shares to Vince McMahon, setting into motion Vince's dominance of the wrestling world.
This book is Jack's life story. It includes all the background details from his rise to super-stardom to his quiet retirement at a young age. Just the background stories of how he came to win the various titles he held are worth more than the price of the book.
Published by Crowbar Press, this is the second edition of "BRISCO: The Life and Times of National Collegiate and World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion JACK BRISCO." It includes updated information and is a testament to the life and times of a great man who lived life with humility and class.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 3, 2014
Brisco is the biography of professional wrestler Jack Brisco.
I was interested in this book for a long time but wasn't in a hurry to read it. I've had a mixed experience with Crowbar Press's wrestling books in the past. I almost quit reading it since it was almost 20% of the way through before Jack transitioned from amateur wrestling in his college days to the professional ranks.
However, I'm glad I stuck with it because it wasn't too bad. It was better written than most of Crowbar's offerings. Another strong selling point for me was that at the time it was written, Jack Brisco had been out of the wrestling business for something like 30 years and didn't have to worry about burning any bridges since he was doing fine financially.
Brisco covers Freddie Joe Brisco's rise from dirt poor roots in Oklahoma to NCAA wrestling national champion, and to his breaking into professional wrestling. Too much time was spent in his college days for my taste but I persevered.
Once Jack goes pro, things take off. He talks about being brought into the Funk's territory of Amarillo just to make Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. look good. His time with Eddie Graham in the Florida territory is given the most coverage, both in ring and out. He also mentions who screwed him out of pay, noteably Fritz Von Erich, The Sheik, Jim Barnett and even the head of the Florida territory, Eddie Graham.
Brisco seemed like he was still trying to protect the business a bit, like a lot of old timers, but still covers a lot of the backstage stuff, like how he got $25,000 dollars plus $8k a day working for a week in Japan and dropping the title to Giant Baba, only to win it back before the tour was over. He also mentions taping all that money, in cash, to his body to sneak it through customs.
His stories cover a lot of the wrestlers from his hay-day, like the Funks, Rick Steamboat, Jay Youngblood, Wahoo McDaniel, who broke Jack's nose with a headbutt. Jack's days as part owner of the Florida and Georgia territories and eventually selling out to Vince McMahon are pretty much how his career ends. I love his retirement story and don't want to spoil it.
My usual gripes about wrestling books, Crowbar's in particular, apply to this one as well. There was too much pre-wrestling and not enough road stories, although I liked the one about Terry Funk wrecking two cars in one night and the one about Don Muraco not being able to find his car in the airport parking lot because it had two feet of snow on it.
Three out of five stars, although your mileage may vary.
I was interested in this book for a long time but wasn't in a hurry to read it. I've had a mixed experience with Crowbar Press's wrestling books in the past. I almost quit reading it since it was almost 20% of the way through before Jack transitioned from amateur wrestling in his college days to the professional ranks.
However, I'm glad I stuck with it because it wasn't too bad. It was better written than most of Crowbar's offerings. Another strong selling point for me was that at the time it was written, Jack Brisco had been out of the wrestling business for something like 30 years and didn't have to worry about burning any bridges since he was doing fine financially.
Brisco covers Freddie Joe Brisco's rise from dirt poor roots in Oklahoma to NCAA wrestling national champion, and to his breaking into professional wrestling. Too much time was spent in his college days for my taste but I persevered.
Once Jack goes pro, things take off. He talks about being brought into the Funk's territory of Amarillo just to make Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. look good. His time with Eddie Graham in the Florida territory is given the most coverage, both in ring and out. He also mentions who screwed him out of pay, noteably Fritz Von Erich, The Sheik, Jim Barnett and even the head of the Florida territory, Eddie Graham.
Brisco seemed like he was still trying to protect the business a bit, like a lot of old timers, but still covers a lot of the backstage stuff, like how he got $25,000 dollars plus $8k a day working for a week in Japan and dropping the title to Giant Baba, only to win it back before the tour was over. He also mentions taping all that money, in cash, to his body to sneak it through customs.
His stories cover a lot of the wrestlers from his hay-day, like the Funks, Rick Steamboat, Jay Youngblood, Wahoo McDaniel, who broke Jack's nose with a headbutt. Jack's days as part owner of the Florida and Georgia territories and eventually selling out to Vince McMahon are pretty much how his career ends. I love his retirement story and don't want to spoil it.
My usual gripes about wrestling books, Crowbar's in particular, apply to this one as well. There was too much pre-wrestling and not enough road stories, although I liked the one about Terry Funk wrecking two cars in one night and the one about Don Muraco not being able to find his car in the airport parking lot because it had two feet of snow on it.
Three out of five stars, although your mileage may vary.
May 27, 2019
Brought back great memories
I grew up watching Jack on TV every Saturday and listening to the wrestling matches from Miami on the radio on Sunday afternoons with my dad. This biography brought back great memories and filled in a lot for me about his college championships.
I grew up watching Jack on TV every Saturday and listening to the wrestling matches from Miami on the radio on Sunday afternoons with my dad. This biography brought back great memories and filled in a lot for me about his college championships.
September 11, 2020
a fairly good overview of the life and times of the late jack brisco. another college jock, so i appreciated his look at oklahoma HS and oklahoma state university wrestling. brisco's thoughts on wrestling as world champ - what he wanted from a match, etc. - are interesting, as are the machinations that made him champ (he didn't have a gangbusters debut, he found some powerful backers who ensured he got the "strap" when his turn came)
August 4, 2021
As a youngster I used to watch Championship Wrestling from Florida on a small TV in my dad's upholstery shop every Saturday afternoon. This was late 60s/early 70s. I remember Jack's program with Dory Funk and even got my dad (who wasn't much of a wrestling fan), to take me to a couple of shows in the old Jacksonville Coliseum in hopes of getting to see Jack wrest the title from Dory. Alas, it was never to be...not Dory and not Jacksonville anyway. However; I could tell (even at a young age), that I was watching a future world champion. Jack Brisco had class and carried himself like a champion even before he won the championship. When Jack beat Harley Race for the championship, I was elated. It seemed like I was a part of it. Jack made his fans feel that way.
There were other great moments in CWF history like Dusty's face turn, Paul Jones throwing a title belt off a bridge in Tampa, and seeing wrestlers like Bobby Shane, Buddy Colt, Tim Woods and Ron Fuller in their prime, but Jack chasing the title and eventually winning it are front and foremost in my memories. Great book. Great read. Thanks for everything Jack.
There were other great moments in CWF history like Dusty's face turn, Paul Jones throwing a title belt off a bridge in Tampa, and seeing wrestlers like Bobby Shane, Buddy Colt, Tim Woods and Ron Fuller in their prime, but Jack chasing the title and eventually winning it are front and foremost in my memories. Great book. Great read. Thanks for everything Jack.
November 24, 2022
The background narrative that sneaks up on the reader is that of Jack realizing if he couldn’t beat the owners, he’d join em. The exhilarating conclusion that *spoiler* Vince McMahon is a total “class act” is a total shoot. Yuck.
October 12, 2021
A True Superhero
It was sad to hear of Jack's passing. I was there through so much of it. From my ringside seat at the Tampa Armory and the Sportatorium., also Lakeland Orlando and Dade City when they came. I never saw Jack be anything but gracious and kind to his fans. I admire him even more now after reading his book. The fans are right to revere him. He deserves it. I went all these years without thinking about him and now I'll never forget him.
It was sad to hear of Jack's passing. I was there through so much of it. From my ringside seat at the Tampa Armory and the Sportatorium., also Lakeland Orlando and Dade City when they came. I never saw Jack be anything but gracious and kind to his fans. I admire him even more now after reading his book. The fans are right to revere him. He deserves it. I went all these years without thinking about him and now I'll never forget him.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews