7 Reasons why Bruiser Brody is a legendary figure in pro wrestling
The recent documentary Dark Side of the Ring has returned Bruiser Brody's name to prominence, but what makes him such a larger than life performer? The answers may surprise you.
Frank Goodish in many ways perfectly exemplified the prototypical professional wrestler of the 1970's and early 1980's. For one thing, Goodish was massive, billed as six ten but a legitimate six foot seven inches. He adapted to the body building aesthetic of the 1970's, and was one of the first wrestlers to sport a truly chiselled musculature.
Goodish played football at Texas A&M before signing with the Washington Redskins in the NFL. After his football career ended, Goodish tried his hand at sports writing. It was during this time he met the legendary Fritz Von Eric, who trained him to wrestle.
Frank Goodish would adopt several different ring names, like Red River Jack and the Masked Marauder. However, it was as Bruiser Brody and King Kong Brody that he achieved his greatest fame.
Brody never won as many Championships as Ric Flair, and he didn't become the poster child for pro wrestling in the 1980's as Hulk Hogan did, but in many ways, his shadow eclipses both men. The triumph of his career and the tragedy of the end of his life play out in many ways like a Greek dramatic play from Ancient times.
So just why is Bruiser Brody still being talked about so many years after his untimely death? Here are seven reasons why Bruiser Brody is a legendary figure in pro wrestling.
#1 His physique rivalled sculptures of Greek Gods.
Frank Goodish was a huge mountain of a man. Just based upon that, he could have had a stellar wrestling career.
But Bruiser Brody didn't go in for good enough or half measures. He spent hours at the gym, honing his body to the peak of human perfection. His strength was legitimately feared by other wrestlers, who never knew just how far Brody was going to take the match at any given time.
His larger than life build is just one of the reasons Brody remains a legend to this day.