5 things you (probably) didn't know about new WWE Hall of Famer Davey Boy Smith
There were plenty of British wrestling legends before him, but "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith was probably the first major singles wrestling star to hit it really big internationally. After splitting up his incredibly successful tag team with Dynamite Kid - unsurprisingly named The British Bulldogs - Smith turned to a singles career in the WWF in 1990.
The highlight of that initial singles run was a victory against his brother-in-law, Bret "Hitman" Hart, at SummerSlam 1992, held at Wembley Stadium in London, where he won the Intercontinental Championship.
His career would see him bounce around between WWF, WCW, and numerous other promotions. But, his best-known work happened as a WWF performer
#5 His middle name was not "Boy"
Yeah, I know. Out of context, this sounds really weird. Like, "of course it wasn't, why would anybody think that?"
However, the story goes that when Smith was born, his mother accidentally wrote "Boy" in the 'Middle Name' section of the birth certificate, thinking it was the gender line. Thus, "Boy" became David Smith's legal middle name. This story has been going around wrestling fandom for decades now, and for good reason - it's a great story.
It's also not true. At all.
For starters, the parents don't fill out birth certificates in U.K. hospitals - it's done by the hospital staff. Secondly, there isn't a line to write in the sex of the child - there's a check box to mark next to either Male or Female. The middle name, if the parent choses to give their child one, is entered on the same line as the first name.
In the 1960s, when Smith was born (1962, to be exacty), if your name was 'David", then 'Davey Boy' was a common nickname in England. As far as a wrestling name went, Davey Boy Smith rolls off the tongue quite easily.
So, yes, it's a great story. But, no, it's not a true story.