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Sunday, July 27, 1997
Patriarch of Von Erich wrestling clan hospitalized
for stroke, cancer
DALLAS (AP) - Jack Adkisson, patriarch of the Von Erich wrestling
clan, has been admitted to a Dallas hospital after suffering a
mild stroke.
Officials at Baylor University Medical Center said Friday that
doctors discovered a cancerous tumor while evaluating Adkisson,
known in the wrestling world as Fritz Von Erich.
Adkisson will undergo exploratory surgery this weekend to better
assess his condition, said hospital spokesman Jamie Rambo. He
was listed in fair condition Friday and was admitted Tuesday,
she said.
Adkisson is the patriarch of a wrestling family whose name
was long associated with triumph in Texas. But in recent years,
there's been mostly pain. Five sons - Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike
and Chris - also wrestled under the Von Erich name. And four of
them are now dead, three from suicide.
David, probably the best wrestler of the sons, died at the
age of 25 in 1984 from an apparent overdose while on a wrestling
tour of Japan. Suicide claimed the lives of Mike, 23, in 1987;
Chris, 21, in 1991; and Kerry, 33, in 1993. Another son, Jack
Jr., died at the age of 7 in 1959 from electrical shock.
The only surviving son is the oldest, Kevin, 39.
Until Fritz Von Erich retired in 1980, he was one of the stars
of professional wrestling. He stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 260 pounds
and once was a lineman for Southern Methodist and the Dallas Texans.
He turned to wrestling in the 1950s after being injured.
World Class Championship Wrestling, the Von Erich family's
show, was syndicated at one time in 66 U.S. television markets,
Japan, Argentina and the Middle East.
The Von Erichs once wrestled in front of 40,000 people at Texas
Stadium and regularly filled the arenas where they competed. Send
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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