Athletes - Reginald Lisowski

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	Athletes - Reginald Lisowski

Reginald Lisowski was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Crusher.

Career

Today's wrestling fans may think of The Sandman or Stone Cold Steve Austin when it comes to beer drinking tough guys, but The Crusher made the gimmick famous years before their time. Lisowski was typically marketed as a heel but was very popular among pro wrestling fans, especially in his native Milwaukee. He has been given several unofficial (non-gimmick) nicknames over the year as a result, including Milwaukee's Favorite Son and The Wrestler Who Made Milwaukee Famous.

Lisowski was born and raised in South Milwaukee. Early on he was more interested in football, playing fullback for the South Milkwaukee High School football team, but took up wrestling while stationed in Germany for the U.S. Army. Having developed a liking for the sport he continued training with Ivan Racy and Buck Tassie at Milwaukee's Eagle's Club when he returned, eventually wrestling Marcel Buchet in his first recorded match late in 1949. It was the beginning of a career which would span a remarkable 50 years.

Despite his passion for wrestling, it was hard to make a full-time living in the sport during the 1950's as anything other than a top draw. His early career included wrestling 3 to 4 nights at a Chicago armory, typically earning $5 a night. To support himself and to stay in shape Lisowski worked various blue collar jobs by day, from meat packing to being a bricklayer. Ironically it was this blue collar "Average Joe" background which helped make him a fan favorite in later years. Fred Kohler was the first promoter to put him on TV, and by 1954 he had developed a barrel-chested physique which would stick with him for most of his career. To further his career he blached his dark hair blonde and started to get over as a strongman heel, famous for his bolo punch as well as a devestating full nelson. This eventually led to him winning the Chicago-area NWA World Tag Team Championship with partner Art Neilson, although this was not to be the most famous tag partner of his storied career.

Lisowski continued to have tag team success throughout the remainder of the 1950's, often paired with his "brother" (gimmick) Stan Lisowski. By 1959 he was known as The Crusher, which legend has came from a promoter's off-hand comment that he "just crushes everybody." Despite gaining a villainous nickname his popularity only rose further, as Milwaukee promoters routinely booked him to ensure a packed house. His bluster was legendary, as he would threaten to maul opponents in the ring and afterward "have a party, take all the dollies down Wisconsin Avenue and go dancing." Besides his impressive physique The Crusher's gimmick was to absorb a tremendous amount of punishment and still be able to make a comeback for the win. The great gimmicks are timeless - years later the WWF booked The Undertaker the same way to get him over, and he still remains a fan favorite to this day.

The Crusher's star rose even further when he was paired up with friend and drinking partner William Afflis, who was best known to wrestling fans as Dick the Bruiser. Over the next 30 years the two were together more than apart, a natural combination due to their common background and brawling wrestling style. Paradoxically if Bruiser and Crusher felt they hadn't bloodied their opponents enough during a match, they would trade punches with each other afterwards, which fans loved all the more. They drank together, they fought together, and they won titles together. Lots of titles. They won the AWA World Tag Team Championship 5 times, the WWA Tag Team Titles 6 times, and the NWA International Tag Titles among others. Long before the Road Warriors or Team 3D, Crusher and Bruiser were the musclebound masters of mayhem who won titles wherever they went, whenever they wanted.

Crusher also tasted success as a solo wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship three times, the first time unifying it with the Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship on July 9, 1963 in a match where he defeated Verne Gagne. Ironically his title reigns would be short, largley due to the fact he was an incredible draw with or without heavyweight gold. He had a gift of gab when it came to cutting promos, as he would brag about his "100 megaton biceps" and offer to pummel "da bum" he was facing in the ring with ease, and he often delighted in calling opponents "turkeynecks." His most quotable and famous phrase though was simple and to the point: "How 'bout 'dat?" When asked how he trained for a match, he'd claim he ran along the waterfront in Milwaukee carrying a large beer barrel over either shoulder for strength, and that he'd dance all night with Polish barmaids to increase his stamina.

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