Dick Garza

This week's column is dedicated to the memory of perhaps one of the greatest pure athletes I have known … Richard J. Garza. Our friendship began on the same day that I met and became good friends with Bobo Brazil during my first encounter with professional wrestling.

His epic battles with Ricky "The Crusher" Cortez later at various arenas throughout the Midwest were more then classics … they left you wanting more. Dick Garza was that kind of man. He gave more then 100% in the ring and the same outside the ring. If you were his friend, you were a friend for life.

Dick did not start out to become a professional wrestler after he completed high school near Detroit. He was very much into weightlifting and bodybuilding contests. In fact, early in his adult life, he won the coveted "Mr. Michigan" contest and then went on to try for the Mr. America and Mr. Universe titles.

To enter those contests, you have to have a pretty good physical shape to yourself. You need to be proportioned to the other athletes on the stage with you, and then you have to satisfy the judges in a multi-faceted display that you were better than the rest. Unfortunately for bodybuilding, but fortunately for wrestling, the judges disqualified Dick in the Mr. America contest due to his huge arms. They measured 21 inches and did not fit proportionately with the rest of his body. He was also below that six-foot mark needed to make his spectacular body equal to other parts that were also hugely muscled.

A wrestling promoter by the name of Bert Ruby saw Dick at the Mr. America contests while on a talent hunt and asked Dick to come and see him. Dick later told me that he was not really impressed with the thought of traveling to make a living. He preferred to stay near his Dearborn farm, where he felt more at home.

Bert Ruby invited Dick to the wrestling matches at the Olympic Auditorium in Detroit to see the action live. Many men who would be his partners and foes were on the card. Johnny "Dynamite" Gates, Steve Zold, Frank Siksay, Martino Angelo and Gypsy Joe were some of the guys that made up the rougher men.

A young Larry Chene, Jim Hady, Al Warshawski and Louis Papineau made up the good guys on the card. It was a near sellout of the building that caught the eye of the young muscleman. He saw a lot of dollar signs in his vision that night and spoke after the matches with some of the guys about becoming one of them.

Louis Papineau was probably one of Dick's biggest supporters as he began a tedious training session the following week in the basement of a hotel in Detroit. Bert Ruby, Harry Light and Jack Britton all had a hand in developing Dick's career. After a two-month training program, Dick had his first match in Battle Creek. He won the match against a huge masked man by the name of "Mr. X," using his trademark "Full Nelson" hold.

Fans loved him and were constantly running up to him to grab onto those 21" arms. He neither wore fancy outfits into the ring nor was he explosive on the microphone during interviews. Later in his career, when Bert Ruby went on WXYZ-TV in Detroit, Dick's career really took off. He was exposed to more of an audience then ever before and began making more money than he had ever made.

It was during that time frame that I lost my Grandpa, Jacob Leroy Friend, on January 7, 1962, of a massive heart attack. The following week, I was talking to Dick at the Flint Arena and told him about my Grandpa passing away. He grabbed me in a big hug and nearly cracked a rib with the strength he had in his arms. He then let go and said how sorry he was that I had lost my grandpa, and, as he spoke, a tear dropped from his eye.

Dick left the Great Lakes area shortly after and went under the leadership of an old veteran by the name of Ivan Kalmikoff. He changed his style, letting his hair grow out and down over his eyes, and became "The Mighty Igor." He would gain national acclaim as the young man from Poland with the superhuman strength.

He would play tug of war with as many as 10 people from the audience and win. He would have Ivan pull their road car up to him as he braced his back against a telephone pole and then put his feet on the front bumper and let the tires smoke as Ivan roared the engine to high speeds. He also did as many as 10 push-ups with huge farmers weighing as much as 350 pounds on his shoulders. Then, he would rise and clap his hands together like a kid that had just been given a present at Christmas time.

Dick would return to the Great Lakes area and do battle with men like The Sheik, Al Costello, Ernie Ladd, Bull Curry and many more until he decided, not long after Ivan Kalmikoff passed away, that it was time to hang up his tights and stay home.

Richard J. Garza passed away, ironically, on January 7, 2002 ... just 40 years from the date that my grandpa died. He will be remembered for his great smile and friendly handshake. He will also be remembered for being the quiet one in the dressing rooms. Dick Garza, you're going to be a hard act for the guys to follow in heaven … just like you were here on earth.

Rest in Peace, My Friend.

This is from the great site Slam Wrestling.... about Dick.

Tuesday, January 8, 2002

Mighty Igor dies

Mighty Igor with manager Ivan Kalmikoff

Mighty Igor, a big name star in the '50s through the '80s, has died from heart problems in a Detroit hospital.

The muscle-bound Igor hit most territories during his career. One of his noted things was having blocks broken on his head with a sledgehammer. He was a noted bodybuilder before getting into wrestling.

Igor, whose real name was Richard J. Garza, died on Monday January 7, 2002. He had been in a Detroit hospital for a number of weeks.

During his career, the Mighty Igor was given a lot of support by the fans. He had Ivan Kalmikoff as his manager for a number of years and formed a successful tag team with the late Bulldog Brower.

Garza is survived by wife Donna, and son Eric.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers