Terry Funk Knew So Many Legends Before They Even Considered Wrestling

The best, the baddest and the most brutalised figures in twentieth-century wrestling history can lay claim to having shared the ring with Terry Funk.

The late Funkster remains one of the most revered performers in wrestling history, and his 2005 autobiography, More Than Just Hardcore, attempts to capture a career that somehow contained multiple retirements and enough punishment for several lifetimes.

Less widely appreciated are the figures Terry encountered during his formative years, whether before yielding to the gravitational pull of his family's wrestling empire or while the Funk promotion crossed paths with ambitious young hopefuls searching for an opportunity.

At West Texas State University, Terry played football during an extraordinary era that produced a remarkable collection of future wrestling stars. Among those who passed through the programme at around the same time as he were Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Dusty Rhodes, Tully Blanchard and Tito Santana. Before becoming household names in wrestling circles, they were young athletes sharing locker rooms, training fields and college experiences in Texas.

Brody, then known as Frank Goodish, already possessed the outsized personality that would later make him a legend. Funk recalls him charging across the roofs of parked cars outside local bars, bounding from vehicle to vehicle with astonishing confidence. Hansen, meanwhile, was still coaching football when conversations with the Funks first opened the door to a wrestling future.

The autobiography is filled with these glimpses of wrestling greatness in its earliest stages. Terry helped introduce Hansen to the business through his father, Dory Funk Sr., while he also supplied Goodish with one of his earliest wrestling nicknames: “The Hammer.” These were future icons, still years away from the personas that would make them famous around the world.

Such stories highlight an often-overlooked aspect of the Funk legacy. The family’s promotion and training served as a proving ground and gateway for generations of talent. Young prospects arrived with dreams, athletic backgrounds and varying degrees of confidence, and many left with the foundations of professional wrestling careers that would span decades.

Well after Terry Funk became the grizzled veteran of classic battles with Ric Flair, Japanese epics and hardcore wars, it is easy to forget the unique position he occupied at the crossroads between the old territorial era and the generations that followed. Future stars and future opponents drifted through his world while still coaching football, writing sports columns, studying at college or pursuing countless other paths, years removed from the wrestling careers that would eventually define them.

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Terry Funk would be proud.