Bert Ruby
Birth nameBertalan Rubinstein[1]
Born(1910-11-29)November 29, 1910[1][2]
Valea lui Mihai, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary[1]
DiedMarch 9, 1968(1968-03-09) (aged 57)[2]
Michigan, United States
Cause of deathHeart attack[3]
Spouse(s)Irene[3]
Children2[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bert Rubi[4]
Bert Rubinstein[2]
Bert Ruby[1]
Magyar Hercules[1]
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[2]
Billed weight190 lb (86 kg)[2]
Billed fromHungary
Debut1933[1][2]
Retired1955[3][2]

Bert Ruby (born Bertalan Rubinstein, November 29, 1910 - March 9, 1968) was a Hungarian/American professional wrestler, professional wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter.[1][3]

Early life

Rubinstein was born in the village of Valea lui Mihai in the Transylvania region of Austria-Hungary in 1910, one of 12 children. Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1919, Rubinstein lived in Hungary. As a young man, he became known for his greater strength and was reputed to be "the town's toughest Jew". During the Great Depression, he emigrated from Hungary to Toronto, Ontario, Canada on an agricultural worker's permit, working on farms. He broke into professional wrestling in the 1930s after a filling station owner hired him and several other local young men to put on a wrestling card and he was spotted by a promoter, eventually moving to Detroit, Michigan in the United States to pursue a career in professional wrestling.[5][3][6]

Professional wrestling career

Ruby wrestled his first recorded match in 1933.[2]

Ruby wrestled barefoot for much of his career, earning him the nickname "The Man With the Educated Toes".[3][4][7] He used the ring names "Bert Ruby", "Bert Rubi", and "Magyar Hercules" ("Hungarian Hercules").

Ruby both ran and wrestled for the Michigan-based promotion Wolverine Wrestling. He held the promotion's Michigan Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1950 and again in 1951.[8][9]

Ruby retired in 1955 after suffering a heart attack during a bout.[3][2] He went on to promote professional wrestling in Michigan.[1] He was the right-hand man of Harry Light, helping run the Harry Light Wrestling Office, which dominated professional wrestling in Detroit from the 1940s to the 1960s.[10][11] As a promoter, Ruby introduced wrestlers including Abdullah the Butcher, George Steele, Killer Kowalski, Leaping Larry Chene, and The Sheik.[1][10][12][13][14][15] Ruby was also responsible for booking midget professional wrestlers on behalf of the National Wrestling Alliance, with promoters from the various NWA territories contacting him to hire popular wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Little Brutus, and Sky Low Low.[15][16]

Personal life

Ruby and his wife, Irene, had two sons, Allen and Rob, both of whom became prominent lawyers in the San Francisco Bay Area.[3][5] Irene was the bookkeeper for Ruby's promotion while his sons worked as announcers, with Allen himself wrestling for over two years.[5] In 1948, Ruby and his wife adopted his nephew, Emery Grosinger, an orphaned teenage Holocaust survivor.[6]

Ruby was Jewish.[3] Following his relocation to North America he anglicized his name as Bert Ruby.[3]

Death

Ruby died of a heart attack in 1967 at the age of 57.[3]

Championships and accomplishments

  • Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
    • Class of 2006[1]
  • Wolverine Wrestling
    • Michigan Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[9][17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Robert Reynolds (2017). Motor City Legends: Michigan's Sports Legacy. Lulu.com. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-365-65830-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Bert Ruby". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Joe Eskenazi (November 6, 2003). "Lords of the Ring: Meet the Ruby's, a nice Jewish family — unless you're wrestling them". Jweekly. San Francisco Jewish Community Publications. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "The Piqua Daily Call from Piqua, Ohio". Piqua Daily Call (via Newspapers.com). Ohio Community Media. March 2, 1937. p. 9. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Michael O'Keeffe (February 28, 2009). "Barry Bonds' lawyer Allen Ruby has background to wrestle tough case". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Mike Smith (June 11, 2015). "Vignettes From the JN Archives, June 11, 2015". The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  7. ↑ Leon David Bess (2008). The Ride of a Lifetime: The Autobiography of Leon David Bess. iUniverse. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-595-52510-2.
  8. ↑ "Wolverine Wrestling". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Michigan Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Tim Hornbaker (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 269, 308. ISBN 978-1-55490-274-3.
  11. ↑ Bertrand Hébert; Pat Laprade (2005). Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story. ECW Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-77305-065-2.
  12. ↑ Greg Oliver; Steven Johnson (2010). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. ECW Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-55490-284-2.
  13. ↑ George Steele; Jim Evans (2013). Animal. Triumph Books. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-62368-208-8.
  14. ↑ Jim Wilson; Jim Wilson; Weldon T. Johnson (2003). Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring. Xlibris Corporation. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4628-1172-4.
  15. 1 2 Pat Laprade; Bertrand Hebert (2013). Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs: The Untold Story of How Montreal Shaped the World of Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 85, 1, 917. ISBN 978-1-77090-296-1.
  16. ↑ Tim Hornbaker (2015). Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire. ECW Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-77090-689-1.
  17. ↑ Mike Johnson (January 8, 2017). "1/8 This day in history: Edge becomes first man to cash in Money in the Bank, wins his first WWE Championship". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
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