| Fritz Von Erich | |
| Birth Name: | Jack Barton Adkisson |
| Family: | Von Erich |
| Names: | Fritz Von Erich Tetsu no Tsume (Iron Claw) Jack Adkisson[1] |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in[2] |
| Weight: | 260 lb |
| Birth Date: | August 16, 1929 |
| Birth Place: | Jewett, Texas, U.S. |
| Death Date: | [3] |
| Death Place: | Lake Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Death Cause: | Brain and lung cancer |
| Children: | 6, including Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike, and Chris |
| Billed: | Denton, Texas Berlin, Germany |
| Trainer: | Stu Hart |
| Debut: | 1953 |
| Retired: | 1982 |
Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion and a 6-time NWA United States Champion. He was the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling.[4]
Adkisson attended Southern Methodist University, where he threw discus and played football. He has been reported to have played with the now defunct Dallas Texans of the NFL (not the AFL team which became the Kansas City Chiefs),[5] but this is not true.[6] He was signed as a guard but was cut.[7] He then tried the Canadian Football League (CFL).
While in Edmonton, he met wrestler and trainer Stu Hart, and Hart decided to train and book him in his Klondike Wrestling promotion, naming him Fritz Von Erich and teaming him with "brother" Waldo Von Erich as a pair of "evil German" brothers. Adkisson's oldest son Jack Barton Adkisson Jr. was born September 21, 1952. He died in 1959 after an accidental electrocution and drowning, and Jack Sr. stopped traveling to the east coast, allowing former partner Waldo to use the Von Erich name in the World Wide Wrestling Federation.
Despite Jack Jr.'s death, Adkisson continued to travel and wrestle. Adkisson won both versions of the AWA World title in 1963. His major circuit was Sam Muchnick's NWA territorial stronghold in St. Louis, Missouri. He wrestled there until 1967, when he voluntarily left the territory after losing a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against then-champion Gene Kiniski.[8] In the late 1960s, with Muchnick's backing, Adkisson became the promoter for the Dallas area, effectively overseeing the Houston and San Antonio territories, as well.[8]
Adkisson was a part of rebuilding Japanese wrestling after the stabbing death of Rikidōzan in 1963. He became a star due to his feuds with Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba, and his "Iron Claw" hold, which became one of the most popular wrestling moves in Japan.
In 1982, he held his first retirement match against King Kong Bundy in the newly renamed World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) promotion, based in Dallas. The promotion was known for its high production values, use of entrance music and the use of television syndication. He wrestled his last match on November 27, 1986, defeating Abdullah the Butcher by disqualification in Dallas. By the end of the 1980s, the promotion's talent pool was thin and it was eventually merged with Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association to create the United States Wrestling Association in 1989.
See also: Von Erich family. Adkisson married Doris J. Smith on June 23, 1950.[9] Together, they had six sons, including Kevin, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris. The couple divorced on July 21, 1992.
Adkisson died of brain and lung cancer at his home in Lake Dallas, Texas on September 10, 1997.[10]
Von Erich was part of the video game Legends of Wrestling series, first appearing in Legends of Wrestling (2001) as an unlockable character, in Legends of Wrestling II (2002) and (2004). Also appeared in the video game; Giant Gram 2000: All Japan Pro Wrestling 3 (2000) on SEGA.
In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame along with his family. He was inducted by Freebird Michael Hayes. It was accepted by his surviving son Kevin.
In 2019, Adkission was covered as part of the Dark Side of the Ring episode on the Von Erichs.
The 2023 film The Iron Claw depicts the Von Erich family story, with Fritz played by Holt McCallany.