Bobo Brazil

At 73 years old, Bobo Brazil has this physical status:

Houston Harris (July 10, 1924-1924 – January 20, 1998), an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Bobo Brazil.

Harris is one of the first African-American professional wrestlers to break down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling.

Early life

Houston Harris was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but later lived in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Benton Harbor, Michigan. His father died when he was seven years old, resulting in him doing odd jobs, including working on a local fruit farm for fifty cents a container. He played baseball for The House of David, where he was discovered to be a wrestler at a steel mill.

Personal life and death

Harris had a wife and six children. He started Bobo's Grill, a restaurant that lasted for more than 20 years after retiring from wrestling.

In the independent circuit, his son Karl (born 1952) wrestles as Bobo Brazil Jr. Hank James, his brother, fought as Hank James.

Harris died in January 20, 1998 at the Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, Michigan. After suffering a string of strokes, he was admitted to the hospital on January 14 and used a wheelchair.

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Professional wrestling career

After meeting Harris at Naval Armory matches, Joe Savoldi began training him. Savoldi was born Harris, BuBu Brasil, "The South American Giant," where he competed using a sequined satin cape stitched together by his wife's husband, but a promoter misprinted his first name as "Bobo" in an advertisement, and the word remained with Harris for the remainder of his career. During this period, segregation in the South restricted African-American wrestlers to only wrestling other African-American wrestlers; Harris was so popular that promoters forgot their prejudices in order to make money.

"Houston Harris, The Black Panther" was a registered match in Benton Harbor on March 29, 1948, a 30-minute draw. Joe Savoldi taught Harris to "be an honest participant in the ring and never to take shortcuts on others in order to win a match." Right up to the end, he was made to be a crowd-friend." Brazil developed a fanbase among both the black and white populations thanks to his modesty, fashionable clothing, and professionalism, making him a big draw and a popular babyface among both ethnic groups. Although loved by fans, it didn't stop Brazil from being confronted with bigotry and discrimination at that time. African American fans were forced to sit in places that made it impossible to watch Bobo matches; even Harris himself was barred from eating restaurant, hotels, or even wrestling in some nations due to his skin color. He appeared in Japan in the early 1950s.

Brazil will face opponents such as Killer Kowalski, Dick the Bruiser, Johnny Valentine, Haystacks Calhoun, and The Sheik, who fought with Brazil for many decades, will have several matches, with a number of their matches being highly regarded bloody matchups. These and other competitors will all be victims of Brazil's finishing plan, the Coco Butt, with the goal of breaking racial barriers. Bill Miller was dragged to a draw once more, and Brazil defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a fight between two top babyface opponents. Brazil defeated "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers by hitting him in the groin, causing Rogers to be unable to move forward. Brazil rejected the tournament and Rogers came a few weeks later, and Rogers won. At the time, the promoters were promoting a gimmick where the champion would be struck in the groin and the challenger would not accept the challenger's name. Bruno Sammartino and Rogers were in Toronto two weeks ago. The NWA had not officially recognized Brazil nor Sammartino as having dominated the World Heavyweight Championships. (This award is usually given to Ron Simmons, the first recognized African American world champion after winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship).

Brazil and El Mongol defeated Mr. Ito and The Great Ota in the first racially mixed match in Atlanta history on October 9, 1970. Rocky Johnson, a wrestler, and boxer Joe Frazier were mentored by Brazil as a mentor. James Dudley, the first African American to be in charge of a major arena in the United States, was Brazil's president. If Brazil followed behind, Dudley would run to the ring waving a towel. After a four-decade career, Brazil retired in 1993. Kelly Kiniski, the son of rival Gene Kiniski, was his last official match in Chicago, Illinois. Ernie Laddd, a longtime competitor, was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame class of 1994. Laddd was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 2005 by Brazil.

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