Born:  February 3, 1941, Hammond, IN
Height:  6’2-6’3’’
Weight:  246
Real Name:  Dorrance Earnest Funk “Jr.”
Hometown:  Amarillo, Texas/ Ocala, Florida
Parents:  Dory and Betty Funk
Family:  Son of Dory Funk Sr., brother of Terry Funk
Married to:  Marti McKinley Funk
High School:  Canyon High School (TX)
College:  West Texas State University                Football
Football Position:  Tackle
Trained by:  Dory Funk Sr.
Pro Debut:  January 1963
Identities:  The Outlaw (Masked), Hoss Funk
Nickname:  Dunk
Finisher:  Spinning Toehold
Managed by:  Paul Jones (1983-’84), Jimmy Hart (1985-’86)
Managed:  Jesse Barr (1984), Adam Windsor (2000-’01)
PPV Debut:  WWF WrestleMania II, April 7, 1986, Los Angeles, California
Trained:  Stan Hansen, Jumbo Tsuruta, Ted DiBiase, Kurt Angle, Adam Windsor, and
scores of others
Owned:  A percentage of the Amarillo Booking Office with Dory Funk Sr. and Terry Funk
(1967-’73), A percentage of the Amarillo Office with Terry Funk (1973-Late ’70s)
Wrestling School:  Funking Conservatory, Ocala, Florida
Hollywood:  Funk had parts in two films, The Wrestler (1974) and Paradise Alley (1978)
Hall of Fame:  West Texas A&M University Athletics Hall of Champions (1990), Panhandle
Sports Hall of Fame – Inducted in 1998 (114th member)
Web site:  www.dory-funk.com

 Dory Jr. is the son of legendary athlete Dory Funk Sr. and a former NWA World
Heavyweight Champion.  His brother Terry is also a famous wrestling professional.  Dory
went to Canyon High School and graduated from West Texas State University.  He
learned the spinning toehold from his father and made his debut in July 1963 at Amarillo,
Texas.  He ventured to Denver, Colorado with his father for a tag match on Friday, July
19, 1963 at the Auditorium Arena.  The Funks beat Tokyo Joe and Tokyo Tom.  They met
the Southwest Tag Champions, Tokyo Tom and Sputnik Monroe on August 23rd in
Denver.  Tom was disqualified in the third fall, giving the Funks two wins to their opponent’
s one.  They did not win the straps.  Funk won over Monroe in a singles contest earlier in
the show.  He teamed with Dory Sr. on  October 28th in Denver, beating the Sheik and Bill
Fletcher by disqualification.

 Funk met the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Verne Gagne on Monday, November
18th in Denver.  Dory caused a second fall disqualification by wildly swinging a chair on
November 5, 1965 in St. Louis at the Kiel Auditorium.  He had teamed with his father
against Dick the Bruiser in a special handicap bout.  Bruiser took the initial match by
pinning Dory Sr. with a body press in 9:10.  Referee Joe Schoenberger had seen enough
in the early moments of the second and put a halt to any future wrestling action between
the competitors.  Funk made his Tampa debut on January 1, 1969 and defeated Tarzan
Tyler with his spinning toehold in 17-minutes.  

 A little more then a month later, Dory received the biggest match of his career in
Tampa.  On February 11th, he won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Gene Kiniski
in one-fall during the Gasparilla Show.  He used his spinning toe hold to make the champ
submit after 27-minutes.  The NWA had allowed the main event to be one fall, a special
allowance for the match.  It was a huge accomplishment.  His father had chased the World
Title for years.  Funk retained his title against Joe Scarpa in Tampa on April 22nd by
forfeit after losing the first fall.  Scarpa was injured by Boris Malenko during the rest
period and unable to continue the match.  He faced Malenko in a title match on May 13th
in Tampa and successfully defended his crown.

 On May 20th, Funk defeated Hans Mortier in Tampa in two-of-three-falls.  He beat Dale
Lewis on Tuesday, September 15th at the Homer Hesterly Armory.  Jerry Brisco was
offered a chance at the World Title by Dory Jr. on April 7, 1972 in St. Louis at the Kiel
Auditorium.  7,500 fans watched Funk beat Brisco in 26:55 with a spinning toehold.  
Brisco’s left leg was injured to the point in which he could not compete any further and
Funk remained the champ.

 While driving on his father’s ranch in Umbarger, Texas on February 28, 1973, Funk was
involved in a serious automobile accident.  The wreck caused a serious shoulder
separation which would cause him to miss several months.  Upon his return, Funk
suffered a two-of-three-fall loss to Harley Race on May 24, 1973 at the Memorial Hall in
Kansas City and he lost the World Title.  His four year plus reign on top of the National
Wrestling Alliance had come to an end.  Funk held the title for 1,563 days.  There was no
doubt in anyone’s mind that Funk had established himself as one of the greatest
champions ever to wear the belt.  The reign was over, but the legacy was in stone.

 Dory Jr. defeated Jose Lothario in Houston on August 17, 1973 with two-of-three-falls.  
Funk captured the NWA International Tag Team Title with Terry.  The duo retained their
belts against Kung Fu Lee and Killer Karl Kox in Amarillo on the final card of the 1973
Amarillo Wrestling Season on December 25th.  The 24-minute match was declared a
draw by referee Alex Perez after it got too far out of control.  In St. Louis on May 24,
1974, Dory beat Harley Race to capture the NWA Missouri State Heavyweight Title.  He
used his spinning toehold to top Bobby Duncum on July 15, 1977 in St. Louis in 18:41.

 Funk teamed with Terry in Japan to win the December 1977 tag team tournament over
Jumbo Tsuruta and Shohei Baba.  He had duel roles on Sam Muchnick’s January 27,
1978 card at the Kiel Auditorium.  Dory participated in an 11-man wrestle royal.  Funk
eliminated Bulldog Brown and Lord Alfred Hayes to win the event before the 6,100 fans in
the audience.  He also had a singles contest against a youngster from the Mid-Atlantic
Region named Ric Flair.  After a 21:01 match, Flair pinned Funk using a back rolling
cradle.  A victory over the well-established athlete propelled Flair into a national
spotlight.  Eventually, Flair would take the NWA Title.

 Dory and Terry won their second All-Japan December Tournament in 1979 over Baba
and Tsuruta.  He beat Dusty Rhodes in Tampa to win the NWA Florida Title on November
4, 1980.  Barry Windham defeated Funk in West Palm on January 12, 1981 for Florida
Strap.  In April, officials in Florida returned the state title to Dory after Windham was
injured in an automobile accident.  He traveled to Asia and saw  All-Japan award him the
International Heavyweight Crown on April 30, 1981 in Matsudo.

 Dory Funk was holding two belts on two separate continents.  He traded the belt with
Bruce Reed.  On August 11th, Charlie Cook upset him in Tampa, taking the Florida Title,
but Funk regained it less then a month later in the same city.  Cook beat Funk again later
in September, winning the belt for good.  He lost the International Belt to Bruiser Brody on
October 9th in Tokyo.  Funk beat Brody on November 1st to win his third International
Title in Tokyo.  On April 21, 1982, Brody beat Funk for the title again in Tokyo.  Dory and
Terry won the 1982 annual tag team tournament in Japan.

 He toured Florida in 1983 and took Paul Jones as his manager.  Funk went to Puerto
Rico and won the WWC Universal Belt.  Carlos Colon defeated Funk Jr. in San Juan to
capture the WWC Universal Crown in June 1985.  Funk joined the WWF in 1985 and took
the guidance of Jimmy Hart.  He was known as “Hoss” Funk, a new gimmick.  He teamed
with Terry at WrestleMania II on April 7, 1986 in Los Angeles to beat Junkyard Dog and
Tito Santana.  Terry pinned JYD in 13:00 after the latter was hit with Hart’s mega-phone.  
He teamed with Terry again on May 3, 1986 in Providence on Saturday Night’s Main
Event.  They lost to Hulk Hogan and Junkyard Dog.

 Dory teamed with Terry at the “International Bash,” coordinated with All-Japan, in
Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall.  February 2, 1989 was the date, and the two faced
and defeated Doug Somers and Gary Young.  In 1990, Dory Jr. was honored by West
Texas A&M University when he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Champions.  His
brother Terry would be honored seven years later.  The brother duo appeared in
Okayama, Japan on November 22, 1990 and wrestled Johnny Ace and Kenta Kobashi.  
Terry pinned Ace for the match victory.  On the 30th of that month, the brothers received
the challenge of Andre the Giant and Shohei Baba in Obihiro.  Three of the four wrestlers
in the contest were former NWA World Champions.  The other was a former WWF World
Champion.  A double countout was the finish.  He was pinned by Jumbo Tsuruta to end
the October 21, 1992 Tokyo six-man tag team match between Dory, Shohei Baba and
Stan Hansen against Tsuruta, Terry Gordy and Andre the Giant.  The show marked the
20th anniversary of All-Japan.

 A handful of former West Texas State University Wrestlers appeared for a reunion on
October 28, 1993 in a benefit card for former San Francisco 49er, John Ayers, who was
suffering from liver cancer.  The event was held in Amarillo at the Civic Center in front of
an estimated 6,000 fans.  Dory Jr. teamed with Dick Murdoch to defeat Jim Cornette’s
Heavenly Bodies.  Also on the card were Terry Funk, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, Stan
Hansen and Eddie Gilbert.  On November 21, 1995, Dory Jr. appeared in Sapporo, Japan
and teamed with Johnny Ace and The Patriot to defeat Abdullah the Butcher, Giant
Kamala II, and Dan Kroffat.

 On January 1, 1996, Vince McMahon announced that Dory Funk Jr. would be one of the
thirty participants for the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view.  He entered the January
21st event at number 8 before a lively audience in Fresno, California.  He appeared with
his brother in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13, 1997 at the IWA Eddie Gilbert Memorial
Show.  Dory wrestled Tommy Gilbert to a time-limit-draw in the semifinal.  Funk defeated
Rob Van Dam on September 11, 1997 at Terry Funk’s last Amarillo Card at the Maxor
Pharmacy Coliseum.  He captured his fourth NWA Florida Title on November 7th in
Gainesville with a victory over Steve Keirn.  He made a successful defense of his NWA
Florida Title against Bobby Duncum Jr. on August 5, 1998 in Sanford, Florida.

 Dory Jr. went to Yokohama, Japan to be the special referee for an NWA World Title
match between Naoya Ogawa and champion, Dan Severn on March 14, 1999.  He called
for the bell after Severn tapped out and gave the NWA Title to Ogawa.  Funk vacated the
Florida Title on August 15, 2000 for the special Florida Tournament in Tampa.  He
presented the belt to the winner, Adam Windsor, one of his pupils from the “Funking
Conservatory,” Funk’s wrestling school in Florida.

 In November 2000, Funk separated his ties with the NWA.  Funk’s guidance and
knowledge would go on without the organization.  Windsor was also stripped of the
Florida Title.

 Funk is a legend of professional wrestling and to this day, continues to train the sport’s
youth.  Fans can learn much more about Mr. Funk at his official webite, www.dory-funk.
com.

Title History:

 -NWA World Heavyweight Title (1969-’73) defeated Gene Kiniski
 -A multiple-time co-holder of the NWA International Tag Team Title
         w/ Terry Funk (1971-’72) defeated Shohei Baba and Antonio Inoki
         w/ Terry Funk (1973) defeated Killer Karl Krupp and Karl Von Steiger
 -NWA Missouri State Heavyweight Title (1974-’75) defeated Harley Race
 -A three-time winner of the annual AJPW Real World Tag Team Tournament
         w/ Terry Funk (1977)
         w/ Terry Funk (1979)
         w/ Terry Funk (1982)
 A two-time co-holder of the WWC World Tag Team Title
         w/ Terry Funk (1979) defeated The Invaders
         w/ Terry Funk (1979-’82) defeated The Invaders
 -A four-time NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion
         -Defeated Dusty Rhodes (1980)
         -Awarded (1981)
         -Defeated Charlie Cook (1981)
         -Defeated Steve Keirn (1997)
 -A three-time NWA International Heavyweight Champion
         -Was Awarded (1981)
         -Defeated Bruce Reed (1981)
         -Defeated Bruiser Brody (1981)
 -WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title (1982) defeated Pierre Martel, vacant title win
 -WWC Universal Heavyweight Title (1985) defeated Carlos Colon




Research by Tim Hornbaker
Dory Funk Jr. Wrestling History
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