Original Miami Dolphin who became pro wrestler dies
Bob Bruggers, a linebacker on the expansion Miami Dolphins in 1966 who later became a professional wrestler and Broward bar owner, died Friday. He was 80.
Bruggers was an undrafted signee who made the expansion Dolphins — a team of “renegades and castoffs,’’ as he once said. The team went 3-11, but opened its existence with a 95-yard kickoff return by Joe Auer on its first play.
“I used to say I threw the key block for him,” Bruggers told the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Alex Marvez in 2006. “It’s been years and nobody knows anymore, so I now say, ‘I then got up and threw another key block.’ ‘’
Bruggers was primarily a back-up for three Dolphins seasons before an incident before a game in 1968 in Denver led to his trade. He was at a bar when Dolphins teammate Wahoo McDaniel was arrested for destroying public property. Bruggers said he went to bail out McDaniel, missed team curfew and was traded to San Diego, where he played three more seasons.
McDaniel, who made a second career as a professional wrestler, led Bruggers into that world after their football days. Bruggers took McDaniel’s place on a wrestling company’s charter flight that crashed in North Carolina, killing the pilot and breaking the backs of wresters Ric Flair and Bruggers.
“The only thing I remember was taking a nap and hearing the engine sputter a little bit,” Bruggers said. “I looked out and saw a water tower, so I thought we were close to the airport and we could glide in if nothing else.
“I didn’t think much of it until we hit the ground. It was like, ‘Bang!’ I saw trees, so I thought it would cushion the fall, but we were a half-mile short.”
Bruggers used the financial settlement from the crash to return to Fort Lauderdale and open Tree Path, a restaurant and lounge. It closed within two years. Bruggers began bartending across Broward like the Bottle Club, Foxfire, Jesters and The Hut.
“As things turned out, I’m happy with the way things are,” Bruggers said. “Once in a while, I think back and say, ‘I could have trained harder.’ But if I had a chance to do things over, I would probably do them the same way anyway.”
