DORY FUNK JR. - INDUCTEE #114
hall of fame fast fact:
Like all the Funks, Dory Funk Jr. had a rambunctious streak in him. James Kyle, PSHOF No. 27, remembers the 1963 summer when Junior worked for Kile's summer recreation program at Amarillo Country Club. "They (Junior and Leonard Miller) were on the roof of the dining room, about 3 1/2 stories above the swimming pool," Kile said. "I was on the P.A., and I told them to get off. But I knew what they were going to do. They dived in the pool." Junior refers to the incident as "putting on a special diving show out there."
Dory Funk Jr.
Dory Funk Jr. made his professional wrestling debut, defeating Don Fargo in the Amarillo Sports Arena. At the time, Junior was student teaching at Tascosa High School. Junior played football at Canyon High School and WT.
Dory Jr. was only 28 when he defeated Gene Kiniski for the National Wrestling Alliance title in 1969. After Funk won the NWA his professional wrestling career spanned 45 years, and he’s still involved in the game.
His final professional match was March 1, 2008, in a team match in Tokyo. That concluded his 10-match “Sayonara” tour. The Funks helped popularize professional wrestling in Japan in the 1970s.
Dory Funk Jr.’s favorite sports memories are winning the National Wrestling Alliance world heavyweight championship and being a member of the 1962 West Texas State University football team that won the Sun Bowl.
He devotes his full-time attention to running the Funk Conservatory Training School in Ocala, Florida.
