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and a broken ankle. After having steel rods inserted into his spinal column, Bruggers was able to walk out of hospital three weeks after the crash, but decided not to return to wrestling.
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Following his retirement from football and wrestling, Bruggers worked as a sales manager for a tool company before relocating to
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445:'s "M" Club Hall of Fame in 2002, in recognition of his accomplishments as both a basketball and football player.
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Bruggers' career came to abrupt end on
October 4, 1975. With Bruggers needing to drive from his home in
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After his collegiate basketball career ended, Bruggers turned his focus to football. Undrafted in the
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that he had chartered. Bruggers took a seat on the plane along with
Crockett's brother
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After his football career ended, Bruggers was introduced to professional wrestling by
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as his finishing move. In
September 1973, he made a brief tour of Japan with
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Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's
Greatest Professional Wrestlers
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Minnesota's Golden Age of
Wrestling: From Verne Gagne to the Road Warriors
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421:. Shortly before reaching its destination, the plane ran out of fuel and
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Former
Gophers football player, pro wrestler Bob Bruggers dead at 80
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List of gridiron football players who became professional wrestlers
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225:(April 20, 1944 – May 10, 2024) was an American professional
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Bruggers died in
Florida on May 10, 2024, at the age of 80.
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High School. After graduating high school, he attended the
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780:"Part Two – Big Events, Big History, Big Champions"
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Minnesota Hoops: Basketball in the North Star State
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515:. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 114–115.
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265:. He was a highly decorated basketball player at
16:American football player and wrestler (1944–2024)
704:The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons
297:and played for the team for three seasons as a
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697:Steven Johnson; Greg Oliver; Mike Mooneyham;
401:, invited him to instead take his place on a
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1343:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents
734:. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 96.
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355:In late 1973, Bruggers began wrestling for
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344:. Reflecting his football past, he used a
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1318:Minnesota Golden Gophers football players
1363:20th-century male professional wrestlers
824:Dave Meltzer; Bret Hart (January 2004).
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261:Bruggers was born on April 20, 1944, in
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359:. In March 1974, he began teaming with
328:, making his debut in 1972 for Gagne's
803:"Plane crash changed Valentine's life"
465:NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
369:NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
363:, and on April 8, 1974, they defeated
1328:Professional wrestlers from Minnesota
7:
1308:American male professional wrestlers
509:Marc Hugunin; Stew Thornley (2006).
304:In 1969, Bruggers was traded to the
1338:Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska
575:Marvez, Alex (September 13, 2006).
459:Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
357:Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
342:Championship Wrestling from Florida
291:1966 American Football League draft
832:. Sports Publishing LLC. pp.
653:Historical Dictionary of Wrestling
350:International Wrestling Enterprise
340:. In 1973, he began wrestling for
14:
1358:American men's basketball players
452:Championships and accomplishments
170:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
1353:American Football League players
801:Mooneyham, Mike (July 8, 1997).
656:. Scarecrow Press. p. 366.
1348:University of Minnesota alumni
338:American Wrestling Association
1:
1303:American football linebackers
650:John Grasso (March 6, 2014).
312:Professional wrestling career
129:Professional wrestling career
929:1966 inaugural season roster
275:collegiate basketball player
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1333:San Diego Chargers players
880:Bob Bruggers's profile at
707:. ECW Press. p. 354.
683:Pro-Football-Reference.com
388:Wilmington, North Carolina
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778:Bourne, Dick (May 2003).
384:Kingstree, South Carolina
237:for five seasons for the
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178:242 lb (110 kg)
623:Ric Flair: To Be the Man
439:West Palm Beach, Florida
251:National Football League
247:American Football League
19:Not to be confused with
443:University of Minnesota
271:University of Minnesota
233:. Bruggers played as a
149:University of Minnesota
1313:Miami Dolphins players
782:. Mid-Atlantic Gateway
759:. Mid-Atlantic Gateway
728:George Schire (2010).
626:. Simon and Schuster.
577:"Dolphin in anonymity"
223:Robert Eugene Bruggers
140:Robert Eugene Bruggers
755:Baker, David (2011).
409:and fellow wrestlers
293:, he signed with the
277:before refocusing on
231:professional wrestler
757:""No. 1" Paul Jones"
701:(January 11, 2013).
678:"Bob Bruggers Stats"
805:. MikeMooneyham.com
397:, who was ill with
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1269:Assistant coaches:
593:on January 6, 2019
306:San Diego Chargers
243:San Diego Chargers
124:San Diego Chargers
71:Career information
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1279:
996:Dick Westmoreland
843:978-1-58261-817-3
741:978-0-87351-620-4
714:978-1-77090-269-5
663:978-0-8108-7926-3
633:978-1-4391-2174-0
522:978-0-87351-574-0
279:American football
273:, where he was a
263:Lincoln, Nebraska
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1080:Jimmy Warren
1074:Bob Petrella
1062:Hal Wantland
1056:Pete Jaquess
1032:Rick Casares
990:Billy Hunter
984:Wes Matthews
872:Bob Bruggers
852:
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807:. Retrieved
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784:. Retrieved
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761:. Retrieved
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699:J. J. Dillon
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208:October 1975
162:Bob Bruggers
157:Ring name(s)
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59:(2024-05-10)
57:May 10, 2024
29:Bob Bruggers
25:
1298:2024 deaths
1293:1944 births
1260:Head coach:
1254:Bill Cronin
1248:Karl Noonan
1218:Earl Faison
1206:Doug Moreau
1176:Rich Zecher
1152:Whit Canale
1146:Jim Higgins
1092:Mike Hudock
1044:Bo Roberson
1014:Sammy Price
978:Willie West
954:Rick Norton
809:December 2,
786:December 2,
763:December 1,
597:December 2,
553:December 2,
367:to win the
330:Minneapolis
322:Verne Gagne
229:player and
187:Verne Gagne
77:Position(s)
1287:Categories
1230:Mel Branch
1170:Tom Nomina
1158:Norm Evans
1134:Ernie Park
972:Gene Mingo
960:John Stofa
493:References
473:Paul Jones
433:Retirement
403:Cessna 310
361:Paul Jones
299:linebacker
257:Early life
249:(AFL) and
235:linebacker
183:Trained by
145:Alma mater
137:Birth name
82:Linebacker
40:1944-04-20
1122:Tom Goode
1026:Billy Joe
966:Dick Wood
618:Ric Flair
471:) – with
419:Tim Woods
411:Ric Flair
399:influenza
373:Ric Flair
334:Minnesota
120:1968–1971
110:1966–1968
105:As player
94:Minnesota
1194:Ed Cooke
1164:Ken Rice
1050:Bob Neff
1020:Joe Auer
481:See also
392:promoter
377:Rip Hawk
227:football
423:crashed
336:-based
253:(NFL).
245:in the
205:Retired
89:College
64:Florida
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267:Danube
66:, U.S.
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407:David
386:, to
197:Debut
54:Died:
34:Born:
876:IMDb
838:ISBN
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788:2016
765:2016
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