By Helene Cowell
Killer Tim Brooks is a true pioneer in the sport of
wrestling. This bad boy of the ring has paved the way for
other colorful characters such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper whom
he shared the tag team championship with in Portland,
Oregon. During their reign as tag team champions, they held
every championship title in the Pacific Northwest at one
time. When they were asked to do a television interview
having all of their title belts and trophies present, this
posed a small problem. There were just too many to carry out
onto the television set. However, they found the perfect
solution. A wheelbarrow! What a sight it was as they wheeled
it out completely filled to the top for all to see!
In his hometown of Waxahachie, Texas, he is
affectionately referred to as the "Waxahachie Wild Man" and
wild it has been in his 30 plus years as a professional
wrestler. But, it was Odessa, Texas in1969 when he first
caught the fever for the sport. Tim Brooks was driving his
cousin, "Captain Redneck" Dick Murdock, to the Eacter
Coliseum at the fair grounds for a wrestling match later
that evening. As the show was about to start, it just so
happened that one wrestler that did not show up.
Murdock and the legendary Terry Funk had to fix the
problem quickly. They called the unsuspecting Tim Brooks
back to the dressing room and proceeded to, not ask but,
tell him that he would be filling in for the missing
wrestler in a 20 man over the top battle royal. Brooks'
emphatic reply was a simple, "No! I don't know how!"
followed by the famous last words of Mr. Terry Funk, "That's
okay, we will take care of you."
As soon as Tim Brooks got into the ring they both beat on
him without mercy and then threw him over the top rope.
Unable to erase from his mind this brutal experience during
his first match ever, so became the "Killer" that struck
fear into the hearts of his opponents for the rest of his
illustrious career.
He traveled to Nashville, Tennessee and later to Michigan
with his cousin and began his formal training in
professional wrestling. There, he was exposed to wrestling
greats such as Don Carson and Dusty Rhodes. It wasn't until
the late great Sheik took a liking to him where Brooks
finally came into his own. "Killer" Tim Brooks was
officially a heel. While Murdock moved on with Dusty Rhodes
to Australia, Killer stayed with The Sheik.
Killer and The Sheik wrestled together mostly as tag team
partners doing main events in the Michigan and Ohio areas
for the next four years. Killer proudly states, "I owe
everything to The Sheik (Ed Farhat). He is my father in pro
wrestling. Sheik is the best heel in the history of the
sport of wrestling. He could get more heat just walking to
the ring than most heels could get their entire match."
Since then, Killer Tim Brooks has established himself as
a legend. He has rightfully earned the respect of his fellow
wrestlers by being known as a rough, hard-core wrestler well
before 'hard-core' was ever glamorous or popular. The Sheik,
the true 'King of Hard-core', was proud of his 'Killer'
protege, as he carried on the hard-core tradition. It always
brought them great joy to see the fans hate them so much
only to be left wanting more.
Killer Brooks' career has taken him all over the world
matching up with and against some of the greatest wrestlers
the sport has seen. Some of his tag partners through the
years have been The Sheik; Roddy Piper; Bruiser Brody;
Abdulla The Butcher; Ben Justice; Leroy Brown; and Mark
Lewin. He has competed in various title matches with Terry
Funk, Harley Race and Jack Brisco, and worked with the great
Danny Hodge and Lou Thesz.
Some of the territories Killer Brooks has had the honor
of working in spans four continents: Amarillo, Texas -
Funks; Nashville, Tennessee - Nick Gooliss; Ohio/Michigan -
Sheik; Upstate New York/Cleveland - Johnny Powers,Pedro
Martinez; Kansas City - Bob Geigle; Toronto, Canada - Frank
Tunney; Montreal, Canada - Jaques Rougeaux; Calgary, Alberta
- Stu Hart; North and South Carolina - The Crocketts; Los
Angeles - Mike Lidell; Atlanta, Georgia - Jim Barnett, Oly
Anderson; Dallas, Texas - Fritz Von Eric; Omaha, Nebraska -
Joe Duesek; San Antonio, Texas - Joe Blanchard; Houston,
Texas - Paul Bouch; Portland, Oregon - Don Owen; Japan - All
Japan and Internationall; New Guinea; Africa; United Arab
Emmerits.
Killer Brooks says he still loves the business as much as
ever and wouldn't change one thing about his thirty four
year career. He currently lives in Waxahachie, Texas and
runs his own wrestling school called Big Time Pro Wrestling.
Brooks also belongs to a union where his job title is
Decorator and Displayman installing and dismantling trade
shows and conventions. Killer wants everyone to know, "There
is life after wrestling and it is good."
