William Fritz Afflis Jr. (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and National Football League player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser.

[3] He was one of the most well known heels from the mid-1950s until the early 1980s,[4] famous for his feuds with the likes of Lou Thesz, Bobo Brazil, Angelo Poffo, and "Classie" Freddie Blassie.

[15] What was supposed to be a worked shoot turned into a real brawl when one of the Butsicaris boys' uncles attacked Dick the Bruiser, unaware the event was staged.

[16] Bruiser proceeded to destroy the bar and injure a number of police officers who showed up to the melee; there were reportedly over 300 people hurt.

[21] On November 19, 1957, Dick the Bruiser and Dr. Jerry Graham engaged in a tag team match at Madison Square Garden in New York City before a crowd reported of 12,987.

[10] Afflis, along with fellow wrestler and business partner Wilbur Snyder, purchased the Indianapolis NWA promotion in 1964 from its longtime owner Jim Barnett.

Afflis' WWA ran from 1964 until 1989, when he finally tired of losing talent, TV, and fan attendance to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

[3][25] Afflis, with his charisma, NFL notoriety, and gravelly-voiced, tough-guy persona was a legitimate cross-media star, becoming something of a hero in the Indianapolis area.

[28] The moniker "Dick the Bruiser" was even used in the 1980s by George Baier, a co-host of the morning drive show on Detroit rock radio station WRIF.

He also worked as a talent agent for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and was the special guest referee at the Starrcade 1990 main event between Sting and the Black Scorpion.

His widow, Louise, said her husband had been weightlifting at home with his adopted son, Jon Carney, and ruptured a blood vessel in his esophagus.