Wrestling, abuse and death: the twisted tale of the Von Erich family
It’s a story told many a time, a tale of a cursed family that rose to wrestling fame in the heyday of the sport, only to be destroyed by substance abuse, injuries and depression. But the story of the sons of Fritz Von Erich can’t be told without looking at the man himself.
Jack Barton Adkisson was born in Jewett, Texas in 1929. He was a collegiate football player for Southern Methodist University, but wasn’t able to make the cut in the NFL. He traveled to the Canadian Football League, but while in Edmonton, he discovered his future in the legendary Dungeon of the progenitor of an equally famous wrestling family, Stu Hart.
After training Adkisson, Hart renamed him Fritz Von Erich and made him a horribly German heel and the brother of another fake German, Waldo Von Erich. At the same time, he would start a family in Texas with his wife Doris.
Their first son died at the age of seven while Fritz was on the road, a victim of an awful freak accident that saw him electrocuted before drowning. By that time, they already had a second son in Kevin and a third in David. Kerry, Mike and Chris would follow in the years to come. And even from a young age, it seemed clear Fritz had plans for his children.
