1. Richard John "Dick" Beyer was an American professional wrestler is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one of the country's highest honors, the Order of the Rising Sun.
Dick Beyer played in the 1953 Orange Bowl for Syracuse.
Dick Beyer graduated with a master's degree in education and was a member of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta's Syracuse Chapter, as well as an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
Dick Beyer was a schoolteacher and swim coach in New York until he began his wrestling career.
Dick Beyer worked the first seven years of his mat career near his Western New York home, due in large part to his coaching job and commitment to the US Army Reserve.
Dick Beyer was a member of the wrestling team and served as an assistant to Ben Schwartzwalder.
Dick Beyer began as a babyface wrestler in the mid-1950s, and he was voted 1955 Rookie of the Year by the Wrestling Life magazine.
Dick Beyer boasted about his East Coast academic background to help develop his heel character.
Dick Beyer used the figure four leg lock on his way to the Worldwide Wrestling Associates championship on July 27,1962, in a win over Freddie Blassie, who convinced him that the mask gimmick would give him a large push.
Dick Beyer was the last person to hold a victory over Rikidozan before his death.
Dick Beyer was the first masked wrestler to compete in Japan regularly, and did regular tours for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance until 1971.
Dick Beyer had matches with many of the top names in the business including his real brother-in-law Billy Red Lyons, who handed him his first American Wrestling Association defeat on Minneapolis television, with a figure-four leglock.
Dick Beyer stood in the center of the ring with announcer Marty O'Neill, who told the fans that Doctor X was a former coach from Syracuse University.
Dick Beyer wanted to lose the mask because he and his family were set to go to Japan, where he would be The Destroyer again.
Dick Beyer held the PWF United States Championship until 1979, when he left AJPW and the championship was abandoned.
Dick Beyer was the first American wrestler signed to a Japanese promotion.
Dick Beyer went into semi-retirement in Akron, New York, in 1984.
Dick Beyer served on the board of directors of the Cauliflower Alley Club, which holds annual reunions in Las Vegas.
Dick Beyer was a member of Toastmasters International, a public speaking club, and carried the club designation of Certified Toastmaster.
Dick Beyer inducted Gorgeous George into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 27,2010.
Dick Beyer died in his bed at his home in Akron on March 7,2019, at the age of 88, surrounded by his wife and all of his children.
Dick Beyer had been suffering from health issues and spent time in hospice care.