ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Former professional wrestling heartthrob Jack Brisco has died at age 68, World Wresting Entertainment says.
"World Wrestling Entertainment has been made aware of the passing of WWE Hall of Famer Jack Brisco," the company said in a statement Monday. "The WWE extends its deepest condolences to the Brisco family ... . Jack Brisco was one of the most decorated performers in sports entertainment history, and a bona fide legend in Florida and the southeastern United States."
Brisco was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
The St. Petersburg Times said Brisco brought glamour to professional wrestling in the late 1960s and early 1970s before the sport gained its current status, and was a traditionalist who believed pro wrestlers should be athletes first and entertainers second.
"He was the baby-faced star," former WFLA radio personality Tedd Webb told the Times. "This was the guy that had rugged good looks, an incredible build and a tremendous amateur background. This guy was a matinee idol."
He formed a tag-team tandem with his brother Jerry Brisco, 63. The newspaper said he won three heavyweight regional belts, including Florida's, as well as the National Wrestling Alliance's world title in 1973, which he held until 1975.
