Spotlight 2018
Honoree: Gerald Brisco "Outstanding American"
Floyd Gerald Brisco was born in Seminole, Oklahoma on September 19th, 1946. He is one of five children. He is married to his wife Barbra, and has two grown sons, Wesley and Joseph.Jerry started wrestling when he was just 9 years old. He won his first tournament in the Kay County tournament, pinning all his opponents. He was awarded Outstanding Wrestler.
He attended high school in Stillwater, Oklahoma, home of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Jerry was also the Vice-President of his sophomore class and student body representative in both his junior and senior years. He was awarded a scholarship in wrestling to Oklahoma State University. In his freshman year, he lost only one match. Misfortune struck, when Jerry missed competing his entire sophomore and junior years due to hepatitis and an injured knee. He left school at the end of 1968 and started a career in professional wrestling, which lasted seventeen years. During that time, he teamed with his brother Jack, and they became famous worldwide, winning four World Titles and three tag team titles.
After his wrestling career, Jerry worked with Vince McMahon to help make World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the global business it is today. He worked with talent development, and discovered such stars as Hulk Hogan and many other superstars.
During his professional career, whenever called upon for help, they always found time to volunteer and hold wrestling clinics and camps. They volunteered for AAU, Jr. Olympic and Olympic Qualifying events throughout Florida and the southeast. They would also appear and sometimes wrestle at the Florida Sheriffs’ Boys Ranch and Girls Villa. This was to help raise funds for them.
Jerry has been helping his local community by starting The Guardian Wrestling Club in Tampa, Florida. It is for children ages 6 to 18 years old. It has grown into one of the largest clubs on Florida.
For 9 years (2000 to 2009) he was a volunteer assistant head wrestling coach at Sickles High School in Tampa, Florida. His teams finished with three Top 10 finishes in the Florida State Championships. In 2009, Fox TV 13 featured Jerry on “What’s Good about Tampa Bay”, a program that highlights those who volunteer time and finances to the Tampa Bay community.
In 2010 Jerry was appointed to the USA Wrestling Indigenous Committee, whose goal is to focus on giving Natïve Americans and other minorities the opportunity to attend wrestling camps. Also, in 2010, he helped form an International Olympic Committee, whose goal is to get North American Indigenous kids represented as a sovereign nation, under their own tribes, in the Olympic Games by the year 2020. The committee works with the tribes to find the best athletes within their community and make sure they are given the best coaching and representation possible. This will begin with the Jim Thorpe Games, which will be held in Oklahoma City.
In 2015, Jerry, along with his late brother Jack, were inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame.
He is currently working as a WWE talent scout, signing such greats as Olympic Champion Kurt Angle and UFC Champion Brock Lesner
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