Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Grappling with Tragedy is a series of articles that deal with unfortunate, tragic incidents that have occurred throughout the history of professional wrestling. It is unlike the ‘Wrestling with Sin’ series that deals more with the seedier side of wrestling like arrests, murders and suicides. Grappling looks more at particular tragic incidents that have in some instances altered pro wrestling in some way.
‘King Kong’ Malcolm Kirk
Malcolm Kirk started out as a successful rugby player in the United Kingdom during the 1950’s. After his rugby career ended, Kirk transitioned to professional wrestling where he was known as a heel named ‘Murky’ Mal Kirk. He wrestled primarily in the United Kingdom, but also ventured out to places in Europe like Germany. As the years went by, Kirk’s looks began to change as he gained a considerable amount of weight and lost his hair. He renamed himself Kojak Kirk because of his bald head in honor of the tv series ‘Kojak.’ He later renamed himself ‘Killer’ Kirk until ultimately settling on the ring name ‘King Kong’ Kirk.
Kirk stood 6ft 1in tall and weighed a solid 352 pounds. He wrestled most of his career as a heel and competed against future stars like Bret Hart, Fit Finlay and William Regal. Many wrestlers loved Kirk for his positive demeanor outside the ring and praised his abilities inside the ring. In August of 1987, Kirk was wrestling a tag team bout with King Kendo versus Greg Valentine and England’s most popular star ‘Big Daddy’ Shirley Crabtree in Norfolk, England.
Fifteen minutes into the match, Big Daddy Crabtree delivered his famous “Big Daddy Splashdown” while King Kong Kirk laid flat on the mat. Crabtree got the pinfall victory, but Kirk failed to get up after the loss. Kirk began to turn blue and members of the ring crew started administering CPR. It took eight men to dismantle the ring and remove the large Kirk from the ring and onto a stretcher. Sadly, Malcolm Kirk died enroute to a nearby hospital. An autopsy revealed that Kirk suffered a series of small heart attacks followed by one massive one which ultimately killed him.
The aftermath of King Kong Kirk’s death was the British Medical Association recommending an age limit for pro wrestlers. It also led to a downfall in wrestling’s popularity in the UK. Shirley Crabtree wrestled just 24 hours after Kirk’s death and was heavily criticized for it. Malcolm ‘King Kong’ Kirk was 51 years old at the time of his death.