a look at:

EDDIE SULLIVAN  

by Mike Norris

    Arizona native Ruben “Benny” Huizar was a wrestling fan from a young age. Growing up in Buckeye, he and his father would travel 70 miles very Monday night to Phoenix to the matches presented by promoter Rod Fenton. That promotion’s stars were Dory Funk, the Von Erich Brothers, Lu Kim and Danno McDonald. 

    Benny’s athletic career began in high school where he played football, but he still yearned to become a professional wrestler. After graduating he relocated to Phoenix and began looking for a local professional to train him. Through contacts he was introduced to lady wrestler Princess Tona Tomah. After months of training, Benny made his professional debut against Jim Dalton in late 1964. 

    Benny spent the next couple of years wrestling in the Southwest against the likes of Al Kashey, Gene Anderson, Arman Hussian and Iron Mike DiBiase. It was also at this time that Benny met a man that inside the ring would be one of his bitterest enemies, while outside the ring was his best friend, fellow Arizonan Ken Lucas. 

    In 1967, Benny made his way to the Gulf Coast territory of promoter Lee Fields. It was there that he acquired the name that he would be best known as. At the time Ramon & Pepe Perez were top stars in the area and matchmaker Rocky McGuire decided that another Latino wasn’t needed. Therefore he had Benny adopt the name “Eddie Sullivan” to mask his ethnicity. Actually he would be the second Latin to use the name “Eddie Sullivan” in the Gulf Coast area. Tito Montez had made a few appearances under that name in the late 1950s. But this Eddie Sullivan would soon prove he was second to no one. He quickly became very popular with the fans and by the end of the year he was in possession of the Gulf Coast version of the Louisiana State heavyweight crown. Eddie also had a chance to renew his friendship with Ken Lucas who was also competing in the area. 

1969   (460-8)  (460-3)  (460 4)

    After dropping the title to Frank Dalton in early 1968, Eddie decided to move on to Tennessee. While in Tennessee, Eddie formed a team with Frank Morrell. They donned masks and called themselves The Mighty Yankees, which made them very unpopular in the Deep South. They soon proved themselves the team to beat and would go on to hold the Southern and World tag team titles during their time in the Volunteer State. There many wild matches between the Yankees and the team of Ken Lucas & Dennis Hall with each team holding the titles several times. 

(460 5  460 6)

    Eddie returned to the Gulf Coast in early 1970 and shocked the fans with his new smug attitude and rough tactics. He was soon coming to the ring barefaced, but carrying an ominous black mask. He would insist on being introduced as Eddie “The Masked Man” Sullivan and don the hood at the start of his match. More often than not, he would win his matches by inserting an object into the mask and head butting his opponent into unconsciousness.   

    Outside of the ring Eddie became a true life hero on February 7, 1971 when a tornado hit the apartment complex where he and his family were living in Pensacola, FL. After getting his family to safety, Eddie pulled two small children, two teenagers and a woman from the crumpled debris, saving their lives. 

     Eddie reformed his team with Frank Morrell in the Gulf Coast, but this time only Eddie was masked. They took on a manager in Colonel Sam Bass and won the Gulf Coast tag team title in early 1971. Morrell suffered a broken leg in June of 1971 and that brought about an end to their team. But fate was about to step in. 

(419 4a  419 5a  495 3)

     Within a couple of weeks of Morrell’s departure, Eddie would shed his mask and form a team with Rip Tyler. This team would go on to dominate the Gulf Coast territory for the next 7 years and would be together for 15 years. As a team the competed throughout the South, Midwest, Pacific Northwest and several tours of Japan. Among the titles they held were the Mississippi State tag team title, the Gulf Coast tag team title, the Western States tag team title, the United States tag team title (in both the Gulf Coast and Oklahoma) and the IWE World tag team title in Japan. 

( 905 2  914 3 914 4)

   As a solo wrestler, Eddie held the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama State titles, the Gulf Coast title, the Mid-America title, the Western States title and the United States title. His biggest night as a single competitor came on February 17, 1976 in Mobile, AL. On that night he took on NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk for over 40 minutes before losing a close battle. 

    Eddie went into semi-retirement in the early 80s and made his last ring appearances for the W.O.W. promotion based in Pensacola FL and run by his former tag team partner Rip Tyler. 

    After retiring, Eddie returned to Phoenix, AZ and operated a successful trucking business, He also spent a lot of time traveling to many reunions and renewing his acquaintance with many old friends and foes. 

( 905 8  905 7a  905 9a)

(460 9)