Doug Furnas

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Dwight Douglas Furnas
Data
Ring name Doug Furnas
Can-Am Express # 1
height 180
Fighting weight 110
Trained by Rick Conners, Davey Rich & Johnny Rich
debut 1986
retirement 2000

Dwight Douglas Furnas (born December 11, 1959 in Commerce , Oklahoma , United States , † March 2, 2012 in Tucson , Arizona , United States) was an American wrestler and weightlifter , best known by his ring name Doug Furnas . He worked for WCW , ECW , WWF and in particular All Japan Pro Wrestling , where he spent most of his active time. He was best known as one half of The Can-Am Express tag team with partner Philip Lafond .

Life

Doug Furnas Weightlifting
Personal information
Surname: Dwight Douglas Furnas
Nationality: United StatesUnited States United States
Society: University of Tennessee
Date of birth: December 11, 1959
Place of birth: Commerce , Oklahoma
Date of death: March 2, 2012
Place of death: Tucson , Arizona
Size: 180

Dwight Douglas Furnas grew up in Commerce, Oklahoma as the son of a farming family. Furnas began farming at a young age, helping his family run the 200- acre farm. As a teenager he performed in rodeo until he almost died in a traffic accident. A drunk driver drove into the family car as a ghost driver. However, he regained his strength and played American football in high school with his brother Mike Furnas . While Mike was used as an offensive and defensive lineman, Doug became a sprinter and fullback . Their team won the state championship and the two were allowed to compete in The Oil Bowl and were victorious there too. At junior college they played for Northeastern A&M , which won the national championship that year. The later NFL stars Willie Gault and Reggie White emerged from this team . They then moved to the University of Tennessee (UT). Doug and Mike Furnas later played for the Denver Broncos . After an initial injury, however, he was no longer used and was only briefly in the Broncos Practice Squad .

The two brothers decided to leave American football behind. Under Dennis Wright , a former world champion, they both trained as weightlifters at the UT. Doug Furnas was the third man after Don Reinhoudt and Bill Kazmaier to lift 2,400 pounds and the first to do it twice. The first time he succeeded in this at the APF World Championship in Maui , Hawaii , the second time at the APF National Championships in Minnesota. In 1986, at the height of his career, he left the sport to become a professional wrestler. By the time he quit weightlifting in 1986, he had set 29 world records, two of which are still in the 242 pound weight class, one in the squat (881.75 pounds) and one in the deadlift (766 pounds).

His wrestling career began in 1986. He went to All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he and Dan Kroffat formed the legendary tag team The Can-Am Express from 1989 . The two won the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship five times between 1989 and 1986 . Both then went to Extreme Championship Wrestling , where they also won the tag team belt. In 1996 they first appeared in the World Wrestling Federation . They made their debut on the Pay-Per-View Survivor Series . However, the career did not really take off. They had a feud with The British Bulldogs and at the Survivor Series 1998 they were allowed to compete in "Team Canada" together with Bret Hart .

A car accident eventually ended Furna's wrestling career. While driving from one WWF event to the next at night, the driver of the van fell asleep and caused a serious car accident. Furnas was injured so badly that it took him 18 months to recover from the aftermath. In 2000 he therefore ended his wrestling career. He then worked in youth welfare. Together with his wife, he later ran a home for battered boys and ran the family farm until he had to limit all activities due to his progressive Parkinson's disease . Doug Furnas died on March 2, 2012 as a result of his illness. Atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension were given as the official causes of death . According to his wife, he died peacefully in his sleep.

Success in wrestling

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Marty Gallagher: Doug Furnas: The greatest strength athlete you've likely never heard of ... Startingstrength.com, accessed September 5, 2016 .
  2. ^ Former Vols Back, Pro Wrestler Dies at 52nd UT Sports, March 7, 2012, accessed September 6, 2016 .
  3. ^ Greg Oliver: Cause of death for Doug Furnas revealed. Slam! Wrestling, accessed September 6, 2016 .
  4. ^ A b Royal Duncan & Gary Will: Wrestling Title Histories . Archeus Communications, 2000, ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 .
personal data
SURNAME Furnas, Doug
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler and weightlifter
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Commerce , Oklahoma , United States
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 2012
Place of death Tucson , Arizona , United States