Malcolm Kirk

Malcolm Kirk
Malcolm "King Kong" Kirk
Born	18 December 1936 Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England
Died	24 August 1987 (aged 50) Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	King Kong Kirk Kojak Kirk
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	309–353 lb (140–160 kg)
Billed from	West Yorkshire, England
Debut	1950s
Retired	4 August 1987

Malcolm (Mal) Kirk (18 December 1936 – 24 August 1987) was an English professional wrestler who went by the ring name King Kong Kirk.

Biography

Prior to professional wrestling Kirk was a coal miner and professional rugby player. From 1954 he played 38 first team matches at prop forward (number 8) for Featherstone Rovers, scoring one try, 2 matches for Castleford and also for the struggling Doncaster club where he was a team mate of another future professional wrestler, Ted Heath.

Bald and fearsome looking, Kirk was usually cast as the "bad guy" and often tagged with the superheavyweight Giant Haystacks. Kirk's work rose to its prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to the popularity of televised wrestling in the United Kingdom. In 1979 also featured in an Italian movie, Io sto con gli ippopotami with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

Death

In August 1987, Kirk died after a tragic turn of events during the final moments of a tag team match at the Hippodrome circus in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, when he teamed with King Kendo against British wrestling legend Shirley "Big Daddy" Crabtree and his nephew Greg Valentine (Steve Crabtree). After Big Daddy had delivered his signature Big Splash and scored the winning pinfall, Kirk turned an unhealthy colour, was rushed to the James Paget hospital in Gorleston and pronounced dead on arrival. The inquest into Kirk's death found that he had a pre-existing heart condition and cleared Crabtree of any responsibility.