Skull Murphy John Joseph Murphy was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Skull Murphy . He began his career wrestling in Canada and later worked at Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling in the United States . In the 1960s , he teamed with Brute Bernard in the World Wide Wrestling Federation and won championships in several professional wrestling promotion s . In his later career , he worked primarily in Australia . Early life . Murphy grew up in Hamilton , Ontario . As a child , he developed a disease that prevented him from growing any hair on his body . He attended Hamilton Central Technical School , where he met professional wrestler Chuck Molnar . Molnar convinced Murphy to become a wrestler , and Murphy began training at the Hamilton Jewish YMCA under Jimmy Simms . Author Mordecai Richler states that Murphy told him that he rubbed baby oil on his bald head before matches to reduce irritation from the ring floor . Career . Early career . Murphy began competing in 1952 . He wrestled in Welland , Ontario as well as Larry Kasaboski ' s Northland Wrestling Enterprises in northeastern Ontario . He soon began competing for promotions on the east coast of the United States , including Jim Crockett Promotions . He was billed as living in Ireland . By 1959 , he was competing for Georgia Championship Wrestling ( GCW ) , where he feuded with Dickie Gunkel . Professional boxer Joey Maxim was the referee for one match between Murphy and Gunkel . After Gunkel won , Murphy challenged Maxim to a " wrestler vs . boxer " match the following week , which Murphy won . He competed in GCW for several years and won five championships in 1961 , which included three reigns with the Georgia version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship . He also formed a tag team with Gypsy Joe and won both the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship . Teaming with Brute Bernard . Murphy was paired with Brute Bernard , a fellow Canadian . They competed together in the World Wide Wrestling Federation ( WWWF ) , where they won the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship on May 16 , 1963 . They also wrestled for Championship Wrestling from Florida and won the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship on two occasions . In addition to competing in the United States , Murphy and Bernard were successful in Australia . They won the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice in 1966 while competing for the Australian World Championship Wrestling . Australia and reunion with Bernard . Murphy remained in Australia while Bernard returned to the United States . Murphy never won a title belt in the United States again , but he help several championships in Australia as both a singles wrestler and tag team competitor . Over the next two years , he had two reigns as the IWA World Heavyweight Champion . He also formed a tag team with Killer Kowalski and won the IWA World Tag Team Championship twice more , defeating Red Bastien and Mario Milano for the title both times . He then reunited with Bernard to hold the IWA tag team belts again . The team returned to the United States , where they worked in Jim Crockett Promotions . While there , they wrestled as heels ( villains ) against other heel teams in an unusual series of matches . These " Battle of the Bullies " matches pitted them against such teams as the pairing of Swede Hanson and Rip Hawk or the Anderson Brothers ( Gene and Ole ) . The majority of Murphy ' s remaining career , however , was spent in Australia . In 1968 , he had two more reigns as IWA World Tag Team Champion , pairing with Killer Karl Kox and Toru Tanaka . He also held the IWA World Heavyweight Championship again after winning the belt on November 18 , 1968 . Competing in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling , he teamed with Klondike Bill to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship . His final title came on December 5 , 1969 , when he reunited with Bernard once again to win his final IWA World Tag Team Championship . On March 23 , 1970 , Murphy and Bernard were scheduled to face The Kentuckian and Mr . Wrestling . Before the event , his wife found him dead in their apartment , having overdosed on sleeping pills in an apparent suicide . Finishing Move : The Heart Punch Championships and accomplishments . Favorite Moves : The Powerslam Elbow Smash Forign Objects