Dave McKigney

**George David McKigney** (June 9, 1932 – July 4, 1988), also known by his ring name **The Bearman**, was a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He is best known for wrestling bears and training Terrible Ted. He appeared in Canada with Stampede Wrestling and Maple Leaf Wrestling, and across the border for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

## Early life

George David McKigney was born in Toronto, Ontario, on June 9, 1932. When he was three years old, his mother died, so he spent his childhood in an orphanage after his father decided that he was unable to take care of him. This lasted for the next eleven years until, at the age of 14, his father took him to Aberdeen, Scotland.

McKigney, during this time, saved money for his return passage to Canada and boarded with his uncle in Toronto. As a teen, McKigney weight trained at the YMCA and developed his interest of wrestling. By age 17, he began wrestling at an amateur wrestling level in the Toronto area.

## Professional wrestling career

McKigney started wrestling in the early 1950s after training with Red Garner, competing in places like England and Germany. He found exposure in Toronto for Maple Leaf Wrestling as the "Flying Frenchman" Jacques Dubois. He also operated the Jarvis Athletic Club after the manager announced his retirement plans, but he struggled to collect fees from the wrestlers and in May 1957, the gym burned down.

McKigney's career was defined for his partnership with Terrible Ted, an American black bear who stood 7"0 and weighed 600 lbs. Ted was declawed and detoothed, and travelled with a carnival in his early years, When the carnival went bankrupt in the early 1950s, McKigney adopted and trained him.

On Boxing Day in 1958, before 8,250 fans, "Terrible" Ted defeated his mentor McKigney at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. He wrestled three more matches for Maple Leaf Wrestling to start 1959, then headed to Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, working Stampede Wrestling's territory across Alberta and Saskatchewan. He also had a couple of matches for Tri-State Sports in Idaho.

With Terrible Ted, McKigney grew out his hair long and had a scruffy beard and wrestled under the Bearman and Wildman gimmicks. He went to Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary in 1959 and worked under various aliases, including Gene Dubois, Pierre Dubois and Dave Dubois. McKigney also notably teamed with Vilmos "The Wolfman" Farkas, considering the two had vastly similar gimmicks.

On July 13, 1966, McKigney offered $3,000 to anyone who could pin Ted. The challenge was accepted and met by John Szigeti (a 36-year-old welder who wanted the money for truck repairs), who pinned Ted "for maybe 15 seconds" before McKigney pried him free. McKigney and promoter Howard Darvin refused to pay the prize, so Szigeti sued them in May 1968.

McKigney was a regular for promotions in the United States as well, making appearances for Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Association and the American Wrestling Association, where he served as an opponent for the young Roddy Piper. In 1969, McKigney made his debut for the World Wide Wrestling Federation as Jean Dubois, sometimes spelled Gene Dubois. Dubois would have two title shots against WWWF Champion Ivan Koloff, and stayed with the company until his departure in 1972.

In 1975, McKigney had a stint for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, feuding with the likes of Seiji Sakaguchi and Japanese legend Antonio Inoki. His biggest victory during this run was over Inoki, albeit with a disqualification ending. Inoki later got his revenge by defeating the Canadian Wildman. By the late 1970s, McKigney wrestled mainly in Toronto and Detroit's Big Time Wrestling into the 1980s.

On July 2, 1978, in Aurora, Ontario, McKigney left the door open on the cage of his second bear, Smokey, while he answered the phone. Smokey entered McKigney's house and mauled his girlfriend, 30-year-old Lynn Orser, to death. As a result, both bears were taken away by the Ontario Humane Society. Smokey showed no signs of rabies as of July 5, but was under a 14-day quarantine. McKigney's only possible explanation was that bears sometimes act unpredictably during mating season. Later that month, he won the North American Heavyweight Championship for Big Bear Promotions, holding it until Chris Colt beat him on August 1.

## Death

On July 4, 1988, in Newfoundland, McKigney was driving to a wrestling show with Adrian Adonis and twin brothers William "Mike Kelly" Arko and Victor "Pat Kelly" Arko. Driver Victor Arko swerved to avoid hitting a moose on the Trans-Canada Highway and crashed the van, killing him, Franke and Victor. William was injured but survived. McKigney's son, 8-year-old Davey Jr., witnessed the accident from a following vehicle. He was 56 years old.