There are sports hall of fames across the world, some big, some honoring local heroes in the community. They are packed full with baseball, football, basketball, hockey players and teams, swimmers, bowlers, curlers, community builders and so much more. Very few acknowledge professional wrestling.
The Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition appears to see things a little differently.
On Thursday, May 2, it was announced that Patrick Murphy, who wrestled for decades as “Outlaw” Scott Chase, is a part of the Hall’s Class of 2024, in the Builder Category.
Murphy joins one … two … three … other pro wrestlers already honored:
- Billy Bowman, a little person who wrestled as Major Tom Thumb, and wrestled for 20 years.
- Joe Kayorie, who was far better known as “Killer” Joe Christie, both as a wrestler and a little bit as a promoter
- Joe Maich, a smaller wrestler who plied his trade across the province before becoming a promoter in small town Ontario.
Brantford, Ontario, has plenty of ties to professional wrestling, as the Brantford Civic Centre was the home for Maple Leaf Wrestling tapings, especially in the early years of the WWF expansion in the mid-1980s.
SlamWrestling.net first wrote about Murphy’s wrestling dreams 20 years ago, in a piece titled “Brantford baker Pat Murphy chasing a dream.”
A lot has happened since then, including an appearance in Pro Wrestling Illustrated‘s Top 500 in 2010 (at #464), countless championships and matches.
But he is being inducted as a builder, which recognizes his years as a promoter, whether it was under the CIWA banner, GLCW, or, currently as the General Manager of the Brantford Wrestling promotion. He is heavily involved in the community.
“I have always loved professional wrestling my whole life, and I have always focused on sharing my love of pro wrestling and giving back to Brantford for years to come,” Murphy told SlamWrestling.net. “I have always been welcomed here as far as the local news papers and local television stations. Always supported me. So I am feeling very proud and grateful.”
On its Facebook page, Brantford Wrestling posted that “Brantford Wrestling is too proud to announce that our own General Manager, Brantford Wrestling legend – ‘Outlaw’ Scott Chase will be inducted into Brantford’s Sports Hall of Fame this year. Outlaw joins other Brantford Sports Heroes like Wayne Gretzky and ‘Killer’ Joe Christie. The ceremony will be a private affair, but fans can come hear from Outlaw about his induction at our next show, FRIDAY JUNE 7!”
The actual induction ceremony will take place at the Best Western Brantford Hotel and Conference Centre on Wednesday, June 12th. Tickets can be reserved at this link before June 3.
There is a display at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre where inductees are showcased.
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