What a life! Stan “Krusher” Kowalski was probably best known for his battles between the ropes against the likes of Verne Gagne, Bruno Sammartino and Billy “Whipper” Watson but he was also a WWII veteran, police officer, night club owner and union negotiator.
Born Bert Smith, Kowalski attended North High School in Minnesota. He wrestled and played football in high school before joining the U.S. Navy at 17. Smith served aboard a submarine for three and a half years in World War II, after which he attended the University of Minnesota where he joined the U of M wrestling team. He turned down a chance to play for the Green Bay Packers in 1950.
Smith wrestled his first pro match in 1950 as Buddy Marco for an NWA promotion run by Tony Stecher. He would later change his wrestling name to Stan Kowalski. As Stan “Krusher” Kowalski he would form a successful tag team with Canadian wrestler Tiny Mills known as Murder Inc. Together they would win the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship. When NWA Minneapolis Wrestling and Boxing Club became the American Wrestling Association in 1960, Murder Inc. became the first ever AWA Tag Team champs. They would also win the Canadian Open Tag Team Championship by beating Billy “Whipper” Watson and Ilio DiPaolo.
Kowalski would go on to wrestle in the WWWF in 1970 as Killer Karl Kovacs where he and Bruno Sammartino set a record attendance gate of $86,000 in Pennsylvania.
After wrestling, Kowalski stayed in his home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota where he served numerous charities and fundraisers. Kowalski was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2000 and has a Veterans of Foreign Wars award named in his honor.
Kowalski passed away on October 20, 2017 at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife Cleo, whom he married 1961, and his two children, Scott and Stacy.