Ray Hrstich

Ray Hrstich
Hrstich in the 1950s.
Birth name	Dick Hrstich
Born	(1920-08-10)August 10, 1920 Drasnice, Croatia and Slavonia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died	February 12, 2000(2000-02-12) (aged 79) Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Dick Gordon Dick Hrstich Ray Gordon Ray Hrstich
Billed weight	230 lb (104 kg)[1]
Billed from	Budapest, Hungary[2] Auckland, New Zealand[1]
Trained by	Anton Koolmann
Debut	c. 1956
Retired	c. 1970

Dick Hrstich (10 August 1920 – 12 February 2000) was a Yugoslavian/New Zealand professional wrestler, known by his ring names Ray Hrstich and Ray Gordon, who competed in the former Yugoslavia (his native country), New Zealand, Canada, and the United States during the late 1950s and 60s. He was among the first New Zealanders to travel to the US and, like his fellow countrymen Pat O'Connor and Abe Jacobs, became a major star with the National Wrestling Alliance during the Television-era.

He won the NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship in 1958 and, later in the US, held the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship, NWA Iowa Heavyweight Championship, and the NWA Americas 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Apache Bull Ramos and Mike Riker. Hrstich is credited, along with Bobby Graham and "Killer" Buddy Austin, as the trainer of 8-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. In 2009, Fight Times Magazine ranked Hrstich No. 10 in a top ten list of New Zealand's greatest wrestlers.