About Bobo Brazil
Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one of the first black professional wrestlers to be a marquee name in North America. == Early life == Houston Harris was born on July 10, 1924, in Little Rock, Arkansas, but later lived in East St. Louis, Illinois, and Benton Harbor, Michigan. His father died when he was seven years old, which resulted in him doing odd jobs such as working on a local fruit farm for fifty cents a container. He played baseball in the Negro leagues for the House of David, where he was discovered to become a wrestler at a steel mill. == Professional wrestling career == Harris was trained by Joe Savoldi after meeting him at matches at the Naval Armory. Savoldi originally named Harris "BuBu Brasil, The South American Giant," where he wrestled using a sequined satin cape stitched together by his wife, but a promoter misprinted his first name as "Bobo" in an advertisement, and the name stuck with Harris throughout his career. During that time, segregation in the South normally limited African-American wrestlers to wrestling other African-American wrestlers; Harris proved so popular that promoters put aside their prejudices in order to make money. Brazil's first recorded match was on March 29, 1948, in Benton Harbor, wrestling as "Houston Harris, The Black Panther" against Armand Myers to a 30-minute draw.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.