Dick Raines - Referee

Dick Raines was a retired wrestler that became referee in the late '60s and early '70s. Raines earned his nickname "Dirty Dick" by getting disqualified over 1000 times in his career. This is stated in obsessedwithwrestling.com.

Gary Hart mentioned in his book that Raines was very good at getting heat on managers. Like Marvin Jones, the other referee in Texas, Raines was excellent on the psychology part of the wrestling matches.

One of the things I remember about Raines was he would do a face flop like Ric Flair when taking a bump. One night he was protecting a wrestler from an onslaught by Kenji Shibuya. After Raines received a karate chop to the throat from Shibuya, his eyes bulged and he did a face flop. Everybody else would get on the mat, grab their throats, and kick after receiving a karate chop.

There was a difference in the face flops done by Flair and Raines. Instead of taking a few steps and falling like Flair, Raines would fall like a tree being cut down. I guess Ric was younger and more nimble.

Dick Raines was interviewed on Fort Worth TV about 1975 after his retirement. He was there with his grandchildren and did not look in good health. His death came in 1977. There are not any old school referees that have good psychology like him anymore.