Prior to professional wrestling, Kirk was a coal miner, and professional rugby league player, he played 35 first team matches as a (number 13) for Featherstone Rovers (Heritage № 360) making his début on 23 April 1955, playing from the 1954–55 season to the 1957–58 season, scoring one try, he played 3 matches for Wakefield Trinity (Heritage № 642) making his début during December 1957, playing during the 1957–58 season, he played 2 matches for Castleford during the 1960–1961 season, and he also played for Doncaster, where he was a teammate of another future professional wrestler, Ted Heath.