Dwight Berkheimer

From The Great Outdoor Fight

Dwight Berkheimer was born to Dylan Berkheimer and his wife June in 1932, "nine months and one day" after Dylan Berkheimer's victory in the 1931 Fight. Dwight was raised, even as Dylan had been, as a fisherman off of Cape Cod. It was a hard life, and Dwight grew up tall and strong. With a father famous for having won the Fight, Dwight found himself needing to take care of himself in any number of scrapes as well.

In 1954, at the age of 22, Dwight traveled to the Fight with his father, as he had done for the ten years previous. However, upon their arrival Dwight announced that he was invoking Blood of Champion, in order to enter the Fight. Dylan stood up for him, affirming their relationship -- not that there was much doubt, with Dwight being "Dylan's kid" on the Acres for years -- and Dwight entered the Fight.

Dwight Berkheimer was a competent Fighter, fighting in eight fights total. The closest he ever came to victory was in 1959, when he was eliminated as 9th left standing. That was a pivotal point in Fight history, as 1959 marked the war between the Blood Mercenaries and the Black Watch. Two of those top fighters who took bribes and lay down for Chris Matta in 1958, Wilford Geldum and Johnny "Snakeskin" Lakesbin, offered Berkheimer $2,000 to take out Jeremiah Merryman, no strings attached. Berkheimer refused and was beaten down by four men as a result, eliminated, but proud.

This was typical, really. At no point did Berkheimer embarrass his family name, and his father was extremely proud of him and unashamed to admit it. This was true the year he stood 9th left standing, and it was true the year he stood 2,433rd left standing.

Though he fought bravely and well, Berkheimer avoided serious injury throughout his career until his final fight, in 1961. While Odis Kava was making his way through the field, striking down veteran fighters, Berkheimer was taking advantage of the confusion (and the curious fact that he didn't seem to be "on the list" Kava was following to take out his enemies) to solidify his position. On Day 3, with just under a hundred men left on the field, Berkheimer was taking down Fastball Bobby Reese when 1939 Champion Royce Lalty (who had joined the Fight out of a sense of ennui and a midlife crisis) attacked Berkheimer with a large rock he had unearthed. he brought it down on Berkheimer's shoulder, breaking his collarbone and upper left arm. While Berkheimer did eventually recover (thanks to surgery), he never felt in fighting trim again, and he retired.

When the original Star Trek episode "The Great Out-Temporal Fight" came out in 1969, Dwight Berkheimer was not one of those to take exception to it. He felt Dade Waters portrayed his father perfectly well, and he further felt that his father would have approved of the message of the piece -- standing your ground, fighting with honor and dignity, not taking undue advantage of your opponents, and so forth. That Dylan Berkheimer was never quite as heroic as all that didn't much matter to Dwight. It was a fitting legacy, and millions of "trekkies" around the world knew his father's name. He was content with that. And when Waters decided to join the Fight in 1971 (on the fortieth anniversary of Dwight's father's victory), Dwight went out of his way to meet the actor and personally give him his blessing.

Dwight is married with two children -- a daughter, Melissa, and a son, Roderick. Melissa is now married and has a daughter of her own -- "Hellion" Eleanor Cross -- who entered the 2001 Fight as the first second generation Blood of Champion.

[edit] Quotes

• "I'm sorry, Wilford. Two thousand dollars isn't nearly enough money for my soul." -Dwight Berkheimer to Wilford Geldum, in response to Geldum's offer.

[edit] Record

• 1954 - eliminated day 3, 144th left standing.
• 1955 - eliminated day 1, 1,194th left standing.
• 1956 - eliminated day 3, 57th left standing.
• 1957 - eliminated day 1, 2,433rd left standing.
• 1958 - eliminated day 3, 48th left standing.
• 1959 - eliminated day 3, 9th left standing.
• 1960 - eliminated day 2, 847th left standing.
• 1961 - eliminated day 3, 98th left standing.