Bill White (February 27, 1945 – September 7, 2021) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, using the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

"Wild" Bill White, from 1964 until his retirement in 1987.

Professional wrestling career

In 1964, while assisting an

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

coach at a Catholic high school in Florida, in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, he helped professional wrestler

Eddie Graham Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), better known as Eddie Graham, was an American professional wrestler. He was also the promoter and booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and President of the NWA in the 1970s. ...

put on a wrestling demonstration at a youth camp. After viewing a professional wrestling event, he tried out for the sport because he was told he might have potential. He then began wrestling in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, under the tutelage of promoter Nick Gulas. He wrestled in Tennessee for approximately a year. He then traveled to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, where he worked for Roy Shire from 1965 to 1967. While in the territory, he wrestled Pat Patterson, Ray Stevens, and Mr. Fuji. White then began to wrestle for

Vincent J. McMahon Vincent James McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984), sometimes referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which was later renamed WWWF (World ...

's World Wide Wrestling Federation where he faced opponents such as

Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...

, Chief Jay Strongbow (Joe Scarpa), Jimmy Valiant, Victor Rivera and Don Muraco from 1971 to 1975. White toured for both

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

and had a successful run in World Class Championship Wrestling winning the Texas Tag Team title with El Gran Goliath on February 26, 1979, before moving on to the Eastern territories. In 1981, White wrestled for Eddie Graham in Georgia Championship Wrestling. Here, he worked with "Bullet" Bob Armstrong and the following year, he began a stint in

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

, working alongside wrestling legends such as "Rowdy"

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...

. On June 10, 2006, White was inducted as an honoree into the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Personal life

White was born on February 27, 1945, in Philadelphia. In high school, White participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. After retiring from wrestling in 1987, White began a career in

private enterprise A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

. He later settled in South Carolina, working as an insurance adjuster. In addition, he was a truck driver, certified scuba diver, and professional wrestling trainer. White died on September 7, 2021, at the age of 76.Bill White, dead at 76, was journeyman wrestler, cribbage champ
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Championships and accomplishments

* Cauliflower Alley Club **Other inductee (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

) * Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling **City of Mobile Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * World Class Championship Wrestling ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) with El Gran Goliath

References

External links

CAC 2006 Honoree Recipient Bill White
at Online World Of Wrestling * {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Bill 1945 births 2021 deaths American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania