Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked for promotions in both Canada and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, particularly in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and Oklahoma. Lyons won numerous tag team championships throughout his career, including with

Dick Beyer Richard John Beyer (July 11, 1930 – March 7, 2019) was an American professional wrestler who is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X. Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one of th ...

, who was his real-life brother-in-law, as well as

Fritz Von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion ...

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939) is a retired American professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South Un ...

, and

Ray Gunkel Raymond Fred "Ray" Gunkel (February 16, 1924 - August 1, 1972) was an American amateur and professional wrestler and promoter in the state of Georgia. Gunkel was a two-time AAU national champion and, as a professional, a three-time NWA Texas Hea ...

. He also won singles championships, including the

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...

. Lyons also wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at various times between 1976 and 1985. After his retirement from in-ring competition, he would work for

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Career

Snip made his debut in 1956, under the name Billy Lyons, but soon became known as Billy Red Lyons, due to the colour of his hair. During the first years of his career, he wrestle against future world champions, including Buddy Rogers and

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...

. During his career, he held several tag team championships with

, who was his real-life

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred ...

, as well as

, and

. He won his first championship in February 1958, when he teamed with Ray Gunkel to win the

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

. Three years later, he won the

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any ty ...

with Ilio DiPaolo, by defeating

Stan Kowalski Stan Kowalski (born Bert Smith; May 13, 1926 – October 20, 2017) was an American professional wrestler who was one half of the tag team Murder Incorporated with partner Tiny Mills in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1960 to 1975. E ...

and

Tiny Mills Henry Mittlestadt (1911–1987), best known by his ring name, Tiny Mills, was a Canadian professional wrestler born in Camrose, Alberta. He often teamed with his brother Al Mills as the tag team Murder Incorporated (Murder Inc.). Later on Stan "K ...

on January 26, 1961. Lyons and DiPaolo were the last champions, however, as the championships was abandoned and replaced with the Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship a few months later. Lyons eventually won this championship with

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 to February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the ...

on March 28, 1962, by defeating

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

and

John Tolos John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (September 18, 1930 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Professional wrestling career Tolos was born on September 18, 1930, in Hamilton, Ontario ...

. They lost the championship to Bulldog Brower and

Sweet Daddy Siki Reginald Siki (born June 16, 1940) is an American-Canadian retired professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. He is believed to be the first African-American to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professi ...

five days later on April 2. On March 27, 1965, Lyons teamed with Beyer, who was using the ring name The Destroyer, to win the

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

from

Don Manoukian Donald J. Manoukian (June 9, 1934 – September 23, 2014) was an American football guard and professional wrestler of Armenian descent from Reno, Nevada. American football career An alumnus of Reno High School and Stanford University (class of 1 ...

and

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

. On June 3, 1965, they won the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder ...

in the

Japan Wrestling Association The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...

from

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

and

Toyonobori , known in sumo and professional wrestling as or simply , was a sumo wrestler from Japan. After retiring as a rikishi from sumo, he became a professional wrestler. Career In professional wrestling On December 12, 1954, Toyonobori became a profe ...

. They lost the championship to Baba and Tonobori just over a month later on July 15, 1965. While wrestling in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

in the 1960s, Lyons was billed as the AWA British Empire Heavyweight Champion. In 1967, Lyons won his first singles championship, by defeating

Duke Keomuka Martin Hisao Tanaka (April 22, 1921 – June 30, 1991) was an American professional wrestler better known as Duke Keomuka. He is the father of wrestler Pat Tanaka and referee Jimmy Tanaka. Biography Because he was a Japanese American in Californ ...

by forfeit in the finals of a tournament in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

to win the

on November 8. He held the championship for nearly six months, eventually losing it to The Spoiler #1 on March 29, 1968, in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. During this time, he won the

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The cham ...

with

Fritz von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion ...

on January 30, 1968, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

by defeating

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

and Spoiler. Lyons won the

NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) The NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship was a tag team title created in 1962, and contested in the National Wrestling Alliance's Tri-State territory, which was promoted by Leroy McGuirk (Arkansas and Oklahoma) and Jack Curtis and Aurelian "Gri ...

with

in January 1971, by defeating

Buddy Roberts Dale Hey (June 16, 1947 – November 26, 2012) was a Canadian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The H ...

and

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

. They lost the championship to

Karl Von Brauner Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

and

Waldo Von Erich Walter Paul Sieber (October 2, 1933 – July 5, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for performing under the ring name Waldo Von Erich, playing the character of a villainous Prussian Nazi. He was billed as the brother of ...

in March, but Lyons won it back with Tom Jones by defeating The Spoilers (The Spoiler #1 and The Spoiler #2) on May 31. The following year, Lyons again teamed with Jones to win the NWA Mississippi Tag Team Championship in March 1972. Jones later said that Lyons was the "best partner I ever had", and credited Lyons with teaching him the psychology of wrestling. Throughout the late '60s and early '70s, he teamed with

Red Bastien Rolland "Red" Bastien (January 27, 1931 – August 11, 2012) was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was a 3 time WWWF United States Tagteam champion with his kayfabe brother, ...

as The Flying Redheads, and on July 14, 1974, Lyons and Bastien won the

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-basedWorld Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NWA ...

by defeating

Mike York Michael Allan York (born January 3, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger. He last played and captained the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career York was born in Waterford, Michigan. ...

and

Frank Monte Frank Monte (June 21, 1931 in South Philadelphia – May 13, 1982 in South Philadelphia) was a member of the Philadelphia crime family. When Nicodemo Scarfo became boss, he named Monte as his consigliere. When Harry Riccobene refused to accept ...

. They held the championship for three months, but lost it to

Chris Colt Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

and Bobby Duncum on October 6, 1972. Bastien later said that he and Lyons "were perfect for each other" as tag team partners. Fellow professional wrestler

Blackjack Mulligan Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in- ...

said that Bastien and Lyons "were the greatest team of all time", and that watching them wrestle was watching "pure tag team wrestling at its basic". Following this, he returned to

to compete for

. He began teaming with

Dewey Robertson Byron James John "Dewey" Robertson (February 28, 1939 - August 16, 2007) was a professional wrestler, known best by his ring name The Missing Link. As The Missing Link, Robertson wore blue and green face paint and shaved portions of his head wh ...

in 1974, as the Crusaders, and they won the Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship on three occasions. They defeated

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

and Reginald Love for the championship on June 23, 1974, but dropped it to them on September 8. They defeated them for the championship again on December 29, 1974. He also challenged

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the Natio ...

for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

in a 1974

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

. On June 8, 1975, the Crusaders were beaten by the Kelly Twins ( Pat and

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

) for the championship, but they won it back two months later on August 24. They were the final champions, however, as the championship was retired in September 1977. Lyons would make appearances in the WWF in (1976) and have fourteen matches in (1978) followed by only one match in (1979). Lyons returned to the WWF in (1982) and wrestled a few matches a year until his final match in Erie, Pennsylvania on June 20, 1985 against Rene Goulet. After his retirement from active competition in 1985, he settled in Toronto and began working for

as an assistant to promoters

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and

Jack Tunney John "Jack" Tunney Jr. (January 21, 1935 – January 24, 2004) was a Canadian professional wrestling promoter. He was known worldwide for his appearances on WWE, World Wrestling Federation television as the promotion's figurehead president. Tunn ...

. Shortly after he would become affiliated with the

when Jack Tunney allied Maple Leaf Wrestling with the American-based wrestling company. Lyons would serve as a WWF television announcer, interviewer and ring announcer. He became famous for his

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Don't you dare miss it!" Backstage, he remained

's top assistant. Lyons was released in 1995, along with Tunney, due to budget cuts and dissolution of the WWF/Maple Leaf Wrestling association.

Personal life and death

Snip was the real-life brother-in-law of

, with whom he won the All Asia Tag Team Championship. He was also a talented

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player, before he became a professional wrestler. Greg Oliver, the producer of

Canadian Online Explorer Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' in ...

's wrestling section, described Snip as having a "sly, cheeky sense of humour", and a man that "never took himself too seriously". He died on June 22, 2009, aged 77, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, which had spread to his spine.

Championships and accomplishments

AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship The AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship was a short-lived mid-card professional wrestling title contested for in the American Wrestling Association promotion between 1969 and 1979. The title was primarily defended in Canada, hence the Br ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) * Big Time Wrestling ''(Detroit)'' ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Detroit version)'' ( 1 time) – with

Fred Curry Fred Thomas Koury Jr. (born June 12, 1943) better known by his ring name ”Flying” Fred Curry, is an American professional wrestler of Lebanese descent. The son of "Wild Bull" Curry, Fred Koury was one of the most popular stars in the Midwes ...

( 1 time) – with The Destroyer *

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (1 time) - with

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

NWA Mississippi Tag Team Championship (Gulf Coast version) The NWA Mississippi Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling (GCCW). A secondary title complementing the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship, it was one of many state tag team ...

( 1 time) – with Tom Jones *

( 1 time) – with Ilio DiPaolo ** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Toronto version)'' ( 4 times) – with

(1), and

(3) * NWA Big Time Wrestling **

NWA American Heavyweight Championship The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in ...

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with

( 1 time)<* **

( 1 time) – with

NWA Tri-State The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' (

) – with

(1) and Tom Jones (1) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

**Class of 2018 - Inducted as part of The Flying Redheads with

References

External links

Gary Wills profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Billy Red 1932 births 2009 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers Deaths from cancer in Ontario Neurological disease deaths in Ontario Deaths from spinal cancer Professional wrestlers from Hamilton, Ontario Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum All Asia Tag Team Champions NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version)