Robert Keith Orton Sr. (July 21, 1929 – July 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler. The patriarch of the Orton wrestling family, his two sons

Bob Orton Jr. Robert Keith Orton Jr. (born November 10, 1950), better known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton Sr., the brother of professional wrestler Bar ...

and Barry Orton, and grandson

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

, have all wrestled professionally. To distinguish between him and his son, he is also known as Bob Orton Sr. Bob Orton Sr. was often referred to by his nickname "The Big O".

Career

Bob Orton - Wrestling - Chicago Wrestling ORIGINAL dec 12, programme 1952 - p

Orton was a two-time holder of the Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship with tag team partner

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. ...

in 1966. He also innovated the pedigree as he captured several other

titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

in various

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

's (NWA) territories with it, including the Florida and Georgia versions of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, as well as the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (with

) in Florida Championship Wrestling and the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship in

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...

. He also competed 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 ...

(AWA), where he would also gain championship success. In 1961, Orton competed for the then NWA Capitol Wrestling Federation (now WWE) teaming with "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. Orton eventually left Capitol Wrestling Corporation, by competing in other NWA territories. In 1968, Orton returned to Capitol Wrestling Corporation renamed as World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), often 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 ...

Rocky Fitzpatrick. In September 1968, as "Cowboy" Rocky Fitzpatrick, he was number one challenger to

WWWF World Heavyweight Champion The WWE Championship is a World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand di ...

Bruno Sammartino, losing to Sammartino at Madison Square Garden. He fought Sammartino in other northeastern cities as well. In the summer of 1969, Orton wrestled in the Ohio Sports Classics Promotion. He retired in July 2000 and spent the last years of his life living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Personal life

Orton married his wife Rita on January 22, 1950. Together they had three children: Bob Jr.,

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, and Rhonda. Bob Jr.'s son,

, is also a professional wrestler. Orton and André the Giant were good friends for many years.

Death

Orton died in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 16, 2006, at the age of 76, five days short of his 77th birthday, following multiple heart attacks. His grandson stated "He had a heart attack at home, and they took him to the hospital where he had another more severe heart attack, he had an eight hour surgery that gave him a 20 percent chance to survive; he did, but about 10 hours after the surgery he passed away." He was cremated and had his ashes scattered on

Mount Charleston Mount Charleston, including Charleston Peak (Nuvagantu, literally "where snow sits", in Southern Paiute or Nüpakatütün in Shoshoni) at , is the highest mountain in both the Spring Mountains and Clark County, in Nevada, United States. It is ...

, Nevada in April 2007.

Championships and accomplishments

AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship The AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship was a title in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the American Wrestling Association. It was primarily defended in the Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and t ...

(

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 ...

) ** AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Mike DiBiase (1) and Maurice Vachon (2) **

Nebraska Heavyweight Championship The Nebraska Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship originally sanctioned by the Nebraska office of the National Wrestling Alliance and later the American Wrestling Association. The title existed from 1959 through 196 ...

( 1 time) * Cauliflower Alley Club ** Family Award (2005) – with Barry Orton and

** NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (

) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) ( 1 time) – with Buddy Austin ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Central States version) ( 1 time) * Championship Wrestling from Florida ** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Dennis Hall (1),

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer best known by his ring name . He trained many professional wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Lex Lug ...

(1), and

(1) **

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was the major singles professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling Florida. It existed from 1962 until 1987, w ...

( 6 times) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (

) – with

* Mid-South Sports **

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Georgia version) The Georgia version of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Southern Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles championship used in Georgia Championship Wrestling off-and-on from 1948 to 1972. The title is one of many versions of the NWA ...

( 1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Lord Alfred Hayes *

NWA Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

** NWA Southwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2019 * Worldwide Wrestling Associates ** WWA International Television Tag Team Championship (

) – with

Wild Red Berry Ralph L. Berry (November 20, 1906 – July 21, 1973), better known by the ring name "Wild" Red Berry, was an American professional wrestler. Berry was a nine-time NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion and an important smaller wrestler of the 19 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orton, Bob 1929 births 2006 deaths American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Kansas Sportspeople from Kansas City, Kansas Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version)