Ron Read (January 13, 1936 – March 5, 2021), known professionally as Buddy Colt, Ty Colt and "Cowboy" Ron Reed, 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 ...

who worked in

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

promotions including the

St. Louis Wrestling Club The St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. ...

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

and

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 ...

. Among others, he won the

NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship The NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The title was picked ...

seven times, the

NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship 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 ...

four and the

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA. There were various regional versions of the Nort ...

once.

Professional wrestling career

Trained by

Killer Karl Krupp George Momberg (May 13, 1934 – August 24, 1995), better known by the ring name Killer Karl Krupp, was a Dutch-born professional wrestler famous during the 1970s and early 1980s. Early life George Momberg was born in the Netherlands and was ...

, Buddy Colt made his pro wrestling debut in 1962 in

Nick Gulas Nick Gulas (September 3, 1914 – January 21, 1991) was an American professional wrestling promoter in the Southern United States, partnered with Tennessee promoter Roy Welch for decades. Gulas was also known as "The King of Managers", "King B", ...

and Bob Welch's NWA Mid-America in the Tennessee region, worked under the name “Cowboy” Ron Reed. Aside from NWA Mid-America, he also worked

, went to the West Coast to work for the World Wrestling Alliance (WWA) where he was renamed Ty Colt. In 1969, he renamed to Buddy Colt working NWA Western States, the Amarillo, Texas promotion run by the Funk family, where he quickly won the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. On February 20, 1975, Colt was the pilot of a plane which crashed in water near

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

, resulting in the death of

Bobby Shane Robert Lee Schoenberger (August 25, 1945 – February 20, 1975), better known as Bobby Shane, who also wrestled as Bobby Schoen and as The Challenger, was an American professional wrestler known for his time in NWA Florida in the late 1960s and e ...

. Colt and passengers

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

Austin Idol Michael McCord (born October 26, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Austin Idol. He is best known for his appearances in the Mid-South with the Continental Wrestling Association, in particular his rec ...

were seriously injured. He retired from wrestling due to broken ankles, which later developed gangrene and were fused together, but continued to fly. He remained in Championship Wrestling from Florida as a color commentator along with

Gordon Solie Gordon Solie (born Francis Jonard Labiak, later Jonard Pierre Sjoblom, January 26, 1929July 27, 2000), was an American Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling ...

and had part ownership of the company. Colt grew up in

Bladensburg, Maryland Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from central Washington. History Originally called Garrison's Landi ...

, before becoming an aviation mechanic and sergeant in the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

, discharging in January 1957. He died on March 5, 2021, aged 85. He had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

, and was survived by his wife, son, and five daughters.

Championships and accomplishments

50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...

NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in 1935. From February ...

(1 time) *

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 ...

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that served as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Central-States Championship Wrestling. For most of its existence, however, 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 ...

) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' (

) – with Doug Gilbert *

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...

( 4 times) **

NWA Florida Television Championship The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 4 times) *

( 7 times) **

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship The NWA Macon Tag Team Championship was a tag team professional wrestling championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling, defended exclusively on events held at the Macon City Auditorium and Macon Coliseum The Macon Coliseum is a multi-purpose ...

( 4 times) - with Homer O'Dell, Karl Von Stroheim,

Skandor Akbar Jimmy Saied Wehba (September 29, 1934 – August 19, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring name Skandor Akbar, which translates as "Alexander the Great". Akbar led the villainous stable Devastation, Inc. ...

and Big Bad John *

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

** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 1 time) **

NWA Western States Tag Team Championship The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title wa ...

(

) – with Gorgeous George Jr.

References

External links

* 1936 births 2021 deaths American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Maryland Professional wrestling announcers Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers Deaths from Parkinson's disease Deaths from dementia 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Macon Tag Team Champions NWA Macon Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions {{US-prowrestling-bio-stub