Franklin Townsend (March 20, 1933 – May 15, 1965), was an American professional wrestler and musician. He was known as Farmer Boy and was dubbed ‘The Singing Wrestler.'

Professional wrestling career

Townsend began his wrestling career in 1956 in Ohio. During his career he worked in Calgary, Minnesota, New York, Toronto, St. Louis, and Vancouver. Most of his career was spent in Toronto working for Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1957 to 1958, and again in 1961. He teamed with Pat O'Connor and Billy Watson. In 1961 he toured England working for Joint Promotions until 1962. That year he returned to North America working in St. Louis,

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 ...

and made his debut in Vancouver as Mr. X. In Vancouver he teamed with Gene Kiniski to win the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) defeating Sandor Kovacs and Dan Miller on February 11, 1963. They dropped the belts to Mitsu Arakawa and Kinji Shibuya a month later. In May 1963, Townsend went to Japan as Killer X for Japan Wrestling Association. After the tour in Japan, Townsend retired from wrestling and continued his music career.

Death

On May 15, 1965, Townsend and his yacht crew were preparing to race the yacht, the ''Dorade,'' in

Puget Sound, Washington Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marin ...

. During the race, Townsend fell overboard and is believed to have drowned. His body was never found. He was 32 years old at the time of his disappearance.

Championships and accomplishments

* All-Star Wrestling ** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (''Vancouver version'') (1 time) - with Gene Kiniski * Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club **NWA International Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (2 times) - with Butch Levy

Discography

Singles and EPs

*1957: ''If You Believe / Baby, I've Got A Crush On You'' *1957: ''If You Fall For Me / Find A Love For Me'' with the

Denny Vaughan Denny or Dennie may refer to: People * Denny (given name), a list of people named Denny or Dennie * Denny (surname), a list of people surnamed Denny or Dennie *Denny (hybrid hominin) Places * Denny, California, a ghost town * Denny, Falkirk, a to ...

Orchestra

References

External links

* 1933 births 1965 deaths American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New Jersey People from Camden, New Jersey Deaths by drowning in the United States 20th-century male professional wrestlers {{US-prowrestling-bio-stub