Plasse Dennis Bradford Conway (August 4, 1932 – November 13, 2006) 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 ...

, better known by his

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 ...

, Tiger Conway.

Professional wrestling career

Conway was born on August 4, 1932, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He grew up living on a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

with his parents and moved to

Houston 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 ...

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 ...

in 1947, where he worked in a hotel. At the hotel, he met wrestler

Danny McShain Danny McShain (October 30, 1912 – July 14, 1992) was an American professional wrestler. He competed in the southern United States from the 1930s to the 1960s. Early life McShain was born on October 30, 1912, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He made hi ...

, who helped him get involved in wrestling. In the 1950s, when Conway made his debut, professional wrestling was segregated and people competed against others of their own race. Conway was forced to compete against only other

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

for much of his career. Conway was forced to wrestle on the " chitterling circuit", named after the innards of pigs that slave owners refused to eat and gave to their slaves instead. Conway won his only title, the Texas Negro Championship, in his first professional match. By the 1960s, Conway was permitted to compete against Caucasians. In a match against Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon, Vachon broke Conway's

kneecap The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

. Later in his career, Conway formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with his son, who competed as

Tiger Conway Jr. Plasee Dennis Conway Jr. (May 18, 1953) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tiger Conway Jr.. Notable in the Mid-Atlantic and most notably teaming with his father Tiger Conway. Early life Born and raised ...

Personal life

Conway was a member of the

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

, an organization for retired wrestlers and boxers. After his retirement from wrestling, he operated a fence-building business and was a member of the Christian Alliance for Humanitarian Aid, Inc. board of directors. Conway married Inita Conway, and they remained married until his death 56 years later. In November 2006, Conway suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

and

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

. He died on November 13, 2006 in Houston.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA Southwest 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 Texas Negro Championship (1 time) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum 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 2021

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Tiger 1932 births 2006 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American male professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers People from Shreveport, Louisiana Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestlers from Louisiana