James Milligan Wilson (June 12, 1942 – February 2, 2009) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

and a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. During his time as a wrestler, he attempted to start a

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

for wrestlers, and continued his efforts after he left the sport. He is the co-author of a book called ''CHOKEHOLD: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring'' which exposed certain unfair labor practices by various promoters, most of them

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

members, but also including

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...

and

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

Football career

He had been a good athlete from his early years, overcoming a spinal curvature problem and was offered a football scholarship to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Although recruited from high school as a fullback, because of his size he played both ways as an offensive and defensive lineman and was named

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for his contributions as an offensive tackle during his time there; he was coach

Vince Dooley Vincent Joseph Dooley (September 4, 1932 – October 28, 2022) was an American college football coach. He was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, as well as the University of Georgia's (UGA) athletic director from 1979 to 2 ...

's first

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n. Coach Dooley would comment at Wilson's funeral service that had he known of his accomplishments as a high school fullback, he would have handed Wilson the ball as well. In 1964, he was drafted by the then-

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

and the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the established

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

; he signed with the 49ers. He was also voted into the 1965 All Rookie team. Wilson played in San Francisco for two seasons and then, at his request, was dealt to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, who were just starting up. It was during his time with the Falcons that he was approached by

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

wrestler and promoter

Ray Gunkel Raymond Fred 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 Heavywei ...

to wrestle during the football off-season. He agreed to do so, as most NFL contracts at that time did not pay during the off season. The Falcons did not approve of his off-season wrestling, and as a result, he was traded to the then-

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

for whom he played for three seasons, before injuries ended his NFL career in 1971. In 2001, he was inducted into the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Four years later, he was also inducted into the UGA Circle of Honor.

Professional wrestling career

Wilson attempted to reform professional wrestling and start up a union for professional wrestlers. He wrote the book ''CHOKEHOLD: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring'', which was released in 2003 in which he claimed he had been blackballed from the sport. Wilson brought forward an antitrust case against the National Wrestling Alliance in 1980. In 1984, he also appeared on '' 20/20'', speaking out against the wrestling industry. In addition, in 2007, he attempted to convince the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

to hold hearings on the wrestling industry.

Personal life

Wilson was born to a fairly distinguished family living just outside

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. His father had been a decorated veteran of World War II and his mother's side traced its lineage back to the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

''. While at Georgia, he married Nita Jones,Wilson, Johnson (2003); p. 69 and the couple had six children together. Outside of professional wrestling, he worked in real estate for twenty years. On February 2, 2009, Wilson died at the age of 66 in Atlanta, following a battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

References

;General *''CHOKEHOLD: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring'' (2003). (Trade Paperback), (Hardback) (with Weldon T. Johnson)

External links

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jim 1942 births 2009 deaths American football defensive linemen American male professional wrestlers Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Bulldogs football players San Francisco 49ers players Atlanta Falcons players Los Angeles Rams players All-American college football players Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pittsburgh 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Pittsburgh

Football career

Professional wrestling career

Personal life

See also

References

External links