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 projectin ...
, 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. Th ...
with his parents and moved to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
,
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, 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 for much of his career. Conway was forced to wrestle on the "
chitterling
Chitterlings (), sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins, are the small intestines of domestic animals. They are usually made from pigs' intestines. They may also be filled with a forcemeat to make sausage.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st editio ...
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.][ 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.[
]
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 Abra ...
, 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 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 circu ...
. He died on November 13, 2006 in Houston.
Championships and accomplishments
* NWA Southwest Sports
**NWA Texas Negro Championship (1 time)[
* Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
**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