Bill Watts

Bill Watts, also known as ‘Cowboy Bill Watts,’ a former.

 professional wrestler, ranked in the top ten worldwide for over 25 years.

 Headlining events at Madison Square Garden in New York City, The Cow Palace in

 San Francisco, The HIC in Honolulu, The Sports Palace in Tokyo, The

 Omni in Atlanta, The Bayfront in St. Petersburg, Florida, The Miami Civic

 Center, St Louis Keel Auditorium, along with key events in Chicago,

 Minneapolis, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Indianapolis, and many other major

 cities as well as many smaller cities and towns all over the US and Canada.

 He became known ‘world-wide’ as a true wrestling superstar---whose

 reign as The North American Champion made that title one of the most

 sought after championships in the industry.

He moved to Bixby, Ok. in 1970 when he became involved as a headliner

 and a full partner in Leroy McGuirk’s Championship Wrestling

 Promotion. Later, he ‘branched out on his own’ and formed Mid-South Sports,

 Inc., eventually ‘buying out’ McGuirk’s company in full, which

 later became The Universal Wrestling Federation, the 3rd largest

 professional wrestling ‘booking office in the US’ producing nationwide

 wrestling TV shows until he sold out to Jim Crockett and Ted Turner of

 Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta in 1987.

The top wrestling stars in the world, such as Ernie Ladd, worked for

 his company, as once did Muhammad Ali. He also personally developed such

 ‘super-stars’ as: The Junk Yard Dog, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Ted

 Dibiase, Dusty Rhodes, Ivan Putski, The Freebirds, The Mid-Night

 Express with Jim Cornett, The Rock and Roll Express, Magnum TA, Hacksaw Jim

 Duggan, Rick Steiner, Paul Orndorff, Butch Reed, The One Man Gang,

 Scandar Akbar, Ray Candy, and even was instrumental in helping the Road

 Warriors develop their ‘ring personae’ in Atlanta. When he took the

 7’ 4” 500 lb. Andre the Giant to Bixby schools to be introduced to his

 daughter’s class, it caused quite a stir. Local Bixby residents

 loved meeting Bill’s wrestlers when they were here.

Bill was born May 5, 1939 in Oklahoma City, and played football and

 wrestled for Putnam City High School, and was the Oklahoman and Times

 Outstanding Lineman in football and All-State in 1957. In 1975 he was

 inducted into the Jim Thorpe Team of outstanding high school football

 players of the decade for the 1950’s. He was recruited by Bud Wilkinson to

 play football at OU, where he also wrestled for Port Robertson and

 Tommy Evans.

His junior year, he was in a serious, near-fatal car-train wreck on the

 outskirts of Oklahoma City, and in and out of a coma for the next two

 weeks, where the medical prognosis was considered ‘not good.’

 Coming out of the hospital under 200 pounds, and in the rehab process, Bill

 started working out on weights at a body-weight of 250, and nine months

 later weighed 297---so, from almost dying in a horrible car-train

 wreck, having doctors say ‘if he lives, he will never walk again,’ Bill

 became a ‘superman’ (bench-pressing 585 lbs in 1965) and

 eventually a ‘superstar.’ Thus he says, the doctors make the diagnosis, but

 God the prognosis.

Bill had some short stints in pro-football, first with the Houston

 Oilers, then the Minnesota Vikings, and finally the Indianapolis

 Warriors---when he was ‘breaking in’ to pro-wrestling there, and had his

 first professional bout in October of 1962. His career was tremendously

 successful as a wrestler, a wrestling promoter, television producer and

 syndicator. He was earning close to $2 million per year in the ‘80’s,

 when besides his Bixby home, he bought and completely remodeled a

 place on Breckenridge for his office where he now lives.

In 1984, ‘on top of his game’ ‘something was missing’ and his

 life started going through a change----he had a spiritual experience

 with His Savior, Jesus Christ. Bill’s personal relationship with His

 Lord finally has become the most important thing for his life----‘his

 hero’ is Jesus Christ.

He still has great pride in his wrestling career, but hopes he can

 better contribute by sharing his experiences and how ‘his choices ’ had

 consequences.

This is featured in book: The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts

 Story: Rebellion, Wrestling, and Redemption.

Bill has Cowboy Bill Watts Outreach, Inc., which he says is: “Keeping

 It Real!” as he speaks of Scripture and through devotionals as he

 feels the Lord speaks to him through his life, the Bible, saints brought

 into his life. He does not want ‘to sugar-coat it’…nor does he

 feel he is ‘holier than thou’ or ‘better than anyone’…but tells

 it like it is…Should you care to visit, Bill’s Website is

 www.cowboybillwatts.com.

Bill Watts

6'4" 295 lbs, Bixby, OK

Athletic Background: Football (NFL), Wrestling (University of Oklahoma)

Professional Background: Indianapolis ('62), Tri-State ('63), Los Angeles ('63), Vancouver ('63), Tri-State ('64), Texas ('64), WWWF ('64-'65), San Francisco ('66), Japan ('67), AWA ('67-'69), Midwest ('67-'69), Tri-State ('70-'78), Georgia ('71-'73), WWWF ('71), Florida ('74-'75), Mid-South/UFW ('78-'87), JCP/NWA ('87), WCW ('92), WWF ('96)

Career Highlights: Wins the Texas Heavyweight title from "Sailor" Art Thomas; Does a tag partner-who-turns-on WWWF champion Bruno Sammartino that does good houses in the mid-'60s; Becomes a major player on the world title scene working with the NWA and AWA: Defeats The Spoiler to win the prestigious North American title and tours the Southeast with it for two years; Buys Tri-State from Leroy McGuirk and forms Mid-South and makes it into a national powerhouse.

Bills Watts is remembered by different people different ways. The generation that would remember him as a worker is shuffling off and his later accomplishments have almost eclipsed those years in people's minds. He toured all around the United States with a few stops in Canada and Japan and was always a top star. Though not really an exceptional worker, Watts was an above-average big man and had a level of charisma that allowed him to always get on top of the card quickly. A strong heel who was a constant threat to the major of WWWF, AWA and NWA champions during the '60s and up through the early '70s. The fans didn't know though that Watts was gathering up a wealth of booking knowledge and when he took over, Watts was loaded for bear. Bill Watts learned under three very good promoters: Roy Shires, Verne Gagne and Eddie Graham. Shires taught him the details, Gagne taught him the big picture and Graham taught him the dynamic of package shows without a single main event drawing.

Watts turned Mid-South into one of the top territories in the US and did some amazing business considering the population to land area ratio. A true booking genius, Bill Watts was able to create many stars by masterfully playing to their strengths. After nearly ten strong years, Mid-South was sold to Jim Crockett and Watts got out of the wrestling business. He made returns with WCW as a head booker and the WWF as a consultant with mixed results before finally getting out completely. Bill Watt's accomplishments in the wrestling world are truly amongst the most impressive, as he did more in and out of the ring than most wrestlers who came along.

Cowboy Bill Watts was a former football player. The athletic department was impressed by his skills on the field. They would become even more with his skills on the mat. He had been undefeated as a wrestler during his senior year of high school.

It was at Oklahoma that Bill encountered the three most influential men that were to help shape the course of his career. These were Leroy McGuirk, Danny Hodge and Dale Lewis.

These men were among the top wrestling names in Oklahoma history. All had laid claim to the prestigious N.C.A.A. championship title while in college. McGuirk and Hodge had gone on to become professional wrestlers and world champions in the junior division. Lewis became a pro, but didn't get championship status.

They all urged bill to become a full-time pro wrestler after college, but Bill had a mind of his own. His interests were diversified. He split himself up by taking part in both of his favorite sports, those of wrestling and football. In 1961 he signed a contract with the Houston Oilers of the American Football League and helped them win championship of that circuit. Then he later moved to the Minnesota Vikings

Bill Watts left football over a dispute. The Vikings demanded that he give up his wrestling engagements during the off-season period. He refused to sign a contract with this clause appended to it. He gave up football.

Under the promotional banner of Leroy McGuirk, Bill launched himself into the professional arena. Scarcely a year after he turned pro, he had the Texas State Championship in his possession. Anyone that knows Texas wrestling knows that Cowboy Bill Watts had to meet some of the toughest competition in the world to gain that title.

He followed that up with a triumphant invasion of the East Coast. Bruno Sammartino who reigned supreme as the W.W.W.F. World's Heavyweight Champion during those years, was quick to recognize the potential of Watts and chose him as his partner.

For this Watts was at first grateful, because Sammartino was the greatest of them all on the East Coast and this meant top bookings for Bill. Soon Bill realized that it also meant that he would never get a shot at Bruno's heavyweight title.

Watts continued to press for a title match, but promoters would not sign the match because he was Bruno's tag team partner. Finally, the resentment that built up was to great and Watts tore into Bruno during a tag match.

The two men had since become bitter enemies and the challenge of a match between them was readily accepted by both. Madison Square Garden was the site of the confrontation. Crowds swelled outside the building as hundreds had to be turned away. It was to see who would walk off with the much-coveted World Wide Wrestling Federation Title and belt that they had aggregated.

Bruno won a disputed decision and also managed to hold onto his title by technicalities in several rematches but he never won a clear-cut decision over Watts.

Several further attempts were made by Watts to dethrone the ruling monarch of the division. Neither had won a decisive victory during these meetings, but Sammartino retained his title. Watts was informed that any further attempts at taking on Bruno would be only possible in the distant future. Bill Watts would have to go to the back of the line of contenders.

But Watts was not one to go to the back of anything. He knew he was a top contender. He got an offer to go to San Francisco and wrestle on the tough northern circuit of Roy Shires. In just a few weeks Cowboy Bill Watts has captured the Pacific Coast U.S. championship from Ray Stevens. Watts beat everyone in the region and Stevens in several rematches.

From California Bill caught the attention of promoters in Japan who are always on the lookout for American talent. In early 1967 he traveled to the Asian nation where he wrestled many of the top men in that country. Japanese fans still remember Watts and their national hero Shohei Baba.

Then late 1967, Cowboy Bill invaded the upper Midwest. He was soon wrestling regularly in such cities as Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Davenport and Omaha. As a result, Bill was appearing on A.W.A. cards simultaneous as on N.W.A. cards. Wherever he went success was not far behind. He very soon became the major threat to both AWA champ Verne Gagne and NWA champ Gene Kiniski at that time.

He met both champs in a series of matches that were never conclusive in their outcome. The winning pinfall was forever evading him although experts in the wrestling circuit gave him the edge in style and skill. It was believed that he was in full control of the matches and probably should have been declared champ of both divisions. This however was not to be as a pinfall is the only criterion by which a title can be won or lost.

So Watts who had come so close to claiming victory over all three of the wrestling divisions found himself with no prospects. He returned home to Oklahoma to ponder his fate.

To force the champions to meet him in a once and for all decision fight, he decided to win the North American Championship. This was considered by many the leading regional title in professional wrestling. This he did in short order. The North American Title was held at that time by the The Spoiler. The challenge went out and victory was soon in the hands of the man who most deserved it.

As Champ, Watts had to defend his title against some of the greats in wrestling. Among his victims were Waldo Von Eric, Boris Malenko, Dusty Rhodes, Ox Baker and others.