“Cowboy” Bob Ellis

Last updated
Cowboy Bob Ellis
Birth nameRobert Ellis
Born (1929-03-15) March 15, 1929 (age 94) [1]
Tom Green County, Texas [2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Bob Ellis
Bob Elliott [3]
Billed height6"2
Billed weight246 lb (112 kg) [3]
Trained by Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Sandor Szabo
Debut1957
Retired1980

Robert Ellis (born March 15, 1929), is an American retired professional wrestler. He wrestled under the ring name, Cowboy Bob Ellis for over 20 years in various wrestling promotions in the States, Canada and Australia. He was a two-time WWA World Heavyweight Championship in Indianapolis. [2] He is known as the inventor of the bulldog. [4]

Contents

Professional wrestling career

He served as paratrooper in the Korean War. [1] He played both high school and college football for McMurry College. In 1954, he was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles but instead owned a gym. Made his professional wrestling debut in Denver, Colorado in 1957. On November 28, 1958 Ellis won his first title the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship defeating Bob Geigel. Ellis held the title for over a year until January 22, 1960. In 1960, he would go to Detroit where he defeated Dick the Bruiser for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version). He dropped the belt back to Dick the Bruiser.

In 1962, he teamed with Johnny Valentine in New York to win the NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Northeast version) defeating the Fabulous Kangaroos. They dropped the titles to Buddy Rogers and Johnny Barend. That same year, Ellis feuded with NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers in main events unsuccessfully winning the tile.

On September 10, 1964, he defeated The Destroyer to win the WWA World Heavyweight Championship in Los Angeles. He dropped the title back to the Destroyer two months later.

In 1965 he toured Australia where he feuded with Killer Kowalski. In 1969, he won the IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Australia) where he defeated Skull Murphy and held the title for a week. He dropped it to Killer Karl Kox.

In 1970, he returned to New York this time for World Wide Wrestling Federation.

In 1973, he defeated Baron Von Raschke for WWA World Heavyweight Championship the Indianapolis version where he held it for nearly a year dropping it to Jimmy Valiant. He won the title for the second time defeating Valiant four months later.

On February 21, 1976 he won the WWC North American Heavyweight Championship defeating Carlos Colon. He dropped the title back to Colon on April 17.

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley Race</span> American professional wrestler, promoter and trainer

Harley Leland Race was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Valiant</span> American professional wrestler

James Harold Fanning is an American former professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jimmy Valiant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick the Bruiser</span> American football player professional wrestler (1929–1991)

William Fritz Afflis was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. In addition to that he was also hugely successful in professional Wrestling being a fifteen-time world champion, having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship once, the WWA World Heavyweight Championship thirteen times and the WWA World Heavyweight Championship once. He also excelled at Tag-Team wrestling having won 20 Tag Team championships, having held the AWA tag team championship five times and the WWA tag team championship a record 15 times in his career. 11 of these championships were won alongside his long-time Tag-Team partner Crusher Lisowski. He was one of the most hated as well as well known heels from the mid 50s till the early 80s. He was famous for his feuds with the likes of such stalwarts such as Lou Thesz, Bobo Brazil, Angelo Poffo and "Classie" Freddie Blassie. For his achievements he would be inducted into the WWE hall of fame class of 2021. He was also inducted into the 2005 International Wrestling Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat O'Connor (wrestler)</span> New Zealand professional and amateur wrestler

Patrick John O'Connor, was a New Zealand amateur and professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the premier workers of his era, O'Connor held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Heavyweight Championship simultaneously, the latter of which he held for approximately two years. He was also the inaugural AWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is an overall two-time world champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackjack Lanza</span> American professional wrestler (1935–2021)

John Mortl Lanzo was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Blackjack Lanza. Along with his long-term tag team partner, Blackjack Mulligan, Lanza was one-half of The Blackjacks: "black cowboy hat-wearing, cowboy boot-stomping, rugged hombres who drew money wherever they went".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Graham (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

James Grady Johnson was an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name, "Crazy" Luke Graham. As Luke Graham, Johnson was part of the Graham family, a stable of wrestlers. All members were billed as kayfabe brothers. He worked extensively for various National Wrestling Alliance territories as well as the World Wide Wrestling Federation, where he was a three-time tag-team champion and the inaugural WWWF World Tag Team Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Brisco</span> American professional wrestler and amateur wrestler (1941–2010)

Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He turned pro shortly after and performed for various territories of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), becoming a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA Tag Team Champion with his brother Gerald Brisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hard Boiled Haggerty</span> American professional wrestler, actor

Don Stansauk was an American professional wrestler and actor, known by his ring name, Hard Boiled Haggerty. He was previously a professional American football player, and became a successful character actor after his wrestling career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Mike DiBiase</span> American professional wrestler

Michael DiBiase was an American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name "Iron" Mike DiBiase. The adoptive father of professional wrestler "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, he was married to Ted's mother Helen Hild, and was the grandfather of Mike, Ted Jr., and Brett DiBiase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Weaver</span>

Kenneth Eugene Weaver was an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver.

Léonce Cormier is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council (WWC) and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in New Zealand. In Canada, where he spent the majority of his career, Cormier used the ring name Leo Burke. In the United States, however, he competed as Tommy Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ox Baker</span> American professional wrestler and actor (1934–2014)

Douglas Albert Baker Sr. was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!". He appeared in several films including Blood Circus and Escape from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archie Gouldie</span> Canadian professional wrestler

Archibald Edward Gouldie was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of "stomping" on his opponents, when they were down, with his black cowboy boots. He was also known by the ring name The Mongolian Stomper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Brown (wrestler)</span> Canadian professional wrestler (1938 – 1997)

Robert Harold Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Bulldog" Bob Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tor Kamata</span> American professional wrestler

McRonald Kamaka was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the AWA World Tag Team Championship in the American Wrestling Association. He was a classic heel, reviled for dirty tricks in the ring, included rubbing salt in his opponent's eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabulous Kangaroos</span> Professional wrestling tag team

The Fabulous Kangaroos were a professional wrestling tag team who existed in various forms from 1957 until 1983. The first incarnation of The Fabulous Kangaroos was formed when Italian Australian Al Costello teamed with Australia native Roy Heffernan and adopted an "Ultra Australian" gimmick complete with boomerangs, bush hats, and the song "Waltzing Matilda" as their entrance music. Costello and Heffernan are arguably the most famous version of The Kangaroos, regarded as one of the top tag teams to ever compete in professional wrestling, and are often credited with popularizing tag team wrestling in the late 1950s and 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Costello</span> Italian-Australian professional wrestler

Giacomo Costa was an Italian Australian professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Al Costello. Costello was the first professional wrestler to be nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Holds" because of his innovative and very technical style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Kent (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (1933-1993)

Leo Joseph "Joe" Smith Jr. was an American professional wrestler who wrestled as Don Kent and also as The Black Dragon, Doug Kent, Joe Smith and Super Medico III during his 36 years in professional wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mighty Igor</span> American professional wrestler

Richard Joseph "Dick" Garza, better known as Mighty Igor Vodik, or simply Mighty Igor, was an American professional wrestler. He is a one time American Wrestling Association World champion. As Mighty Igor, he was frequently billed as the "World's Strongest Wrestler".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilbur Snyder</span> American professional wrestler and football player (1929 – 1991)

Wilbur Snyder was an American football player and professional wrestler.

References

  1. 1 2 "Cowboy Bob Ellis". Wrestlingdata.
  2. 1 2 "Wrestler Profiles: Bob Ellis". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  3. 1 2 "Profile". CageMatch. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  4. "Cowboy" Bob Ellis profile, from LegacyOfWrestling.com
  5. Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "(Kansas and Western Missouri) West Missouri: North American Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 253. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
  6. "NWA North American Tag Team Title (Central States version)". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  7. "NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved 2008-01-29.