Jim White (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
James "Jim" White was an American
professional wrestler during the 1960s and 1970s in the southern United States. He was the frequent tag team
partner of Jerry Lawler
.
's booker. White's first match was in 1959 against Johnny Kace. Because he was only 17 at the time, his father had to sign a parental consent form to allow him to wrestle. Afterward, White also began wrestling for Nick Gulas
in Nashville on the weekends, while he continued to attend high school during the week.
After graduating high school, White became a full-time wrestler, teaming with Ron Wright
under manager
Ron Bass
. He wrestled across the southern United States, even competed as The Medic under a mask. In 1970, he began wrestling in Alabama, teaming with Roy Klein as The Green Shadows. After the team lost their masks, they became known as Woodrow and Roy Bass, with Sam Bass as their manager. As a singles wrestler in 1972, he also used the ring name The Green Shadow, with Dr. Ken Ramey as his manager.
White also frequently teamed with Jerry Lawler
. In the Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
promotion, the team won the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship
no later than November 1972, but lost it to Tommy Gilbert and Bearcat Brown on December 8 of that year. In 1973, the team won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
. They held the title a total of seven times that year. Lawler and White also had a series of matches against Melvin Nelson
and various partners. The team, however, split by 1974.
After the split with Lawler, White moved to the Gulf Coast, where he held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) with Steve Lawler
in September 1974.
He wrestled only occasionally in the 1980s, wrestling his last match in 1985 due to hip pain.
in High School. But he could not tell his football coach that he was a wrestler because he would have had to quit the team.
After retiring from professional wrestling, White became an avid camper and fisher. In 1987, he was employed as the transportation for alcohol and drug patients to rehabilitation centers. He also worked as the general manager of Alono, Inc., which was an organization that treated people for drug and alcohol abuse.
White had a wife, Barbara, and two sons, Jeff and Tommy. White died at the age of 67 on January 7, 2010 of cancer.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler during the 1960s and 1970s in the southern United States. He was the frequent tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partner of Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
.
Professional wrestling career
White entered the professional wrestling business after meeting and training with Johnny Thunder. Thunder later introduced him to Chicago promoter Fred KohlerFred Kohler
Fred Kohler was an American actor known for his "heavy" style of character.-Career:Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to support himself. He lost part of his right hand in a mining accident during this time...
's booker. White's first match was in 1959 against Johnny Kace. Because he was only 17 at the time, his father had to sign a parental consent form to allow him to wrestle. Afterward, White also began wrestling for Nick Gulas
Nick Gulas
Nick Gulas was an American professional wrestling promoter in the Southern United States. Also known as The King of Managers and King B, Gulas helped start the careers of such wrestling stars as Tojo Yamamoto, Jackie Fargo, and Jerry "The King" Lawler in the 1960s and '70s, the Bounty Hunters with...
in Nashville on the weekends, while he continued to attend high school during the week.
After graduating high school, White became a full-time wrestler, teaming with Ron Wright
Ron Wright
Ronald James John Wright was an Australian cricket test match umpire.He umpired 13 Test matches between 1948 and 1959...
under manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
Ron Bass
Ronald Herd
Ronald Heard is a former American professional wrestler, best known under the name Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation rings to the sound of a bullwhip.-Career:...
. He wrestled across the southern United States, even competed as The Medic under a mask. In 1970, he began wrestling in Alabama, teaming with Roy Klein as The Green Shadows. After the team lost their masks, they became known as Woodrow and Roy Bass, with Sam Bass as their manager. As a singles wrestler in 1972, he also used the ring name The Green Shadow, with Dr. Ken Ramey as his manager.
White also frequently teamed with Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
. In the Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
promotion, the team won the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship
NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship
The NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship was a secondary tag team title promoted as the name indeicates mainly in the Tennessee region from 1967 until 1977, first by Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling from 1967 to 1974 then by its successor Southeast Championship Wrestling from 1974 to 1977 when it...
no later than November 1972, but lost it to Tommy Gilbert and Bearcat Brown on December 8 of that year. In 1973, the team won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
. They held the title a total of seven times that year. Lawler and White also had a series of matches against Melvin Nelson
Melvin Nelson
Melvin Nelson is a retired American professional wrestler. He competed in the United States under the ring names Jimmy Jones and Burrhead Jones. As an African American wrestler, he was not permitted to wrestle against caucasians in some territories, thus he also worked as a referee.-Early...
and various partners. The team, however, split by 1974.
After the split with Lawler, White moved to the Gulf Coast, where he held the NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) with Steve Lawler
Steve Lawler
Steve Lawler is a British house music producer and DJ born in Birmingham, England. He has held residences at many popular dance clubs such as Space, The End and Twilo. Because of his successful performances at Space in Ibiza, he has been nicknamed "King of Space". Lawler has released several mix...
in September 1974.
He wrestled only occasionally in the 1980s, wrestling his last match in 1985 due to hip pain.
Personal life
White played American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in High School. But he could not tell his football coach that he was a wrestler because he would have had to quit the team.
After retiring from professional wrestling, White became an avid camper and fisher. In 1987, he was employed as the transportation for alcohol and drug patients to rehabilitation centers. He also worked as the general manager of Alono, Inc., which was an organization that treated people for drug and alcohol abuse.
White had a wife, Barbara, and two sons, Jeff and Tommy. White died at the age of 67 on January 7, 2010 of cancer.
In wrestling
- Managers
- Ron BassRonald HerdRonald Heard is a former American professional wrestler, best known under the name Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation rings to the sound of a bullwhip.-Career:...
- Sam Bass
- Dr. Ken Ramey
- Ron Bass
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe 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....
- Honoree (1997)
- NWA Mid-AmericaContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)AWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(7 times) - with Jerry LawlerJerry LawlerJerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version)
- NWA Tri-State
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) - with Steve LawlerSteve LawlerSteve Lawler is a British house music producer and DJ born in Birmingham, England. He has held residences at many popular dance clubs such as Space, The End and Twilo. Because of his successful performances at Space in Ibiza, he has been nicknamed "King of Space". Lawler has released several mix...
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) - with Steve Lawler
- Southeastern Championship WrestlingContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Tennessee Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Tennessee Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship was a secondary tag team title promoted as the name indeicates mainly in the Tennessee region from 1967 until 1977, first by Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling from 1967 to 1974 then by its successor Southeast Championship Wrestling from 1974 to 1977 when it...
(1 time) - with Jerry LawlerJerry LawlerJerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
- NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship
- Southern States Wrestling
- East Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame