June Byers

Early life

Born in Houston, Texas, the tomboyish Sibley grew up around wrestling. Her uncle, Ottoway Roberts, worked for local wrestling promoter Morris Siegel, and as she got older, she often hung around the wrestlers and asked them to teach her their moves. On one occasion while DeAlva was playing around in the ring, the women's wrestling promoter Billy Wolfe happened to see her and recognized her potential. she accepted Wolfe's offer to be trained as a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Taking her family nickname of "June" and her ex-husband's last name of "Byers" for her ring name, Sibley made her professional debut in 1944. She spent the first years of her career traveling the country in Wolfe's promotion, sometimes winning preliminary matches but regularly losing to the more established stars such as Mae Young and champion Mildred Burke. Slowly rising in the ranks, she first won gold in 1952 when she and partner Millie Stafford won the Tag Title over Young and Ella Waldek.

That same year Mildred Burke had a bitter falling-out with husband Wolfe and departed the promotion, leaving the world title vacant. On June 14, 1953, a still relatively unknown Byers won a 13-woman tournament in Baltimore to claim the belt. She quickly became a popular fan favorite champion, even appearing as a contestant on the popular game shows What's My Line? and I've Got A Secret on August 16, 1953.

After a year of tense negotiation, Wolfe finally coaxed Burke into meeting Byers in a definitive two out of three falls match on August 20, 1954, in Atlanta, Georgia. Byers, for her part, stressed that "Mildred claims she wasn't defeated, but I pinned her in the first fall. During the second fall, she left the ring and refused to come back. Regardless of what she told people, it was a shoot." Whatever the truth, the match outcome was satisfactory enough for the media to discredit Burke and acknowledge Byers as the legitimate world champion. Jeff Leen's account in Queen of the Ring contradicts Byers's claims about Burke leaving the ring and refusing to return. Furthermore, Leen details how Billy Wolfe had a great deal to do with putting Byers over as the "winner" and he quotes the ring announcer following the match as saying, "Commissioner stops the bout. Mildred Burke is still officially champion of the world".

As the face of women's wrestling for the next decade, Byers's athleticism and technical skills did much to open new markets for women's wrestling and improve its perception in the eyes of the public as being more than mere tawdry spectacle. Byers wrestled many matches with Penny Banner, and the two had great respect for one another: Byers ranked Banner as among her toughest opponents,

In 1956, the Baltimore Athletic Commission stripped Byers of the NWA Championship when she announced her plans to retire as champion. A thirteen-woman battle royal was used to determine the new champion.

On March 31, 2017, Byers was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Legacy wing.

Personal life

The Fabulous Moolah alleges that while traveling with Billy Wolfe's troupe of female wrestlers, Byers often slept with Wolfe (despite his marriage to Burke) in order to get better bookings.

Upon Wolfe's death, Byers moved to St. Louis to work for wrestling promoter, and later TV ring announcer, Sam Menacker, who became her third husband. In 1963, while attempting to drive after being hit in the head with a Coke bottle, Byers experienced quadruple vision and collided with a tree. The leg damage from the auto accident cut her career short at age 41 and forced her to retire on January 1, 1964.

Byers returned to Texas after retirement from the ring, becoming a real estate agent. She had two children, Billy and Jewel. Her son was fatally electrocuted in an accident, and Byers was reportedly never the same afterward. She died of pneumonia at her Houston home in 1998.

Championships and accomplishments

• Independent
  • Women's World Championship (1 time, final)
  • Women's World Championship Tournament (1953)
• International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2023
• American Wrestling Association
  • AWA World Women's Championship (1 time)
• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA World Women's Championship (1 time)
  • NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Ethel Johnson (1), Millie Stafford (2), Mary Jane Mull (2), Mars Bennett (1) and Barbara Baker (1)
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Women's Wrestling (Class of 2006)
• WWE
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2017)

References

References

1. "The Professional Wrestling Online Museum – Women in Wrestling".
2. (1996). "The 50 Greatest Women Wrestlers of All-Time". Kappa Publishing.
3. "June Byers at womens-pro-wrestling.com".
4. "June Byers at Professional Wrestling Hall Of Fame". [[Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum]].
5. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1296643/ June Byers at imdb.com]. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
6. Complementing her repertoire of scientific moves was her toughness in an age of very tough women, and she was known for working incredibly [[stiff (professional wrestling)
7. Ellison, Lillian. (2002). "The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle". [[HarperCollins]].
8. Ellison, Lillian. (2002). "The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle". [[HarperCollins]].
9. Ellison, Lillian. (2002). "The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle". [[HarperCollins]].
10. [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/s/sam-menacker/ "Sam Menacker,"]
11. [http://www.pwhf.org/2006inductees/2006article.asp 2006 Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame induction ceremony report.] {{webarchive. link. (August 4, 2007 Retrieved on 2007-11-11.)
12. Oliver, Greg. (March 16, 2023). "IPWHF Class of 2023 both 'Great' and 'Gorgeous'". Slam Wrestling.
13. "World Women's Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com.
14. Schadler, Kyle. (January 1, 2012). "Abandoned: The History of the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship". [[Bleacher Report]].
15. (March 31, 2017). "Congratulations to the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Legacy inductees". WWE.