June Byers
Encyclopedia
DeAlva Eyvonnie Sibley (May 25, 1922–July 20, 1998), better known by her ring name of June Byers, was an American
women's professional wrestler
famous in the 1950s and early 1960s. She held the World Women's Championship for ten years and is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
.
, the tomboy
ish Sibley grew up around wrestling. Her uncle Shorty 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. Already divorced once and facing poverty, she accepted Wolfe's offer to be trained as a professional wrestler.
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 25, 1954 in Atlanta, Georgia
. Byers won the first fall, and then the match was called after an hour during the second fall. In the book The Queen of the Ring author Jeff Leen writes that despite battling injuries, Burke was able to hold Byers to a stalemate after dropping the first fall and thus deprive her of the second fall she needed to truly defeat Burke. Despite the inconclusive finish, the Atlanta Athletic Commission eventually awarded the match to Byers. Burke angrily returned to her own promotion, the World Women's Wrestling Association, where she held its title and billed herself as world champion. She maintained later that she had dropped the first fall with the intent to compete stronger in the second, and it is noted that Wolfe used all possible connections to try to get a win for his new star (and daughter-in-law) Byers. 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 Byer'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. Complementing her repertoire of scientific moves was her toughness in an age of very tough women, and she was known for working incredibly stiff against newcomers: one such wrestler recalled suffering a broken nose and two black eyes from Byers's intentionally punching her in the face. Byers wrestled many matches with Penny Banner
, and the two had great respect for one another: Byers ranked Banner as among her toughest opponents, while Banner named Byers the greatest of all time.
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. After The Fabulous Moolah
won the championship, Byers came out of retirement to challenge her for the title, but Byers lost the match.
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 promoter Sam Meneker, who became her third husband. In 1963, while attempting to drive after being hit in the head with a Coke
bottle, Byers suffered 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. In her later life, she suffered double vision from the incident.
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
women's professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
famous in the 1950s and early 1960s. She held the World Women's Championship for ten years and is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Amsterdam, New York. It was previously located in Schenectady, New York...
.
Early life
Born in Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, the tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
ish Sibley grew up around wrestling. Her uncle Shorty 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
Billy Wolfe
William Harrison “Billy” Wolfe was a professional wrestling promoter who was active from the 1930s to the 1950s. Wolfe was the husband and manager of Mildred Burke and ran a traveling troupe of women wrestlers alongside her.-Early life:...
happened to see her and recognized her potential. Already divorced once and facing poverty, 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 YoungMae Young
Johnnie Mae Young is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler and currently a WWE Ambassador.Young was an influential pioneer in women's wrestling, helping to increase its popularity during World War II and training many generations of wrestlers...
and champion Mildred Burke
Mildred Burke
Mildred Bliss was an American professional wrestler, who wrestled under the name Mildred Burke. She is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as well as the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Her heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, when she held the World Women's...
. 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
Ella Waldek
Elsie Schevchenko better known as Ella Waldek, is a former American professional wrestler. She is one of the subjects of the 2005 documentary film Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:...
.
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
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
to claim the belt. She quickly became a popular fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
champion, even appearing as a contestant on the popular game shows What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
and I've Got A Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
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 25, 1954 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Byers won the first fall, and then the match was called after an hour during the second fall. In the book The Queen of the Ring author Jeff Leen writes that despite battling injuries, Burke was able to hold Byers to a stalemate after dropping the first fall and thus deprive her of the second fall she needed to truly defeat Burke. Despite the inconclusive finish, the Atlanta Athletic Commission eventually awarded the match to Byers. Burke angrily returned to her own promotion, the World Women's Wrestling Association, where she held its title and billed herself as world champion. She maintained later that she had dropped the first fall with the intent to compete stronger in the second, and it is noted that Wolfe used all possible connections to try to get a win for his new star (and daughter-in-law) Byers. 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 Byer'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. Complementing her repertoire of scientific moves was her toughness in an age of very tough women, and she was known for working incredibly stiff against newcomers: one such wrestler recalled suffering a broken nose and two black eyes from Byers's intentionally punching her in the face. Byers wrestled many matches with Penny Banner
Penny Banner
Mary Ann Kostecki , better know by her stage name Penny Banner, was a professional wrestler. She was best known for her time spent in the American Wrestling Association...
, and the two had great respect for one another: Byers ranked Banner as among her toughest opponents, while Banner named Byers the greatest of all time.
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. After The Fabulous Moolah
The Fabulous Moolah
Mary Lillian Ellison , better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah, was an American female professional wrestler. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildred Burke, as well as working alongside professional wrestler "Nature Boy" Buddy...
won the championship, Byers came out of retirement to challenge her for the title, but Byers lost the match.
Personal life
The Fabulous MoolahThe Fabulous Moolah
Mary Lillian Ellison , better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah, was an American female professional wrestler. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildred Burke, as well as working alongside professional wrestler "Nature Boy" Buddy...
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 promoter Sam Meneker, who became her third husband. In 1963, while attempting to drive after being hit in the head with a Coke
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
bottle, Byers suffered 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. In her later life, she suffered double vision from the incident.
Byers returned to Texas after retirement from the ring, becoming a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
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
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at her Houston home in 1998.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Byers Bridge (Bridging roll up)
- Signature moves
- Pendulum Backbreaker
Championships and accomplishments
- Independent
- World Women's Championship (1 time)
- American Wrestling AssociationAmerican Wrestling AssociationThe American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
- AWA World Women's ChampionshipAWA World Women's ChampionshipThe AWA World Women's Championship was the female title in the American Wrestling Association from 1961 until 1990.-Title history:Silver-shaded lines in the history indicate periods of unknown lineage.-See also:*American Wrestling Association...
(1 time)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Women's ChampionshipNWA Florida Women's ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Women's Championship was a female-exclusive professional wrestling title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, which lasted originally from 1951 to at least 1971. The title was shortly revived by NWA Florida in 2003.-Title history:...
(1 time) - NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (2 times) - with Millie Stafford (1) and Mary Jane Mull (1)
- St. Louis Wrestling ClubSt. Louis Wrestling ClubThe St. Louis Wrestling Club was a professional wrestling promotion based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by Sam Muchnick. The promotion was a flagship member of the National Wrestling Alliance, and promoted primarily in the St. Louis area. It was colloquially referred to within...
- NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship (Missouri version) (1 time) - with Millie Stafford
- National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA World Women's ChampionshipNWA World Women's ChampionshipThe NWA World Women's Championship is the National Wrestling Alliance's women's singles professional wrestling title. It is descended from the original Women's World Championship won by Mildred Burke in 1935 from Clara Mortensen. June Byers was then recognized as the succeeding champion after her...
(1 time)
- NWA World Women's Championship
- Professional Wrestling Hall of FameProfessional Wrestling Hall of FameThe Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Amsterdam, New York. It was previously located in Schenectady, New York...
- Women's Wrestling (Class of 2006Professional Wrestling Hall of FameThe Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Amsterdam, New York. It was previously located in Schenectady, New York...
)
- Women's Wrestling (Class of 2006