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Mildred Burke

Mildred_B

Title History

  • World Women’s Championship (3 times)
  • National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA World Women’s Championship
  • World Women’s Wrestling Association
  • WWWA World Heavyweight Championship

Career Highlights (courtesy of wikipedia.com)

  • In the 1930s, Burke wrestled over 200 men, but only lost to one of them.
  • In the early 1950s, Burke started the World Women’s Wrestling Association in Los Angeles, California.
  • She returned to her promotion after her match with Byers, still recognizing herself as the World Women’s Champion even after the NWA had recognized rival June Byers as champion since then, and continued to defend it.
  • She vacated the belt in 1956, when she retired from professional wrestling.
  • In 1970 the belt was revived by All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling (AJW) as their top prize.
  • After the tensions with Wolfe and the NWA, Burke traveled with an escort for the rest of her career as a protective measure.
  • She started International Women’s Wrestlers Inc. with Bill Newman and the promotion had offices in New York City, San Francisco and Sydney, Australia.
  • These offices served in the dual capacity of booking offices and training centers.
  • Her efforts to spread women’s wrestling internationally reached Japan and brought about the World Wide Women’s Wrestling Association (WWWA).
  • In her later years, Burke ran a women’s wrestling school in Encino, California.
  • Among her students was Canadian Rhonda Sing, who went on to fame as WWWA Champion, Monster Ripper, and WWF Women’s Champion, Bertha Faye.
  • 1981: Mildred Burke was the technical advisor for all wrestling scenes of the Hollywood movie “All the Marbles”..
  • Burke died from a stroke on February 18, 1989 in Northridge, California.
  • In 2002, she was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

 

 

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Trained By

Billy Wolfe

Debut

Birthday

August 5, 1915

Hometown

Coffeyville, Kansas

Gender

Height

5'5"

Weight

115lbs

Finishing Move(s)

Favorite Move(s)

Notable Feuds

Wilma Gordon
Gladys "Killem" Gillem
Princess White Cloud
Ada Ash
Catherine Simpson
Ella Waldek
Babe Verner
Rose Evans
Corah Combs
Clara Mortenson
June Byers

Status