- Bill Longson
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Bill Longson Ring name(s) "Wild Bill" Longson
Purple ShadowBilled weight 240 lbs Born June 8, 1906 Died December 12, 1982 (aged 76) Debut 1931 William Longson (June 8, 1906 - December 12, 1982) was a professional wrestler, who spent most of his career in St. Louis, Missouri under the ring name "Wild Bill" Longson. He perfected the role of the arrogant heel, and is credited with inventing and popularizing the piledriver.
Contents
Career
Longson was a 3-time National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion during the 1940s. He was also the last National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion, losing his title to Lou Thesz on July 20, 1948, when Thesz elevated onto Longson's shoulders from the piledriver position and fell into a Thesz Press. As a result of this victory, Thesz unified the venerable National Wrestling Association Championship with his own new National Wrestling Alliance World Championship, beginning the process of consolidating all American world championships into one.
Longson is a member of both the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Piledriver – innovated
- Signature moves
- Airplane spin
- Headlock
Championships and accomplishments
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- NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (3 times)
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
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- (Class of 2006)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- St. Louis Wrestling Hall Of Fame
- (Class of 2007)
Source
- Molinaro, John F. Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time, Winding Stair Press, 2002.
External links
- Profile at Online World Of Wrestling
Categories:- American professional wrestlers
- 1982 deaths
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- 1906 births
- American professional wrestling biography stubs
- Finishing moves
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