Bill Watts
William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939)[1] is a retired American professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South United States, which grew to become the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF).
For those of a similar name, see Billy Watts (disambiguation) and William Watts (disambiguation).
In 1992, Watts was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) but after clashes with management over a number of issues, as well as feeling pressure from Hank Aaron over a racially insensitive interview, he resigned.[4] He was subsequently replaced by Ole Anderson.[5]
In 1995, Watts briefly worked as a booker for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE). In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Football career[edit]
Watts played as a linebacker for his high school football team, the Putnam City Pirates.[6][7] Bud Wilkinson recruited him to play for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he played as a guard during his sophomore and junior years.[8] However, his junior year was marred by a near fatal car accident involving him and his mother, resulting in him going into a coma.[9] When he came out, he had lost a significant amount of weight,[10] and had to put it back on, despite the coaches at the time preferring their players to be small and quick, which Watts had struggled with before the accident.[11] Former Sooners teammate Wahoo McDaniel (then of the Houston Oilers of the AFL), introduced him to professional wrestling for the first time, something McDaniel did in the off-season.[12] Watts turned professional in 1961 and joined the Oilers, but did not last long there, and according to a shoot interview, he left after knocking out a coach.[11]
Through McDaniel's friendship with defensive coach Bob Griffin, Watts played for the Indianapolis Warriors of the United Football League, while also being able to wrestle for NWA Indianapolis.[13] Watts then had a try-out with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL), but after a discussion with general manager Jim Finks, who wanted him to quit his wrestling career, Watts left the Vikings having decided he could make more money back in Oklahoma.[11]
Personal life[edit]
Watts has five children. From his first marriage, he has a son, William III (nicknamed Biff), and from his second marriage, he has three sons, Joel, Erik, Micah and a daughter, Ene.[18] In March 2006, Watts released his autobiography The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption through ECW Press. The book chronicles his upbringing, his career as first a wrestler, then a promoter, along with events in his personal life.
Watts served as co-host of a sports talk radio show on The Sports Animal in Tulsa, Oklahoma until late 2008. He was a longtime resident of Bixby, a Tulsa suburb.[17]