Whipper Billy Watson

William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 – February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson.

He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the National Wrestling Alliance title.

Watson was born in 1915 in East York, Ontario (now part of Toronto) to an English-born father, John Potts and a Canadian-born mother, Alice Mary Wilken.

Watson began wrestling in Toronto under his real name.

He was a member of the Scarborough Athletic Club in the mid-1930s and was wrestling on what were billed as amateur wrestling shows in Toronto.

For four years as a teenager, Watson sold the Toronto Daily Star at the corner of Danforth and Dawes Road.

He was convinced by his brother George to play hooky from piano lessons one Saturday to attend a wrestling session at the All Hallows Anglican Church gymnasium.

The event changed Watson's life.

He furthered his wrestling training with Phillip Lawson at the Bowles Athletic Club and later the Central YMCA.

In 1936, wrestling as Bill Potts, Watson appeared on cards at British Consols Stadium in Toronto that were advertised as amateur wrestling shows.

In June of that year, he went on a tour of the United Kingdom along with fellow Toronto wrestlers Tommy Nelson, Al Korman, and Ken "Tiger" Tasker and their manager, Harry Joyce.

English wrestling often involved hard-nosed shooting and he was sidelined for six months with a fractured shoulder and numerous broken ribs.

It was on this tour that William Potts became Billy Watson.

Booked by former Olympic Gold Medalist George de Relwyskow, Watson traveled through England and Ireland.

The change of surname was caused by the opportunity to take on the tour engagements of fellow Canadian wrestler, Winnett Wallingford Watson, whose ship had been delayed by bad weather in the Atlantic; the original Watson later changed his ring name to Pat Flanagan.

Watson received the "Whipper" nickname from his usage of the "Irish Whip", which involved hurling an opponent into the ropes before throwing him over his back, though sources differ on whether the name was acquired in Canada or the United Kingdom.

After four years abroad, Watson and his wife returned to Canada, and he began wrestling at Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto under 27-year-old promoter Frank Tunney.

Watson made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in the opening match of the October 3, 1940.

Newspaper reports in November said Watson was frustrated with not getting a main event match in his first six appearances at the Gardens.

He appeared in one Gardens main event in February 1941, but his big push came two months later.

According to storyline, Watson filed a lawsuit against Tunney for breach of contract, claiming that he had been signed to wrestle a main event against Masked Wolf.

When Tunney held an open tournament to determine the number one contender for the world title on May 1, 1941, Watson entered; filing a copy of his entry form with the Ontario Athletics Commission so that Tunney would be unable to claim he did not enter, and then won four matches in one night to win the tournament.

From that point on, Watson was positioned as a legitimate main event performer, a position that was cemented during Watson's feud with Nanjo Singh, which began in January 1942.

Watson soon became a crowd favourite and within a few years was a mainstream celebrity and one of Toronto's most popular citizens.

Frank Tunney estimated that Whipper Watson drew more than five million people in main events of shows in Toronto.

As one of the most popular wrestlers in the city's history, Watson spent 31 years entertaining fans.

Watson defeated Nanjo Singh for the British Empire title on April 30, 1942.

He feuded with Bill Longson, Lou Thesz, Yvon Robert, Gene Kiniski, Gorgeous George, and The Sheik, among many others.

Watson earned a reputation as someone who was willing to lose clean in the ring.

He earned an "everyman" image and Watson went on to hold the city of Toronto's regional title and the British Empire title on a regular basis.

Tunney cut Watson in on the business side of things.

Their combined booking efforts resulted in large fortunes for the two of them.

With connections to St. Louis promoter Tom Packs, Watson's notoriety resulted in Watson ending Longson's four-year title reign with a victory at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis on February 21, 1947.

The territory of St. Louis became a home away from home for Watson.

More than 10,000 St. Louis fans watched local hero Lou Thesz beat Watson for the world title on April 25, 1947.

After Packs retired in 1948, Tunney bought into the territory in St. Louis and this resulted in many more matches for Watson in the city.

Watson became one of a small group of wrestlers to have membership in the National Wrestling Alliance.

In 1955, Watson expanded his business ventures by purchasing the Seattle territory from Bob Murray.

Wrestlers from Toronto such as Doug Hepburn and Sky-Hi Lee wrestled for Watson in Seattle.

His last match was held on November 28, 1971.