June Byers
 |
|
| Birth name | DeAlva Eyvonnie Sibley |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 25, 1922 Houston, Texas |
| Died | July 20, 1998 (aged 76) Houston, Texas |
| Spouse(s) | Sam Meneker |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | June Byers |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Billed weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Billed from | Houston, Texas |
| Trained by |
Billy Wolfe Mae Young |
| Debut | 1944 |
| Retired | 1964 |
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 Women's World Championship for ten years and is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Born in Houston, Texas, the tomboyish Sibley grew up around wrestling. Her uncle, Ottoway 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.
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 Young 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.
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