Mae Young
| Mae Young | |
|---|---|
Mae Young in April 2001.
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| Birth name | Johnnie Mae Young |
| Born | March 12, 1923 Sand Springs, Oklahoma, States |
| Died | January 14, 2014 (aged 90) Columbia, South Carolina, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mae Young Miss May Young The Queen |
| Billed height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Billed weight | 181 lb (82 kg) |
| Billed from | Sand Springs, Oklahoma, United States |
| Debut | August 20, 1939 |
| Retired | November 15, 2010 |
Johnnie Mae Young (March 12, 1923 – January 14, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and an influential pioneer in women's wrestling, helping to increase its popularity during World War II and training many generations of wrestlers. She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada, and won multiple titles in the National Wrestling Alliance.
Beginning in 1999, Young had a high-profile "second career" in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE). Young was part of a recurring comedic duo with best friend The Fabulous Moolah in appearances on WWE televised events. She is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame.
Johnnie Mae Young was born in Sand Springs, Oklahoma in 1923. She was an amateur wrestler on her high school's boys' wrestling team at the age of fifteen. Her brothers Fred, Eugen, Lawarence, and Everett taught her to wrestle and helped her join the team. She was the youngest of eight children (one died at birth). Her mother Lilly Mae Young was a single mother (her partner left to find work and never returned) living during the Great Depression. Young's oldest sister Inie was severely disabled by whooping cough at a very young age. Young also played softball with Tulsa's national championship team. While still in high school, Young went to a professional wrestling show and challenged then-champion Mildred Burke when she visited Tulsa to wrestle Gladys Gillem. Because the promoters told her she could not wrestle the champion, she wrestled Gillem in a shoot fight, beating her within seconds. After the fight, promoter Billy Wolfe wanted Young to become a professional wrestler. She left home two years later to wrestle professionally.
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