Mildred Burke
| Mildred Burke | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Mildred Bliss |
| Born |
August 5, 1915 Coffeyville, Kansas |
| Died | February 18, 1989 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Spouse(s) | Billy Wolfe (–1952) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mildred Burke |
| Billed height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Billed weight | 138 lb (63 kg) |
| Trained by | Billy Wolfe |
| Debut | 1935 |
| Retired | 1955 |
Mildred Bliss (August 5, 1915 – February 18, 1989), better known by the ring name Mildred Burke, was an American professional wrestler.
Burke is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame as a Legacy inductee, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as well as the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Her heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, when she held the NWA World Women's Championship for almost twenty years. Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals. She was managed by her second husband, promoter Billy Wolfe.
Mildred Burke, aged 15, began to work as a waitress on the Zuni Indian Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. She lived there for three years, before leaving for Kansas City after agreeing to marry her boyfriend. He took her to a professional wrestling event, which sparked her interest in the sport. Burke, who was pregnant at the time, later persevered.
Prior to wrestling, she was an office stenographer by day, had outstanding muscle development, and was hoping to become a professional wrestler. Locally, Billy Wolfe was training aspiring women professional wrestlers. At first, Wolfe did not want to train Burke and instructed a male wrestler to body slam her, so she would stop asking Wolfe to train her. Burke, however, performed a body slam on the man instead, which resulted in Wolfe agreeing to train her. Wolfe tutored her and realized that she was the prospect for which he was waiting. The close proximity of their training resulted in a relationship and ultimately marriage. Changing her name to Mildred Burke, she defeated Clara Mortenson for the Women's World Championship in January 1937.
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