Ricky Hunter
| Ricky Hunter | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 1, 1936 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Residence | Clearwater, Florida, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Buddy Sprott Rocky Hunter Ricky Hunter The Gladiator The Spartan The Super Gladiator Cowboy Rick Hunter Rick Hunter |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 237 lb (108 kg) |
| Billed from | Portland, Oregon |
| Trained by |
George Gordienko Ole Olsen |
| Debut | October 16, 1957 |
| Retired | 1996 |
Charles B. Sprott (born March 1, 1936) is a Canadian former professional wrestler, better known by his ring names Ricky Hunter and the masked wrestler The Gladiator. He was best known for his title-winning success in Championship Wrestling from Florida in the late 1960s, and for his stint from the mid-1980s in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).
Sprott was active for well over thirty years, mainly performing in a number of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promotions. He wrestled throughout the United States and Canada, and internationally, including in Australia, Japan, and England.
Sprott made his debut on October 16, 1957 in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, wrestling under a variation of his real name, Buddy Sprott. He won his first championship, the Atlas Wrestling Club junior heavyweight title, by defeating Ray Lasko in September 1958 in Lockport, Manitoba. In September 1961 he teamed with George Eakin to defeat John DePaulo and Stan Mykietowich to win the Madison Wrestling Club tag team titles in Winnipeg, losing them two months later to Bob Brown and John DePaulo.
In early 1962 Sprott expanded from his base in Manitoba, entering the larger wrestling market in the United States. He went to train with Verne Gagne of the American Wrestling Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Don Owen of the Pacific Northwest Wrestling promotion in Portland, Oregon. He then wrestled with Ed Francis' promotion in Hawaii and Worldwide Wrestling Associates in Los Angeles run by Mike and Gene LeBell under the name Rocky Hunter, in the Pacific Northwest as Ricky Hunter, as well as still appearing in Manitoba as Buddy Sprott. During this time he faced notable opponents such as Mad Dog Vachon, Pat Patterson, and Mr. Fuji. Sprott continued to develop his in-ring ability and success rate, wrestling mainly in Hawaii and the American and Canadian Pacific Northwest through to 1966, but including at least one international tour, wrestling in Australia in 1963.
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