Whipper Billy Watson
| Whipper Billy Watson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Birth name | William John Potts |
| Born |
June 25, 1915 East York, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | February 4, 1990 (aged 74) Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Billy Potts Billy Watson |
| Trained by | Phil Lawson |
| Debut | 1940 |
| Retired | 1971 |
William "Billy" John Potts, OOnt (June 25, 1915 – February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson, and was a two-time world heavyweight wrestling champion.
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.
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 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.
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