" Stagger Lee " ( Roud 4183), also known as " Stagolee " and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton , in St. Louis, Missouri , at Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923, by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians , titled "Stack O' Lee Blues". A version by Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.
59-492: The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts ' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE ). However, Watts' business strategy quickly swung from "overnight" success to catastrophic failure, resulting in
118-454: A guard during his sophomore and junior years. However, his junior year was marred by a near fatal car accident involving him and his mother, resulting in him going into a coma. When he came out, he had lost a significant amount of weight, and had to put it back on, despite the coaches at the time preferring their players to be small and quick, which Watts had struggled with before the accident. Former Sooners teammate Wahoo McDaniel (then of
177-703: A "five-time rookie of the year." As the UWF's merge with "the NWA" was taking place, Terry Taylor , who held the UWF Television Championship , began an angle with the NWA World Television Champion , Nikita Koloff . Taylor stole the NWA TV title belt during an NWA show, but Koloff (with help from Dusty Rhodes ) reclaimed it before their official in-ring encounter. They met at Starrcade 1987 , and Nikita unified
236-434: A business, and you put money in it, why shouldn't you be able to discriminate? It's your business... That's why I went into business, so that I could discriminate... Who's killed more blacks than anyone? The fuckin' blacks." Watts claims that when he was hired by WCW, he had explained the situation to Turner president Bill Shaw , apparently to his satisfaction. However, a year later wrestling journalist Mark Madden brought
295-519: A different song based on the melody and words of "Frankie and Johnnie" , the following year, with Louis Armstrong on cornet , and a version was recorded by Frank Hutchison on January 28, 1927, in New York, and is included in Harry Smith's famous Anthology of American Folk Music (Song 19 of 84). Before World War II , the song was commonly known as "Stack O'Lee". W.C. Handy wrote that it probably
354-675: A fireball at Hacksaw Jim Duggan ("blinding" him temporarily), and the Freebirds breaking Steve Williams' arm. Williams recruited Oklahoma Sooners (and future Dallas Cowboys head coach) Barry Switzer into training and getting back into the ring. It paid off on July 11, 1987 when Dr. Death defeated Big Bubba Rogers (Ray Traylor) to win the UWF Heavyweight Championship . The Freebirds became faces around that time, as they began feuding with Skandor Akbar's army as well as The Angel of Death. A prelim wrestler, Mike Boyette, wrestled in
413-636: A lengthy interview on wrestling, Watts commented on Lester Maddox , a 1960s restaurant owner and segregationist Governor of Georgia ) who refused service to black customers. Watts supported the owner's position, illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , that he had a right do discriminate as did Watts in his business. Watts further expressed his view that slavery was beneficial for bringing slaves to America. He also made numerous other controversial statements pertaining to race and sexual orientation, including using numerous highly offensive slurs: "If you want
472-462: A match and injured him, thus Adams had to choose another tag partner. He chose Terry Taylor, whose team lost a semi-final match to Rick Steiner and Sting. Taylor and Adams eventually won the UWF tag team titles, and held the belts for two months. Meanwhile, Adams and Parsons engaged in a lengthy feud, which lasted for more than a decade (the two had feuded earlier in WCCW when Adams was the heel and Parsons
531-546: A more corporate, ambitious (and WWF-like) one: the Universal Wrestling Federation. In March 1986, MSW "went national" (the goal of the most ambitious regional promotions of this era), re-launching as the Universal Wrestling Federation , and securing a syndication deal airing their two one-hour, weekly TV programs (the lesser show, Power Pro Wrestling debuted in 1984) in major markets across
590-470: A political and business rival to Shelton. Eventually, the two men got into a dispute, during which Lyons took Shelton's Stetson hat. Subsequently, Shelton shot Lyons, recovered his hat, and left. Lyons died of his injuries, and Shelton was charged, tried, and convicted of the murder in 1897. He was paroled in 1909, but returned to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery. He died incarcerated in 1912. The crime quickly entered into American folklore and became
649-564: A press conference, where Taylor spoke about his situation with Adams and then left. Chris later took questions, which prompted Taylor to attack Adams with a chair. The following week, Adams conducted an interview vowing revenge against both Taylor and Eddie Gilbert. Other famous UWF angles included promoter Bill Watts being attacked and having the flag of the Soviet Union draped on him by Eddie Gilbert, Missy Hyatt cold-cocking John Tatum after joining forces with Gilbert, Skandor Akbar throwing
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#1732854575067708-547: A promoter in the Mid-South United States, which grew to become the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). Watts also worked under the ring name Doctor Scarlett which was sometimes stylised as Dr. Scarlett . In 1992, Watts was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) but after clashes with management over a number of issues, as well as feeling pressure from Hank Aaron over
767-598: A racially insensitive interview, he resigned. He was subsequently replaced by Ole Anderson . In 1995, Watts briefly worked as a booker for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE). In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame . Watts played as a linebacker for his high school football team, the Putnam City Pirates . Bud Wilkinson recruited him to play for the Oklahoma Sooners , where he played as
826-515: A regional territory show. In the mid-1980s, MSW began to expand nationally. In 1985, longtime wrestling fan Ted Turner invited Watts to air MSW's weekly TV show on Turner's SuperStation TBS network. Turner wanted an alternative to the World Wrestling Federation show airing in the coveted 2-hour, Saturday-evening timeslot, which the WWF had acquired when it bought out the majority ownership of Georgia Championship Wrestling . (see: Black Saturday ) Turner
885-645: A separate organization, Crockett sent his mid-card wrestlers to the UWF and had them quickly win their titles. Eventually, the UWF folded, and Crockett would be bought out by Ted Turner in 1988. In April 1989, after firing George Scott , WCW offered Watts the chance to book , but he declined the offer and WCW instead decided to go with a booking committee, which included Ric Flair and Kevin Sullivan . Watts became Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (succeeding Kip Frey) in 1992. He took many of his old-school values with him, such as banning moves from
944-527: A series of "title vs. title" unification matches, among others. Only a few UWF wrestlers were well-received by JCP's fanbase; they included: the Fabulous Freebirds , Shane Douglas , Rick Steiner , Eddie Gilbert , and UWF centerpiece "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Most UWF imports were gone from JCP's roster within a year; however, one wrestler would go from UWF midcarder/tag team act, to breakout star in JCP, and
1003-551: A two-year promotional war against International Championship Wrestling that included the "outlaw" promotion filing an antitrust lawsuit against McGuirk and Watts. In 1979, Bill Watts acquired the Tri-State Wrestling territory from Leroy McGuirk, and re-branded it Mid-South Wrestling (MSW; officially, the Mid-South Wrestling Association). One of Watts' first acts as owner was to withdraw the company from
1062-525: A variety of explanations being given: he was given the nickname because he "went stag" (attended social events unaccompanied by a person of the opposite sex); he took the nickname from a well-known riverboat captain called Stack Lee; or, according to John and Alan Lomax , he took the name from a riverboat owned by the Lee family of Memphis called the Stack Lee , which was known for its on-board prostitution. Shelton
1121-529: A wrestler, then a promoter, along with events in his personal life. Watts served as co-host of a sports talk radio show on The Sports Animal in Tulsa, Oklahoma until late 2008. He was a longtime resident of Bixby , a Tulsa suburb. Stagger Lee The historical Stagger Lee was Lee Shelton , an African-American pimp living in St. Louis, Missouri , in the late 19th century. He was nicknamed Stag Lee or Stack Lee, with
1180-494: Is an outspoken critic on breaking kayfabe and "smart" wrestling fans . A Watts-run promotion always had face and heel wrestlers dress in different locker rooms and to have faces and heels not meet publicly. He has also been known to revamp his booking plans in order to protect the business from such fans. After losing over half a million dollars, Watts sold the UWF to NWA Mid-Atlantic's Jim Crockett Promotions , who kept many of their stars, such as Sting . Instead of having UWF as
1239-526: The Journal of American Folklore by the sociologist and historian Howard W. Odum . The song was first recorded by Waring's Pennsylvanians in 1923 and became a hit. Another version was recorded later that year by Frank Westphal & His Regal Novelty Orchestra, and Herb Wiedoeft and his band recorded the song in 1924. Also in 1924, the first version with lyrics was recorded, as "Skeeg-a-Lee Blues", by Lovie Austin . Ma Rainey recorded "Stag O'Lee Blues",
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#17328545750671298-548: The Class of 2009 . Watts has five children. From his first marriage, he has a son, William III (nicknamed Biff), and from his second marriage, he has three sons, Joel, Erik , Micah and a daughter, Ene. In March 2006, Watts released his autobiography The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption through ECW Press . The book chronicles his upbringing, his career as first
1357-629: The Houston Oilers of the AFL ), introduced him to professional wrestling for the first time, something McDaniel did in the off-season. Watts turned professional in 1961 and joined the Oilers, but did not last long there, and according to a shoot interview, he left after knocking out a coach. Through McDaniel's friendship with defensive coach Bob Griffin , Watts played for the Indianapolis Warriors of
1416-485: The Hulkamania -era WWF, Mid-South Wrestling's content focused on: energetic matches performed before raucous and packed crowds; characters whose personas blurred the line between good and evil; an intensely physical, athletic wrestling style; and an episodic TV show format. The promotion ran shows in a mix of small venues and gigantic arenas. In 1980, a card pitting a "blinded" Junkyard Dog against Freebird Michael Hayes in
1475-904: The NWA Tri-State / Mid South Wrestling before he became head promotor in the Oklahoma / Louisiana areas. Watts is perhaps even more famous for being a pioneering promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, with his base of operation being in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. His promotion was known as Mid-South Wrestling. He is often credited with creating the current and popular "episodic" style of TV wrestling, building solid creative storylines week-on-week, with an emphasis on solid in-ring action with dependable wrestlers like "Dr. Death" Steve Williams , The Junkyard Dog , Ted DiBiase and Jim Duggan . He
1534-860: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). However, MSW would remain loosely aligned with the NWA, continuing to have the NWA World Heavyweight Champion defend the title on MSW shows, which spiked live event sales. (During the "territory" system [1940s-1980s], the NWA World Heavyweight Champion would travel to each NWA-affiliated territory to defend the title against its top-drawing local star.) MSW then added Arkansas to its circuit. In 1982, MSW expanded to Oklahoma when McGuirk closed his personal, Oklahoma-based promotion. McGuirk also formed an alliance with Houston promoter Paul Boesch to feature Mid-South talent on shows at
1593-636: The Sam Houston Coliseum (one of the most famous arenas in professional wrestling), and other parts of southeastern Texas . Mid-South used Shreveport, Louisiana as the base for its television tapings, which were first housed in the studios of KTBS-TV until they were moved around 1982 to the Irish McNeel Sports for Boys club, located on the Louisiana State Fairgrounds. Instead of the cartoon-ish characters and interviews common to
1652-748: The United Football League , while also being able to wrestle for NWA Indianapolis. Watts then had a try-out with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL), but after a discussion with general manager Jim Finks , who wanted him to quit his wrestling career, Watts left the Vikings having decided he could make more money back in Oklahoma. As a professional wrestler, he famously feuded with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino , but
1711-686: The "Universal Wrestling Federation" name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, businessman Herb Abrams was able to use it to launch an unrelated wrestling promotion of the same name in 1990. A former territory wrestler who was blinded in a 1950 auto accident, Leroy McGuirk eventually took over promoting a wrestling circuit covering Oklahoma , Louisiana and Mississippi . Until 1973, "Cowboy" Bill Watts had been one of Tri-State's most popular wrestlers. After leaving Tri-State for Eddie Graham 's Championship Wrestling from Florida , Watts returned to Tri-State in 1975. NWA Tri-State fought
1770-502: The 1987 sale of the UWF to another rival: Jim Crockett Promotions (owner of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling , Georgia Championship Wrestling , the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s most important championships, and the predecessor of World Championship Wrestling ). The promotion began as an NWA territory , NWA Tri-State , founded by Leroy McGuirk in the 1950s. Tri-State/Mid-South/UWF promoted in Oklahoma , Arkansas , Louisiana and Mississippi until 1987. Because Watts did not register
1829-485: The UWF and is believed to be one of the very few wrestlers to never win a match. Video editors for the show even put together a music video of his various losses in the ring, set to the Little River Band song " Lonesome Loser ". "Gorgeous" Gary Young also competed in the UWF, claiming that he was a rookie. He actually had five years experience under his belt. Young's claims prompted Jim Ross to begin referring to him as
Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-458: The UWF to JCP on April 9, 1987, and many of the UWF's top stars were either retained by JCP, or immediately left for the WWF or WCCW. Unlike the other NWA-affiliated promotions JCP had bought out in the mid-1980s, the UWF did not immediately end; JCP kept its brand—and its three championships—alive in TV storylines until December 1987, when JCP's NWA-affiliated characters defeated all of the UWF characters in
1947-478: The United States. The TV tapings were also taken out of Shreveport and moved on location at various live shows throughout the Mid-South/UWF territory. New wrestlers, mostly from World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), joined the company, as did former WCCW co-promoter Ken Mantell . Despite the UWF's strong early ratings and critical praise, it could not compete nationally with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) and
2006-512: The WWF off his network. Watts' luck ran out, however, when former Georgia Championship Wrestling co-owner Jim Barnett helped broker a deal enabling North Carolina-based Jim Crockett Promotions' (led by Jim Crockett, Jr. ) to buy the Saturday timeslot from McMahon, and become TBS' sole pro wrestling show. Watts made one more attempt at going national the following year. As part of that plan, Watts replaced Mid-South Wrestling's parochial brandname with
2065-427: The WWF, as both had stronger TV distribution and larger live event, pay-per-view (and, in the WWF's case, merchandise licensing) revenue streams. The UWF was further hurt when the oil-based economy of its richest local market—Oklahoma—fell into a severe recession in late 1986. This left the blue collar core of the UWF's fanbase with far less disposable income to spend on things like attending wrestling shows. Watts sold
2124-544: The closure of Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State promotion in Oklahoma, and remained through the transition to UWF. Bill Watts's son Joel Watts was later added to the Mid-South/UWF broadcasting team, and also worked behind-the-scenes as a producer of the TV program. Following Jim Crockett Promotions' purchase of the UWF, both Bill and Joel Watts exited the promotion and Jim Ross was joined by various partners including Magnum T. A. , Michael P.S. Hayes and Missy Hyatt . Veteran JCP announcer Bob Caudle became Ross's permanent partner near
2183-455: The closure of UWF. Frank Dusek and Toni Adams also served as ringside commentators during the course of its UWF tenure; both of whom moved on to World Class. Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts , is a retired American professional wrestler , promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as
2242-630: The estate of Paul Boesch , who was the Houston territory's promoter. Select episodes of Mid-South are available for viewing on the WWE Network and on the NBCUniversal -owned Peacock streaming service in the United States. The Battle of New Orleans was a long-playing brawl between Eddie Gilbert, Terry Taylor , Chris Adams and Sting , which began in the ring and spilled out into the concession area. Beer kegs , chairs, tables, popcorn machine and anything
2301-556: The floor. The Taylor-Adams war proved to be one of the most violent feuds in the UWF, with an equal intensity to the feud Adams had with the Von Erichs in World Class. The feud did have a short interruption when Taylor was injured in an automobile accident, but picked up again by the summer and carried over to World Class by 1988. Taylor and Adams promoted a famous angle in August which involved
2360-451: The four wrestlers could get their hands on were used in the brawl which lasted nearly 15 minutes. Sting and Gilbert fought outside the ring, when Rick Steiner came in and piledrived Shane Douglas. With Taylor on top, referee Randy Anderson made the pinfall. Later, Adams came out and told Anderson what had happened, which prompted Gilbert and Taylor to gang-up on Adams. Sting came in to even the sides, and that resulted in an all-out brawl outside
2419-515: The interview to the attention of Hank Aaron , himself a vice president in the Turner organization with the Atlanta Braves , who then pushed for Watts' removal. While Madden takes credit for Watts getting fired, Watts himself disputes this account, saying he was not fired for the comments but quit his position out of frustration over "backstabbing" by Shaw and (unbeknownst to Shaw) had already resigned by
Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-512: The lyrics. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Delisle". Other notable pre-war versions were recorded by Duke Ellington (1927), Cab Calloway (1931), Woody Guthrie (1941), and Sidney Bechet (1945). Lloyd Price recorded an R&B rendition of the song as "Stagger Lee" in 1958, and it rose to the top of both the R&;B and US pop charts in early 1959. Although his version uses similar lyrics to previous versions of
2537-569: The main event drew nearly 30,000 fans for a show presented by a promotion less than one year old. In 1984, Watts came out of retirement to team with a masked Junkyard Dog (under the name Stagger Lee ) to face the Midnight Express to cap an angle in which the Express and manager Jim Cornette beat Watts on TV . Its undercard featured a showdown between Magnum T.A. and Mr. Wrestling II . The 1984 show drew 22,000 fans—an unimaginably large crowd for
2596-666: The merger, left in mid-1988 for the WWF, where they were renamed the Bushwhackers . Terry Taylor also departed, appearing in World Class for a few months (feuding with Chris Adams and Kevin Von Erich), then the WWF in mid-1988 as The Red Rooster . Taylor would go on to have a long WWF/WWE career behind-the-scenes, holding various management and creative team roles. Mid-South's main television broadcasting team included Bill Watts and Boyd Pierce, with KTBS-TV staff announcer Reisor Bowden serving as ring announcer. Jim Ross joined Mid-South after
2655-583: The new Wild West Wrestling promotion, which later merged with World Class Championship Wrestling . "Gentleman" Chris Adams , who initially stayed with Jim Crockett Promotions post-UWF, left due to a money dispute and returned to World Class in November 1987. DiBiase, Big Bubba Rogers, One Man Gang, and Sam Houston joined the WWF, joining fellow UWF alumnus " Hacksaw Jim Duggan ", who the WWF had signed in February 1987. The Sheepherders, who originally joined Crockett after
2714-575: The new company after its TBS TV show. Ironically, "Cowboy" Bill Watts ended up running the same business that had swallowed his own: In spring of 1992, WCW hired Watts as its latest Executive Vice President; he held the role less than a year. World Wrestling Entertainment acquired most of the Mid-South/UWF video archive, absorbing it into its WWE Libraries collection in 2012 -- with a notable exception: Mid-South/UWF matches taped for Houston Wrestling which aired on KHTV in Houston . Those rights are held by
2773-419: The ring to attack Williams and DiBiase. The match ended when Williams and DiBiase were counted out, and Adams and Parsons won the match. Adams, who was helping Williams and DiBiase fight off Akbar and his army, wanted the match to continue, but Parsons wanted the win. After a lengthy argument, Adams and Parsons split, and Chris chose Savannah Jack as his new tag team partner. Iceman sucker-punched Savannah during
2832-610: The ring. Gilbert was the mastermind of this famous angle and received huge praise from fellow promoters and wrestlers. Adams was engaged in a storyline involving Iceman King Parsons and Taylor, which evolved out of the UWF Tag Team Championship tournament in February 1987. Originally, Adams and Iceman were one of the eight teams participating, and Taylor was teamed with Sam Houston . In a semi-finals match, Adams and Iceman wrestled against "Dr Death" Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase until Skandor Akbar's Devastation Inc. charged
2891-440: The subject of song, as well as folktales and toasts. The song's title comes from Shelton's nickname—Stag Lee or Stack Lee. The name was quickly corrupted in the folk tradition. Early versions were called "Stack-a-Lee" and "Stacker Lee", while "Stagolee" and "Stagger Lee" also became common. Other recorded variants include "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stackolee", "Stackalee", "Stagerlee", and "Stagalee". A song called "Stack-a-Lee"
2950-400: The time Aaron got the newsletter. Watts was replaced by Ole Anderson . Watts later went on to a position of booking power in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). His tenure there was short, as he stated in later interviews that he was only there on a three-month contract and had no interest in staying long-term. On April 4, 2009, Watts was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of
3009-643: The top rope and the babyfaces and heels separation. His tenure was not long, nor were his ideas overly embraced. According to his autobiography, Controversy Creates Ca$ h , Eric Bischoff (who worked under Watts at the time) felt Watts would intimidate anyone he was talking to and was only interested in taking the WCW product back to 1970s standards, with poorly lit arenas and house shows in remote rural towns. The circumstances of Watts' departure in 1993 are controversial. Prior to 1992, Watts had given an interview to Wade Keller for his newsletter, Pro Wrestling Torch. After
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#17328545750673068-779: The two titles as the final leg of the NWA-UWF merger was finished. Williams would successfully defend the UWF Heavyweight Title on the same show versus Barry Windham . Williams immediately left to do a series of lucrative performances in Japan; the title was retired while he was in Asia. Sting, Rick Steiner, Eddie Gilbert, Missy Hyatt, announcer Jim Ross , Brad Armstrong and the aforementioned Taylor became permanent NWA roster members, among others. The Freebirds, Savannah Jack, Iceman King Parsons , matchmaker Frank Dusek, and promoter Ken Mantell joined
3127-410: The wrestling industry as a whole: Sting . Sting's UWF tag team (as The Blade Runners ) partner would later become a WWF wrestling legend, too: The Ultimate Warrior . In October 1988, JCP, one of the biggest and late stage casualties of the "going national" war with the WWF, sold its collection of territories and titles to Ted Turner's TBS . Turner re-branded JCP "World Championship Wrestling," naming
3186-515: Was a nickname for a tall person, comparing him to the tall smokestack of the famous steamboat Robert E. Lee . By the time W.C. Handy wrote that explanation in 1926, "Stack O' Lee" was already familiar in United States popular culture, with recordings of the song made by pop singers of the day, such as Cliff Edwards . The version by Mississippi John Hurt , recorded in 1928, is regarded by many as definitive. In his version, as in all such pieces, there are many (sometimes anachronistic) variants on
3245-671: Was angered by the WWF show because McMahon had promised him it would feature matches and promos taped in TBS' Atlanta studios (as Georgia Championship Wrestling had done for years). But instead of fresh, locally-produced content, the WWF's TBS show only presented clips and highlights from other WWF TV shows – some, depending on TV market, airing at the same time the TBS show did. (Eventually, the WWF would shoot local, in-studio matches, but only infrequently, and they were usually predictable squash matches .) MSW quickly became TBS' highest-rated show, so Watts positioned MSW to take over once Turner could force
3304-508: Was first mentioned in 1897, in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald , as being performed by "Prof. Charlie Lee, the piano thumper". The earliest versions were likely field hollers and other work songs performed by African-American laborers, and were well known along the lower Mississippi River by 1910. That year, musicologist John Lomax received a partial transcription of the song, and in 1911, two versions were published in
3363-416: Was the babyface ), with Parsons frequently referring to Adams as "Jailbird," a reference to Adams serving jail time in 1986 on an assault conviction. Taylor and Adams, who dominated the UWF tag team scene, lost a match to Steiner and Sting when Taylor kicked Adams foot off the rope as he was being pinned by Sting. A face-vs-face bout between Adams and Taylor marked Taylor's heel turn as he piledrived Adams on
3422-453: Was unable to win the title. In the 1960s, he wrestled in many areas, such as San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, and even Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). During these periods, Watts challenged for both the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and American Wrestling Association (AWA) versions of the World Title . Watts also had a successful run winning tag belts with Buck Robley in
3481-556: Was well known locally as one of the Macks, a group of pimps who attracted attention through their flashy clothing and appearance. In addition to those activities, he was the captain of a black Four Hundred Club, a social club with a dubious reputation. On Christmas night in 1895, Shelton and his acquaintance William "Billy" Lyons were drinking in the Bill Curtis Saloon. Lyons was also a member of St. Louis' underworld, and may have been
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