Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Women’s wrestling has certainly grown and prospered in recent years. All the talk of the Women’s Revolution is very real, as we are now seeing more and more women in high profile matches and even main eventing big shows. Before we can talk about the current crop of female talents, we must first look back into history to find the true trailblazers of women’s wrestling. This is wrestling history….this is wrestling HERstory.
On the heels of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League baseball in 1947, infamous wrestling promoter Billy Wolfe became inspired to do the same in professional wrestling. Wolfe took notice of the media blitz that came with Robinson entering a white dominant sport and turn it upside down with success. Wolfe saw all of that and decided to try and introduce black women into pro wrestling.
He scouted the country looking for beautiful, athletic black women to fill his roster out. He found his muses in the form of three sisters from Decatur, Georgia. These three sisters would be the catalysts that broke down walls in a very segregated, racist business as pro wrestling was at the time. The sisters were Babs Wingo (The oldest sister) Ethel Johnson (middle sister) and Marva Scott (the youngest of the three) Babs was the first to be courted by Wolfe and was convinced by seeing lady wrestler Mildred Burke wearing fur coats and diamond jewelry. Babs would convince her two sisters to join her in this venture.
Friends of the three sisters would also begin training. These women created an all black female wrestling troupe that introduced fans to women wrestlers of color. Despite breaking down the color barriers, they only wrestled each other in both singles and tag team matches. Babs Wingo wrestled as a heel, mainly due to her mat based style. Her sister Ethel Johnson was a babyface due to her speed and agility in the ring. It was Johnson who was the true break out star of the troupe.
As expected, the women faced many challenges as the first black female wrestlers in the business. Many white counterparts refused to wrestle on the same cards as them…let alone face them in a match. Fans, especially down south, were brutal with their jeers and comments. Despite these adversities, the sisters proved to be box office attractions. The women topped the pay scale by earning 300 dollars a week. Other promoters noticed the troupe’s financial success and wanted to use the women on their shows. Stu Hart in Calgary was one of the first to welcome the black women wrestlers…followed by Vince McMahon Sr who booked them for big shows in Washington D.C. The women were also in high demand overseas in places like Australia and Japan.
As noted earlier, Ethel Johnson really became the big star of the group. She had great speed and quickness, along with the ability to use drop kicks and flying head scissors. Her popularity, gave her a certain amount of power in the industry. For example, she was scheduled for a match down south in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Before the show, the promoter demanded that the black fans be segregated in the balconies from the white fans who sat ringside. When Johnson found out about this…she refused to work the match advertised unless all her fans could sit where they wanted. The promoter refused her request and Johnson left Alabama and returned to Ohio…where she had made her home.
Ethel was so popular, she was able to wrestle some of her white colleagues like Mildred Burke and Penny Banner. She also challenged for the NWA world’s women championship. She was often billed as “the biggest attraction to hit girl wrestling since girl wrestling began.” Her career lasted up until 1976, her sister Babs Wingo lasted until 1965 and Marva Scott until 1979. These three sisters helped trailblazed a path for other women of color to ply their trade.
Read more about Wrestling Herstory here