Ethel Johnson (wrestler): Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|American professional wrestler}}

|image =

|names = Ethel Johnson<br />Rita Valdez

|birth_place = [[Decatur, Georgia]], U.S.

|death_place = [[Columbus, Ohio]], U.S.

|trainer = [[Mildred Burke]]<ref name="LWOPW">{{cite web|last=Greet|first=Jamie|title=The Pioneers: Ethel Johnson: The First African-American Female Wrestler (VIDEO)|url=https://lastwordonprowrestlinglastwordonsports.com/prowrestling/2018/02/01/ethel-johnson-first-african-american-female-wrestler/|work=Last Word on Pro Wrestling|date=February 1, 2018|access-date=July 12, 2023}}</ref>

'''Ethel Blanche Hairston''' ({{nee}} '''Wingo'''; May 14, 1935 – September 14, 2018) was an American [[professional wrestler]] whose [[ring name]] was '''Ethel Johnson'''.<ref name="NYTimes"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Gary|first=Marlan|title=Ethel Blanche Hairston|website=TheChapelOfPeace.com|date=21 September 2018 |url=https://www.thechapelofpeace.com/ethel-blanche-hairston/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126123246/https://www.thechapelofpeace.com/ethel-blanche-hairston/|archivedate=November 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> She debuted at age 16,<ref name=erdman>{{cite news|last=Erdman|first=Corey|title=The Forgotten Story of the First Black Female Wrestlers|date=March 23, 2018|work=Vice|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3588k/the-forgotten-story-of-the-first-black-female-wrestlers|accessdate=November 26, 2019}}</ref> becoming the first African-American [[Women's professional wrestling|women's wrestlerchampion]].<ref name=jet>{{cite news|title=Lady Wrestlers|work=Jet|date=February 21, 1952|pages=56–58|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K0MDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56|issn=0021-5996|accessdate=November 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name=erdman/> She was a fan favorite, billed as "the biggest attraction to hit girl wrestling since girl wrestling began."<ref name=jet/><ref name=laprade>{{cite book|last1=Laprade|first1=Pat|last2=Murphy|first2=Dan|title=Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling|year=2017|publisher=ECW Press|chapter=<!--Google Books did not show page numbers -->Chapter 3: When Millie Met Billy: The Billy Wolf Era|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_lsDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT69|accessdate=November 26, 2019|isbn=9781773050140}}</ref>

Johnson started her training after her sister Babs Wingo, the first African-American woman to [[desegregate]] professional wrestling, in the 19501950s, signing with the promoter [[Billy Wolfe]]. Their younger sister [[Marva Scott (wrestler)|Marva Scott]] would later join professional wrestling as well.<ref name=erdman/> In 1952, Johnson, along with her sisters worked three matches including a [[tag team match]] in the main event at [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], which drew the highest record crowd of 3,611 fans.<ref name=erdman/> By 1954, Johnson and Wingo received top billing alongside [[Gorgeous George]], after drawing 9,000 fans at the [[Municipal Auditorium in [[(Kansas City, Missouri)|KansasMunicipal CityAuditorium]], in [[Kansas City, Missouri]].<ref name=erdman/> While touring Latin America, Johnson worked under the name ''Rita Valdez''.

Johnson was known for her athleticism, being one of the first female wrestlers to perform a [[Dropkick#Standing dropkick|standing dropkick]] in her matches, as well as including a variation of the [[Headscissors takedown|flying headscissors]]<ref name="LWOPWNYTimes"/><ref name="NYTimesLWOPW"/>

During her time in wrestling, Johnson faced popular wrestlers at the time such as [[June Byers]] and [[Penny Banner]], and even challenging [[Mildred Burke]] for her [[NWA World Women's Championship]].<ref name="Johnson">{{cite web|last=Lindsey|first=Philip|title=WWE’sWWE's bewildering exclusion of first black women wrestlers|url=http://www.diva-dirt.com/2019/02/12/wwe-exclusion-black-women-wrestlers/|work=Diva Dirt|date=February 12, 2019|accessdate=February 12, 2019|archive-date=August 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817143557/http://www.diva-dirt.com/2019/02/12/wwe-exclusion-black-women-wrestlers/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Eventually, Johnson caught [[Stu Hart]]'s eye and began working for his promotion [[Stampede Wrestling|Big Time Wrestling]] as well as wrestling atfor the [[Capitol Wrestling Corporation]].<ref name="LWOPW"/> In her final years in wrestling, Johnson worked at [[American Wrestling Association]], where her last match was against her sister Marva Scott, in 1976.<ref name="LWOPW"/>

Johnson was born Ethel Blanche Wingo in [[Decatur, Georgia]], to Gladys Chase and Clifford Wingo on May 14, 1935.<ref name="NYTimes"/> Johnson had two other wrestling sisters: her older sister, Betty (ring name: Babs Wingo), and younger sister, Marva (ring name: Marva Scott).

Johnson took her stage name to differentiate her from Betty, who became a professional at about the same time. They often wrestled each other, but many fans would not know that they were related.<ref name="NYTimes"/> Johnson said it was every women's wrestlers' dream to perform in [[Madison Square Garden]], but women's wrestling was banned in New York during her prime.<ref name=erdman/> She retired in 1977 without ever performing there.<ref name=laprade/>

* '''[[WWEWomen's Wrestling Hall of Fame]]'''

[[Category:African-American female professional wrestlers]]

[[Category:PeopleAmerican fromfemale Decatur,professional Georgiawrestlers]]

[[Category:Sportspeople from DeKalb CountyDecatur, Georgia]]