Buddy Roberts

Dale Hey (May 16, 1947 – November 26, 2012) was a professional wrestler, better known under his ring name, Buddy Roberts. Roberts was best known for his work in tag teams during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly as one-third of The Fabulous Freebirds.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Dale Hey was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He started wrestling in 1965 as Dale Valentine, the "brother" of Johnny Valentine. At the tail end of the 1960s, he was working as a preliminary wrestler in the American Wrestling Association. One of the AWA's main event wrestlers at the time, Bill Watts, left the promotion to become the booker for the NWA Tri-State promotion based in Oklahoma. Impressed by Hey's work, Watts invited Hey to join the promotion in 1970. Watts changed his name to Buddy Roberts and teamed him with career journeyman wrestler Jerry Brown as the "Hollywood Blondes". The team of Brown and Roberts won numerous regional tag team titles across the United States throughout the 1970s.