June Byers

DeAlva Eyvonnie Sibley (May 25, 1922 – July 20, 1998), better known by her ring name of June Byers, was an American women's professional wrestler famous in the 1950s and early 1960s. She held the World Women's Championship for ten years and is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in Houston, Texas, the tomboyish Sibley grew up around wrestling. Her uncle, Ottoway Roberts, worked for local wrestling promoter Morris Siegel, and as she got older, she often hung around the wrestlers and asked them to teach her their moves. On one occasion while DeAlva was playing around in the ring, the women's wrestling promoter Billy Wolfe happened to see her and recognized her potential. Already divorced once and facing poverty, she accepted Wolfe's offer to be trained as a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Taking her family nickname of "June" and her ex-husband's last name of "Byers" for her ring name, Sibley made her professional debut in 1944. She spent the first years of her career traveling the country in Wolfe's promotion, sometimes winning preliminary matches but regularly losing to the more established stars such as Mae Young and champion Mildred Burke. Slowly rising in the ranks, she first won gold in 1952 when she and partner Millie Stafford won the Tag Title over Young and Ella Waldek.