Moondog King
| Moondog King | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Edward John White[1] |
| Born | May 18, 1949[1] St. John's,Newfoundland,Canada[1] |
| Died | August 26, 2005(aged 56)[1] St. John's,Newfoundland and Labrador,Canada[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Big John Strongbo[1] Moondog King[1] Sailor White[1] Knuckles McKnight[1] The Wharf Rat[1] The Canadian Hit Man[1] The Spoiler |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 310 lb (141 kg)[2] |
| Debut | May 22, 1972[1] |
| Retired | 1991 |
Edward John White(May 18, 1949 – August 26, 2005) was a Canadianprofessional wrestler,best known asSailor Whiteand asMoondog KingofThe Moondogswhen he joined theWorld Wrestling Federation(nowWWE) in the early 1980s.[2]White won championships in Canada and around the globe. He also wrestled inSouth AfricaasBig John Strongbo.[2]
Professional wrestling career[edit]
After doing work on Great Lakes boats, White made his professional wrestling debut inPembroke, Ontario,on May 22, 1972, against Michael Gango for promoter Larry Kasaboski.[1]While inQuebeche was the Grand Prix tag team champion in 1976, International Heavyweight champion in 1982, International tag team champion twice in 1982–1984 and won the Canadian Television Championship in 1984.
He was most known for his time in the WWF as Moondog King where he teamed withMoondog Rexand won theWWF Tag Team Championship(then WWWF) fromTony GareaandRick MartelinAllentown, Pennsylvania,in March 1981.[3]
After he was denied re-entry to the United States at theCanada–United States border,the WWWF replaced him with substitutes includingStan Hansen,Hulk Hogan,Lou AlbanoandSgt. Slaughterbefore selectingMoondog Spotas a permanent replacement. Gorilla Monsoon explained his absence stating King had been hit by a car.[3]White claims the border dispute involved a rival wrestling promoter alerting the authorities to his criminal past whereas some say it was drug related.[4]
After the WWF, he worked in Montreal forLutte Internationaleteaming withGilles Poisson.He retired from wrestling in 1986. Then on October 22, 1990, he returned to a WWF house show as "Sailor Moondog White" where he lost toThe British Bulldogat the OttawaCivic Center.[5]In 1991, he appeared a few appearances forWorld Championship Wrestlingin house shows where he fought againstBrad Armstrong.His last match was a victory over Mike Winter.
White ran twice for Canada's House of Commons. In April 2000, White in a St. John's West by-election for theCanadian Extreme Wrestling Party.His motto was "Parliament Needs a Moondog". On July 28, 2004, White ran for theHouse of Commons of Canada,representing theGreen Party of CanadainBonavista—Exploits,but lost toScott Simmsof theLiberal Party of Canada.White received 367 votes to Simms's 15,970.[6]
Illness and death[edit]
He suffered fromBell's palsyin 1999 and had twoheart attacksby then. In 2002, he underwent triple bypass surgery and on December 2, 2004, his taxi crashed, breaking two bones in his neck and pinching a nerve in his spinal cord. He remained hospitalized on life support until his death on August 26, 2005. White was survived by his daughter, Rozlynn White, and grandchildren, Keygan Hewitt, Hudson, Owen, Ethan and Quinton. His biographySailor Whitewas written by Dave Elliott.[4]
Championships and accomplishments[edit]
- Canadian International Heavyweight Championship(1 time)
- Canadian International Tag Team Championship(3 times) – with Serge Dumont (1),Gilles Poisson(1), andRick Valentine(1)
References[edit]
- ^abcdefghijklm"SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Sailor White".Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^abcde"Sailor White's profile".Online World of Wrestling.Retrieved2009-09-05.
- ^abCawthon, Graham (2013).the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 1: WWF 1963-1989.CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.ISBN978-1492825975.
- ^abOliver, Greg."Sailor White dead at 56".SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013.RetrievedOctober 3,2016.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^Cawthon, Graham (16 January 2023)."Yearly Results: 1990".TheHistoryOfWWE.com.
- ^Oliver, Greg."Sailor White to continue in politics".SLAM! wrestling. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012.RetrievedOctober 3,2016.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
External links[edit]
- Redemption of Sailor White
- Gary Will's Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame: Sailor White
- Moondog King's profile atCagematch.net,Internet Wrestling Database
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1949 births
- 2005 deaths
- 20th-century male professional wrestlers
- Canadian male professional wrestlers
- Canadian sportsperson-politicians
- Green Party of Canada candidates in the 2004 Canadian federal election
- Independent candidates in the 2000 Canadian federal election
- Newfoundland and Labrador candidates for Member of Parliament
- Professional wrestlers from Newfoundland and Labrador
- Sportspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010)