DeAlva Eyvonnie Sibley (May 25, 1922 - July 20, 1998), better known by her ring name June Byers, was an American women's professional wrestler famous in the 1950s and early 1960s.
A biography on the late June Byers is set to release later this month. The Great and Inimitable June Byers chronicles the life story of the woman who defeated Mildred Burke in controversial fashion for the Women’s Championship and retired unbeaten and unconquered.
Long overlooked by many, June Byers blazed a trail for women inside the ring and out, forging a legacy that no one can ever take from her.
Born in Houston, Texas, the tomboyish Sibley grew up around wrestling. 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.
Here's a quick look at some of June Byers' key achievements and attributes:
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- Two-time Women’s Tag Team Champion with Millie Stafford and Mary Jane Mull.
- Won a tournament in 1953 for the Women’s World Championship.
- Known as "The Texas Tornado."
The original Texas Tornado, creator of the Byers Bridge, the great and imitable June Byers began her journey to stardom in a Houston wrestling ring and never looked back. She was born and raised in Texas and earned the nickname The Texas Tornado, decades before Kerry Von Erich’s run in WWF. A remarkable athlete, June worked out relentlessly. It was said she drank so much orange juice, she smelled like orange blossoms.
June Byers vs. Penny Banner (26 Aug 1955)
Early Career and Rise to Prominence
June Byers came into female wrestling in the late 1940s and ended her career in the early 1960s. An aggressive wrestler with a fine build for her sport, she was an all-around athlete originally from Houston, Texas.
Her uncle trained her to wrestle and she soon made the necessary contacts to enter the pro ranks. At this time there were not high numbers of women involved in this violent and stigmatized sport. June wrestled regularly and began to accumulate tag team titles and awards that she won in various regions of the United States.
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.
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Always in her sights was the women's world title that was held by Mildred Burke, whose husband Billy Wolfe, was a famous promoter with the National Wrestling Alliance.
Championship Victory and Controversial Reign
That same year Mildred Burke had a bitter falling-out with husband Wolfe and departed the promotion, leaving the world title vacant. On June 14, 1953, a still relatively unknown Byers won a 13-woman tournament in Baltimore to claim the belt. June Byers won the title of Women’s World Champion after winning a tournament in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1953.
She quickly became a popular fan favorite champion, even appearing as a contestant on the popular game shows What's My Line?
A year later, Byers and Burke faced off in what’s been called the last real shoot wrestling match in history, a match that ended with Byers staking her claim to the crown.
After a year of tense negotiation, Wolfe finally coaxed Burke into meeting Byers in a definitive two out of three falls match on August 20, 1954, in Atlanta, Georgia. Byers won the first fall, and then the match was called after an hour during the second fall.
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Despite the inconclusive finish, the Atlanta Athletic Commission eventually awarded the match to Byers. Whatever the truth, the match outcome was satisfactory enough for the media to discredit Burke and acknowledge Byers as the legitimate world champion.
Byers has often been portrayed as a real life villain, especially within the story of Mildred Burke, but The Great and Inimitable June Byers proves there are always two sides to every story. To some June Byers was a villain. She took the wrong side in a dispute about the women’s wrestling business and snatched the mantle from World Champion Mildred Burke through nefarious means.
June was a true Southern lady who abhorred swearing. She loved cooking, horseback riding, making music, and raising her pups.
Make no mistake: June Byers never lost her title to anyone. She defended her title against all comers. She retired as champion.
She held the Women's World Championship for ten years and is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The story of June Byers follows much the same path as other women of the golden age: single mother seeks better for herself and her children.
She sought the same glitz, glamour, and diamonds that adorned Mildred Burke. The long-reigning champion fought her way to the top and went out on top.
At her height, she was a household name. She was a heel in the ring and hated across the country.
Relationships and Controversies
Cosper humanizes the people he writes about, bringing forth the good, the bad and the ugly. He writes without frill, delivering facts that are void of judgement.
To many of her contemporaries, she was feared. When June hit you, she left a mark. She counted a few women as friends, and played there role of mentor for any including one who would marry her third ex-husband. But just as many would rather not set foot in the ring with her.
To one woman, June Byers was an obstacle. A campaign of misinformation led many to believe June lost her title after only two years.
Upon Wolfe's death, Byers moved to St. Louis to work for wrestling promoter, and later TV ring announcer, Sam Menacker, who became her third husband.
Six knew her as Wife. Two knew her as Mother. Many more remember her fondly as Grandmother, Great-grandmother, or simply June Bug.
After becoming one of the most hated and feared heels in the ring, she became a two-time Women’s Tag Team Champion with Millie Stafford and Mary Jane Mull.
Less than a year after that victory, June’s “successor” began spreading stories she had defeated the new champ. Despite numerous claims to the contrary, Moolah never faced June for the title, and no one ever dethroned June Byers.
Many fans and historians view June as a villain in real life as well as the ring. Her role in the Mildred Burke story, along with rumors of her relationship with Billy Wolfe, cast a dark shadow over her life and career. But there’s so much more to the story than being in the right place at the right time to succeed Mildred Burke.
Legacy
Byers returned to Texas after retirement from the ring, becoming a real estate agent. She had two children, Billy and Jewel.
June Byers was indeed great - and inimitable. If you already know of her, you’ll find this book, The Great and Inimitable June Byers, to be a robust history of her life and career.
We shouldn’t be able to talk about women’s wrestling without mentioning June Byers in the same breath. Her impact on the sport is undeniable; she is one of the powerhouse wrestlers who left a clear path for women to join the ring.
Why is her name not immortalized in the mainstream? Cosper’s book makes sure that Byers history isn’t forgotten and that a whole history of women’s wrestling is brought to the forefront. (She was just announced as a part of the Class of 2024 for the Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame.)
In 1996, the Dean of wrestling journalists Dave Meltzer announced the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Chosen on a long plane ride to Tokyo with former Pro Wrestling Torch columnist John D. Williams, the initial class included most of the giants of wrestling history, a litany of names you can recite off the top of your head-Hogan, Thesz, Londos, Rikidozan.
Only five women were part of that inaugural list of greats. Just one of them, Mildred Burke, was an American. It’s a blindspot the Hall has never quite rectified. To date only 12 of the more than 250 acts granted this ultimate virtual honor are women.
Although you can make a strong case for many pioneers of the “gentler sex”, most conspicuous by her absence was June Byers, Burke’s successor and the connective tissue between the era dominated by Burke and her husband Billy Wolfe and the decades controlled by Lillian Ellison, better known as the “Fabulous Moolah” who succeeded them.
As the years go by and the number of people who knew Byers or even saw her wrestle dwindle to a null set, it seems less and less likely this mistake will ever be corrected.
Pro wrestling doesn’t have a history. It has a lore, a collection of tales we tell each other to understand a business that often defies belief. Where does the truth end and the fantastical story begin? It’s often hard to say. In wrestling, just like the old west, when the legend becomes fact, well, you print the legend.
I’m grateful not only to the many pro wrestling historians who aided with this project (including Chris Bergstrom, Tamaya Greenlee, Jeff Lean, Greg Oliver, Jason Presley, Pat LaPrade Tom Burke, and Vance Nevada), but the family members who generously shared their time, stories, and photos.
I speak not only of June’s granddaughters Kay Parker and Debra Nowaski but Billy Wolfe’s granddaughters Betsy Wolfe and Mickie-Mae Johnson, daughters of June’s ex-husband G.
True, Byers was ambitious, and she could be extremely stiff in the ring.
A tip of the hat to Mars Bennett’s niece Marcella Robinette.
