Philip Thompson Robley (January 19, 1945 – May 28, 2013) was an American professional wrestler who worked as Col. Buck Robley mainly in the Mid-South/NWA Tri-State during the 1970s and early 1980s. Also worked in St. Louis, Florida, Kansas City and Japan.
| Buck Robley | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Philip Thompson Robley |
| Born | January 19, 1945 Bossier City, Louisiana, United States |
| Died | May 28, 2013 (aged 68)[1] Little Rock, Arkansas, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Buck Robley Colonel Buck Robley Col. Buck Robley Phil Robley Buckley Christopher George Robley III |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 253 lb (115 kg)[2] |
| Debut | 1968 |
| Retired | 1988 |
Professional wrestling career
editRobley made his professional wrestling debut in Florida in 1968. In 1970, he made his debut in Nova Scotia, Canada working for the Eastern Sports Association.
In 1974, made his debut for Leroy McGuirk's NWA Tri-State (which changed its name to Mid-South Wrestling in 1979) where he became a household name in the territory (winning a majority of his tag team titles with Bill Watts).
He won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship in 1978 defeating Doug "Gashouse" Gilbert. He also won the Mid-South Tag Titles with Bill Watts and Junkyard Dog from 1979 to 1980.[3]
Given the nickname "Yellow Belly" because of the cowardly deeds he would do while in the ring. During his time in time in Mid-South, he often wore a yellow shirt which said "Don't Call Me Yellow" which was designed by Jim Ross.[4][5]
From 1981 to 1982, Robley did two tours for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
In 1982, Robley left Mid-South Wrestling.
In 1983, he was the last NWA Southeastern Brass Knuckles Championship to win the tile two times.
He managed Bob Sweetan, Lorenzo Parente and Bobby Hart.[6]
His last matches were in 1988 for Southern Championship Wrestling in Georgia where he was also the booker.
Death
editRobley passed away on May 28, 2013, from congestive heart failure and cancer at 68 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He had been sick for some time.[7]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Central States Wrestling
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling – Continental Wrestling Federation
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Southeastern version) (2 times)
- Eastern Sports Association
- ESA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Eric Pomeroy
- NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling Association
- Mid-South Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bill Watts (1) and Junkyard Dog (1)
- NWA Louisiana Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bill Watts (2)[11]
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (2 times)– with Bill Watts (1) and Bob Slaughter (1)
- Western States Sports
- NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hank James
References
edit- ^ "Buck Robley". Wrestlingdate.
- ^ "Buck Robley". Cagematch.
- ^ "Mid-South Wrestling".
- ^ "Oklafan.com v5 Beta > Bios > Buck Robley". www.oklafan.com. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Central States".
- ^ "Buck Robley | Online World of Wrestling".
- ^ Oliver, Greg (May 28, 2013). "Buck Robley, 'one of wrestling's brightest minds', dies". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015.
- ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Central States Television Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 255–256. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA World Tag Team Title (Central States)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
- ^ "NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) history". Solie.org. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ^ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "United States: Louisiana". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 233. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.