Mildred Burke

Mildred Burke (August 5, 1915 – February 18, 1989) was an American professional wrestler. She is overall a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions.

Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, when she held the NWA World Women's Championship for almost twenty years. Burke started out in 1935, wrestling men at carnivals. She was managed by her second husband, promoter Billy Wolfe. She is a charter member of WWE Hall of Fame's Legacy Wing, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Born Mildred Bliss on August 5, 1915, in Coffeyville, Kansas, at age 15 she dropped out of school and began to work as a waitress on the Zuni Indian Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. She lived there for three years, before leaving for Kansas City after agreeing to marry her boyfriend. He took her to a professional wrestling event, which sparked her interest in the sport. Burke was pregnant at the time. She worked as a stenographer prior to her wrestling career.

Prior to wrestling, she was an office stenographer by day, had outstanding muscle development, and was hoping to become a professional wrestler. Locally, Billy Wolfe was training aspiring women professional wrestlers. At first, Wolfe did not want to train Burke and instructed a male wrestler to body slam her, so she would stop asking Wolfe to train her. Burke, however, performed a body slam on the man instead, which resulted in Wolfe agreeing to train her. Wolfe tutored her and realized that she was the prospect for which he was waiting. The close proximity of their training resulted in a relationship and ultimately marriage. Changing her name to Mildred Burke, she defeated Clara Mortensen for the Women's World Championship in January 1937. During this time, Burke was mentored by Cora Livingston.

In the 1930s, Burke wrestled over 200 men, but only lost to one of them.

Despite the riches that her husband earned as a promoter of women grapplers, there was a dark side to their marriage. On the road, Wolfe acted as a father figure to the women he trained and managed, but he also earned a reputation as a womanizer because he repeatedly cheated on Burke.

The problems caused by Wolfe's infidelity came to a head in 1952 when Wolfe and Burke separated. Burke found herself frozen out of professional wrestling among all National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) channels. Desperate, Burke decided to consult Jack Pfefer for help. The NWA attempted to reconcile the couple, but the only agreed upon solution was that one would sell out to the other. Burke volunteered to sell to Wolfe for Burke's Attractions, Inc., which went into bankruptcy and into the hands of receiver James Hoff of Columbus. Eight months later, Hoff named Wolfe as administrator and was approved by Franklin County Judge William Bryant. A memorandum dated August 20, 1953, was circulated by Wolfe, in which he boldly announced that he was the booker for Burke and her stable of 27 wrestlers. The claim was disputed by Burke on August 26, 1953, stating that the issue would be settled in the courts. It was emphasized that her contract prohibited Wolfe from competing in wrestling and was in breach of the binding agreement. She consulted with Leroy McGuirk and hoped that she would be vindicated by the NWA at their September 1953 meeting in Chicago.

Burke faced many obstacles, as women were banned from yearly NWA conferences, and this diminished the importance of women in professional wrestling. An example of the discrimination was evident during the dispute with Wolfe. Burke sat in the lobby of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago as male dignitaries argued behind closed doors about her future. Wolfe's voice was the only one heard by the membership. In the end, the NWA declined to recognize women's wrestling after the meeting, Wolfe regained his stake, but many women were loyal to Burke and refused to wrestle for Wolfe.