| Billy Red Lyons | |
|---|---|
 Lyons as theAWA British Empire Heavyweight Champion,c. 1969 | |
| Birth name | Willem Snip |
| Born | (1932-05-17)17 May 1932 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 22 June 2009(2009-06-22) (aged 77)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Norma Thomson Snip |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Billy Red Lyons Blue Demon Crusader #1 Willem Snip William Lyons |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Trained by | Jimmy Simms[2] |
| Debut | 1956[citation needed] |
| Retired | 1985[citation needed] |
Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009)[1] was a Canadianprofessional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring nameBilly Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked forpromotions in both Canada and theUnited States, particularly inOntario,California,Minneapolis,Texas,Georgia, and Oklahoma.[3]
Lyons won numerous tag team championships throughout his career, including withDick Beyer, who was his real-life brother-in-law, as well asFritz Von Erich,Bill Watts, andRay Gunkel.[citation needed] He also won singles championships, including theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship.[4] Lyons also wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at various times between 1976 and 1985.
After his retirement from in-ring competition, he would work forMaple Leaf Wrestling inToronto and theWorld Wrestling Federation.[3]
Snip made his debut in 1956, under the name Billy Lyons, but soon became known as Billy Red Lyons, due to the colour of his hair.[4] During the first years of his career, he wrestle against future world champions, includingBuddy Rogers andGene Kiniski.[citation needed]
During his career, he held several tag team championships withDick Beyer, who was his real-lifebrother-in-law, as well asFritz Von Erich,Bill Watts, andRay Gunkel.[citation needed] He won his first championship in February 1958, when he teamed with Ray Gunkel to win theNWA International Tag Team Championship.[4] Three years later, he won theNWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship withIlio DiPaolo, by defeatingStan Kowalski andTiny Mills on January 26, 1961.[4] Lyons and DiPaolo were the last champions, however, as the championships was abandoned and replaced with theToronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship a few months later. Lyons eventually won this championship withWhipper Billy Watson on March 28, 1962, by defeatingChris andJohn Tolos.[4] They lost the championship toBulldog Brower andSweet Daddy Siki five days later on April 2.[5] On March 27, 1965, Lyons teamed with Beyer, who was using the ring name The Destroyer, to win theAWA World Tag Team Championship fromDon Manoukian andRay Stevens.[4] On June 3, 1965, they won theAll Asia Tag Team Championship in theJapan Wrestling Association fromGiant Baba andToyonobori.[6] They lost the championship to Baba and Tonobori just over a month later on July 15, 1965.[6] While wrestling in theAmerican Wrestling Association in the 1960s, Lyons was billed as theAWA British Empire Heavyweight Champion.[4]
In 1967, Lyons won his first singles championship, by defeatingDuke Keomuka by forfeit in the finals of a tournament inSan Antonio, Texas, to win theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on November 8.[4][7] He held the championship for nearly six months, eventually losing it toThe Spoiler #1 on March 29, 1968, inHouston, Texas.[7] During this time, he won theNWA American Tag Team Championship withFritz von Erich on January 30, 1968, inDallas, Texas, by defeatingGary Hart and Spoiler.[4][8]
Lyons won theNWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) withBill Watts in January 1971, by defeatingBuddy Roberts andJerry Brown.[4] They lost the championship toKarl Von Brauner andWaldo Von Erich in March, but Lyons won it back withTom Jones by defeating The Spoilers (The Spoiler #1 andThe Spoiler #2) on May 31.[4] The following year, Lyons again teamed with Jones to win theNWA Mississippi Tag Team Championship in March 1972.[4] Jones later said that Lyons was the "best partner I ever had", and credited Lyons with teaching him the psychology of wrestling.[9] Throughout the late '60s and early '70s, he teamed withRed Bastien as The Flying Redheads, and on July 14, 1974, Lyons and Bastien won theNWA Texas Tag Team Championship by defeatingMike York andFrank Monte.[4][10] They held the championship for three months, but lost it toChris Colt andBobby Duncum on October 6, 1972.[10] Bastien later said that he and Lyons "were perfect for each other" as tag team partners.[9] Fellow professional wrestlerBlackjack Mulligan said that Bastien and Lyons "were the greatest team of all time", and that watching them wrestle was watching "pure tag team wrestling at its basic".[9]
Following this, he returned toToronto to compete forMaple Leaf Wrestling. He began teaming withDewey Robertson in 1974, as the Crusaders, and they won the Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship on three occasions.[5] They defeatedHartford andReginald Love for the championship on June 23, 1974, butdropped it to them on September 8.[5] They defeated them for the championship again on December 29, 1974.[5] He also challengedJack Brisco for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship in a 1974Maple Leaf Gardensmain event.[citation needed] On June 8, 1975, the Crusaders were beaten by the Kelly Twins (Pat andMike) for the championship, but they won it back two months later on August 24.[5] They were the final champions, however, as the championship was retired in September 1977.[5]
Lyons would make appearances in the WWF in (1976) and have fourteen matches in (1978) followed by only one match in (1979). Lyons returned to the WWF in (1982) and wrestled a few matches a year until his final match in Erie, Pennsylvania on June 20, 1985, against Rene Goulet.
After his retirement from active competition in 1985, he settled in Toronto and began working forMaple Leaf Wrestling inToronto as an assistant to promotersFrank andJack Tunney.[citation needed] Shortly after he would become affiliated with theWorld Wrestling Federation when Jack Tunney allied Maple Leaf Wrestling with the American-based wrestling company. Lyons would serve as a WWF television announcer, interviewer and ring announcer. He became famous for hiscatchphrase, "Don't you dare miss it!"[3] Backstage, he remainedJack Tunney's top assistant. Lyons was released in 1995, along with Tunney, due to budget cuts and dissolution of the WWF/Maple Leaf Wrestling association.
Snip was the real-life brother-in-law ofDick Beyer, with whom he won the All Asia Tag Team Championship.[4] He was also a talentedice hockey player, before he became a professional wrestler.[4] Greg Oliver, the producer ofCanadian Online Explorer's wrestling section, described Snip as having a "sly, cheeky sense of humour", and a man that "never took himself too seriously".[1]
He died on June 22, 2009, aged 77, fromcancer, which had spread to hisspine.[11]
