Jim White was an American professional wrestler who worked throughout the southern United States from 1959 to 1985. Known by several ring names, including The Medic, Woodrow Bass, and The Green Shadow, he won multiple regional tag-team championships with Jerry Lawler and Steve Lawler before later managing wrestlers in Kentucky.
Background
James White was born on July 11, 1942, in Rogersville, Tennessee. He entered professional wrestling as a teenager after meeting and training with Johnny Thunder. Because White was seventeen when he wrestled his first match, his father signed the parental consent required for him to compete.
White's early career developed within the regional wrestling territories of the American South, where performers commonly worked for several promotions and used different ring identities. His documented ring names included Jim White, Tony York, Tiny York, The Medic, Woodrow, Woodrow Bass, Red Shadow, The Scorpion, and The Green Shadow.
Education
White attended high school in Tennessee and played American football there. He continued attending school while wrestling on weekends for Nick Gulas, then entered wrestling full time after graduation. His education preceded a professional career shaped by the territory system that connected promotions across Tennessee, Alabama, the Gulf Coast, and neighboring southern states.
Career
White began wrestling professionally in 1959 after training with Johnny Thunder. Thunder introduced him to the booker associated with Chicago promoter Fred Kohler, and White's first recorded match was against Johnny Kace. He also worked for Nick Gulas in Nashville while completing high school. Gulas Wrestling Enterprises operated within the regional territory system through which southern promoters developed local wrestling cards and recurring championship programs.
After becoming a full-time wrestler, White worked in tag teams and under masks, including The Medic and The Green Shadows. He teamed with Ron Wright under manager Ron Bass and later worked with Roy Klein as one of The Green Shadows. After the team lost its masks, White performed as Woodrow Bass with Roy Bass under manager Sam Bass. In 1972 he also wrestled as The Green Shadow with Doctor Ken Ramey as his manager.
White frequently teamed with Jerry Lawler in the Memphis-area wrestling circuit. The partnership produced seven NWA Southern Tag Team Championship reigns in 1973 and a Tennessee Tag Team Championship victory. After the team separated by 1974, White moved to the Gulf Coast and teamed with Steve Lawler, winning the NWA United States Tag Team Championship, Tri-State version, in September 1974. He continued to wrestle intermittently during the 1980s and ended his active wrestling career in 1985 because of hip pain.
White later returned to wrestling-related work as a manager and promoter-side official. From 1999 to 2004 he worked with Diehard Championship Wrestling, managing wrestlers including the Mongolian Stomper, Billy Joe Travis, Jamie "Too Cool" Stone, the Hansen Brothers, and the Tennessee Connection. At age sixty-five he defeated The Matador by fireball for the DCW Heavyweight Championship. In the final years of his life he also served as commissioner of Southern Championship Wrestling, a southeastern Kentucky promotion.
Achievements
White and Jerry Lawler held the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship, Mid-America version, seven times in 1973.
White and Jerry Lawler won the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship in the Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling promotion in 1972.
White and Steve Lawler won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship, Tri-State version, in September 1974.
At age sixty-five, White defeated The Matador by fireball to win the Diehard Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Championship.
Interests
Camping and fishing after retiring from regular wrestling
Sport & Clubs
American football during high school
Connections
White's most prominent professional partnership was with Jerry Lawler, with whom he held regional tag-team championships seven times in 1973. He also formed a championship team with Steve Lawler on the Gulf Coast circuit. Later in his career, he managed a number of wrestlers in Diehard Championship Wrestling.
Partner:
Jerry Lawler
White and Lawler formed a successful tag team in the Memphis-area circuit and held the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship seven times in 1973.
Partner:
Melvin Nelson
Nelson was involved in tag-team matches against White and Jerry Lawler in the southern wrestling circuit.
References
Jim White - Slam Wrestling
A biographical account of White's southern wrestling career, championship partnership with Jerry Lawler, 1997 Cauliflower Alley Club honor, and membership in the East Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame.
2010
Jim White passes away
A report on White's death on January 7, 2010, and the tributes from Southern Championship Wrestling.
White was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1997. The club is a professional wrestling and boxing organization established to preserve the history and fellowship of participants in the ring sports.
White was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 1997. The club is a professional wrestling and boxing organization established to preserve the history and fellowship of participants in the ring sports.
East Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame,
United States
White was inducted into the East Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame in the class of 1999. The hall of fame is maintained by Southern States Wrestling in recognition of contributors to professional wrestling in eastern Tennessee.
White was inducted into the East Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame in the class of 1999. The hall of fame is maintained by Southern States Wrestling in recognition of contributors to professional wrestling in eastern Tennessee.
