Franklin Townsend (March 20, 1933 – May 15, 1965), was an American professional wrestler and musician.[2][3] He was known as Farmer Boy[4] and was dubbed ‘The Singing Wrestler.'[citation needed]
| Frank Townsend | |
|---|---|
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| Born | March 20, 1933 Camden, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | May 15, 1965 (aged 32) Puget Sound, Washington |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Frank Townsend Farmer Boy Mr. X Killer X[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 252 lb (114 kg) |
| Debut | 1956 |
| Retired | May 1963 |
Professional wrestling career
editTownsend began his wrestling career in 1956 in Ohio.[5]
During his career he worked in Calgary, Minnesota, New York, Toronto, St. Louis, and Vancouver. Most of his career was spent in Toronto working for Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1957 to 1958, and again in 1961. He teamed with Pat O'Connor and Billy Watson. In 1961 he toured England working for Joint Promotions until 1962. That year he returned to North America working in St. Louis, American Wrestling Association and made his debut in Vancouver as Mr. X. In Vancouver he teamed with Gene Kiniski to win the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) defeating Sandor Kovacs and Dan Miller on February 11, 1963. They dropped the belts to Mitsu Arakawa and Kinji Shibuya a month later.[6]
In May 1963, Townsend went to Japan as Killer X for Japan Wrestling Association. After the tour in Japan, Townsend retired from wrestling and continued his music career. [citation needed]
Death
editOn May 15, 1965, Townsend and his yacht crew were preparing to race the yacht, the Dorade, in Puget Sound, Washington. During the race, Townsend fell overboard and is believed to have drowned.[7] His body was never found. He was 32 years old at the time of his disappearance.
Championships and accomplishments
edit- All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) - with Gene Kiniski
- Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (2 times) - with Butch Levy
Discography
editSingles and EPs
edit- 1957: If You Believe / Baby, I've Got A Crush On You
- 1957: If You Fall For Me / Find A Love For Me with the Denny Vaughan Orchestra
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Frank Townsend « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ "New Oldies – If You Fall For Me by Frank (Farmer Boy) Townsend | MusicMaster Oldies". Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ "Frank Townsend". Discogs. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com (in German). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Frank Townsend « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Frank Townsend « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ Douglas D. Adkins (2012). Dorade: The History of an Ocean Racing Yacht. Black Sparrow Books. pp. 155–. ISBN 978-1-56792-447-3. OCLC 1013470531.
External links
edit- Frank Townsend's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com