The bizarre and wonderful world of professional wrestling has always had a colorful cast of characters. They have come from many diverse backgrounds and followed many different paths after they left the mat wars. Ann Casey is no exception. In fact she has probably led one of the most interesting and varied lives of any of the ladies to grace the squared circle in the past fifty years.

Ann Casey was born Lucille Casey on September 29, 1938 in Saraland Alabama. She was born at home and delivered by a midwife, one of nine children of John B. Casey and Viola Lillian Smith (Casey). Her father was Irish and her mother full-blooded Creek Indian, a combination has given her quite a temper by her own admission. The family moved to southern Mississippi when John purchased a cotton farm and that is where she grew up, working alongside her brothers and sisters picking cotton and attending the Agricola Indian school. She was the typical "tomboy," riding horses working the farm and playing basketball in high school. After she graduated she was briefly married and had a son.

She went from odd job to odd job until 1960 when she began working in the office of the Mobile wrestling office. She worked for the Fields family, doing secretarial work during the day and sold tickets at the shows at night. It was there that she met the women who would change her life.

One night in 1962, Ann went into the dressing room to pay the lady wrestlers who had appeared on that night’s show and came face-to-face with The Fabulous Moolah. Ann recalls, "She looked me up and down and asked to see my legs. I told her, "I am not in the habit of pulling my dress up to show strange women my legs!" Moolah laughed and asked if I knew who she was. I knew her name but had no idea who she was, to be honest. Moolah told me she trained lady wrestlers and started telling me how much money a tall pretty girl like me could make. It sounded good but I told her I would think about it. And think about it she did!

After seeking advice from friends Ann Laverne and Poncho Villa (who she became close to while working in the office) she went to Moolah's training camp in South Carolina. Being a strong natural athlete, Ann adapted to the ring and Moolah's training in no time. Her first professional bout was a tag team match with Judy Grable as her partner against Rita Cortez and Brenda Scott in Spartanburg, SC during the fall of 1962. It was the beginning of a nearly 30 year love affair between Ann Casey and the fans.

Ann said, "I remember being in the dressing room with the other girls. It was Brenda's first night as well. Judy and Rita had a little experience. Brenda was sweating -- almost shaking she was so nervous. I told her we should just go out there and have fun. When it was time I just ran out in my leopard swimsuit and heard the fans cheering and clapping and I knew this was what I wanted to do."

"I traveled all over the country with Moolah and went as far as Hawaii,” said Ann. “I have a letter from a fan who told me I made history. I was the first women wrestler to ever step into a ring in a ladies tag match on the big island.”

“While in Hawaii I met a boy and fell in love. When it was time to leave, I told Moolah that I was not going with her and she was pretty upset with me. I had had enough of her controlling what I did and taking such a big percentage of

my earnings. I was in love so it was time for us to part ways. The boy I met was a champion surfer and we had a wonderful time together. I sold silver jewelry to the tourists and played on the beach with him. People used to get such a thrill watching us, me standing on his shoulders while he surfed. That lasted almost two years."

After her relationship ended, Ann returned to the mainland and the wrestling business, this time on her own. "I had gotten to know the promoters while traveling with Moolah so I just started contacting them and getting my own bookings." Ann traveled the length and breath of the United States working for every promoter from Vince McMahon (Jr. and Sr.) to Leroy McGuirk to the LeBell brothers, appearing everywhere from Madison Square Garden down to spot shows in small towns in the south. Things were not always easy. Ann recalled, "One night I was to work on an Indian reservation in Window Rock, Arizona. The ring never showed up and we just wrestled on the ground. I made ten dollars that night." On the other side of the coin, Ann's biggest payday was three thousand dollars for a match against Donna Christenello at Madison Square Garden.

There were lots of fun, unexpected moments, too. "I think we were at the Coliseum in Indianapolis in the late 1960s. There were three events going on at the same time: ice Skating, wrestling and an Elvis Presley concert. Well I was sitting in my dressing room and in walks Elvis with a brown paper sack. He smiled at me and said, "Hi Mississippi girl." And we just sat there eating pig’s feet."

Just when Ann seemed to have the world by its tail tragedy struck. "My boy was in his early teens – 13 or 14 – when I found a bunch of drugs in his room. He told me that this truck driver was using him to sell drugs to the other kids. I contacted the police and got the man arrested. This was in 1972. Not long after this I was sitting at a traffic light one day and someone opened my car door. I turned to see the truck driver standing there with a gun pointed to my head. I hit the gas pedal and he shot me. The bullet lodged in my left leg. He continued to shoot as I drove away, shooting out the back window of my car. All five of the bullets hit me. A couple grazed the side of my head and one went right through my chest, just missing my heart. Another lodged in my liver. I was able to pull into a gas station and when the attendant came out (this is way before self service) he saw me he called an ambulance. I died twice and was revived that day. The doctors told me I would never wrestle again. Of course, I was back in the ring several months later.”

“Around this time Moolah contacted me and wanted me to work with her again. She offered to put the USA Women’s title on me if I came back." Ann agreed. She won the USA Women’s Wrestling Championship from The fabulous Moolah at a small show in South Carolina in 1974 and still is undefeated for the belt.

Ann remarried in the late 1970s and gave birth to her daughter, Lucy Casey. She cut back her wrestling so she wouldn't have to travel as much and took a job as a dispatcher for the Mississippi Forestry Commission. Ann worked there from 1980 to 1985, still wrestling locally in Mississippi and Alabama. In 1985 Ann decided to go back to school where she first became a licensed paralegal, then earned her bachelors degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology from the University of Southern Alabama. She divorced her husband but continued with her education and aspirations. Without the means to go on to law school, plus facing all the responsibilities of a single parent, she decided to open a bail bonds business.

After a few years Ann and her now-teenage daughter relocated to southern Mississippi where she opened a barbecue restaurant. In 1998 Ann started driving eighteen wheelers cross-country. She gave that up this occupation this past July because it was taking too much of a toll on her health.

So what is Ann Casey doing now? "Right now I am going to the gym and Trying to lose the weight I gained from all that bad truck stop food. I am very honored that the Cauliflower Alley Club wants to present me with an award and want to be at my best when I accept it. After that I would like to climb back into the ring again. I want one more shot at Moolah."

Q. who were your favorite girls to work against?
A. I loved to work against Natasha the Hatchet Lady. We always had Great matches. I also had great matches with Sweet Georgia Brown, Donna Christenello, Toni Rose and Annie Laverne. I learned so much from Annie. She was a wonderful lady.

Q. Who did you hate to work with?
A. Cora Combs and Moolah.

Q. Favorite Promoter to work for?
A. Leroy McGuirk. I loved him so much. He was very good to me.

Q. When was your last match?
A. Last match was against Judy Grable in 1990 for my USA title.

Q. What other titles have you held?
A. I retired as the USA Women’s champ and still have the belt. I also was the Southern States Ladies champ and the Mississippi State Ladies champ.

Q. What were your favorite moves in the ring?
A. I threw a great dropkick and used the airplane spin as my finisher most of the time.

Q. What was the best rib ever played on you?
A. I was wrestling in El Paso, Texas and we had a big Mexican crowd so I asked one of the Latino boys to teach me something to say to the fans in Spanish. He instructed me as to what I should say and I practiced this phrase over and over until I went out for my match. I stood on top of each turnbuckle and waved to the crowd and said my phrase. I had no idea what I was saying but they sure got mad. They were throwing cups of beer and ice and all kinds of stuff at me. Some of the women were even trying to get in the ring to get to me. The police had to escort me out of the ring. I went in the back and found that guy and asked what he made me say to get the fans so riled up. He laughed and told me it was something like, "Hello you bunch of cows. Man, you ladies sure are fat!"

Q. Best rib you ever played?
A. It was in Jackson, Mississippi. On my way to the show I saw this dead rattlesnake in the road. I grabbed it and threw it in my trunk. When I got there I walked to the dressing room and tossed the snake in. It landed on the table and slid right across and landed in the girls laps. Man you should have heard all that screaming. A police officer there actually shot the dead snake.

Q. What do you do to relax?
A. I love the outdoors. I ride horses and love to canoe. I also really like to paint.

Q. If you could put it all together in one phrase, what is your personal philosophy on life?
A. I believe that women have the God-given right to lie about their age, their weight and the color of their hair and how many times they have been married.

Q. Give me one last story to wrap this up, Ann.
A. I was wrestling Judy Grable and she had me on the mat on my tummy in a leg lock. The ref got too close and I grabbed his pant leg accidentally as I tried to escape the hold. His pants must have been pretty old cause as soon as I grabbed him the seam started splitting. As soon as I saw that I pulled him down and really ripped his pants off I undid his belt and tore his pants completely off. I jumped up and threw them to the women in the crowd.

ASSORTED MATCHES AND RESULTS:

Chattanooga, Tennessee - 2/3/1962 - Judy Grable beat Ann Casey

Jacksonville, Florida - 12/6/1962 - Ann Casey beat Vicki Adams

Vancouver, British Columbia - 3/25/1963 - Brenda Scott and Judy Grable beat Olga Martinez and Ann Casey

Vancouver, British Columbia - 4/1/1963 - Ann Casey beat Brenda Scott

Atlanta, Georgia - 6/5/1964 - Ann Casey beat Cora Combs

Greensboro, North Carolina - 7/4/1964 - Penny Banner and Ann Casey beat Cora Combs and Kathy O'Brien

Tulsa, Oklahoma - 8/9/1965 - Ann Casey beat Kay Noble

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - 8/27/1965 - Ann Casey beat Linda Carroll

Pensacola, Florida - 10/12/1965 - Bette Boucher beat Ann Casey

Mobile, Alabama - 7/3/1968 - (U.S. Ladies Title Match) Johnny Mae Young w/ valet Cheri beat Ann Casey

Nashville, Tennessee - 9/2/1970 - Ann Casey beat Sarah Lee (9:00)

Nashville, Tennessee - 9/23/1970 - Donna Christantello and Cora Combs beat Ann Casey and Vivian Vachon

Chattanooga, Tennessee - 6/5/1971 - Vicki Williams and Darlin' Dagmar beat Ann Casey and Diamond Lil

Mobile, Alabama - 7/10/1973 - Don Bass, Ron Bass and Maw Bass (Mae Young) beat Ken Lucas, Ricki Starr and Ann Casey