Mildred Burke Mildred Bliss ( August 5 , 1915 – February 14 , 1989 ) was an American professional wrestler , who wrestled under the name Mildred Burke . She is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame as well as the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame . Her heyday lasted from the mid - 1930s to the mid - 1950s , when she held the 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 . Early life . Mildred Burke , aged 15 , 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 wrestling event , which sparked her interest in the sport . Burke , who was pregnant at the time , later persevered . Professional wrestling career . Prior to wrestling , she was an office stenographer by day , had outstanding muscle development , and was hoping to become a wrestler . Locally , Billy Wolfe was training aspiring women 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 , body slammed 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 Mortenson for the Women ’ s championship in January 1937 . 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 stood as a father figure to the women he trained and managed , but he also earned reputation as a womanizer . Their marriage was not monogamous , as Wolfe enjoyed the companionship of women with whom he traveled . Divorce from Billy Wolfe . Tensions emanated from the extramarital activity and in 1952 , Wolfe and Burke went their own ways . Burke found herself frozen out of wrestling among all National Wrestling Alliance channels . Desperate , Burke decided to consult Jack Pfefer for help . The Alliance 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 $ 50 , 000 but was rebuffed . On January 26 , 1953 , Wolfe sold to Burke , and the firm Attractions , Inc . was born . Burke and her financial backers consummated the deal for $ 30 , 000 . As a result of the transaction , all alimony was waived and Wolfe was to be barred from participating for five years . Unfortunately for Burke , the pledge lasted only a few months . Wolfe violated the contract as he started promoting wrestling in Columbus , Ohio . Wolfe and Burke began to compete for women grapplers as he tempted many grapplers by offering 50 percent of the proceeds . Burke had to improve the offer by offering 60 percent of the proceeds from her promotion . Wolfe eventually won as he settled on the figure of 75 percent . She had two children , Violet and Joseph Wolfe . Violet died due to injuries suffered in a wrestling match . Burke ’ s Attractions , Inc . 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 , by 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 Alliance at their September 1953 meeting in Chicago . The Old Boys Network . Burke faced many obstacles , as women were banned from yearly NWA conferences , and this diminished the importance of women in 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 Alliance 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 . Genuine animosity . In a letter to NWA members on November 4 , 1953 , Burke refuted Wolfe ’ s claim that she would wrestle only one woman grappler . She claimed that there were 12 grapplers with whom she would work . Wolfe , however , used his influence to get her frozen from NWA members and her promising run in the Southeast with Cowboy Luttrall and Paul Jones in 1954 fizzled . Emotionally exhausted , Burke wrestled Wolfe ’ s daughter - in - law June Byers and there was genuine heat between the two . The match took place on August 20 , 1954 in Atlanta . It was a grudge match that quickly became a shoot fight , due to genuine enmity between the two women . Wolfe had the local commission in his corner and slid a friendly referee into the match . Burke later admitted that she had given up the legitimate first fall with the intention of competing stronger in the second . The second fall never had a finish . Officials called the match , and Burke left the ring believing that her title was safe because she had not lost two falls . The result was that many in the press stated that Byers had defeated her and the importance of Burke ’ s championship began to diminish . Legacy . In the early 1950s , Burke started the World Women ' s Wrestling Association in Los Angeles , California . She returned to her promotion after her match with Byers , still recognizing herself as the World Women ' s Champion even after the NWA had recognized rival June Byers as champion since then , and continued to defend it . She vacated the belt in 1956 , when she retired from professional wrestling . In 1970 the belt was revived by All Japan Women ' s Pro - Wrestling ( AJW ) as their top prize . After the tensions with Wolfe and the NWA , Burke traveled with an escort for the rest of her career as a protective measure . She started International Women ’ s Wrestlers Inc . with Bill Newman and the promotion had offices in New York City , San Francisco and Sydney , Australia . These offices served in the dual capacity of booking offices and training centers . Her efforts to spread women ’ s wrestling internationally reached Japan and brought about the World Wide Women ’ s Wrestling Association ( WWWA ) . In her later years , Burke ran a women ' s wrestling school in Encino , California . Among her students was Canadian Rhonda Sing , who went on to fame as WWWA Champion , Monster Ripper , and WWF Women ' s Champion , Bertha Faye . Burke died from a stroke on February 18 , 1989 in Northridge , California . In 2002 , she was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame .