Wahoo McDaniel

Early life McDaniel was born in the small town of Bernice, Louisiana, in 1938. His family was Choctaw-Chickasaw, and he was a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. His father Hugh, worked in the oil industry and moved to several towns before settling down in Midland, Texas. One of his baseball coaches, particularly for his Pony League team, was George H. W. Bush. The name "Wahoo" actually came from his father, who was known as "Big Wahoo". He then played for the Denver Broncos between 1961 and 1963. After two seasons with the Jets, McDaniel went to the Miami Dolphins in 1966,

Professional wrestling career While with the Houston Oilers, McDaniel also trained with NWA Amarillo wrestling promoter Dory Funk Sr. and became a professional wrestler as a way to supplement his income McDaniel began wrestling for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The promoter wanted him to play off his Native American heritage, thus he was given the moniker "Chief" Wahoo McDaniel.

While wrestling in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), McDaniel engaged in a feud with Superstar Billy Graham. Along with Johnny Valentine, Superstar Billy Graham was regarded as one of McDaniel's earliest and bitter rivals. Between 1973 and 1974, McDaniel and Superstar would engage in numerous wrestling bouts in what was considered one of the AWA's top-drawing feuds of the 1970s. Some of these bouts included Indian Strap Matches and also tag team matches which pitted McDaniel and The Crusher against Superstar and Ivan Koloff. On June 29, 1975, McDaniel won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship by defeating Valentine. At Slamboree on May 23, 1995, he defeated Murdoch. He also worked in independent shows until retiring in 1996.

Personal life McDaniel was married three times. American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Crusher Lisowski (1 time) Cauliflower Alley Club Other honoree (1996) Championship Wrestling from Florida NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time) NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (2 times) NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Billy Jack Haynes NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (2 times) – with Jose Lothario Georgia Championship Wrestling NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (2 times) NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Rich NWA Macon Heavyweight Championship (1 time) International Pro Wrestling IWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (7 times) NWA National Heavyweight Championship (1 time) NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (4 times) – with Mark Youngblood (2), Rufus R. Jones (1), and Paul Jones (1) WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) Cadillac Cup (1976) NWA United States Championship Tournament (1984) National Wrestling Alliance NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2011) NWA Big Time Wrestling NWA American Heavyweight Championship (2 times) NWA American Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Johnny Valentine (2), and Thunderbolt Paterson(1) NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times) NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tony Parisi North American Wrestling Alliance NAWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times) PWI ranked him # 97 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 Southern Championship Wrestling SCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1998) Southern States Wrestling Kingsport Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2000) Southwest Championship Wrestling SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (2 times) SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Terry Funk SCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ivan Putski Ultimate Championship Wrestling UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2002)