The Blond Bombers is a name used by several

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

s in

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

. The first team to use the name was the combination of

Rip Hawk Harvey Maurice Evers (June 6, 1930 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Rip Hawk. He began his wrestling career in the Mid-Western United States before joining Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in ...

and Swede Hanson. It was later used by Pat Patterson and

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

, who began teaming in 1965. Larry Latham and

Wayne Farris Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 1986 to 1991, where he performed under the ring name The Honky Tonk Ma ...

used the name in the late 1970s in the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...

and, from 1979 to 1980, Stanley Lane and Bryan St. John competed as the Blonde Bombers while wrestling in

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

. In the early 2000s, the team of

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

and

Chad Toland Charles Wicks (born March 6, 1978) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he wrestled as Chad Toland in its Ohio Valley Wrestling affiliate and later as Chad Dick ...

appeared as the Blond Bombers in

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

before changing their team name upon entering

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. Each incarnation held title belts together at least once. Patterson and Stevens were inducted as a team into the

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

in 2006.

History

Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson

After joining

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

in the early 1960s, Rip Hawk met Swede Hanson, who was competing as a singles wrestler. Hawk approached Jim Crockett, Sr. about forming a tag team with Hanson, and Crockett agreed. Both had blond hair and were powerful wrestlers, so they called themselves the Blond Bombers. They were managed by

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic presidential nominations, until in 1988, he dropped out amid revelations of ex ...

and later by Homer O'Dell. Hawk spoke for the team during interviews while Hanson stood silently beside him. After teaming for several years, Hawk and Hanson won the Florida version of the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

by defeating

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999), best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer. Professional wrestling career Kojima played an active role as an ace pitcher at baseball in Nittai Ebara High School Baseball ...

and

Duke Keomuka Martin Hisao Tanaka (April 22, 1921 – June 30, 1991) was an American professional wrestler better known as Duke Keomuka. He is the father of wrestler Pat Tanaka and referee Jimmy Tanaka. Biography Because he was a Japanese American in Califor ...

on August 3, 1965. They also competed in Australia's

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

, where they won the

IWA World Tag Team Championship The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearan ...

in 1970. Much of their success, however, came in Jim Crockett Promotions, where they were hated

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

(villain) wrestlers. They won the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship four times between 1968 and 1971. They feuded with several teams, including Johnny Weaver and George Becker as well as the pairing of Paul Jones and Nelson Royal. Jim Crockett Promotions also held matches in which heel teams faced other heel teams. The Blond Bombers faced such teams as the Anderson Brothers (

Gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

and

Ole OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

) or

Brute Bernard James Prudhomme (June 6, 1921 – July 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Brute Bernard or Jim 'Brute' Bernhard. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Skull Murphy. He compe ...

and

Skull Murphy John Joseph Murphy (December 7, 1930 – March 23, 1970) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Skull Murphy. He began his career wrestling in Canada and later worked at Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship ...

These matches, known as "Battles of the Bullies", were unusual because heels almost always compete against

faces The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

(fan favorites). Hanson had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1971, and Hawk was teamed with rookie wrestler

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

. Hanson became a face upon his return to the ring, and he feuded with Hawk and faced him in a series of matches. They began wrestling in Texas, where they won the

NWA Western States Tag Team Championship The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title w ...

three times from 1976 to 1977. Hanson left the territory after their final reign, which ended the tag team combination. They were inducted as a team into the NWA Legends Hall of Heroes in 2007 by former manager Gary Hart. Hanson died of sepsis on February 19, 2002. Hawk died on December 22, 2012. Gary Hart died following a heart attack on March 16, 2008.

Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens

While wrestling in Oregon, Pat Patterson heard many wrestlers tell him that he would be a natural fit as a tag team partner of Ray Stevens, who competed in San Francisco. Patterson moved to San Francisco and dyed his hair blond to match Stevens, who had used the nickname "The Blond Bomber" as a singles wrestler. They defeated the team of The Destroyer and

Billy Red Lyons Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked fo ...

to win the San Francisco version of the AWA World Tag Team Championship on April 17, 1965. They held the belts for over a year and a half before dropping them to the

Mongolian Stomper Archibald Edward Gouldie (November 22, 1936 – January 23, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation ...

and

Ciclon Negro Bacardi Limited ( , , ) is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardí brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 by Facund ...

in December 1966. They won the title back in a rematch the following month and held it for another three months. On April 8, 1967, they lost the belts to longtime rival Pepper Gomez and future World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federati ...

. They continued to team together, however, until the end of the year, when Patterson left the area to compete in Japan. When Patterson returned to the San Francisco area, he feuded with Stevens, who had become a face. This feud included Stevens and

Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982), better known as Peter Maivia, was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, actor and stunt coordinator. Maivia was the grandfather of Dwayne Johnson, Dwayne ...

defeating Patterson and

Superstar Billy Graham A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

to win the San Francisco version of the

on January 23, 1971, and Patterson and Graham regaining the belts in a rematch the following month. Patterson and Stevens also competed in singles matches; Stevens defeated Patterson in a

Texas Death match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

on July 11, 1970, to win the San Francisco version of the

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship is a name used for several secondary championships used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1953. At least twelve different versions of the NWA United States Heavyweight Champions ...

. The pair were later reunited in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

, where they won the

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

on September 23, 1978. The following year, Patterson began competing primarily in the World Wrestling Federation, although he and Stevens continued to team occasionally in the AWA until late 1982. They were inducted into the

as a team in 2006 and have been described as the "single greatest tag team" of all time. Patterson died of liver failure caused by a blood clot on December 2, 2020. Stevens died of a heart attack on May 3, 1996.

Larry Latham and Wayne Farris

Latham and Farris both made their wrestling debuts in 1976 and later signed with the

(CWA). CWA owners

Jerry Jarrett Jerry Winston Jarrett (September 4, 1942 – February 14, 2023) was an American businessman, professional wrestling promoter, and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, he was a key figure in the history ...

and

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

paired Latham and Farris as a new incarnation of the Blond Bombers. Managed by Sergeant Danny Davis, the Bombers were the promotion's top heel tag team, Their first championship came on June 15, 1979, when they won an infamous match against

and

Bill Dundee William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is an Australian retired professional wrestler and author better known by his ring name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and was the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton. Ca ...

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...

. After the Blond Bombers controversially won the title, Lawler and Dundee attacked the new champions and fought with them in the concession stands. They soon dropped the belts to Robert Gibson and his real-life brother Ricky, but they regained them in a rematch later that summer. Meanwhile, the

Fabulous Freebirds The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

, who had been the region's number two heel tag team became faces and challenged the Bombers for the belts. They won the title from the Latham and Farris in September 1979, but the Bombers won a rematch to reclaim the championship. After dropping the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship for a third and final time, the Blond Bombers began to challenge for the

NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-America Tag Team championship was a tag team title promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion NWA Mid-America that ran more or less exclusively in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, United States, from the 1940s until ...

. They defeated George Gulas and Ken Lucas to win the belts on December 15, 1979. While holding the title, they continued to feud with Gulas. When they attacked him one day, his estranged partner

Bobby Eaton Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the manageme ...

rescued him; Gulas and Eaton reunited as The Jet Set and defeated the Bombers to win the championship. Latham and Farris regained the belts in a rematch against The Jet Set but later dropped them to Rocky Brewer and Pat Rose. The Blond Bombers had one last reign with the Mid-America belts, as they defeated Eaton and

Great Togo (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began competing in sumo wrestling. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. H ...

in July 1980. They held the title until September 3, when they lost a match to Robert Gibson and Don Fargo. After losing the belts, Farris left to compete in Puerto Rico's

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

. Upon returning to Tennessee, he found other partners and had two more reigns as an AWA Southern Tag Team Champion. Latham soon left Tennessee to compete in the World Wrestling Federation, where he held the

WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...

as Spot, a member of

The Moondogs The Moondogs are a Northern Irish rock band formed in 1979, and consisting of Gerry McCandless, Austin Barrett and Jackie Hamilton. Their career spans three albums, four singles and two television programmes. Discography Singles *"She's Nine ...

. Latham died of a

in the ring during

's "birthday bash" show on November 29, 2003.

Stanley Lane and Bryan St. John

Stanley Lane, who had dubbed himself the "Nature Boy" in honor of his trainer, "Nature Boy"

, debuted for

in December 1978. He was soon paired with Bryan St. John, and the team dubbed themselves the Blonde Bombers. St. John had been feuding with Ray Stevens, and the Bombers continued this rivalry. Together, they challenged

NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization * Northwest Arkansas, the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan ...

Stevens and Mike Graham for the title belts. On October 30, 1979, the heel duo of Lane and St. John defeated the champions to win the title. As a result, St. John claimed victory in his rivalry with Stevens. The following week, they defended the belts against

Mr. Hito (April 25, 1942 – April 21, 2010), better known as Mr. Hito, was a Japanese professional wrestler who competed in North American and Japanese regional promotions from the 1950s until the mid-1980s. Most notably, he was the tag team partner of ...

and Mr. Sakurada. Because of a controversial finish, the championship was vacated, and a tournament was held. St. John sustained a wrist injury, however, and the Bombers were unable to participate. Graham teamed with

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as ...

to win the tournament on November 13 by defeating Hito and Sakurada. When St. John recovered, he and Lane faced the new champions and defeated them for the title on November 25. They defended the title against several team and entered into a feud with the Brisco Brothers (

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

and

Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * Jerry (play), a 1914 American play ...

), who had held the belts together on seven previous occasions. This rivalry also included a singles match between St. John and Jack Brisco, in which their partners were handcuffed together outside of the ring to prevent interference. In March 1980, Jack Brisco teamed with Jim Garvin to win the belts from the Bombers. Lane and St. John had one final reign with the championship after defeating Garvin and Keirn, who was substituting for Brisco, on June 7, 1980. That summer, the Brisco Brothers regained the belts, after which the Blonde Bombers parted ways. St. John soon retired, and Lane focused on building a career as a singles wrestler in Georgia before forming several other tag teams. Later in his career, he teamed with former rival Steve Keirn to form

The Fabulous Ones The Fabulous Ones were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn who was active between 1982 and 1991 with brief reunions during the 1990s. The Fabulous Ones competed primarily in North American territories such as ...

; he was also a member of The Midnight Express and The Heavenly Bodies.

Tank Toland and Chad Toland

The Toland Brothers (Tank and Chad) also used the name in

(OVW), a developmental territory of

(WWE). They won the

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promoti ...

on April 6, 2005, by defeating The Thrillseekers (

Matt Cappotelli Matthew Lee Cappotelli (November 12, 1979 – June 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. After co-winning '' Tough Enough III'' with John Hennigan, he worked in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), the primary developmental territory for WWE. ...

and

Johnny Jeter John Jeter (born December 14, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2006 as Johnny, a member of The Spirit Squad. Jeter was trained by Nick Dinsmore (also k ...

). They held the belts for six months before dropping them to Seth Skyfire and Chet Jablonski. The Tolands later competed for WWE as The Dicks (James and Chad Dick), a team dressed as

Chippendales Chippendales is a touring dance troupe best known for its male striptease performances and for its dancers' distinctive upper body costume of a bow tie, collar, and shirt cuffs worn on an otherwise bare torso with jeans and undergarment. Est ...

dancers. They debuted in October 2005 and were released five months later.

Championships and accomplishments

* Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson :*

::* NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) :*

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

::* NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) :*

NWA Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

::*

( 3 times) :*

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays an ...

::*

( 1 time) * Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens :*

::*

( 1 time) ::* AWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' (2 times) :*

::* Class of 2006 * Larry Latham and Wayne Farris :*

::*

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...

( 3 times) :*

::*

( 3 times) * Stanley Lane and Bryan St. John :*

::*

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

( 3 times) * Chad Toland and Tank Toland :*

::*

( 1 time)

References

External links

Championship Wrestling from Florida match information and news archives

Hawk and Hanson: The Blond Bombers – by Mike Mooneyham

Ray Stevens & Pat Patterson Hall of Fame biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blond Bombers, The American Wrestling Association teams and stables Jim Crockett Promotions teams and stables WWE teams and stables