Melvin Nelson (1936/1937 – October 15, 2017) was an American
professional wrestler
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 wrest ...
. He competed in the United States under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
s Jimmy Jones and Burrhead Jones. As an
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
wrestler, he was not permitted to wrestle against
caucasians in some territories, thus he also worked as a
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
.
Early life
Nelson was born and raised in
Moncks Corner, South Carolina
Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Ch ...
. His father left before he was born, and his mother moved away to find work when Nelson was two years old. He grew up with his grandparents and five siblings. He worked in the family's cotton fields for several years before moving to New York City at age 17. He found employment at a vegetable packing plant and later worked as an elevator operator at a store.
[
]
Professional wrestling career
Nelson began training with professional wrestlers at a gym near the store where he worked. After gaining muscle and learning how to wrestle, he was given the ring name Jimmy Jones by Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent James McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984), also referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, later known as the World Wide Wrestli ...
upon being hired to compete in the World Wide Wrestling Federation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...
.[ He competed in occasional matches for the WWWF from 1968 to 1971. His WWWF stint included a match against ]Ivan Koloff
Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "the Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, where he was billed from Russia and, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ...
, who went on to win the WWWF Championship
The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand d ...
two months later.
Nelson also competed in several other promotions, as many wrestling organizations in the United States were racially segregated
Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people ...
and there were not enough African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s in any single promotion to provide sufficient competition. As a result, Nelson also worked as a referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
when no African American opponent was available.
In the early 1970s, Nelson wrestled 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 ...
based in Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. He teamed with Bearcat Brown
Matt Jewel (August 31, 1935 – April 7, 1996) was an American professional wrestler who became popular in the 1960s. Despite racial tension in the United States, he became wildly popular as a babyface in Alabama. During his career he teamed wit ...
and Charlie Cook
Charles Edward Cook Jr. (born November 20, 1953) is an American political analyst. Specializing in election forecasts and political trends, Cook writes election forecasts and rankings in the publication he founded, '' The Cook Political Report ...
and had a series of matches against 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 ...
, Jim White, and Sam Bass. In the middle of the decade, he competed in the Tennessee-based Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...
. Nelson also wrestled for 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 ...
.
Nelson's ring name was changed as a joke by promoter and wrestler Billy Hines. He told the media that Nelson would be competing as Cockleburrhead Jones, although the promotion later shortened the name to Burrhead Jones. The name which some people believe to be a racial slur, was a reference to Nelson's afro
The afro is a hair style created by combing out natural growth of afro-textured hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" '' Ebo ...
hairstyle.[ As Burrhead Jones, Nelson also competed for ]Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
's Tri-State Wrestling, where he originally competed as a 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). After losing a tar-and-feather match, which saw Jones end up covered in molasses
Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...
and feathers, Jimmy Golden
James "Jimmy" Golden (born August 1, 1950) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name Bunkhouse Buck. He also appeared in WWE as Jack Swagger Sr.
A ...
came to the ring and asked to team with him. Golden was a face
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 th ...
(fan favorite), and the storyline saw Golden convert Jones. Together, the pair later held the Tri-State Wrestling 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 ...
Championship. Jones also competed in, and lost, a tar-and-feather match in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...
. After the match in Mississippi, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
(NAACP) protested and several wrestling shows were cancelled as a result.[
]
Retirement and death
Nelson also worked in advertising for A&M Furniture Mart, a local Montgomery, Alabama furniture store.
Nelson continued to reside in Moncks Corner, South Carolina
Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Ch ...
, where he found work as a forklift operator after retiring from wrestling. In 2006, he moved to New York City to be closer to his children. He died at a hospital in New York City at the age of 80 on October 15, 2017.
Championships and accomplishments
* NWA Mid-America
**NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), title for lighter wrestlers, board-controlled by the National Wrestling Alliance since December 1949.
It originally was used by va ...
( 1 time)
*Tri-State Wrestling
**Tri-State Heavyweight Champion (1 time) 1974
**Tri-State Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time)[
]
References
External links
Profile at Online World of Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Burrhead
1930s births
2017 deaths
African-American professional wrestlers
American male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from South Carolina
American professional wrestling referees
Tarring and feathering in the United States
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American people
People from Berkeley County, South Carolina